Radeon 4890 for $159.99 after MIR

[panic!]

Originally Posted by VincentVega

wait.....

the 8800GTS does physics just fine. I wonder if I could add a GTX275, and use that for video, and use the GTS for physics

Joe would probably know.

JOE?!?!!!!

I run a 260 and an 8600gt for physX/ extra monitors.

To me ati has always had dog shit drivers and terrible multi-monitor support/options available. Aside from the l4d stuttering the Nvidia drivers haven't cause any issues for me lately.

[VincentVega]

Good tip panic, thanks. Now that I'm using SLI.. my final concern is that I won't be seeing any improvement in source games. But since L4D and CS:S aren't that demanding, I think I'm okay for a little while. If I did have to upgrade, this would be damn tempting

[Dopefish]

4890 in question... $160 after rebate.
GTX 285... $330+ on Newegg.

Looking at the performance numbers above, you can see that the 4890 is mixed with the performance of the GTX 285 (4890 is actually better for the games we actually play, i.e. not Crysis).

I suppose if you have an old video card, and there's some games you really want to play right now but your video card isn't up for the task, then for $160 you can get a pretty nice upgrade for a cheap price.

[DennyCrane]

your SLI setup should comfortably future proof you for a year or 2. Your new rig sounds like a keeper.

[Tulkas]

Speaking about Mr. Vega here... he is good for the next 10 years (pending no specific failures).

[Craig]

well i'm about to buy one of these 4890's unless someone has a reason i shouldn't. the price is excellent and the reviews are great on this card.

[Craig]

this is the one i'm looking at: Newegg.com - ASUS EAH4890 TOP/HTDI/1GD5 Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

Asus for $204 after MIR. Has crazy good reviews and benches internet-wide while the MSI isn't as consistent if you read a lot of reviews.

[DennyCrane]

I implicitly trust Asus and Newegg. Doo Eet.

[VincentVega]

Originally Posted by Craig

well i'm about to buy one of these 4890's unless someone has a reason i shouldn't. the price is excellent and the reviews are great on this card.

Originally Posted by Craig

this is the one i'm looking at: Newegg.com - ASUS EAH4890 TOP/HTDI/1GD5 Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

Asus for $204 after MIR. Has crazy good reviews and benches internet-wide while the MSI isn't as consistent if you read a lot of reviews.

I am rethinking this. As a disposable/throwaway card, then yes. But, no physics like nVidia has... quite a few games use this now. You may not care. but anyone that has an 8600 or higher right now should stick with nVidia, and go for a board with at least 2 x16 slots. You can use one for physics, one for rendering, without the SLI connector.

If none of that concerns you, you might want to go with it then. I believe the default clock is 800Mhz. the one you pointed at is 900. I have seen enough 4890 benchmarks to know that the highest factory O/C clock is 1000 MHz, and is certainly worth paying the extra coin. 900 is well on the right track, and certainly better than factory

[TaxiDriver]

Just be a man and buy a real card.

Newegg.com - EVGA 017-P3-1295-AR CO-OP Edition GeForce GTX 295 1792MB 896 (448 x 2)-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

Joe and I have discussed this before and I forget the conclusion but I think we figured that buying a nice card within a couple months of release is just as cost effective as buying a value card and upgrading every year. Because even in a year this card will still be a beast plus I have a waterblock on it so when it is nearing the end of its life I have no qualms about overvolting the piss out of it.

Not to hijack your ATi thread pushing Nvidia but $520 isn't that much in the grand scheme of things... or maybe I'm just a rich jerk.