4870 base vs. factory OverClocked versions

[doctor lo]

Edited Yuka 😉

And it makes sense wonderingwhatis. I think I'll be either standard, or one thats only a bit more expensive... cos even if u can get lower temps with the standard cooling by adjusting... it must be a lot louder to get the same temps than the improved ones.

 

[wonderingwhatis]

I keep mine @ 28% fan speed which is pretty darn quiet.

I also have a 'game' profile if i'm going to be playing for hours at a time where the fan is 70%; now THAT is loud (not loud enough to hear over my games though haha)!!!! BUT when I run the fan that high the GPU stays around 45 celsius!!!!!!

 

[Katamarino]

Where did you find the TOXIC for sale?

 

[doctor lo]

Where did you find the TOXIC for sale?

In Spain, where I live, more exactly here: http://www.alternate.es/html/productDetails.html?artno=JBXSU7

Its supposed to be available during September... but is not yet.

 

[grizewald]

Just ran into this thread from a google search.

I can totally agree with Yuka on this one, and from recent practical experience.

I just changed the two Sapphire HD3870 OC Editions that I had in my system
for one Club3D HD4870. Standard clocks: GPU 750MHz RAM 900MHz.

Immediately, it was obvious that the default fan profile is rubbish. The card
was reporting over 70C at idle! Once I had reprogrammed the BIOS with a new
profile and managed to burn the new BIOS without bricking the card, I had 52C
idle and less than 63C through a run of 3DMark06!

So then I got to thinking 'I wonder how this thing overclocks?'.

I ran the standard 'Auto-tune' in Catalyst Control Center and got:

GPU 780Mhz RAM Clock 1090MHz

With the same fan profile, the card runs two degrees warmer at both idle and
load!! A longer 'Very High' session in Crysis proved the card to be perfectly stable
at this speed.

Here come the big 3DMark scores! Or so I thought. Even though the card handles
well above the memory levels of the 'OC' editions, and nearly the same GPU clock,
my overclock adds about 500 points to my 3DMark06 score... (17234)

So, to the original poster; save your money and stick with the stock card!

 

[doctor lo]

Thanks grizewald. Its nice to hear first hand experiences

I guess I´ll go for the standard... and if needed buy an aftermarket cooling system.

So.. how is it with the club3d ?? Im just worried cos not many people seem to talk about them.. and the few that do so say that they use not so high quality components.. :-S


Greetings and thanks again.

 

[grizewald]

I've had no problems with Club3D cards.

Previously I had an X1650 for my daughter's machine and
now this HD4870. No problems with either. The HD4870 is
identical to the ATI reference design, including the cooling,
so I can't see any reason to prefer one reference card over
another.

In this case I got the Club3D version as it was slightly
cheaper than the other ones available.

You most likely won't need an aftermarket cooler unless you
want to go watercooled, but that's expensive and loads of
trouble from what I've been reading.

 

[doctor lo]

Thanks everyone I just ordered a standard Sapphire HD4870 512MB. There was a special offer at an online shop for 199€ which is good price for Spain, and I didnt think it twice. I´ll order the rest of the components soon and start building 😀

Cheers

 

[-Fran-]

Gratz on your buy =)

Enjoy the card and tell us how you liked it =)

Esop!

 

[spathotan]

Damn, that Toxic one is niiiice looking. Id seriously sell my current 4870 and get that if I didnt have a AC Twin Turbo on the way.

 

[doctor lo]

Gratz on your buy =)

Enjoy the card and tell us how you liked it =)

Esop!

Thanks. Is the first part I buy.. so it will sitll take a few days untill I buy the rest and build it... But of course I will, and I´ll put some benchmarks and so on in case anyone is interested.

Damn, that Toxic one is niiiice looking. Id seriously sell my current 4870 and get that if I didnt have a AC Twin Turbo on the way.

I know... 😀 But at least in Spain it was a 70€ premium... Anyway, if you take a look, the photo on Sapphire´s webpage of the STANDARD HD4870 (yes, its the one that I posted in this thread), has been updated, now it looks like its gonna have the same kind of cooling system of the toxic !!!

 

[-Fran-]

Wow, if they improve the cooling solution on the "stock" 4870 it will be a "must buy" video card if you think about getting a 4870. Hope they don't charge a big premium, or do it like on the 4850: keep the price and improve the cooling solution with a board re-design *.*

Esop!

 

[spathotan]

I put the 3870 with the Toxic Vapourchamber cooler on it in a co-workers PC, and the damn thing ran at 38c under max load, and its a single slot cooler. I expect great results with this 4870 one, highly susgested.

 

[jkamb]

Very interesting thread. I am ready to buy a 4870 myself and I too want it to last as long as possible. After my research the last 2 weeks I have decided to go with Powercolor PCS+ HD 4870 1GB GDDR5. It got a Zerotherm cooler, factory overclocked with 1GB vram. I was in Singapore last week and found this card everywhere for 190 - 210 euro. I didnt get it cause warranty only valid in Singapore. I saw the Gainward GS you mention, it costs about 220 euro. People and customer owners didn't really like Gainward's name (too many returns is 1 thing I remember them saying). Also the smaller coolers noise problem is for real. So I decided to go with that specific Powercolor card. I am just waiting for it to appear in Greece, where I live. Can't wait...