Sub-$170 budget card

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sethmo

2[H]4U
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Nov 10, 2002
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Currently have a Radeon x1800XT 512mb card that is artifacting and getting lots of VPU recovery errors during games. Time to upgrade! Whats not now? I know the 8800GTs are getting older, how does the 9600GT or 9800GT compare to it? What about the Radeon 4850? Id prefer a 512mb card again, I have XP and dont plan on upgrading to Vista anytime soon so a dx10 card isnt a must.

Games I play:
COD4
CS:S
TF2
iRacing
LFS

Thats about all, dont really play Crysis, but I might if I get a decent card to play the game. Also use a Dell 2007WFP with a 1680x1050 native resolution.
 
a 9600gt is around $100 and is actually the best bang for buck but around the $170 price range the 4850 is the best buy especially at 1680x1050 . your cpu is a little weak but you would still get most of the oomph the 4850 has to offer at 1680x1050.
 
Looks like some of the 4850 runs hot. I have the Zalman ZM-VF900 on my x1800XT right now, would it be worth it to install it on the 4850 as well? Was thinking about getting the Saphire Toxic 4850 but I forgot I already have the VF900 on my current card.

Looks like I am going to probably order either the MSI 4850($162 after MIR) + looks like it has a cooler similar to the VF1000:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127370

The MSI or Saphire 4850s with OEM coolers:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102747
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127359
 
sethmo said:
Looks like some of the 4850 runs hot. I have the Zalman ZM-VF900 on my x1800XT right now, would it be worth it to install it on the 4850 as well? Was thinking about getting the Saphire Toxic 4850 but I forgot I already have the VF900 on my current card.

Looks like I am going to probably order either the MSI 4850($162 after MIR) + looks like it has a cooler similar to the VF1000:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127370

The MSI or Saphire 4850s with OEM coolers:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102747
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127359
Click to expand...
you can just change the fan profile if you get a 4850 with the oem cooler.
 
yes change the fan speed manually it is easy enough to do and increasing from 27% to 30% you get no noise still and a big temp difference lol

I whole heartedly reccomend the 4850 to you, I had a x2 4400+ before I upgraded and loved it.

my main problem that remained however was some games that were CPU limited in some areas my minimum framerate didnt go up, but those that werent CPU limited shot waaaaay up

I went from a x1950pro to the 4850 btw

lastly since you have an AM2 socket I'd say go for a x2 6000+ if you can, you'll see a nice improvement there also (you can do this later of course)
 
I agree with everyone else. You can get the 4850 for as little as 158$ shipped after rebate on the egg right now.

Thats an excellent price for a card that is pretty fast in today's games.
 
4850 is a sweet card, using the CCC overdrive profile i set up, i maxed at 60c with fan at 85%, no issues with either card that I had, at idle i ran them 45% and idled around 50c.
 
sethmo said:
Looks like some of the 4850 runs hot. I have the Zalman ZM-VF900 on my x1800XT right now, would it be worth it to install it on the 4850 as well? Was thinking about getting the Saphire Toxic 4850 but I forgot I already have the VF900 on my current card.

Looks like I am going to probably order either the MSI 4850($162 after MIR) + looks like it has a cooler similar to the VF1000:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127370

The MSI or Saphire 4850s with OEM coolers:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102747
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127359
Click to expand...

4850 is perfect for you. They do run hot, but you can change the fan speed by eiting the XML profile; very easy to do. The 4870 I had went from 80C to 47C when I moved the fan slider to 35%.
 
I have the 9600GT and I run on a 22" LCD at 1680x1050. It runs great. No problems, no hiccups. I mostly just play older games, though. I do have Call of Duty 4 that plays just beautifully on it.

The 9800GT is just a renamed 8800GTS. Its a little better card, but not significantly so.

I'd look at the marked down 9600GT or see if you can find a 4850 with a rebate.
 
mellojoe said:
I have the 9600GT and I run on a 22" LCD at 1680x1050. It runs great. No problems, no hiccups. I mostly just play older games, though. I do have Call of Duty 4 that plays just beautifully on it.

The 9800GT is just a renamed 8800GTS. Its a little better card, but not significantly so.

I'd look at the marked down 9600GT or see if you can find a 4850 with a rebate.
Click to expand...
No, the 9800gt is just a renamed 8800gt not gts and its not a better card. venders do have the option of implementing hybridpower but other than that the 9800gt is the same as the 8800gt.
 
aFive said:
4850 is perfect for you. They do run hot, but you can change the fan speed by eiting the XML profile; very easy to do. The 4870 I had went from 80C to 47C when I moved the fan slider to 35%.
Click to expand...

or you can go into the 4850 bios and edit the idle speeds and the fan settings, then flash it and not have to worry about creating /changing profiles based on what you are doing atm...

the idle speeds are 500/750 stock and can be set to 160/500 in the bios, then you can change the fan settings by adjusting the graph to set what speeds you want the fan to run at when it reaches certain temps...

after playing around with the settings for and hour or two, you can find your sweet spot and just let it take over from there, I haven't opened CCC since I adjusted all my settings, which is fine by me because I was in there constantly creating/changing profiles to adjust the fan speeds before I flashed the bios...
 
Go with the 4850! That was one of my questions too. I just order mine yesterday morning. Should be in the mail tomorrow. Woot! Get a free game with it too.... Grid should be nice....
 
cannondale06 said:
No, the 9800gt is just a renamed 8800gt not gts and its not a better card. venders do have the option of implementing hybridpower but other than that the 9800gt is the same as the 8800gt.
Click to expand...

Whoops. I meant that the 9800GT / 8800GT is a slightly better card than the 9600GT. Meaning I wouldn't pay too much more for it.
 
I'm surprised it hasnt come up yet but I would recommend the 8800gt. It can be had right around $100, sometimes less after rebate. I play all the games you mentioned and also Crysis alot. I love my 8800gt, and the prices are just great on them now.

But if you are willing to spend the extra 50-70 on a 4850 then I say go for that. I just wanted to point out that the 8800gt will be more than enough for all the games you listed, even Crysis.
 
Great rule of thumb - set a budget and buy as much as you can with it. If your budget is up to $170, then definitely get a 4850 so it'll last you a bit.
 
are these 4850's that much better than an 8600GT for gaming? Anyone have any advice for someone wanting to play WarHammer Online?
 
mattm said:
are these 4850's that much better than an 8600GT for gaming? Anyone have any advice for someone wanting to play WarHammer Online?
Click to expand...
wow what a question. you must be completely out of the loop when it comes to hardware or at least video cards. the 8600gt is not even in the same league as a 4850.
 
nintari said:
yes change the fan speed manually it is easy enough to do and increasing from 27% to 30% you get no noise still and a big temp difference lol
Click to expand...

Is it really not worth it to go with an aftermarket cooler? I have a hatred for stock cooling and I'm planning on picking up a 4850 after looking at the options in the price bracket.
 
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