Posted March 15, 2015
Some friends tossed an old computer my way and when going through it I decided to check if the video card is better than the one I've got now. Google seems to put them fairly close, so now I ask you. 4870HD or 550Ti?
EBToriginal
Perverse
Registered: Apr 2011
From United States
rotorde
¡noʎ ʎǝɥ
Registered: Apr 2012
From Sweden
Posted March 15, 2015
I had a HD4870. It ran a bit hot and eventually some of the memory modules started to melt and it became quite buggy. It also had a high pitched whine. Don't know anything about the 550Ti though.
antagonist
Registered: Sep 2012
From Canada
Posted March 15, 2015
Never trust Google.
Atlantico
Tower of Song
Registered: Dec 2012
From Spain
Posted March 15, 2015
The AMD HD4870 was a top-of-the-line GPU in late 2008 and the 550 ti was a budget GPU in 2011, so instinct says the AMD GPU is the better one of the two.
Looking at the specs, the AMD has a 256bit memory bus, the nvidia has only 192bit bus, the AMD GPU will certainly run hotter (being a high-end item) but that's neither here nor there for a decent desktop machine.
Any top-of-the-line enthusiast GPU will run hotter than a budget GPU, at any time in any generation, as a rule of thumb.
Anyway, go with what you prefer, but all things being equal, a budget GPU (especially nvidia ones, see the recent gtx970 debacle) are gimped in one way or another.
But if you have the time, just test them.
Looking at the specs, the AMD has a 256bit memory bus, the nvidia has only 192bit bus, the AMD GPU will certainly run hotter (being a high-end item) but that's neither here nor there for a decent desktop machine.
Any top-of-the-line enthusiast GPU will run hotter than a budget GPU, at any time in any generation, as a rule of thumb.
Anyway, go with what you prefer, but all things being equal, a budget GPU (especially nvidia ones, see the recent gtx970 debacle) are gimped in one way or another.
But if you have the time, just test them.
F4LL0UT
Get Showgunners!
Registered: Jun 2011
From Poland
hudfreegamer
hudfree 4 life
Registered: Dec 2012
From United States
Posted March 15, 2015
I've owned ati / amd video cards and Nvidia. I've found Nvidia cards to be more stable, quieter, last longer, and perform more consistently. I've found ati / amd cards to be faster, noisier, hotter, die quickly, and suffer from odd performance issues in some games (although to be fair I've noticed that more with nvidia cards now - resulting from driver issues).
I say use the card you've already got until it dies, then switch to the 550Ti. Or just use the other computer as a backup in case your main pc dies.
I say use the card you've already got until it dies, then switch to the 550Ti. Or just use the other computer as a backup in case your main pc dies.
Potzato
Village Resident
Registered: Sep 2008
From Spain
Posted March 15, 2015
Looking at the specs, the AMD has a 256bit memory bus, the nvidia has only 192bit bus, the AMD GPU will certainly run hotter (being a high-end item) but that's neither here nor there for a decent desktop machine.
Any top-of-the-line enthusiast GPU will run hotter than a budget GPU, at any time in any generation, as a rule of thumb.
Anyway, go with what you prefer, but all things being equal, a budget GPU (especially nvidia ones, see the recent gtx970 debacle) are gimped in one way or another.
But if you have the time, just test them.
It's a card that consumme/heats a lot. If you have a self arranged, well ventilated case, and you don't have 40°C in summer you should be fine.
I beleive the 550 Ti has a better efficiency (perfs/consumption). Didn't play with one but the specs indicates that you probably will keep it longer if you are careful (monitoring, cleaning ..)
Edit : wrong quote. But I agree with you Atlantico :-)
Post edited March 15, 2015 by Potzato
Korell
No worries.
Registered: Jun 2009
From United Kingdom
Posted March 15, 2015
I've had a look on http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/ and the 550 Ti scores better than the 4870HD.
