[_02]

Should I snatch up a 4890 now or sit on things until Fermi is released?


I don't want to end up having a 5770 be my only choice if the 4890 will stomp it and I don't care about DX11. And even then my other choice only seems to be the 5830 if prices drop. The 128bit interface scares me on the 5770. Should it?

I'm short on time to make a potential buying decision and I know this is discussed. If someone wants to just point me to a CONCISE thread that would be great too. I just don't have time right now to go post over post or do too much research =/

*I don't have the money for a 5850 or any other $250+ card.
I will be overclocking
I do not care about DX11, I will upgrade for that ~1 year+
I will not be upgrading my PSU or going XFire
Noise/heat are not an issue unless they are LOUD or very hot
I play 1680x1050, no games that require an upgrade yet


It seems to me like I should get a 4890, but I don't need to upgrade immediately. I'm not sure how long 4890's will be on the market and I'm hesitant to buy used electronics. I will be in the market for a $200 ish GPU in the future and I want to maximize my performance/price.

That's exactly what I did with my 8800gt and it served me very well.

Any advice appreciated!

 

[Shev7chenko]

I would wait for the Fermi launch to see what ATI does with pricing.

 

[Aqualoon]

In terms of raw performance 4890 > 5770

However, there are some advantages to a 5770 besides DX11 and that is power consumption and the fact it overclocks like it's on crack. At your resolution either would actually be a good choice.

Oh and in terms of the 128bit interface, it's been shown on these forums here that if you can get close to a 1000/1400 OC that there is no bottleneck.

However, as you're already seeing the retail price of the 4890s are going up, I have no doubt that soon you won't be able to find them retail and if you do then they'll be higher priced then the 5770s due to availability.

 

[Wildcard36qs]

I love my 5770. Runs really well and overclocks very nicely. I even play BC2 @ 3840x1080 with around 40 fps at all high settings and 2x AA. If you can get the 4890 for cheaper it may be better, dunno. I have seen great improvements with ATI's latest drivers on my 5770 too. It may have surpassed the 4890 now with my overclock + drivers. Wouldn't waste time on 5830 unless it gets cheaper.

 

[gerikoh]

had the chance to try a 5770 and a 5830.

i'd say pick the 5830, it will oc upto 1000mhz on stock, 1100 with just a few volt mod. and the gain of the oc is much greater than that of a 5770.

also, current reviews are using beta drivers so performance might be a bit sucky compared to a 4890. but it'll be different when a 10.3 is officially released.

and do wait for the pricedrops. before buying

 

[Giac]

128bit memory is not an issue...this has been talked about many times before. The 5830 is not worth the price, although its name suggests its close to the 5850 in terms of performance its closer to 5770. Either a 4890 or a 5770 is a good choice, 5770 consumes less and overclocks better. just don't get an xfx model (you can't change the voltage on the new ones, pcb is non reference. I learned that the hard way)

 

[Ocnewb]

I've owned 4890, 5770, 5850 and i'd say the 4890 @ 950-1Ghz core is close to 5850. 5770 is a very nice card but even with the latest driver, it's still a little behind the 4890.
Edited: This is a fair statement if you know what i mean OP.

 

[_02]

Do you guys think that the 4890 will be available in a few months?

I can currently get a 4890 for less than a 5770 shipped (=p)

The 5830 is too expensive for me and it would need to drop about 20% in price for me to consider it. And even then, I could get a 4890 for $40 cheaper than that.

 

[b0sse]

5770's in crossfire overclocked, I'm snagging 90+ fps in BC2 on max settings, vsync obviously off and hbao on.

 

[b0sse]

Don't waste your money on a 5830!

 

[_02]

They scale very well but I'm not interested in going crossfire now.

I don't want to get stuck with a 5770 that is going to require upgrade before I'm ready in about a year, but can't seem to determine if that will be an issue or not.

The 4890 is faster, so that is why I'm considering it.

Low power, low noise are cool but not deal breakers for me.

