HD 4670 needs to go...

durkmusic

durkmusic

New Member
I have had the Biostar Radeon HD 4670 for a couple months now and I am absolutely ready to upgrade. My little cousins always come over and want to play a game called sims 3. The only problem is unless I have the graphics settings on their lowest setting, the game does not run smoothly. I want something that will run sims 3 at the highest graphics settings with no problem. So basically just an upgrade from what I have.

DDR3 DirectX 10.1 PCI Express 2.0

Also I don't want suggestions on specific cards I just want to know what to look for. For example a radeon hd with at least 1gb ddr3 etc.

Thanks a lot.
 
That's the only game that will be played on this computer. I also don't want to spend much so just as cheap as possible but still better.

Would it be possible for the new card to be combined with the old one using hybrid crossfirex?
 
Last edited:
The board you have does support Xfire, but I would not recommend it at all.

Also I don't want suggestions on specific cards I just want to know what to look for. For example a radeon hd with at least 1gb ddr3 etc.
Click to expand...

Thats actually pretty unreasonable to want that. The specs that you see at places like newegg have very little affect on performance. Ram is THE most overrated thing on video cards. You could have a 1gb 9400gt, and a 256mb 8800gt destroys it as far as performance. So there really is no way but to tell you what model cards to look for.

You say you don't want to spend a lot of money, so the only real thing to do is look for older cards but still better ones than your 4670. I would keep a lookout for a 4850, in the price range of $60-80. Thats about the most bang for the buck you'll get right there.

Most people would recommend a 5770, but at $150 or so it's probably out of your ''cheap'' price range.
 
I understand that you don't want people to recommend specific cards to you, but like 87dtna stated that is somewhat of an unreasonable request.

You can get a GTS 250 for around $80 - $100 with mail in rebates. Something like a 9800 GT might also fit your needs and they are very reasonably priced.
 
5670, bout $100 and same performance as a 9800gt plus DX11 on the side, if you care for that. lower power consumption too, requires no pci-e 6 pin cable.
 
joh06937 said:
you could always go the used route though.
Click to expand...

Thats why I stated to find a 4850...used. But you are meaning a used 5770? Eh, they still go for $120-130 used, not much savings there I'd rather buy new and get a warranty for $20 more.
 
If all you are playing is sims 3, you don't need a 4850, it would be huge overkill and a waste of money, as would a 5770. My 8600GT SLI ran Sims 3 at full settings, and they are crap by the standards of today, and even at the time weren't the greatest. You will be fine to get a HD3850 or 8800GT and run it on high settings without a single problem, and you can get them very cheap used.

I would like to point out, that I have a HD3870 for sale, that would play it at highest settings, and would be cheaper than a new card that you won't utilise the power of
 
Aastii said:
If all you are playing is sims 3, you don't need a 4850, it would be huge overkill and a waste of money, as would a 5770. My 8600GT SLI ran Sims 3 at full settings, and they are crap by the standards of today, and even at the time weren't the greatest. You will be fine to get a HD3850 or 8800GT and run it on high settings without a single problem, and you can get them very cheap used.

I would like to point out, that I have a HD3870 for sale, that would play it at highest settings, and would be cheaper than a new card that you won't utilise the power of
Click to expand...

You're quite the salesman! ;)
 
Aastii said:
If all you are playing is sims 3, you don't need a 4850, it would be huge overkill and a waste of money, as would a 5770. My 8600GT SLI ran Sims 3 at full settings, and they are crap by the standards of today, and even at the time weren't the greatest. You will be fine to get a HD3850 or 8800GT and run it on high settings without a single problem, and you can get them very cheap used.

I would like to point out, that I have a HD3870 for sale, that would play it at highest settings, and would be cheaper than a new card that you won't utilise the power of
Click to expand...

A 3870 is barely better than a 4670, and a 4670 is the same performance as a 3850. And actually if you crank the AA and AF than thats where the 4670 shines compared to the 3850 and 3870.

http://techreport.com/articles.x/15559/6

8600gt's in SLI is around the same performance as an 8800gts 320mb, which beats a 4670 pretty easily.


He's also playing at 1080p, maybe you weren't. He needs a decent card. A 4850 can be had for right around $70 now, it's a cheap for it's performance, and this is a WAY better upgrade than a 3870 should he choose to play other more graphically challenging games in the future.

Also, you want $40 for your 3870, and the likelyhood of him being in hte UK is slim so shipping would be a good bit extra. Convert that to USD and you are probably looking at $60 shipped....when he can get a 5830 for $70-


http://cgi.ebay.com/SAPPHIRE-100265...tem&pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item19be51713d

EDIT- Actually just found this 4830 BNIB for $64 shipped-

http://cgi.ebay.com/MSI-ATI-Radeon-...tem&pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item255c5aee0b
 
Last edited:
87dtna said:
A 3870 is barely better than a 4670, and a 4670 is the same performance as a 3850. And actually if you crank the AA and AF than thats where the 4670 shines compared to the 3850 and 3870.

http://techreport.com/articles.x/15559/6

8600gt's in SLI is around the same performance as an 8800gts 320mb, which beats a 4670 pretty easily.


