Graphics How Faster would a 5850 be over my 4870 1Gb

As my System still can not get smooth frame rates at max settings in GTA 4

Core i5 750 @4.2Ghz (200X21)1.3Vc
Gelid tranquilo
2 Gig Corsair PC1333@1600Mhz
Asus P7H55MPro
Sapphire Radeon 4870 1Gb @ 820mhz/1000Mhz catalyst 10.5
OCZ Stealth stream 600W
150 GB Western digital VelociRaptor
Xp Pro
Asus 22" 1920x1080

Even keeping the settings in the middle still getting really poor frame rates in GTA4

it does not struggle with any other game and can max out anything else i play but i wanna see gta 4 maxed out
more ram will cost me £55 for another 2gig and sound card another £55 would a 5850 allow me to max out GTA 4 as i dont wanna spend £240 and not get a vast improvement even with the latest patch it still is droping to less the 10 fps at times on medium settings with low view distance it uses 98% ram in benchmark maybe i should try another 2 gig an see how it goes any advie before spending £240 would be great

 

get 2gb more ram. tbh im astonished you didnt already have it.

 

More RAM would definitely help you max out GTA IV.

 

agreed

 

Your RAM is definitely the bottleneck but you should probably get that 5850 if you can spare it since a 4870 wouldn't be able to max GTA 4.

 

this is 2010, i've started using 8GB RAM since 2007.

get more RAM, they are well worth it!

4870 to 5850 won't be a huge jump, i personally don't think it's worth the upgrade.

 

Huh? Ain't the 5850 is around the same speed as a 4870x2? It also consume less power and run cooler, plus with support for dx11 and Eyefinity.

 

5870 runs about same speed as 4870x2. and don't forget speed is not x2, it's about 1.6x-ish for 5870.

at least i wasn't blown away by 5870 from gtx260. about 1.5 to 1.6x speed boost. so unless he plans to overclock nuts off 5850, it won't be much noticeably fast.

 

Get a second 4870 if you have the board for it, 5850 is pretty weak

and get 2gb more ram

 

The 5850 is weak? This card is awesome and very well priced, it is anything but weak.

 

To the OP:

First priority should be at least 2GB more RAM!

I find Guru3D's GPU charts very handy.

It's a difficult call - you'd definitely get a performance boost from a 5850 but is it worth waiting for the next generation to arrive?

 

I can't fathom why someone would build a system like that with only 2GB of RAM.

 

i bet hes only got 2gb cause when he built the system the ram costs were high (they still are). saying that though he should of done what i did and spend more on 4gb of ram and upgrade the graphics card later on.

 

Replace your 4870 with an (Asus) HD5850 (has voltage tweak ability, that will easily reach 5870 speeds) and upgrade to 4GB ram...and you're sorted!
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group Webcams

 

Definitely get more RAM first before upgrading your 4870, it's not a bad performing card.

 

The RAM isn't that big of a deal, especially if there isn't much stuff running in the background. He is on XP Pro so it can't even use more than 3gig anyway. 2 GIG is usually ok for XP. If it was Vista or Win7 though, then yeah, 4 gig is pretty essential.

I have 2gig in XP and GTA ran really great for me, even with almost cranked settings. But I put that down to my 8800GTX and I play at a lower resolution (1680x1050). Although if it's only DDR2 then it shouldn't cost that much to just get 2 more gig anyway.

My guess is that the problem with the OP's PC is the Sapphire Radeon 4870 1Gb combined with running at such a high resolution. For a resolution like that, you really need the best graphics card you can afford. Also 2gig on the graphics card would be really nice if possible.

 

Xp can only use 3gb of ram? Do you mean 32bit OS's can only address 3gb of ram...

Anyway, yeah more ram deffinatly and i think you would see quite a jump personally with a new graphics card. But maybe i just like shiny new toys:L

 

2gig on the gfx card? what res do you think hes playing at...

the only time 2gig makes a difference is when you are playing at eyefinity resolutions.

the fact remains, you cant have 2gb RAM and expect to play GTA4 at highest settings

 

the 5850 will easily out perform the 4870 and by a reasonable amount. it defo isn't a weak card.

i agree that 2gb ram wont make much difference in most tasks but in some games, such as gta iv, an extra 4gb will make a difference that is marked.

 

Thanks for all the reply's dropping the res to(1680x1050) has had no affect on the frame rates i will buy buying the ram this week, my board is not crossfire compatible and spending £100 or so on an other 4870 would be a waste of money and electricity, my days of spending over £300 on gfx cards are well gone and i have windows 7 on my laptop when i build a new PC next year i will buy a copy then, i am aware that most apps will never need the extra ram i have built systems with 4 & 8 Gig and not gained any great boost in a benchmark. I have promised my 4870 to my stepson for his first custom build so i have to get new one soon disappointing nvidia have let us down with there new cards