ATI Radeon HD4870 1024MB

[bert8for3]

I'm seeing this at $339 (Cdn), which seems pretty good. One review says although it's ATI branded box on the outside, it's a 1G GeCube HD4870 with model number GC-HD4870XG5-F3 on the inside which is warrantied by Diamond Multimedia.

Is there any real difference between vidcards as ostensibly put out by the chip co. versus as put out by the various licensees, eg Diamond, Sapphire etc?

[Dowly]

Been looking at this one too, ~270€ here, only 40€ more than an OC'd 512.

[bert8for3]

As luck, or possibly a little diligence, would have it, Tom's Hardware has a recent article on this ... http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-4870-palit,2096.html ...

Seems there can indeed be a difference, as different licensees may use different cooling etc etc. I don't know how the GeCube version ranks. If anyone finds anything, maybe they could post here. edit/add: It's bad enough figuring out which vidcard you might prefer as between ATI or Nvidia, or between card model XYZ#, but then to have to figure out the best choice as between same model ... :damn:

@Dowly. Cheers, yup I noticed you were talking about it ... didn't want to hijack your thread so figured I'd post separately.

[Zachstar]

I heard this little tip to aid comparison.

512Mb= cheap and good for most stuff.
1gb=Increased ability to use post processing like AA.

Just watch out for those who throw 1gb in just to attract sales for a card that is built with poor cooling or a crappy fan.

[bert8for3]

Continuing some research, I'm liking the Diamond ATI Radeon HD 4870 PCIE 1024MB (model #4870PE51G) ... gets a pretty good review here ... http://www.testfreaks.com/blog/review/diamond-ati-radeon-hd-4870-1024mb-gddr5-video-card-4870pe51g/ ... . The Sapphire and Palit versions maybe less so ... http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-4870-palit,2096.html .

Then I came across the Diamond ATI Radeon HD 4870 PCIE 1024MB, but model #4870PE51GDI ... on the Diamond website, see http://www.diamondmm.com/4870PE51G.php vs http://www.diamondmm.com/4870PE51GDI.php

Looks to me like the GDI has enhanced cooling, but not sure as I can't find any review of it. Anyone know? Other than that, they're identical, except for the GDI not having the nifty plastic cover with the pic of Ruby on it, and except that on the product comparison chart off the Diamond site, the GDI has a memory bandwidth of 160.9 GB/sec but the G model has 112.25.

I chatted with someone at Tiger Direct who says the GDI card is faster, but doesn't the bandwidth difference mean the GDI would be faster?

[dondk]

I actually have the card, the ATI version not another just using the chip.

It is more card than just about anyone needs and then some. It draws a lot of power so make sure you have a decent PSU and it is big so you need the room too in the case.

newegg.com has the card as well as the other companies that use the chip. the biggest arguments I have seen with the lower cost alternatives are fan noise and higher temps.

Honestly just about any card in the 4800 family is worth it, they all have the same chipset. I would even suggest looking at the 4600 family for those on a budget. The 512 MB also have decent ratings, unless you plan on running full out (and even then if you really read the FPS differences) there is not a massive difference between models. They all can run at max resolution with all the bells and whistles and they are still impressive.


I have also always been pro Nvida, this is my first ATI card and I am really pleased

that is my .02...