He's also playing at 1080p, maybe you weren't. He needs a decent card. A 4850 can be had for right around $70 now, it's a cheap for it's performance, and this is a WAY better upgrade than a 3870 should he choose to play other more graphically challenging games in the future.

Also, you want $40 for your 3870, and the likelyhood of him being in hte UK is slim so shipping would be a good bit extra. Convert that to USD and you are probably looking at $60 shipped....when he can get a 5830 for $70-


http://cgi.ebay.com/SAPPHIRE-100265...tem&pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item19be51713d

EDIT- Actually just found this 4830 BNIB for $64 shipped-

http://cgi.ebay.com/MSI-ATI-Radeon-...tem&pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item255c5aee0b
Click to expand...

I have seen a huge increase in performance with my 3870 over my 8600GT SLI, and the 3870 can still play any game on at least medium. I was going with what he said, which is that he is only going to be occasionally playing the sims, which is not graphically intensive in the slightest. It was on full settings @ 1280x1024 with a single 8600gt and still playing fine, so much so that when my sister was planning on building her system I was going to give her my 8600GT because all she played was The Sims.

If someone came on saying "I am building a computer just for internet, emails and word processing" you wouldn't put a high end card in the budget, because it isn't necessary for the use, same thing here (unless OP posts back saying there is a possibility they will be playing more hardware intensive games in the future)

danthrax said:
You're quite the salesman! ;)
Click to expand...

joh06937 said:
selling my 5770 for $125. it is xfx so you will get a lifetime warranty with it ;)
Click to expand...

I was doing it more to help rather than sell, it will sell one way or another, I wasn't trying to make it into a FS thread :P
 
Aastii said:
I have seen a huge increase in performance with my 3870 over my 8600GT SLI, and the 3870 can still play any game on at least medium. I was going with what he said, which is that he is only going to be occasionally playing the sims, which is not graphically intensive in the slightest. It was on full settings @ 1280x1024 with a single 8600gt and still playing fine, so much so that when my sister was planning on building her system I was going to give her my 8600GT because all she played was The Sims.

If someone came on saying "I am building a computer just for internet, emails and word processing" you wouldn't put a high end card in the budget, because it isn't necessary for the use, same thing here (unless OP posts back saying there is a possibility they will be playing more hardware intensive games in the future)
Click to expand...


If he was playing at 1280x1024 the 4670 would be plenty. But he's playing at 1080p.

You must not play with any AA or AF then, because the 3k series cards can't handle it.

I've owned a 3870 GDDR4 card, they don't handle 1080p well at all.

The whole point is, a 3870 is not much of an upgrade from a 4670. If he's gonna get a new card, why not spend $10-20 more for overkill rather than a ''slight'' upgrade?
 
Last edited:
My board doesn't support xfire? What do they mean when they say this:

You'll also have access to the most powerful and fastest video processing around when you install a discrete ATI video card that will work in conjunction with the onboard GPU for a unique Hybrid CrossFireX configuration. You'll also appreciate the HyperTransport 3.0 technology, which radically improves overall system efficiency.

That is only works in conjuction with the onboard card or something? Because it doesn't seem like it is doing that... I'm so confused.
 
you can use a graphics card to combine with your current onboard graphics or you can buy two similar graphics cards and combine them to achieve more performance. you board will support either.
 
durkmusic said:
My board doesn't support xfire? What do they mean when they say this:

You'll also have access to the most powerful and fastest video processing around when you install a discrete ATI video card that will work in conjunction with the onboard GPU for a unique Hybrid CrossFireX configuration. You'll also appreciate the HyperTransport 3.0 technology, which radically improves overall system efficiency.

That is only works in conjuction with the onboard card or something? Because it doesn't seem like it is doing that... I'm so confused.
Click to expand...

Your board supports Xfire, but like I said I don't recommend it to anyone who doesn't know much about hardware/software (no offense).

Hybrid Xfire is different, pretty much useless because no one uses a card thats compatible with the onboard graphics to enable hybrid XfireX.

Did you see the links I gave to the 4830? That would be a great upgrade for you at ~$70 shipped. What was your budget for this? You can always sell the 4670 for about $40 to get some back too.

http://cgi.ebay.com/SAPPHIRE-100265...tem&pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item19be51713d
 
Absolutely, it's overkill man you will have no trouble at any settings and even if you got a larger monitor you wouldn't have any trouble.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top