Hi,

My current system specs are

Motherboard: Gigabyte P35-Ds3l
Processor: Intel e8400 @ 3.6ghz
RAM: 4gb OCZ PC 6400
Hard drive: 320gb 7200 rpm
GPU: Diamond ATI RADEON HD 3850 (256mb)
OS: Windows Vista Home Premium x64
Games I primarily play: TF2, Quake Wars, Unreal Tournament, Crysis, most new stuff

So anyway, I've decided that i want to get a new graphics card as my 3850 does not cut it anymore, i've overclocked and it's just not giving me the results i've wanted. I purchased a Zotac 8800gt AMP! edition last week and it's overclocked to 700mhz/2000mhz (fyi). I'm on vacation currently so the card has yet to be opened. The card cost me $145 from Newegg. I just learned that the 4850 will be coming out on the 25th and i'm wondering if it makes sense to buy that card. When i got my 3850 it had heat issues and the drivers were buggy for 2 months, but if the performance will be significantly better than an 8800gt (overclocked) then i'll get that card.

What do you think? I can return the card to Newegg for full price and my budget was $200 so a 4850 is nothing extreme. I just remember that my 3850's fan speed doesn't go over 25% and the drivers were poor and glitchy for months. I don't want to use rivatuner.



Thanks for any help,
Mersonix

4850 is not significantly better than 8800gt. Either go for 4870 or keep the 8800gt.

hard to tell havent seen benchmark for the ati cards but the 4850 will be faster then the 8800gt dont no how much maybe 15-20% just guessing.

really? i've read reports of the 4850 being around the same level as the 9800GTX. not sure how accurate that is tho.

thanks for your input, i was looking at a french preview and data showed the 4850 to be betwen -10/+20 in FPS difference, i don't honestly think that that is worth $50 and the Zotac card is overclocked 100 mhz so i guess my card is the way to go, plus i can just slide it in instead of more waiting since it's at my house.

anyone else have other thoughts?

even if you agree please post,

actually, more data seems to show that a 4850 is the better way to go. this is killing me- this is why i posted.

overclocked 8800gt or 4850 (which i could potentially overclock)

Yes, that's true. But the problem is, 9800gtx = g92 8800gts, and is only around 10% faster than 8800gt at stock. 10% is not worth a $200 upgrade.
http://en.expreview.com/2008/04/03 [...] review/12/

My 8800gt comes factory overclocked and it's about equal to which ever 8800 is the best. (i sound like a brat saying that), So is this correct

My OC'd 8800gt = 8800GTX = 9800GTX = 4850

except the 4850 is hot and has buggy drivers so it makes sense to keep my card?

Not sure about hot and buggy, but otherwise correct.

well i've read hot, and i quote myself the day after i installed my 3850 "I am never, ever f***ing buying an ATI product again" i returned 2 3850s because i thought they weren't working correctly, they were, the drivers were bad. So it looks like everything is alright. I can finally play quake wars.

What should I download for my 8800gt

do i download drivers in advance
what drivers do i get
will i need riva tuner or ntune

thanks for any help

Don't you already have a 8800gt?

And you can download driver in advance. Don't install it until you put the card in, of course. Use the latest non-beta driver. Use Rivatuner, it's easier and more stable than ntune.

when do i unistall the current drivers and take out my 3850.

i'm currently on vacation and i'll install everything friday or saturday

hey mersonix,
I've been reading your post and if I were you I would go with the 4850! It's Direct X 10.1 compare to Nvida Direct X 10! It's a newer generation card! And lately, ATI has been fixing their drivers better than ever. Im currently looking to spend about $200 and im targeting the 4850! Two 4850 Ati cards beat the GTX280 by 30% in performance and cost a lot less and use less power! Due your research and you will find out! You can purchase a 4850 for $189 and heres the link http://fxvideocards.com/Sapphire-H [...] 16386.html

The 4850 is already performing better than the 9800GTX on the french website you were talking about. Anyways, its up to you. This is just my 2cent!

Wow, that's surprising about your ATI driver woes. I've never had an issue with them compared to my old NVidia driers. As to hot, this is partially due to subpar cooling paste and mediocre cooling on the 50's. I've heard if you replace the paste on the 4850, it can reduce temps somewhat. In fact, I'd guess that the 4850 will use less power than a G92. Still, an 8800GT is a great card and I'd probably stick with it is I had one, though it is really too early to tell. Real benches should be out next week.

Thanks guys, i'll stick with the 8800gt (4850 may be better). Both cards are great, and after talking with some smart people and having them help me look at benchmakrs, it looks like both cards will run anything you throw at them so it doesn't matter which you have. Also paying to ship the card back to Newegg and the 15% restocking fee is a factor.

Well, i'll install the cards saturday after work, and i'll give you my verdict then.

thanks for all the help folks,
Mersonix

P.S.

Where can I sell my 3850?