XFX 4890 XXX 1gig

[BloodOmen]

Thoughts? been tempted to get 2 as they're down to £150 now, not been keen on ATI for awhile tho due to driver instability issues anyone got/tried this card and can give some user insight into it?


can be found XFX HD 4890 XXX Edition 1GB DDR5 Dual DVI HDTV Out PCI-E Graphics Card - Ebuyer

 

[old.Osy]

Word of warning - these cards run hot and are very noisy.

 

[BloodOmen]

Word of warning - these cards run hot and are very noisy.

aye seen something about that in reviews, whats performance/drivers like for ati these days? remember with my ancient 9800pro I had alot of driver issues with games.

 

[old.Osy]

There's still the odd game acting up, but other than that, going with the latest drivers should not be as much of a headache as it used to be before.

On the other side, nVidia has started flunking the drivers department with honors lately - so either way, i'd say ati is okish.

If you wanna experiment, go crossfire with 4850 - you should reach about the same performance as a 4890, maybe slightly under. Downside is you would need a powerful PSU.

If you can wait, late October, early November would be a good time to buy - things will become cheaper then.

If you do however go for a 4890, make sure you have in/out fans on the case, with the IN one pushing as hard as it can (recommend buying something in the likes of 140mm, ultra silent), and the exit one being a 120mm one, going on medium/low speed. These cards need a lot of air pressure inside the case, to keep their vents happy, and themselves cool enough for you to stress them. If you have a side vent above the proc, have that one pushing in at max aswell - but you will be hard pressed into finding a 80mm/90mm vent that's also silent at max speeds.

 

[BloodOmen]

Running a 1000w antec psu atm + antec300 case should be alright air wise I think.

 

[cHodAX]

I run one, monster of a card and not as loud as people say, even under 100% load. Don't get me wrong it ain't quiet but I have heard far far worse.

 

[Syri]

Not got that card, but been using ATI for a few months now, as I've had quite a few nvidia cards that have died on me, or seen friends cards die. Can't comment on that card, but my 4670 runs perfectly, no driver problems and no hardware problems. Really can't fault it. ATI have really improved their drivers of late, they're even catching nvidia for linux drivers, where nvidia always had a strong hold before.

 

[old.Osy]

Yes, because linux is relevant to someone on this gaming forum.

Anyway, my recomendation would be to go for a Sapphire one, the Vapor-X series - supposedly very quiet and efficient in cooling.

 

[Syri]

just because you don't use something doesn't make it irrelevant. It actually serves as a good indication of how far ATI's driver team has come of late, as they were well documented for struggling to provide competitive drivers for windows, and their linux ones were even worse. The fact that they can even get linux right now gives a good indication that the improvements to windows drivers are even better. THAT is why I mentioned it, THAT is why it's relevant.

 

[old.Osy]

Not to start a flame, but you're wrong.

Clearly, there's separate teams of developers for linux / windows. Ati drivers being proficient in either direction does not automatically mean the other will follow suit. Logic?

 

[Chronictank]

wait until next month, the prices will nosedive when they release the 58** series cards (especially second hand) late october
unless you are really in need of one now