I just got a bonus at my job (yay), so now I have the cash for the upgrade of my graphics card.

 

Since my motherboard supports Crossfire I was thinking about buying the Sapphire RADEON HD 4870 1GB card.. (so I can buy one more later and connect them)

 

Is this any good? It's fairly cheaper compared to similar cards, made by Asus. (like 50-60$)

 

Specifically I want a new card because GTAIV is coming out - and a friend of mine with almost the same rig as me, only with the 8800 Nvidia, can play the game - but it lags a little at times. So I want to be sure I can play it properly.

As it uses the stock cooler, it's likely to get very hot (unlike, say, the Gainward Golden Sample-version). Otherwise, the 4870 1GB would be my current choice too, even if nVidia made a huge online fuss about their new driver that gets the GTX 260 (216 shaders) faster than the 4870 again (in some games). All in all, from what I've read, these two cards are about the same level of performance and price and would both get my recommendation, and if you plan on going crossfire, the case is obvious: Go for it

 

[edit]

Oh, my comment about stock cooling referred to your link, which doesn't show an ASUS card, but one from Sapphire.

Edited December 2, 200817 yr by samm

Does the Asus card get less hot than the Sapphire?

 

or is the Gainward Golden Sample the coldest of the three?

 

Because I found an online shop where the Asus and Sapphire version were the same price, and the GGS was "only" 40$ more, but if it's that more cool (pun intended), then I would probably be smarter to get that?

Does the Asus card get less hot than the Sapphire?

I don't know about the Asus, but when running The Witcher on my Sapphire, then I can keep a cup of coffee warm on top of my external radiator

hmm that doesn't seem very smart.. if it warms up the entire computer the CPU and harddrives might not work very well.

Just make sure your case is well ventilated and you won't even notice it. My Sapphire fan is relatively silent and my case fans make sure the heat stays out of the rest of the components.

 

I actually warm my feet behind my 4870 though!

I actually warm my feet behind my 4870 though!

I used to do the same thing with my Commodore64 powersupply on cold winter evenings

 

I know liquid cooling is not to everyones taste, but besides the way lower noiselevels, it did lower the case temperature as well compared to fans. My 4870x2 doesn't "radiate" heat the same way it used to before when working hard.

The problem is I don't have a well ventilated case. And I don't really have an easy way to vent it either unless I buy a new casing.

 

So I would have to go with the coldest version. None of the ones I'm looking at are X2 btw.

If you're not getting n X2, you should probably just get a 280 and save ~$100.

The 280 isn't cool either. Its price/performance is still lower than that of a 4870 or a 260 (216).

 

Rosbjerg: A review of the 4870 Golden Sample: at bittech

There are cool 280, i.e. watercooled: review at bittech, too

Edited December 3, 200817 yr by samm

Couldn't find a shop that actually sold the Gainward, even if they had them on their webpage and it would be about 5-10 days before they had any in stock. I settled with the Asus Dark Knight 1GB, which is actually keeping a good temperature.

 

Thanks for the advice yet again guys!