GeForce GTX 550 Ti
Price : $287.59
Bus Interface : PCIe 2.0 x16
GPU Class : Desktop
Core Clock : 900 MHz
Memory Clock : 4104 MHz
Maximum Memory Supported : 3072 MB
DirectX : 11.0
OpenGL : 4.5
Max TDP : 116W
# of Samples : 4376
G2D Rating : 586
G3D Mark : 1923
Radeon HD 4870
Price : $59.99
Bus Interface : PCIe 2.0 x16
GPU Class : Desktop
Core Clock : 750 MHz
Memory Clock : 900 MHz
Maximum Memory Supported : 2048 MB
DirectX : 10.1
OpenGL : 3.3
Max TDP : 150W
# of Samples : 1200
G2D Rating : 508
G3D Mark : 1375
GeForce GTX 550 Ti
Price : $287.59
Bus Interface : PCIe 2.0 x16
GPU Class : Desktop
Core Clock : 900 MHz
Memory Clock : 4104 MHz
Maximum Memory Supported : 3072 MB
DirectX : 11.0
OpenGL : 4.5
Max TDP : 116W
# of Samples : 4376
G2D Rating : 586
G3D Mark : 1923
Radeon HD 4870
Price : $59.99
Bus Interface : PCIe 2.0 x16
GPU Class : Desktop
Core Clock : 750 MHz
Memory Clock : 900 MHz
Maximum Memory Supported : 2048 MB
DirectX : 10.1
OpenGL : 3.3
Max TDP : 150W
# of Samples : 1200
G2D Rating : 508
G3D Mark : 1375
Post edited March 15, 2015 by korell
antagonist
Registered: Sep 2012
From Canada
Posted March 15, 2015
low rated
GeForce GTX 550 Ti
Price : $287.59
Bus Interface : PCIe 2.0 x16
GPU Class : Desktop
Core Clock : 900 MHz
Memory Clock : 4104 MHz
Maximum Memory Supported : 3072 MB
DirectX : 11.0
OpenGL : 4.5
Max TDP : 116W
# of Samples : 4376
G2D Rating : 586
G3D Mark : 1923
Radeon HD 4870
Price : $59.99
Bus Interface : PCIe 2.0 x16
GPU Class : Desktop
Core Clock : 750 MHz
Memory Clock : 900 MHz
Maximum Memory Supported : 2048 MB
DirectX : 10.1
OpenGL : 3.3
Max TDP : 150W
# of Samples : 1200
G2D Rating : 508
G3D Mark : 1375
JMich
A Horrible Human Person. If you need me, chat.
Registered: Apr 2011
From Greece
Posted March 16, 2015
As Atlantico and F4LL0UT said, run them through a benchmark to see what's best, but keep both of them for when DirectX 12 is out. Then use both.
tomyam80
Not-So-New User
Registered: Feb 2011
From Singapore
Posted March 16, 2015
Post edited March 16, 2015 by tomyam80
micktiegs_8
Pre-Galaxy GOGizen
Registered: Sep 2010
From Australia
Posted March 16, 2015
I go Nvidia at the moment mainly because their cards are a little more power efficient and they run cooler. Less noise too, but that just might be a me thing.
rtcvb32
echo e.lolfiu_fefiipieue|tr valueof_pi [0-9]
Registered: Aug 2013
From United States
Posted March 16, 2015
This may be a shot in the dark, but try the new card out...
One of my first video card experiences was on an ATI card using the express slot back in...2000? Anyways, my system was fine without it, but when i put the card in, it generated A LOT OF HEAT even without a load. I had a small fan nearby blowing into my open computer to help keep it cool for something like 6 months before i just removed it because it was generating too much heat.
Maybe the card was defective in some way, i don't know. Regardless it's probably plenty powerful enough for most of the games here.
One of my first video card experiences was on an ATI card using the express slot back in...2000? Anyways, my system was fine without it, but when i put the card in, it generated A LOT OF HEAT even without a load. I had a small fan nearby blowing into my open computer to help keep it cool for something like 6 months before i just removed it because it was generating too much heat.
Maybe the card was defective in some way, i don't know. Regardless it's probably plenty powerful enough for most of the games here.
sasuke12
Strigon the Drow Necromancer
Registered: Mar 2014
From Canada
Posted March 16, 2015
550Ti.
Nvidia Geforce cards are superior.
Nvidia Geforce cards are superior.
Ganni1987
'My Rewards' is DRM
Registered: Sep 2011
From Malta
Posted March 16, 2015
Heat aside, The 550ti will most likely perform better since it's quite modern compared to the 4870. There's also a 3 year difference between the 2 and the 550ti also supports DX11 which the 4870 doesn't so you'd be able to play a DX11 game on low-medium settings at best.
I have nothing against AMD personally, have owned a bit of both but I've always preferred Nvidia for the better drivers (especially under Linux) the majority of the time. Both cards are quite similar in performance but I would go with the 550ti in this case.
I have nothing against AMD personally, have owned a bit of both but I've always preferred Nvidia for the better drivers (especially under Linux) the majority of the time. Both cards are quite similar in performance but I would go with the 550ti in this case.