 

[Aqualoon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by _02 Do you guys think that the 4890 will be available in a few months?

Retail? Hit or miss, I know the Egg was out of them for a few months recently

Used? Heck ya.

I know you mentioned you don't like buying used hardware, but it is an avenue to explore when you're on a budget. Specially if you buy from a reputable seller, get something that has all retail accessories and a warranty left.

 

[Giac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by _02 Do you guys think that the 4890 will be available in a few months? I can currently get a 4890 for less than a 5770 shipped (=p) The 5830 is too expensive for me and it would need to drop about 20% in price for me to consider it. And even then, I could get a 4890 for $40 cheaper than that.

That's easy, I wouldn't think twice about getting the 4890, what is there to lose if you don't care about dx11, power consumption is only an issue if you're doing xfire

 

[pbpenguins412]

Quote:

Originally Posted by _02 Do you guys think that the 4890 will be available in a few months? I can currently get a 4890 for less than a 5770 shipped. The 5830 is too expensive for me and it would need to drop about 20% in price for me to consider it. And even then, I could get a 4890 for $40 cheaper than that.

I would snag the HD 4890 now, for sure. The current situation reminds me of when I first built my rig back in 2007. There were basically only one card that was adequate for real games - the 8800GTS 320MB - and everything else was either wimpy (Nvidia 8600/ATi 2600), super-expensive (8800GTX, Ultra), or just old (7800/7900, X1900/X1950). I ended up grabbing a cheap 7900GS as a stopgap and then upgrading.

As for availability in a few months, I think the card is already being EOL'd. You're not likely to find new ones on sale a few months from now. Are you considering Crossfire? I think that you should grab a 4890 now and wait for a few months to see if ATI or Nvidia release a sweet price/performance card. For example, I waited about ten months for the 8800GT to come out after I grabbed my 7900GS.

 

[_02]

Yeah I'm ultimately hoping I can get the 4890 and ride it until a price performer settles out of the 5XXX series, like I did with the 8800gt.

Then I can ride that until I can get a cheap top end 5XXX while I wait for the next gen performance card to settle out.

Just want to make sure I'm not giving up a long term advantage with the 4890.

 

[Korben]

I say wait for Fermi to drop and see what pricing is like on the 5850 or I would just go with a 5830 over the 5770.

Edit: I still think 4890 is a really good card long term though.

 

[_02]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Korben I say wait for Fermi to drop and see what pricing is like on the 5850 or I would just go with a 5830 over the 5770.

Unless the 5850 comes down to within $200 or so I'm not interested.

And for the price, I think a 4890 sounds more appetizing than a 5830, as it is about $100 cheaper ATM.

 

[jammo2k5]

Do you not want to go xfire because of the cost of two cards?

 

[_02]

I don't want to go Xfire because I don't have a strict need, and I'd rather not upgrade my PSU.

I would consider it if I was comparing to a $300 card, but I'm in the $200 range. I'm guessing XFire 5770's would be the king here but that's not where I'm at.

Single GPU bang for buck with some longevity in mind.

My NEXT upgrade will be significant though and either breach Xfire from this gen or a nice high end card.

 

[IntelConvert]

the 4890 is a bit faster

the 5770 is pretty close to the 4890 and new drivers may help it close the gap. the 128bit memory bus will come into effect on larger resolutions (1920x1080 is ok, but 2560x1600 is probably too much) and higher amounts of AA.

the 5830 might get better with new drivers, but at its current price point, its not worth it. if it dropped to the $200 mark, that would make it a better competitor. it can pull ahead of the 5770, but because it has 16 ROPs, just like hte 5770, when you try to add in 4x or 8x AA, the 5830's performance will mirror that of a 57xx card rather than a 58xx card.

i would go for an OC'ed 5770 1GB. it would be a bit behind a 4890, but not by a noticeable amount. its also a lot more energy friendly, so your PSU wont be stressed as much. they also scale awesomely in CF.