Graphics Card Question

[VistaGamer]

Recently ( On this forum) I was told to go out and buy an ATI Radeon HD 4850. I asked how long would it last before it becomes an old card, and the answer was that it would last for at least a year

I found out about the HD 4870 ( I am REALLY new at some of this. Before I joined this forum I thought that High RAM was all you reallly needed to run good games) and Now i got 2 questions

1) Comparing the prices of the two cards (On tigerdirect), I don't really know what is a better deal. I am trying to lean to the 4850 since it's cheaper but if it isn't the bang for my buck then I really don't want it. which one is better?

2) Should I get Crossfire? It could be a good idea in the long run, but I don't know too much about it.

[vernong1992]

Depends on your monitor's size and resolution, if its 1920x1200 we'd NORMALLY recommend Crossfire, however the HD 4870/50 are actually enough to max games at that resolution with good FPS

I'd say get a HD 4850

[VistaGamer]

It's an LG Flatron L192WS with a maximum of 1440x900 Resolution. Sound's pretty small compared to THAT resolution...

Thanks anyways. Maybe I'll get a better monitor

[Puddle Jumper]

A single HD 4850 will be more than powerful enough for 1440x900. Get the 512mb version because the 1gb one can actually be slower.

[vernong1992]

He could do fine with even an 8800GS and still be able to max games out.. Ricanflow can do 2xAA 2xAF @ 1680x1050 on an 8800GT 256mb with everything on High or Very High (forget which?)

[Nagasama]

i play at 1920 x 1200 and after some exhaustive research i went with a single 4870 1gb.
for one thing, it is cheaper than 2 x 4850's. for another thing, if you get 2 x 4850...thats what you have, and thats it, no upgrade. if you have a single 4870 (which can max everything out right now...lol the usual crysis exception), then by the time you need more graphics power, the 4870's will be cheap cheap. and you can then get another one for CF. which SMOKES 4850 in crossfire. thats my reasoning, anyway.

[SuxoR]

What kind of PSU was needed? That's what I always wonder, or does it vary from card to card?

[Nagasama]

i have a corsair 550vx. more than enough for a single 4870. i will probably upgrade it if/when i buy a second 4870. i'd have to research it a little, but i think 2 x 4870's would be pushing it (the 550) a little.

[vernong1992]

You're running the Intel rig off that?

Not that I'm shocked it runs it, its just that I've never seen a person do that of a 550vx

[Nagasama]

yeah baby. it is a SOLID psu.