4870 > overclocked 8800 Ultra 100% of the time?

[cantankerous]

Hey guys. I currently have an overclocked 8800 Ultra that has been very good to me the past year. I was very anxious to get the GTX 280 but the price is scaring me away as I have a lot of other financial obligations over the next couple months. I was going to get the GTX 260 instead but noticed the 4870 does really well against the GTX 260 at over $100 difference out here in Canada. The idea of saving money has really got me thinking. I do want to upgrade my card, but I do not want to spend money unless it is a drastic jump. I do know the GTX 280 will be a drastic jump but a $700 jump I am not so sure. I am wondering if the 4870 is 100% faster across the board than my current card. I have read tons of reviews but most don't pit the 4870 against the 8800 GTX/Ultra, especially not overclocked models as a comparison. I am worried that the 4870 won't quite be that much faster over my 8800 Ultra or will it? The benches for certain games seem very low compared to the Nvidia cards such as Lost Planet etc. I don't want this to be a trend with the 4870 when comparing it to my current card.

Would one say the 4870 is a worthy upgrade over an overclocked 8800 Ultra or should I just spend the extra coin on the GTX 280? I am assuming the GTX 260 is a no no if the 4870 is since the 4870 is neck to neck to the GTX 260.

[affiliate13]

I'm not sure how much of a gain you would see over an OC'd Ultra by buying a 4870 but if you can wait a little the 4870x2 will be out in couple of months and shouldnt be much more than a 260 GTX, the Catylst drivers will prolly be better by then too. Maybe worth thinking about eh?

[gurusan]

my vote is a 4850 + a new motherboard with PCI-E 2.0, and then you can also add another one in for crossfire.

With a bios flash you can get the 4850 to 750mhz, and with some pencil modding you can really clock it. Mine is 940/1200 core/mem under water

[cantankerous]

Thanks for the reply. This thought has crossed my mind but I have heard way too much about micro stuttering and crossfire driver issues to have me give any real thought into it.

[Bla$nA]

Sry for offtopic, but where did you got the Information that the 4870x2 will be out in couple of months? Does it still take that long?

[affiliate13]

Q3 from what these guys say:
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/05/16/amd_nvidia_nextgen_gpus/

[horrorwood]

Sry for offtopic, but where did you got the Information that the 4870x2 will be out in couple of months? Does it still take that long?

It will be August. Source is myself.

[Rattle]

4850 crossfire is stunning for the money, dont believe everything you read, microstuttering was a problem on 3870x2 cards

[gurusan]

Pretty sure the 4850 is better than the ultra almost always.

My overclocked 4850 is neck and neck with an overclocked GTX 280 in crysis :D

http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/6281/83392671aj3.jpg

[speedfreak86]

Pretty sure the 4850 is better than the ultra almost always.

My overclocked 4850 is neck and neck with an overclocked GTX 280 in crysis :D



Please test at stock specs and post the new results...adding huge overclocks makes a large difference(I personally think that a 4850 overclocked that much would far exceed a stock clocked 4870). Also, would you mind pointing me to the site that has this scoreboard? Thanks.

[gurusan]

Sorry, it's a database specifically for a certain forum (overclockers.co.uk). If you want to enter your score then please join the forum and look in the gfx cards section for database threads :)

And I got 21fps average at stock speeds.

[speedfreak86]

Sorry, it's a database specifically for a certain forum (overclockers.co.uk). If you want to enter your score then please join the forum and look in the gfx cards section for database threads :)

And I got 21fps average at stock speeds.

Thanks, I won't be entering anything anytime soon though as I am out of town on business. I appreciate you telling the standard clocked score so as not to mislead people. (btw, is this with no AA or AF?)

[gurusan]

This is no aa and no af.

DX10 1680x1050 Very High

[systemviper]

I can't wait to gobble up a 2 Ultra's soon......
I think they are still the bomb!

[Nasgul]

Why bother in getting rid of the 8800 Ultra?

Drastic change?

Just keep your Ultra for another year or so. Just till 2 weeks ago, I was playing Unreal Tournament 3 at 800x600 with my 6800GS, looked good.

If you're worry about gaming, get a CRT, a CRT will allowed you to change the resolution at will, unlike a 20" LCD monitor which is "stuck" at 1680x1050.

A jump of only 5 more frames per second will be a waste of time/money.
And yes, I have a 22" CRT (20" viewable) and no LCD will ever beat it.

[gurusan]

If he sells now he can get some money back and put it towards a new card. I always upgrade when the time is right financially regardless if I need it or not.

[003]

With a bios flash you can get the 4850 to 750mhz, and with some pencil modding you can really clock it. Mine is 940/1200 core/mem under water

HOLY SIHT!!!
:eek2::eek2: :shocked::shocked:

940MHz on the core under water!?!?! That is crazy!!! 1GHz+ should EASILY be attainable on the 4870 under water!!! I had no idea they clocked that wickedly good!!!

Man, I can't wait for dual 4870X2s... hopefully they will clock just as well!!

Sorry for the OT post.

[gurusan]

yes these RV770s are sex.

[Hockster]

I replaced an 8800GTX with a single 4870 for a couple hours. It was a nice improvement. In Crossfire there's no comparison.

[cantankerous]

thanks for the confirmation Hockster. What was your GTX clocked at that the 4870 replaced? Did you find performance improved across the board or only in specific instances?

[Hockster]

GTX was stock clocked.

Age of Conan showed the largest increase. Anywhere from a 505 to 100% increase in frame rates at the exact same settings, depending on the area I'm in.

Most other games allow me to run some AA, or turn it up. I play at 1920X1200 and the 8800 just ran out of oomph on some newer titles.

[cantankerous]

Great thanks again. Appreciate your time in coming here to post your answer.

[omega1alpha]

I think it depends on how long you want to hold onto your card. If you plan on upgrading in about a year, you should sell your Ultra and take that cash and get a 4870. That card should keep you happy over the GTX 280 and is fairly priced. You can then dump it in a year and pick up the "king of the hill" at that moment. If you plan on holding onto a card for longer, you might want to hold onto the Ultra and wait a few months for the GTX 280 to drop and then sell the Ultra and grab a GTX 280 because the extra RAM and shaders will definitely make a difference in future games. At this moment, the 4870 and 512MB is sufficient. I try my best to time the market and dump older hardware and use that cash to buy the "best bang for the buck" at the moment.