New Graphics card

[Trigger]

It seems im in the mood for creating threads but anyhow many of you may have heard that my 8800GT has now decided to call it a day.

So i need a replacement but ive been out of the hardware loop for a bit and am hearing differing things from people.

Right just now im looking at an :ATI 4890, 4870x2 or a GTX 285.

Bear in mind i like to play all the top spec games looking nice but dont know where to start with overclocking.

So which to go for? Or is it worth waiting a bit for anything?

[Lexity]

The ATI 4890x2 is coming out in a few days/weeks, that will blow everything completely out of the water, it will surpass the 295 GTX in terms of power. Or so I've heard :p.

[ez64]

running a brand new hot ATI card in this weather, you are a braver man than I :D

[Chalex4]

It really depends on what you are looking to spend, and whether you have a preference between Nvidia and ATI.

[VoX]

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/4GB-Asus-Dual-GTX-285-MARS-LE-55nm-PCI-E-20(x16)-Mem-4968MHz-GDDR3-GPU-1296Mhz-480-Cores


That should do the trick :D.


In serious terms, the GTX275 (http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/896MB-Asus-GTX-275-PCI-E-20-(x16)-2322MHz-GDDR3-GPU-633MHz-240-Cores-2x-DL-DVI-I-HDTV) or GTX285 (http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/1GB-Asus-GTX-285-55nm-PCI-E-20(x16)-Mem-2484MHz-GDDR3-GPU-648MHz-240-Cores-2x-DVI-I-HDTV) will do perfectly, plus they are both overclockable cards (or should be) so when you need a bit more power, it's there for you to unleash.

ATI Cards run hot, so I'd pass on running one in this weather myself.

[ez64]

Although all the 2** cards do run quite hot as well so dont forget to give it good cooling and space inside a decent case.

[Trigger]

So your saying a GTX 285 is better in the long run than the two other brands i gave you, Ive always had Nvidia cards but i heard that ATI have got better and you get more of your moneys worth out of it

[VoX]

ATI are cheaper and you do get your monies worth, however I have had very bad experiences with their drivers and they run a bit too hot for my liking, although I wouldn't put down the opportunity to trade my GTX280 in for 2x 4890s :p.

[Lexity]

They've just released new drivers, a couple of people I know who have ATI cards said the new drivers were like having a brand new card...massive improvements all round.

[Colonel Mitch]

Ati drivers have always been fine on xp, and they were only dodgy on vista when it first came out.
ATi cards do run hot, my card and my old 1900xtx run at around 110*C fully loaded, but they can safely go hotter.

Saying i dont like then coz they run too hot in my opinion is like saying this is a motorway but in my opinion i think 30 is top speed.

If its designed for LOL*C then its fine.

The 4890x2 will be teh pro but will also be muchos £.

The 4870x2 is a damn good card.
The 4890 i believe is decent too.

If your looking at spending a significant amount of money but not wanting £lol id go with eitehr a single 4890 or a 4870x2.

Also overclocking ati cards is easy and (relativley) safe, Catalyst Control Centre can do it for you :D

[Trigger]

Thanks for the input but now im more unsure then ever, ill keep researching :P