Replace my Radeon HD 4870 X2

[JohnD]

Hello,
I'm running games @ 2560x1600 on my Radeon HD 4870 X2 that I bought a year or more ago.

Love the quality, but have grown tired of the fact that this one card is capable of raising the temperature of our study by 20 degrees F in about 90 minutes.

What's new that will run games well at 2560x1600 (and not cook the room)? All the charts here seem to focus on lower resolutions.

Many thanks in advance,
JohnD

 

[wa1]

5850 or 5870 would be good replacement...

 

[Bluescreendeath]

5850 or GTX470 = downgrade, the former will run much cooler

5870 = equal to the 4870x2, will run much cooler

2x5850 or 2x5870 or GTX480 or 5970 = upgrade, will run cooler than the 4870x2 (GTX480 will produce maybe the same amount of heat)

 

[jyjjy]

the ATI 5870 runs at the same temp

It doesn't matter what temperature the card runs at but rather how much heat the card gives off. They are different topics really. Basically the power used by a card in the end gets turned into heat. The HD5870 uses approximately half the power of the HD4870x2 so it should give off about half as much heat.

 

[Bluescreendeath]

Actually, we haven't even asked for his specs yet.

To OP, what is your:
CPU
RAM
Power Supply
budget
?

 

[jyjjy]

Why would anyone buy a card that perform's exactly the same as there current one?

Have you even read the original post or are you just basing everything you say on the thread title?

 

[JohnD]

Good Lord.

Many thanks to those you that took the time to read my post, and offer useful suggestions.

To clarify for others:
I am replacing the card because it acts as a damnable space heater. Yes, we have a box fan pushing the hot air out, which does a lovely job of heating the next room.

The performance of the card is fine. I don't feel the need to upgrade, but I don't want to downgrade, either.

Of critical importance is that the new card match the 2560x1600 performance of the current card with something that runs much cooler.

Machine specs, as requested:

■ GIGABYTE GV-R487X2-2GH-B Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB 512-bit (256-bit x 2) GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support
■ GIGABYTE GA-X48-DS4 LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard
■ CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power ...
■ Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
■ Western Digital Caviar Blue WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
■ Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor BX80570E8500

Budget is $250 - $300.

Again, many thanks for your efforts. They are appreciated.

 

[JofaMang]

It doesn't matter what temperature the card runs at but rather how much heat the card gives off. They are different topics really. Basically the power used by a card in the end gets turned into heat. The HD5870 uses approximately half the power of the HD4870x2 so it should give off about half as much heat.

This~

but for 250-300 bucks, you will have to downgrade. You can find 5850s for just under 300 now, so that will be your best bet, though you will lose frame-rates at 2560x1600. If you haven't factored in moneys from selling the 4870x2, then do so, and get a 5870, or you may be disappointed with your VGA performance.

I used to own a 4870x2 (a story long enough for two RMAs) and during the summer when the AC would have difficulty keeping up, I would enable V-sync. Most of my games at the time would run at well over 60fps, so by enabled V-sync, I was reducing the workload of the card (since it wasn't rendering more frames than what my monitor could display) and this had a very significant effect on the power bill and the heat given off. Of course, you are running a much higher resolution, about double my 1920x1080, so if your current titles aren't breaking 60, or much past, then this suggestion would be pretty useless, hah.

 

[Bluescreendeath]

$280-$320
5850 is about 15% weaker than the 4870x2. When overclocked, it will almost match the 4870x2, but still run much cooler. The stock 5850 runs something on the lines of 50% or 1/2 the electricity and heat output compared to the 4870x2.

$300-$340
The GTX470 performs better than the 5850 and 5-10% worse than the 4870x2. It will equal or be slightly better than the 4870x2 when overclocked. But uses more electricity too. The stock GTX470 is about 80% the electricity and heat output compared to the 4870x2.

 

[JohnD]

Best answer selected by JohnD.

 

[jyjjy]

Yeah, for that kind of money you should OC an HD5850. However if you are getting a new card you can Ebay the HD4870x2. I should sell for at least $300 from what I'm seeing and likely more.

 

[Eppingmarky]

Having just bought a 4870x2 off eBay last Friday, for $260 au, the second hand market i believe is booming with bargains. I agree that the card runs terribly hot,heating my Australian study in the winter quite nicely.
My options would be, buy two 460 for sli for a littleb bit more than planned and at a reduction in specs, or invest in new cooling methods ie water cooling perhaps with a external to you room heat exchanger. Or a new ac for the room, lol
Selling your card now seems a poor decision when it still competes well to other cards, hold out for the cooler months n save a quid till u really really need the upgrade!