Will a 4650 be good enough for heavy gaming?

[blackrain]

I am on a limited budget for a gaming pc to play games on my plasma TV.

I am going to go with a Phenom 720 BE and a Biostar 790GX mobo. I already have a tower case. However, my significant other would like to see that this pc be in a case that blends in as a/v equipment....which means I need an HTPC case.

I found a combo deal that my help me stay as close as possible to my budget, but it involves a 4650

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?ItemList=Combo.188469

I don't know if this video card is going to limit me too much. Its hard to tell because most of the reviewers at Newegg are talking about old games.

How is this card going to handle new games. I don't want to run into a wall with new games.

Should I just cough up more for a full size 4850 and scratch the HTPC case?

 

[error8]

4650 in my opinion, is a non gaming card. It has GDDR2 on 128 bit which means that is extremely weak for today's standards. It will probably struggle in everything. Just "cough up" more for a 4770, if you want to game.

 

[Marty502]

A 4670 would be much faster, pretty much on the same price range, zips electricity (uses no PCI-E power connector) and will be quiet enough for your HTPC.

If it serves you as a reference, I can run Left 4 Dead at 1680x1050 4xAA 16xAF with all settings cranked, and it stays solidly above 30 FPS at least. It's not super smooth, but way playable.

Also, it can pull it off with heavier games like Crysis if you forget about AA and take back a few settings.

It's not really a gamer's card, but it's got some muscle to flex. It's the same size as a 4650, too.

Does the 4770 require a PCI-E power connector? And how large is it?

 

[DaveSimmons]

HTPC case: what about a black Aspire X-Qpack2? It should fit a 4770 and I think (but google this!) a 4850 or 70. Don't use the included PSU.

 

[blackrain]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
HTPC case: what about a black Aspire X-Qpack2? It should fit a 4770 and I think (but google this!) a 4850 or 70. Don't use the included PSU.

It only fits a microATX board

 

[TransAm1994]

I recommend this one:

http://alienbabeltech.com/main/?p=6091

 

[DaveSimmons]

Antec NSK 4480 in silver might be fashionable enough to pass the gf test.

4850 for $87 in Hot Deals:
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2300590&enterthread=y

 

[brblx]

that silverstone case is quite pricey. GF won't settle for a basic black mini or mid tower? that could cut the case cost way down and give me more cash for a gpu.

 

[blackrain]

Originally posted by: brblx
that silverstone case is quite pricey. GF won't settle for a basic black mini or mid tower? that could cut the case cost way down and give me more cash for a gpu.

I think the HTPC is a lost cause. I am probably just going to keep my case and go with a 4850. I was really hoping to find a diamond in the rough "budget" HTPC case that could house an ATX board and a 4850. I can't seem to find anything.

 

[blackrain]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Antec NSK 4480 in silver might be fashionable enough to pass the gf test.

4850 for $87 in Hot Deals:
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2300590&enterthread=y

Its fashionable but it needs to be off the floor. I have nowhere to put a tower except on the floor in the living room. Thanks anyway. I do like that case.

 

[tvdang7]

just get 4770

 

[Phynaz]

Originally posted by: tvdang7
just get 4770

I'm not sure he wants a vacuum cleaner in his HTPC.

Go with the 4670 for gaming, or I think you can get something like an passively cooled Nvidia 9500.

 

[fffblackmage]

most htpc cases seem rather pricey, unfortunately. =/

and at the very least, get a 4670. 4770 might be better for gaming though.

 

[ElFenix]

is the plasma a wall mount? i used to put the PC behind the plasma on the tv stand. then i built a little stand that would lift the pc off the tv stand, and had a further support for my center channel speaker above the tv (really lifted the soundstage doing that)

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

jfc, how many different variations are there for the 4000 series

 

[TurtleCrusher]

The 4650 can definitely be a gaming card. If you don't use AA and don't play at super high resolutions you'd be set playing games. Everyone here is forgetting its only 0-20% slower then the 3850 despite having a slower memory bus. Sure its not super powerful but if you can get one for $39-45, it is a steal.

 

[blackrain]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
is the plasma a wall mount? i used to put the PC behind the plasma on the tv stand. then i built a little stand that would lift the pc off the tv stand, and had a further support for my center channel speaker above the tv (really lifted the soundstage doing that)

Its hanging on the wall.

 

[Sylvanas]

A 4670 is not an ideal option for gaming, it is a stripped version that is really targetted for low profile/quiet HTPC usage and will struggle at medium settings at a smaller res with current games. 1x 4770 is a much better option where the 'bang for buck' is alot higher.

