4870x2 or the 9800GT 1GB

Hi all, fairly new to the forum, and very new to Vista AND 64 bit.
The system in my sig came with an Nvidia 9800GT 1GB card, my first NV card, I've been partial to ATI and was seriously looking at the newer X2 cards, wanted to hear of any issues with these and Vista 64? I cant run crossfire, the MB doesnt support it, my PSU should hold up to it, its only a Q9550 quad so I'm not sure if I'd be bottlenecking the board with a card that might be faster then my board can take? Advice would be great, might ask for some help in tweaking a few things in Vista and the new card ( which ever I pick..) for performance. Oh and those who are running the 4870's....are ya cooling them? My XP box had a X1950 Pro that could fry an egg, so it was running 5 fans and a Zalman GPU cooler. Was wondering if the 4870's are being cooled or if the stocker's are working well enough.
Thanks all in advance!

Blaydrnnnr, I don't know anything about ATI, NVIDIA all the way here, but maybe this site can help you with your overclocking business, helped me anyway...:

Cyb3rGlitch Tutorials | How to Overclock CPUs and RAM

Amplid

Thanks Amplid, I'll check it out. Need all the help I can get!

I was looking at getting one of those too (4870x2).

Like most modern cards they supposidly run hot. I have read that they can run higher than 100c.

Your power supply looks like it would have the current on the 12v rails and the connectors to run it.

I wouldn't think many systems would be suitable for this card if your system would bottleneck it.

The only drawback to either choice is the delay time it takes for either ATI or Nvidia to get thier drivers optimized for all the applications. Time generally fixes that though.

A good place to get the bleeding edge view of the 4870x2 would be...

Rage3D

Yeah, that's what I thought when I started thinking about overclocking... Just print it down, read it first, then take it next to you and start...:D

(add to rep if you feel I helped..little scale beneath stewie)

Good luck (3.2GHz should work...),

Amplid

4870X2 no question, but you must have a good quality 650W plus PSU. By this I mean something like a Corsair 650W. Secondly the X2 will be miles faster than the 9800GT as the GT 2 years old technology.

Ignore the rubbish about the cards running hot, they start hot and never get too hot. By this I mean sure it idles @ 80C but it loads about 90C. It really is not much of an issue so long as you have good case cooling. Just make sure you have not got a load of dust in your system and a intake fan blowing over the GPU.

For reference I went from an 8800GTS 640mb to a 4870 512mb and it is night and day difference. If you need any help, then I am very knowledgeable on upgrading and running high end systems.

The following benchmarks were taken by AnandTech using the listed setup. So I would assume this answers your question about the 4870x2's compatibility with Vista x64.

CPU: Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770 @ 3.20GHz
Mobo: EVGA nForce 790i SLI
Drivers: Catalyst Press Driver (8.7)
RAM: 4 x 1GB Corsair DDR3-1333 7-7-7-20
OS: Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit SP1

Click to expand...

1st off......wrong card comparison...you should look at the gtx280 or the 9800gx2.....even then the 4870x2 will outperform them....but for a much larger amount of coin.

Nice Amplid.. giving out my Overclocking tutorial I sent you.. helped out huh. lol Good.

Well. ya either a 9800 or a 4870x2. lol the OBVIOUS card is the x2. it's 3 times better.

You're question should be more like this.
What should I get, a GTX280, or 260. or a 4870, or 4870x2.
Personally ya a 4870x2 would be nice. but it's huge, sucks TONS of power, and is hot as well.. could cook eggs on it.

a 4870 is enough for most games for now. Unless you play ALL the new stuff. you would be fine with it. 4870x2 is more for the e-peen than anything.

I'd get a 4870. or a GTX260. as the GTX260 is just as good as the 4870, but uses about 30watts less.. over time that makes a difference.

the GTX280 is almost as bad as the 4870x2 as in heat and power. I had one for a few days and it was getting to 104C.. thats HOT!

I had the option for the 4870 or the GTX260 and I got the GTX260.

