GTX 280 RMA: They give me a new card

[alllucky7s]

So I RMA'd a Gainward GTX 280 to this website (overheating problems). Now they offer me a new one, because the gainward is not produced anymore.

I must find one that is about the same price (250€, or $350) . The difference will be paid by me or them depending if it's more or less.

Do you have any suggestions? The website is this: http://www.pccomponentes.com/
I know it's in spanish, but bare with me. Here are the links for ATI and nVidia respectively, ordered by pricing. Just look at the names of the cards and prices and look for the specs somewhere else if you need to.

This is my motherboard: http://www.pccomponentes.com/ASUS_M2N68_CM_SOCKET_AM2_.html
I don't think it has support for SLI or Crossfire, so I should get just one card. Confirm/deny?

Any experience with this one? http://www.pccomponentes.com/POWERCOLOR_RADEON_HD4870_1GB_GDDR5.html

PD. Please indicate if I should get additional cooling for the card you suggest. And thank you very much.

 

[OvrClkr]

get the XFX :

http://www.pccomponentes.com/XFX_GEFORCE_GTX_285_1GB_GDDR3_PCI_E.html

 

[alllucky7s]

A guy on a spanish forum recommended this little jewel:

http://www.pccomponentes.com/SAPPHIRE_RADEON_HD_4890_VAPOR_X_2GB_GDDR5.html

I don't know, it's way cheaper and I've read great things about it. Any thoughts?

 

[OvrClkr]

That is another good choice, but I would still go with the XFX.......

 

[festerovic]

alllucky7s, I have the sapphire card you linked, it runs kinda hot compared to other cards.

+1 xfx. They have a good warranty.

 

[The_Blood_Raven]

OK, no! Get the sapphire, or any, 4890. The difference between it and the GTX 285 (XFX) isn't worth the price or even close to it. Get this, it has the great XFX service and is at a great price:

http://www.pccomponentes.com/XFX_RADEON_HD_4890_1GB_GDDR5.html

Do note that the Sapphire card DOES NOT run hot, I have 3 of them. It is up to you whether the aftermarket cooler is worth it to you or not.

 

[festerovic]

BR, they run hotter than my original 4870 (think its visiontek or powercolor). The one with the reference cooling design. It runs 10* hotter. Is it too hot? No. But it is hotter.
Also, he has credit up to $350, so the cost difference is not really an issue.

to the OP, consider a 4850x2 card also.

 

[darkvine]

festerovic you might have a card problem because I have never seen a Vapor-X run hotter then other other 4890's. With the fans set high and stock settings normal temps are usually around 64-70 at full load with good case airflow which is much less then the standard cooler at around 80. The only one I know of better is the toxic edition's heat pipes which kept the card at around 58c at full load.

+1 Vapor-X here. Sapphire doesn't have the best warranty but their cards are really good and that cooler is great. Or the 4850 X2 would be good too.

 

[obsidian86]

for the best results this https://www.pccomponentes.com/SAPPHIRE_RADEON_HD_4870_1GB_GDDR5_TOXIC_EDITION.html for the price or this for the power https://www.pccomponentes.com/XFX_RADEON_HD_4890_1GB_GDDR5_XXX___HAWX.html if you want something cool get the vapor x edition but cant seem to find a 1gig version

 

[OvrClkr]

Yea the 4850x2 is an ok card if you can fit it in your case......

I would rather buy 2 4850's (XFX) and x-fire.......

 

[obsidian86]

his board cant crosfire

 

[OvrClkr]

wooops.......

 

[alllucky7s]

I think I'm getting the X-Vapor, even though I could spend some money to get something above those 250€, I'd rather not, and this card seems to be pretty much what I'm looking for. Still, I'll have to tell the RMA department tomorrow, so there's plenty of time for discussion and choosing.

Also, since OvrClkr brought it up, how big are these cards (mainly the x-vapor and the xfx 285)? The 280 barely fits in my case. By barely I mean it invaded part of my hard drive space.

