A hundred bucks for a 4850 versus about twice that for a 4890. How much fun do you expect to extract from the purchase before the inevitable $350 DX11 upgrade?

Zip Zoom Fly has the MSI R4890-T2D1G-OC Radeon HD 4890 OC 1GB DDR5 PCI-E Video Card for $190 $30 using eBillme for New Customers - $30 rebate [Exp 7/31] = $130 with free shipping. Features a core clock of 880 MHz, memory clock of 3996 MHz, and is HDCP compliant.

Saw that and thought of you....4890 OC for $130...

While Nvidia's coverage sampled antialiasing is fantastic, and its transparency AA is in my opinion superior to AMD's alternative

The Coverage sampled anti-aliasing is a downgrade from the traditional multi-sampling aa. Here, take a look at this chart from the G80 white paper:

http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/video/NVIDIA/G80/aacomparison.jpg

CS aa offers less color and z samples at higher aa levels compared to MS aa. In fact, 16x CS aa, which is Nvidia's 16xQ, offers the same number of stored colors and Z samples for the added pixels as 4x MS aa.

As for the transparent texture anti-aliasing modes, Nvidia's mulit-sampling transparent aa is hardly different than the original MS aa, and is worse than ATI's performance Adaptive aa.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/quality_vs_quantity_...

After seeing my bro go through a couple of 8800GTs, I've become rather aware of which companies are worth buying from. EVGA is awesome.

It was cool to see XFX start making ATI cards.

Just cause this is a 4800 series thread, I'll throw in my experience with an Asus 4850, running dual monitors.

I got the TOP model - slightly overclocked with a Zalman cooler stock, and it was ok but slightly buggy on Win2k, maybe moreso since I was using wildcat drivers since Win2k wasn't officially supported. It replaced a dying 8800gt which was barely out of warranty. Which brings me to another point - if it doesn't have at least a 3 year warranty, I now refuse to buy it.

So after switching to Vista, all through the winter the 4850 was pretty stable, but as spring came, so cometh the blue screen. Downclocking the card helped slightly, but the weather was getting warmer.

The VRM's are hugely hot. Hotter IMO than anything in a computer should be, so I took an old slot 7 heatsink and split it with a Dremmel as it's width was perfect to fit over all three VRM's. Add a few globs of Arctic Silver and a cable tie, and nothing is irreversable or with some cleaning detectable if a visit to the warranty fairy is needed.

The room has been 20°F hotter then it was all winter. I have never seen a blue screen since the day I put the cooler on.

bustin' makes you feel good?

IMO, the thrill gotten when playing with new hardware warrants a new 1Gb 4850 or 4870 and then when the newest bestest comes out take your time, think it through and pick one to obtain that new hardware thrill again.
Enjoy your journey.

http://support.visiontek.com/warranty/limited_warranty.html

Put the stock cooler back on and send it back to Visiontek is what I would tell most folks. Too bad your cooler modifications are now published on the web, otherwise you might have a chance at a replacement/repair.

Guess you have to hope that what Fubb had mentioned is true. Maybe they'll take the chance on you and fix it anyway. Your blog entry could either help or hurt you from that standpoint. We hope you'll update us..

: /

Your memory is not failing. It is the VRM.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=224958

I am on my fourth Power Color card. I did not overclock or abuse in any way. Using RivaTuner, I documented the VRM temp. increase over time and eventual failure.

On the FOURTH card, Power COLOR finally sent a different model. Hopefully they have this resolved now

Buy your next card from XFX or some brand that has a competent warranty, then you won't feel so screwed. And, as it happens, usually the brands with competent warranties have higher quality cards...

warranty?.... if expired and your feeling unjustly left in the cold buy a 2nd Visiontek card identical and send the defective one back to the retailer you purchased from with the new receipt opting for either a refund or a 2nd card and crossfire them for blazing hard core gaming goodness..... yeah yeah it's a less honorable but more fun choice.... .and besides (devil on your shoulder whispers) "who did they think they were screwing you on the warranty anyway".

the moral direction in case the previous makes you feel uncomfortable.

if expired replace with an XFX next time and get a lifetime warranty... I'd recommend a 4890 but a 4870 is still a very good video card selling for a very nice price nowadays and choose one with a better cooling solution from within XFX's lineup or one with the same cooling solution and use your aftermarket assembly on it.

I highly recommend Sapphire's Vapor-X cooling system. There are HD4870 and HD4890 cards:

vapor-x => not overclocked, only change from stock is the cooler
toxic => overclocked and the new cooler
atomic => high-end overclocked and the new cooler.

I have the HD4890 Toxic and it's deadsilent in 2D mode (using ATI Tray Tools) and barely audible under load.

Pick up another 4870. These are incredible value right now and unlike their earlier counterparts with temperatures high enough to fry an egg, newer versions have superior coolers & performance. I recently picked up a HIS ICEQ 4 Turbo card (an absolutely beautiful card) at a great $153 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161265). The card had a $15 mail in rebate (of which i opted to scarifice $2 to get sooner) and it came with a copy of battle forge. I mailed my rebate some 2 weeks ago, it has been approved and i should get the $13 visa card this week. I also sold the copy of battleforge for $15 so if you tally it all up, the final price is $125. For a "jacked up" version of a 4870, $125 is a STEAL! Check out the cards from XFX, they got some pretty decent cards and very good prices.