 

[brinox]

i have a 4650 in my HTPC (also a low profile type) and it does alright with image quality settings turned down at 1920x1080 resolution. right now its not paired up with the best processor (athlon x2 be-2400) but it was playable at least in L4D, at native resolution.

again with a mid-range card you are going to be sacrificing some performance for resolution or image quality. but thats the nature of the midrange segment as well as your budget.



EDIT:: oh, yes thats the exact same card i bought btw. definitely a good discrete card, and excellent for the HTPC.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

Originally posted by: Scholzpdx
The 4650 can definitely be a gaming card. If you don't use AA and don't play at super high resolutions you'd be set playing games. Everyone here is forgetting its only 0-20% slower then the 3850 despite having a slower memory bus. Sure its not super powerful but if you can get one for $39-45, it is a steal.

What? Where did you get those numbers?

Most benchmarks I've seen show the HD4650 competing with the 9500GT and usually being superior. The HD3850 blows both of them away, and the 512MB version definitely competes with the HD4670.

 

[evolucion8]

Originally posted by: cusideabelincoln

Originally posted by: Scholzpdx
The 4650 can definitely be a gaming card. If you don't use AA and don't play at super high resolutions you'd be set playing games. Everyone here is forgetting its only 0-20% slower then the 3850 despite having a slower memory bus. Sure its not super powerful but if you can get one for $39-45, it is a steal.

What? Where did you get those numbers?

Most benchmarks I've seen show the HD4650 competing with the 9500GT and usually being superior. The HD3850 blows both of them away, and the 512MB version definitely competes with the HD4670.

Originally posted by: Sylvanas
A 4670 is not an ideal option for gaming, it is a stripped version that is really targetted for low profile/quiet HTPC usage and will struggle at medium settings at a smaller res with current games. 1x 4770 is a much better option where the 'bang for buck' is alot higher.

The HD 4670 has the same 320 stream processors that the HD 3850/HD 3870, but with a fixed ROP so the performance impact using anti aliasing should be smaller. The HD 4670 is quite competitive, http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3405&p=10 << It's an old review, so with recent drivers, the performance improvement should be there. The HD 4650 is slower and crushes the 9500GT.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

Yes I know that. But the smaller memory bandwidth also hurts the HD4670's high-resolution and AA performance too (thus negating the fixed ROP): http://www.techpowerup.com/rev...hire/HD_4850_X2/6.html Just look through all the games and the 4670's performance is pretty erratic.

And the 4650 and 9500GT are somewhat even matches. One does not dominate the other; they trade blows. The reference HD4650 has half the memory bandwidth as the HD4670, which hurts it severly: http://www.techpowerup.com/rev...D_4650_iSilence/6.html On the other hand overclocked (on the memory front) versions are much more competitive: http://www.techpowerup.com/rev...hire/HD_4650_OC/6.html and do crush the 9500GT. Of course that Sapphire card is using GDDR3, so it could arguably just be an underclocked HD4670 instead of an overclocked HD4650. Whatever the case, most of the HD4650s on newegg use slow ass DDR2 RAM and are going to suck. I would definitely recommend the 9500GT over the reference HD4650 for gaming.

 

[bryanW1995]

Originally posted by: blackrain

Originally posted by: brblx
that silverstone case is quite pricey. GF won't settle for a basic black mini or mid tower? that could cut the case cost way down and give me more cash for a gpu.

I think the HTPC is a lost cause. I am probably just going to keep my case and go with a 4850. I was really hoping to find a diamond in the rough "budget" HTPC case that could house an ATX board and a 4850. I can't seem to find anything.

look for a 4830 or 4670 in fs/ft

 

[nemesismk2]

Originally posted by: blackrain
I am on a limited budget for a gaming pc to play games on my plasma TV.

I am going to go with a Phenom 720 BE and a Biostar 790GX mobo. I already have a tower case. However, my significant other would like to see that this pc be in a case that blends in as a/v equipment....which means I need an HTPC case.

I found a combo deal that my help me stay as close as possible to my budget, but it involves a 4650

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?ItemList=Combo.188469

I don't know if this video card is going to limit me too much. Its hard to tell because most of the reviewers at Newegg are talking about old games.

How is this card going to handle new games. I don't want to run into a wall with new games.

Should I just cough up more for a full size 4850 and scratch the HTPC case?

The 4650 is not a heavy gaming video card, the 4850 will run games much better than the 4650.

 

[Rifter]

shart answer, hell no. what are you thinking? i have a 4830 and would consider it a minumum for gaming and its only like $75 now. I only run it at 720p res if i was to go higher i would need a faster card. And i am going to a 1080p tv soon and will be replacing my 4830 with a 4890.