For anyone wondering why I'd get the X-Vapor over the standard one; I'd like the included cooling, since I don't want to get one for the standard one and void the warranty just to pay about the same price. And it has some better clocking too, so why not.
Cooling is now extremely important for me, because of my experience with the 280. I think my case didn't help either since it's not an airflow fanatic's dream, so good cooling will be appreciated in the cards. The case is a Planet Case Isis, which I can't seem to find an english website for. Maybe if you google...

 

[obsidian86]

ati cards tend to be a bit smaller then nvidia's
edit the 4890 is 1" shorter then the 280

 

[darkvine]

The 4890 is shorter and not as bulky with the Vapor-X cooler. The 285 is about the same size as he 280 as I recall, but I could be wrong.

 

[obsidian86]

the 280gtx is 10.5" long the 4890 is 9.5" long

 

[The_Blood_Raven]

BR, they run hotter than my original 4870 (think its visiontek or powercolor). The one with the reference cooling design. It runs 10* hotter. Is it too hot? No. But it is hotter.
Also, he has credit up to $350, so the cost difference is not really an issue.

to the OP, consider a 4850x2 card also.

That is simply because the 4890 is clocked higher. However it does not run hot, it is a pretty average card. A GTX 280 is FAR worse with heat and a GTX 285 is a little bit better on idle. This is all from experience as I've used all the cards in the same case.

Edit: Also do note that he said he would get the difference back from the supplier.

 

[The_Blood_Raven]

I think I'm getting the X-Vapor, even though I could spend some money to get something above those 250€, I'd rather not, and this card seems to be pretty much what I'm looking for. Still, I'll have to tell the RMA department tomorrow, so there's plenty of time for discussion and choosing.

Also, since OvrClkr brought it up, how big are these cards (mainly the x-vapor and the xfx 285)? The 280 barely fits in my case. By barely I mean it invaded part of my hard drive space.

For anyone wondering why I'd get the X-Vapor over the standard one; I'd like the included cooling, since I don't want to get one for the standard one and void the warranty just to pay about the same price. And it has some better clocking too, so why not.
Cooling is now extremely important for me, because of my experience with the 280. I think my case didn't help either since it's not an airflow fanatic's dream, so good cooling will be appreciated in the cards. The case is a Planet Case Isis, which I can't seem to find an english website for. Maybe if you google...

A GTX 280 is a damn hot card, even with good cooling a lot of people complain about it. The 4890 with the Vapor-X cooler will run quite cool comparatively.

 

[darkvine]

my friend leaves his Vapor-X fan on 100% and says he can only just barely hear anything at all and his tower sits on the desk next to his monitor so if you move it to the floor I am guessing you wouldn't hear it at all.

 

[alllucky7s]

I finally went with the Vapor-X. It's not on stock right now and it's friday, so it could be a week or even more until I get it. No hurry as long as it does arrive and plays as well as it should.

My motherboard will provide until then.

Thank you EVERYONE for your comments and suggestions, I really appreciated it. You just don't see these many quality replies in any other forums. You made this choice harder, which is actually a good thing. Knowing what you're getting into makes the harder choice a better choice.

I may keep you posted when I get the card in case you're interested.

 

[4745454b]

FYI, thats why the x2 cards were made. You don't need a CF/SLI board to run a 4850x2/4870x2/GTX295. The CF/SLI bridge is internal, so the chipset doesn't matter.

 

[alllucky7s]

Rescuing the post in case anyone is still interested in the Vapor-X. I got it like three weeks ago and I'm in love with it. It's been doing great so far. Temperatures are fine, a bit higher on idle than nVidia's, but I think that's to be expected. However, it doesn't usually go higher than 80 celsius on full, and that's great for me, specially since the "dynamic fan control" speeds are really conservative.

The only problem I have with this card is that it's making me notice how crappy the rest of the PC is, and how it's pushing this card back. I should've spent just a little more on CPU and mobo when I got it. Oh well.

See you around, and thanks for the help.

 

[The_Blood_Raven]

Glad you enjoy it, now go forth and frag some newbs!