Will HD4870 512MB memory become a problem?

[phexac]

Basically, I am considering whether I want to get 4870 or GTX260. Based on current reviews, 4870 is a better performer but...

Right now it looks like ATI's 4870 can play any game out there besides Crysis at 1920x1200 at, basically, max settings. It is clear that its memory is sufficient for current generation of games.

My concern is, however, that as the next generation of games comes out, this card's memory will become a bottleneck and limit its performance at 1920x1200, which is the resolution I play at. The reason I am worried is because we already had a similar situation with 8800GTS 320MB. At the time of its release, that card performed basically the same as 8800GTS 640MB. However, as newer games came out, its 320MB of memory became a major limiting factor in its performance.

I don't want to buy this card only to figure out that, while I can play current games just fine, the next generation of games requires more onboard memory to run well at 1920x1200. I am especially thinking of games such as Far Cry 2 and other titles that are due to be released later this year. And if 512MB of VRAM may become a problem, does that mean that GTX260 with is much larger memory will perform better in that next generation of games?

So, I am wondering if getting an overclocked GTX260 (there are OCed cards selling for under $300 out there with about 10% OC) that will perform on par with or better than 4870 and will have much larger memory to make them more future proof is a good idea. What do you guys think?

 

[Aberforth]

HD 4870 is more scalable compared to GTX 260 because it has GDDR5 memory which is very fast and DX10.1 support, upcoming new games like Starcraft 2, Half-Life 4, Diablo 3, Sega game use 10.1 api

I am sure there is a 1 GB version of HD4870, other will give you the link

 

[tuteja1986]

wait till mid august if you can as nvidia and ATI will release revision of their gpu , otherwise just get a GTX260 or 4870.

 

[SSChevy2001]

I'm personally waiting for the 4870x2 or 4870 1GB, but the GTX260 is also a great buy when you consider step-up options when GTX+ comes out. Also I have funny feeling the closer 4870x2 comes to being release the better deals we'll see on the GTX280. Wait it out if you can for a little longer. Stay away from 512mb cards for now, as more cards are switch over to 1GB. Hopefully we'll see more titles early next year taking advantage of the extra memory.

 

[Sylvanas]

There is no 'limitation' for a 4870 with 512mb unless perhaps you want to game at 2560x1600 with AA. The 48xx series use memory much more efficiently than their Nvidia counterparts and thus don't need as large a framebuffer. The 4870 is a stellar card- you wont be disappointed.

wait till mid august if you can as nvidia and ATI will release revision of their gpu , otherwise just get a GTX260 or 4870.

Erm....where are you getting this 'revision GPU' from?

 

[tuteja1986]

Originally posted by: Sylvanas
There is no 'limitation' for a 4870 with 512mb unless perhaps you want to game at 2560x1600 with AA. The 48xx series use memory much more efficiently than their Nvidia counterparts and thus don't need as large a framebuffer. The 4870 is a stellar card- you wont be disappointed.

wait till mid august if you can as nvidia and ATI will release revision of their gpu , otherwise just get a GTX260 or 4870.

Erm....where are you getting this 'revision GPU' from?

well i know ATI will be relesaeing higher clocked 4870/4850 with a different cooler. 4870X2 will be out and Nvidia should be releasing something ...

 

[Sylvanas]

Originally posted by: tuteja1986

Originally posted by: Sylvanas
There is no 'limitation' for a 4870 with 512mb unless perhaps you want to game at 2560x1600 with AA. The 48xx series use memory much more efficiently than their Nvidia counterparts and thus don't need as large a framebuffer. The 4870 is a stellar card- you wont be disappointed.

wait till mid august if you can as nvidia and ATI will release revision of their gpu , otherwise just get a GTX260 or 4870.

Erm....where are you getting this 'revision GPU' from?

well i know ATI will be relesaeing higher clocked 4870/4850 with a different cooler. 4870X2 will be out and Nvidia should be releasing something ...

Yes, but that is not a 'revision' of the GPU itself, perhaps it was badly worded .

 

[unr3al]

I wouldn't call the HD4870 a faster card per say, but price-wise it's incredibly competitive. The GTX260 seems to be incredibly overclockable, but personally I would prefer buying a card that has adequate performance out the box than getting a card just because it overclocks well.

I bought my Brisbane for its incredible overclocking capabilities but this isn't CPUs we're talking about. Imo there are too many risks involved in overclocking a graphics card; too many parts that could pop. From the core itself, to the memory, to the caps etc.