I had an HD 4870 with the PCS+ from Powercolor. It also had a very high core clock (800 MHz) and high memory (950 MHz). To my knowledge there hasn't been an HD 4870 with higher clocks since.

The cards memory fried just like the authors. Except I had a 80 mm (I think) fan mounted on an angle blowing upwards to the card. I installed it several weeks after buying. When I heard about these heat issues. That fan gets its air from another fan pulling in outside air. It probably never got above 28 C. Still failed.

It's the third party coolers that are sketchy on cooling the VRM's.

The thing is still in RMA two months after being shipped off to Powercolor. They shipped me back an X1650 Pro for some guy in Michigan. Don't know how they got that confused with Texas.

Still no response on what I should do...

MARS 295. go go go!

VisionTek Radeon HD 4870 512MB

VisionTek Products LLC, (“VisionTek”) is pleased to warrant to the original purchaser (“Warrantee”) of the graphics card (“Product”), that the product will be free from manufacturing defects in material or workmanship for the lifetime of ownership of the product when given normal and proper usage.

http://support.visiontek.com/warranty/limited_warranty.html

Sounds like u can RMA it, so all is not lost.
Or is there a reason you can not RMA it?

IMO, if you want a quiet PC you have to get away from the stock AMD/nVidia coolers.

I have a 4850 with a Zalman cooler I originally bought for a 7600GT. I put those little stick on RAM sinks on all the other chips contacted by the original heat sink. No problems and the fan cannot be heard above the rest of the system.

AMD chips seems to fail more often for me, I think simply because they put less effort into cooling than the green team. The reference coolers have improved dramatically since the X1000 series but they're still questionable.

Look at the evidence. Either nVidia is stricter on it's vendor's cooling design, or more AMD partners are dissatisfied with the reference AMD coolers.

Go to Newegg and compare the percentage of AMD boards with nonstandard coolers and then do the same thing for nVidia

I'm still running my 2900 pro at 1.35v with the stock cooler and a 275mhz overclock on the core. I got it the week it came out. No problems. Waiting on DX11. I'd say your cooler is the bastard here.

Still, the disappointment is palpable. While I eye the Radeon HD 4890 for the opportunity to tweak it, I can't help but feel kind of screwed here. It's unfortunate. I didn't want to splash out on another card, since I quite liked my 4870, but what am I gonna do now?

One of the reasons I have stuck with NVIDIA is the quality of cards from EVGA.

Other than things you have mentioned like Physx, cuda and transparency AA. The folding at home performance is untouchable.

lol at the ati card couldn't handle the heat......lol story writer up there has no idea about case cooling.........

I HAVE a 4870 running a stock speeds in a mATX case with "ZERO" heat issues.......and I am using the stock cooler......

Echoing what others have already said - it is unfortunate that you chose to replace the stock cooler, but what's done is done.

If you want a barely-used stock HD4870 512MB from Palit, I have one. I don't use it for the heat it generates in my HTPC and the noise the fan is making. I swapped it out for an 8800GTS 512MB.

But, like I said, ping me if you want a very inexpensive HD4870 512MB, barely used, never overclocked. Cover me for the shipping and a good bottle of wine or a case of beer and we will call it even.

CUDA isn't the only way to get hardware accelleration in Premiere Pro, despite what nVidia would like you to think.

I heard when people use aftermarket coolers the stock memory sinks dont get cooled properly or something?
anyway, 4850 is not bad and should play ghostbusters fine
i recently bought a 4890 but I cant find a game i want to play that needs this much power
but u know i got my 4890 for 160$, and that is a steal
either way u go u will win
the 4890 doesnt seem to like to have its memory tweaked though if that is what u were planning!

I had to give up Amd/Ati... :( after the unexpected death of my x1650xt, then a 4670, and the 4670 replacement that was shipped to me i defected back to a EVGA nvida 250/9800/8800.

just annoying...

sadly, i'm also using 4870 + thermaltake VF1000 at the moment.

Funny, I bought a fairly new 3850 when they came out as well. I folded on mine, and was continually fighting heat issues. It eventually got unstable at default clocks, so I pulled it and it appeared to have mouse pee on it. :(

A couple of weeks ago I was trying a few dead cards from my brother and thought, hey, since I'm screwing with stuff, why not try my 3850 again? It turns out the stock cooler was clogged full of lint, and it has been running fine ever since! (No folding yet).

Moral of the story - don't leave PCI covers open for mice to squeeze through, and regularly check fans for fuzz.

The 4770 sits at a sweet spot of performance/price, and power consumption/heat output, IMHO.

edit:
but it was a much better deal when they were going for $100.

I run 1920x1200 with a 4830. The price difference for a 4850 makes the 4850 a much better choice.

I always try to buy Pre custom cooled card.
I have very little belief in default cooling solutions, especially from ATI.
It's kind of funny but I always upgraded my ATI coolers and always kept Nvidia's stock coolers.
Still I love both and I'm debating whether to get an HD4890 Toxic.