Urgent :) 4890 vs 5830 which?

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

tincart

Senior member
Apr 15, 2010
630
1
0
With the prices being that close, I see no reason not to get the 5830. Given how few 4890's there are left, CF probably won't be a viable upgrade path without going for a used one later.

The performance deficit between the 4890 and 5830 seems negligible to me. The 4890 gets a few more frames, but games are generally playable or not playable at the same resolutions with the same settings - the difference of a couple frames is a merely academic distinction.

Also DX11, crossfire, power, blah blah blah.

I was suggesting the 4890 when the price difference was larger, but that consideration seems to be done with.
 

Termie

Diamond Member
Aug 17, 2005
7,949
48
91
www.techbuyersguru.com
I'm going to have to disagree here. The 5830 is not a good card, even at ~$200. The 4890 is faster in nearly every benchmark, and the 5830 even falls to the 4870 in some cases.

This review uses the recent drivers: http://www.anandtech.com/show/3745/nvidias-geforce-gtx-465/4

Yes, the 5830 uses 40w less at idle, which is not insignificant, but it uses a similar amount under load. It's not a good value, and it's not a good crossfire investment either...it's likely Ati will stop producing it once they get their manufacturing process worked out. It's just a way to sell defective cores. If you can get a 4890 for $190, in my opinion that's the card to get.

But, in all honesty, I'd skip both and go for a 4870 for $145. This card will deliver 85%-90% of the speed for 75% of the price, and you've already said you want to upgrade later when you have more funds available. So, just to make your life more complicated, I nominate this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150436
 
Last edited:

crisium

Platinum Member
Aug 19, 2001
2,643
615
136
http://www.techspot.com/review/263-nvidia-geforce-gtx-480/page13.html

4890 uses a ton more power at idle.

Looking through the frames in that review, besides RE5 the 5830 generally is equal or even a little faster than the 4890. I guess the early deficit to the 4890 has been erased by driver updates. They are basically equal performance, but the 5830 has better power.

And I don't know why'd you upgrade from a 5830/4890 to a 5850. It hurts my head.
 

phait

Member
May 12, 2010
93
0
0
But, in all honesty, I'd skip both and go for a 4870 for $145. This card will deliver 85%-90% of the speed for 75% of the price, and you've already said you want to upgrade later when you have more funds available. So, just to make your life more complicated, I nominate this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150436

I'll take a look at benchmarks soon. I did just checkout Youtube vids of the games I want, using that card and they all perform well it seems.
 

v8envy

Platinum Member
Sep 7, 2002
2,720
0
0
Just get a 5770. It's 10-15% slower than a 5830, but you can remedy much of that with overclocking. 5770s have dipped to ~$140 AR/abing as well, which makes it very had to justify the price premium on the 5830. For the same cost as a 4870 you get almost the same performance, but with a card which runs cooler and uses less power at idle.
 

phait

Member
May 12, 2010
93
0
0
I'm very wary of overlocking, never done it before, don't wanna fudge it up, would have to buy an aftermarket cooler, wouldn't wanna damage the card during installaton...

I dunno how simple this stuff is. I know you OC in increments as long as its still stable...
 

phait

Member
May 12, 2010
93
0
0
BTW alot I'm reading about 4870 is high temps/iffy cooling. That's a priority for me so I'm still sticking with 4890. So I guess my last concern, which I am googling, is if that XFX 4890 vents out the back - as some cards don't really do that.
 
Last edited:

Axon

Platinum Member
Sep 25, 2003
2,541
1
76
I have an XFX 4890 and it has served me well for over a year (I can't believe it's been that long). Still kills whatever I throw at it save Crysis, but really, no one plays that game, it's just a benchmark tool :p
 

Termie

Diamond Member
Aug 17, 2005
7,949
48
91
www.techbuyersguru.com
Were there no more performance boosts after the 10.3a drivers?

10.4 only incorporated changes made in 10.3a. 10.5 had no performance gains, and the new 10.6, which have performance gains, only came out yesterday, so no tests are available that I've seen.

Also, I guess I'll have to side with those recommending the 5770. I'm a sucker for lower power, so go for this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814103086.

Vents outs the back, just the way you want it. Truthfully, that doesn't make it cooler, but it might make your case cooler. And no, the 4870 isn't worse on heat than the 4890...both are hot, whereas the 5770 is very cool in comparison.
 
Last edited:

phait

Member
May 12, 2010
93
0
0
Alright, settling on 5770. Save money + cooler + quieter + runs the games I want well enough.

Thanks a lot everyone :)
 

phait

Member
May 12, 2010
93
0
0
Yup that's what I chose. Everytime I read Diamond reviews DOA/cons popped out more frequently that I usually see.
 

Munky

Diamond Member
Feb 5, 2005
9,372
0
76
I'd get the 4890, it's faster than both the 5770 and the 5830. Yes, it uses more power, so what? Paying more to get less performance seems idiotic to me.
 

Termie

Diamond Member
Aug 17, 2005
7,949
48
91
www.techbuyersguru.com
I'd get the 4890, it's faster than both the 5770 and the 5830. Yes, it uses more power, so what? Paying more to get less performance seems idiotic to me.

A valid point regarding the speed, but he ended up with a 5770 that was almost $40 less than the 4890, so it wasn't really such a bad deal.
 

phait

Member
May 12, 2010
93
0
0
I haven't ordered yet, actually. Dont have all the money I need and won't until early next week it seems (paycheck was mailed).
 
Last edited:

Termie

Diamond Member
Aug 17, 2005
7,949
48
91
www.techbuyersguru.com
I haven't ordered yet, actually. Dont have all the money I need (but I should later today).

¬_¬

Well, in that case, can I tempt with you with the excellent deals in this thread?

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2083598

You can get a 5770 or 4870 for $130 this weekend at Newegg. Neither vents out the back, but hey, you save another $30, and it seems like that might be important to you. As to which of the two to get, I'd sum it up this way: do you want efficiency (5770) or power (4870)?
 

phait

Member
May 12, 2010
93
0
0
Thanks for the heads up, I'm gonna stick with the XFX though.

Oh yeah another part of my wait is these Scythe fans that won't be in supply until the 22nd, 120mm, 800 RPM should be good for a side and front yeah?

BTW side fan should that exhaust or intake? Intake I'd think.
 

blanketyblank

Golden Member
Jan 23, 2007
1,149
0
0
5770 is a good choice. I'd get it over a 4870 at the same price since they are actually pretty much equivalent in speed despite what some people may tell you. There are some games 4870 is slightly faster, but also games where the 5770 is faster. In metro 2033 the 5770 can actually outperform a 4890 though I'm not sure how or why.
 

phait

Member
May 12, 2010
93
0
0
I'm surprised the 5770 running that game playably... most benches I've seen it's like Metro 2033 ate up the cards. I couldn't care less about tesselation or DX11, long as I can have sharp textures and decent lighing.