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PC build + GTX 275 or 4890 PCS??

Associate
Joined
8 Sep 2009
Posts
187
Hi All,
Hoping for a bit of advice with picking out a graphics card for an i5 build im doing for a friend.
I'm thinking of either:

Powercolor ATI Radeon HD 4890 PCS
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-102-PC

or

Sparkle GeForce GTX 275
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-015-SK&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1410

or even a 2 x PowerColor HD 4770 512MB in xfire??

The rest of the PC build is currently (isn't set in stone):
MSI P55-GD80 Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard
G.Skill Ripjaw 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit
Intel Core i5 750 2.66Ghz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156) - Retail
Lian Li PC-60FW Aluminium Midi Case - Black (No PSU)
Corsair TX 650W ATX SLi Compliant Power Supply (CMPSU-650TXUK)
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (WD1001FALS)


Any advice would be much appreciated also can anyone recommend a cooler for the i5 CPU Socket LGA1156?

Thanks in advance for any replys! :D
 
Associate
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14 Jun 2009
Posts
432
I don't see the point in having 4770 Xfire at the moment, it's delivers good performance but you're better of buying a 4890 and Xfire that at a later date.
 
Soldato
Joined
7 Sep 2009
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4,229
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Cheshire
the powercolor card (not battleforge edition) sporting 850mhz core, and 3900 clock memory comes out neck and neck in benchmarks when put against the palit 275.



The battleforge edition of the ATI card is quite a large improvement over the one shown in benchmarks, where as the sparkle is only a minor improvement over the palit, leading me to guess the 4890 would probably come out on top.


4890.
 
Permabanned
Joined
31 May 2007
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10,721
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Liverpool
As they are around the same price I would actually go with the 275. Similar performance from them both with the advantages of CUDA and Physx from the 275. Also, if you ever fancy running Linux you are better off with the Nvidia drivers.

Cuda and PhysX are poor, not worth the extra monies involved.

These 'advantages' are just feature checkboxes.

As for linux support, ATi's been working on their linux drivers, their 9.9 drivers should work far better with linux than ever.

CUDA and PhysX are either going to become obsolete (well CUDA is once OpenCL is implemented) and PhysX is going to be obsolete when OpenCL accelerated Physics is rolled out, as known as Havok with GPU acceleration.
 
Last edited:
Soldato
Joined
20 Aug 2006
Posts
9,598
4890 :)

I wouldn't say 4890s will go that cheap in MM - as availability of them new will drop off very quickly .. like it did with previous models on a new release

I'd go for an Asus 4890 - mine does nice clocks
 
Associate
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21 Oct 2002
Posts
645
Location
Maidenhead
4890 is a fab card indeed. An important downside, though, is the noise. I wasn't expecting it to be quite so loud. My initial intention was to get another 4890 to crossfire in due course, but I think the noise of two cards would be unbearable. That said, it really is a powerhouse. Also, mine might be noisier than most (XFX black edition).

Ginga
 

D13

D13

Associate
Joined
4 Oct 2008
Posts
989
At the same price point you need to ask:

-does your friend have any interest in the few games that use physx.
-try and research into how loud those cards are, my previous experience with ati cards is that (the stock fans) are far too loud.
-and of course what resolution will he be playing at? those cards may well be overkill.
-last of course is the imminent release of the new ati series, you should 100% hold fire until they shake things up.
 
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