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[muddi900]

While I don't have a monitor yet, it'll probably be 1440x900. Is 4870 really necessary for this, or would a 4850 be sufficient?

If I do get a 4870, is this PSU ok



Antec EA650 650W ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371015)

[hunterx280]

Depends, what kind of games are you looking at playing? Is this just a basic WoW machine or do you want to play Crysis and Fallout 3. The 4850 should handle either of those on medium and maybe even some high settings at 1440x900. The 4870 has a bigger fan but I have actually seen some benchmarks where the perform the same. Here is a direct comparision. (http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/charts/gaming-graphics-charts-q3-2008/compare,735.html?prod[2114]=on&prod[2116]=on)

That power supply should be fine but I doubt you could do Crossfire if you ever wanted to. If you are really interested here is a list of PSUs certified for ATI's video cards. (http://game.amd.com/us-en/crossfirex_components.aspx?p=3)

[Ancalagon]

You wouldnt even need a 4850 to be honest - but I'd probably get one anyway because they are good value for money and will play games well for quite a well. So yes, a 4870 is definitely overkill.

The only thing with the 4850 is that they produce lots of heat, and vent it directly into your case. If your case has half decent cooling you should be fine, otherwise I'd recommend buying a the HIS 4850 IceQ4, which has a better cooling solution.

[hunterx280]

You wouldnt even need a 4850 to be honest - but I'd probably get one anyway because they are good value for money and will play games well for quite a well. So yes, a 4870 is definitely overkill.

The only thing with the 4850 is that they produce lots of heat, and vent it directly into your case. If your case has half decent cooling you should be fine, otherwise I'd recommend buying a the HIS 4850 IceQ4, which has a better cooling solution.

I agree about the heating. I went with the 4870 for as much life out of the thing as possible. It's a great card but my roommate and another friend of mine both went with the 4850 and they are both loving it too.

[muddi900]

I actually have a 4850 on my system. All games I've tried play great at highest settings, but none of them is crysis. I'm building a system for my brother(or rather my dad), who has a larger budget. He'll never go crossfire, but I want to know if that supply can actually support a single 4870.

[harle]

The power supply should easily be able to handle a 4870. Here (http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp) is a good site to go to if you want to calculate the power requirement of your components

[Wackman3000]

Not sure what kind of monitor you plan on running, but your average 20-22'' LCD's are usually running at 1680x1050 native.

And I would get the 4870. Price-performance ratio is great and you can catch them at a great price if you do some shopping around.

[muddi900]

Not sure what kind of monitor you plan on running, but your average 20-22'' LCD's are usually running at 1680x1050 native.

And I would get the 4870. Price-performance ratio is great and you can catch them at a great price if you do some shopping around.

17-19" monitors here are 1440x900. Third World Rules!

[Wackman3000]

I can't seem to ever recall seeing a 17'' widescreen LCD monitor since I got into this hobby, which granted was only a few years ago.

I feel for you my friend, I truly do.

[muddi900]

Oh don't be sorry! Living in the third world sucks. Being a rich bastard in the third world is AWESOME. I am buying everything from America except the case and the monitor. Even those because they would be a huge hassle for my parents to bring out here.

Now can someone pretty please answer my query about the PSU.

[Disgustipated]

That PSU is absolutely fine.

[Stmfuller]

for money vs performance, I vote for the 4850.
the 4870 is a card for people with too much extra money...and at that point, if you have enough for one, I'd buy 2

[KingGorilla]

I have to concur, the difference in price between the 4850 and 4870, let alone some of the 8800 NvIdia cards, is far vaster than the 1 or2 frames per second difference I see at most sites. Now that is for Crysis.
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/gaming-graphics-charts-q3-2008/Crysis-v1-21,756.html

As you get into RTS titles, which means more going on at once on screen, the differences get larger.
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/gaming-graphics-charts-q3-2008/World-in-Conflict-v1-05,789.html

There is not really a "best" video card, you need to go by what performs better with the games that you like to play.

[muddi900]

That PSU is absolutely fine.

Thank you.

[KingGorilla]

I would suggest looking for an Energy Star certified PSU, but I am a hippie.