radeon 4850 or geforce 9800 gtx+

[x3_gotcha]

A banal question but I am going to choose between these two and X3TC is one of the games I will play most. Any experiences? I found demo benchmarks but I just want to know if there are glitches for any of these cards.
tnxs

{moved from TC Tech Support to Off-Topic - Carlo}

[Carlo the Curious]

There are no card (or manufacturer) specific issues with TC that I'm aware of.

As for other games or which is better, that's a question better answered in Off-Topic.

[maphys]

I'd say GeForce. I know a couple of people who have had issues cooling their Radeon. Maybe they were just unlucky, but I've gone for the GeForce as it has a better fan setup. Trouble is it draws a heck of a lot more power as well! The reviews say the Radeon is meant to run at 80-85 degrees anyway but something inside me gets worried when components of my computer approach the boiling point of water...

I've not had any TC problems with the GeForce.

M

[Maximum476]

If you get the Radeon just make sure you get one with a decent cooler and you should be fine. I bought a Sapphire 4870 the other day, and it idles around 50 degrees, but in 3d mode the fan kicks up its speed which can be slightly noisy at times, but quiting straight out of a game and checking the temperature showed it was only just over 50 after some intense hammering.

Only problem I've had so far is Fallout 3 seems to degrade in performance after a while then crash to desktop.

[Dragoongfa]

The drivers are also an issue, Ati has proven once more that they can't back a strong line of GPU cards with decent, the very least, drivers. I have seen some examples were weaker nvidia cards approach or surpass the 4850 just because of the driver support.

[x3_gotcha]

thanks all, read a lot of reviews of these cards in the part weeks. Good to hear there are no real issues. Ive had both brands in the past. don't have money for a 4870 so I thought a 4850 with a decent cooler or a 9800 GTX+ ... we'll see.

[Rapier]

Most of what I've read (including here) says the 4850 should be better pound for pound. So why is it the day that I order one you all go and change your minds?

[berth]

...........I bought a Sapphire 4870 the other day, and it idles around 50 degrees, but in 3d mode the fan kicks up its speed which can be slightly noisy at times, but quiting straight out of a game and checking the temperature showed it was only just over 50 after some intense hammering.........

Got a Powercolor 4870 (PCS Extreme 512MB version if you're interested), whose cooler keeps it at <45 celcius but is a bit too noisy for my pernickity tastes. I'm planning to buy some alternative cooling in the next couple of weeks. Still and all, I play TC with headphones most of the time and it runs very nicely at maximum settings.

But if you can't stretch to a 4870, go for a 4850, I'd say.

[supakillaii]

HD4850, or if you can, HD4870 (Preferably 1gb version)

[silenced]

take the 9800gtx+ with 1gb and done ...

[BlkKnight]

I run a Force3d 4870 with no cooling problems.

They have used a bespoke cooler as standard

[Praefectus classis]

I use a Sapphire HD4850 that I got for a good price back in September. It has a better heatsink and runs cooler than the original stock design.