Personally I'd get the GTX260. as you have an SLI board. and Nvidia would be better option for adding things down the road. give you room for improvements.

also is that an HP computer. cuz HP limits just about EVERYTHING. you can't overclock the ram, or the CPU.. the BIOS is all locked. it's lame. they limit way way to much stuff. but they are decent computers. they just take away your right to mod things and enjoy them.
You're system is strong enough for anything you wanna do. I'd upgrade the GFX card and be happy there.

depending on your PSU & the size monitor you have ...
one of the 4800s will destroy the 9800GT =(8800GT with added 512mb of pointless ram)


all high end cards run hot!!... its just a battle to find the right cooling config within your case

Haha, no copyright or somethin he? What you learn me, I must pass on
So Blaydrnnnr, the site is from xguntherc! LOL

Amplid

I was just givin you a hard time. No worries man but since your passing on great info I did give you some Rep points.

and Skunk is right. the 4870 is way way better than the 8800 GT, or 9800GT.
in his Sig he said he was a 1000w PSU. so he's good there. But the important question skunk asked is what size of a monitor do you have.. the only way you really Honestly NEED the 4870x2 is if you have a 30 inch screen or more. then it's ok. if you have a little HP h1907 or osmething then your fine with a single 4870. I'd get it or a GTX260. oh and my 260 stays very cool, overclocked from 576 to 700 it still idles around 51C. and load is around 63C.. the 4870 idles around 65C or more. you can always turn the fan speed higher tho.

have any more questions just ask.

4870 x 2 absolutely! for now the drivers are a problem, but nvidia can't do anything because they have already the best driver.

I don't know about that. ATI seems to release ok drivers. but soo often I hear people saying they waited forever for them, and they don't work. so now I'm back to what I used 6 months ago.

and with Nvidia they are constantly improving there drivers.. like from 177.41 drivers to 177.92 I got about a 10% increase on performance in my games. and about a 500 point increase in 3DMark06.. thats pretty decent. that extra 10% is always soo hard to get. I think Nvidia is ahead on the drivers thing.

just my opinion tho.

OK, thanks for the replies all.. I'm no stranger to upgrading cards, I know the PSU is OK, ( single rail for me ONLY!! ) and my monitor is LG 24 inch....Heat never scares me much with cards, I am a very experienced Zalman buyer..LOL Wish the heck I could clock this damn CPU though... thanks for the great opinions guys.. sorry to the NV people.. but I'm an ATI guy mostly.... they're drivers are usually better, ( IMO, NV updates alot because they need it..) and the 4870 drivers have had hotfixes pretty quicky after they came out so stability will come if not alreay here.. I've heard great things. But nott going into the ati vs NV thing.. I've just had really good luck and performance with them. Thanks again all... now.. this CPU????? LOL
Oh, and some of you were right.. I knew right off that the two cards I asked about were of completely different gens.. but I had a few people laying into me about why I would want to upgrade from the 9800GT....

Whatever you wanna buy, people that argue and get angry over the ATI vs NV thing is just lame. everyone has there own opinoin. I personally like all the driver releases by Nvidia because you can find whats best for you and your Individual system. with ATI if the newest thing is'nt what you want. than ur stuck using a year old driver. thats my problem. but whatver. thats not the issue. it's what you should get. Do whatever you wanna do.

the 9800GT is decent tho cuz it's the 1GB model. thats good cuz you're a 24 owner.

you can use programs to overclock. not as easy, or as good as BIOS Oc'n. but you can use programs. I've never had to so i don't know whats best. but the one that looks like car Speedometers seems to be very very popular. lol if that helps.

again, Good Luck. and enjoy.

I am an Nvidia fan.
The Ati 4870x2 is the first ever ati card i admit is better the any nvidia card.
I currently rate it the best video card....

xguntherc said:

the 9800GT is decent tho cuz it's the 1GB model. that's good cuz you're a 24 owner.

Click to expand...

hi all.....

Gunther are you referring to the fact he has a 24'' monitor ..& that the 1gb vram will help...??

it wont!!..

A 1gb GPU with a 256bit bus is POINTLESS!!
it bottlenecks severely due to the amount of bandwidth it can carry..... giving no benefit at all.... hence the GTX280 having a 512bit bus (256bit per 512mb) & the 260 having a 448bit bus & 896mb ram ...

this is done to utilize the extra vram

that said the 9800GT is a more than capable card & OP if im being honest there is not much reason to currently upgrade the card....its still capable of running most games maxed & will do for a while to come .....
but the extra vram on a current gen card is a gimmick

it may struggle slightly @ 1920x1200 everything maxed ...so i guess that would justify the need to upgrade .....a 4870 will push this res with full AA & AF no probs at all

Thanks for all the info..great replies. Cant tell you how much I appreciate the responses.
Gunther: Havent looked at the clocking programs. But thanks for the info.

Yea, your right Skunk. forgot about the 256 bit interface.. ya thats true, it bottlenecks a lot.

oh and SWAT, it's good that you rate it the best card.. cuz At the moment..
it "IS" the best card. so thats what we should think of it..

For now at least.!