I have no problem overclocking a graphics card, don't get me wrong, but I don't think I'll to buy the slower part just because it overclocks well. Overclocking a GPU is something I would rather do when I've had a card for a while and I need a little fps boost in new games, not from the first day I buy it.

Experimenting what I can get out of it, yes, but not constantly running it overclocked.

 

[ss284]

Originally posted by: Aberforth
HD 4870 is more scalable compared to GTX 260 because it has GDDR5 memory which is very fast and DX10.1 support, upcoming new games like Starcraft 2, Half-Life 4, Diablo 3, Sega game use 10.1 api

I am sure there is a 1 GB version of HD4870, other will give you the link

How does gddr5 have any effect on how well it scales, when it still has only 512mb of frame buffer? Gddr5 just provides more bandwidth per clock; it it no way affects how the memory is used by the chipset. Not to mention, the 260 has 90% more memory, and a similar amount of bandwidth.

 

[chizow]

Looks like the 4870 is running out of frame buffer here in COD4.

Can probably be fixed with a driver update, but it certainly shows 512MB may become an issue with AA enabled at higher resolutions.

 

[Bateluer]

Won't be an issue for at least a year, and likely another year after that for the average gamer. With AMD's new GPU strategy, its likely we can expect the Radeon 5000 series around at the end of the year, next spring at the latest. If they keep the the same pricing scheme, only a handful of people won't plunk down another 275 every 6 to 8 months.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Other thread:
> COD4 ...This only happens under 8XAA, not with anything less.
> ETQW ...I run at 1600x1200, 8xAA/16xAF, all in-game details on high.

So with 512MB you might need to run with only 4xAA.

With future games a 4870 will evenutally need to turn down AA or even drop to 16x10 to keep a good framerate because of more visual effects, having 1GB RAM won't help with that.

Would having 1GB help a 7900GT or 1900XT in Crysis? I'd guess not, because they run out of raw GPU power before they run out of RAM. A 4870 will be the same way in a couple of years.

 

[ajaidevsingh]

The bandwidth of GTX 260 and 4870 is almost the same with 4870 being a bit faster also added to this ATi had better memory control tech. as compared to Nvidia.

 

[taltamir]

1. the limitation only occurs in very rare games (oblivion with mod pack) or in very high resolutions (2560x1600 +)
By the time you get such a monitor the card will be obsolete anyways.
2. GDDR5 is not a feature, it is a design decision. Memory bandwidth is a feature, and it is a function of GDDR type and bus width (GTX = GDDR3 x 448bit, 4870 = GDDR5 x 256bit). This does not make it future proof either, this is what accounts for the 4870 being faster then the 4850 (GDDR3 x 256bit) today, that is the only difference between the 4850 and 4870. So its not like it will get FASTER as time passes.
3. PhysX is 10 times more valuable then DX10.1, but 10 x 0 still equals to 0. Both are insignificant right now, physX is actually USED in games at the moment, but it is extremely underwhelming even if it works.
4. The GTX will OC a lot higher and benefit a lot more from that OC.
5. The cheapest GTX right now is from eVGA, with awesome lifetime warranty and service, the cheapest 4870 has 1 year warranty and crap service. Only visiontek has lifetime warranty and service is meh and cost is high.
6. The cards are basically identical in performance, the 4870 wins some, the GTX260 wins some, especially in the minimum frame rates department, so normally, buying whichever is cheaper to buy and own makes sense. (the 4870 is now 255 after MIR, the 260 SC is 225$ after MIR)
7. The GTX takes a lot less power in both idle and load, it will cost you less to own in electricity.
8. The GTX runs more quietly and much cooler, and thus less likely to break (most likely because nvidia partners actually offer good warranties, it will cost them too much to replace a ton of cards later on, AMD partners don't have that problem, it will be out of warranty and the customer looses)

Basically when the GTX and 4870 came out the 4870 was so much cheaper that every expert said "there is absolutely no reason to buy the GTX at that price point". However people took it as "there is absolutely no reason to buy the GTX". To the point where the GTX is actually cheaper to buy, cheaper to operate, has better feature set, and comes from a better companies in terms of service and warranty. Yet people STILL say that there is no reason to buy the GTX... Their loss, my win. I was going to buy the 4870 cause it was cheaper, more bang for the buck, but with the GTX prices being actually lower I snapped one up for myself.

EDIT: I took another look at the OP, all this argument about GTX vs 4870 in here confused me... the question was "is 512 going to be a problem". The answer is, only in very high resolutions, and if that is something worth investing in for you then there are 1GB versions of the 4850 and 4870 hitting the stores.