Which HD 4850 to get of 8 options?

[Kawzman]

Newegg has 8 options to choose from for the hd 4850, http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048+1305520549+1069633099+4804&name=New+Product. Specs for each of these cards has been difficult to locate as many of the manufacture's websites doesn't have a page setup for the hd 4850 yet. Reading through threads so far, it has been said that the msi includes Witcher and has the slightly improved HSF. I've read that the temps for the powercolor run high. There are some differences in port offerings. I believe the memory clocks are all the same, though newegg's page has 1968mhz and 1986mhz for some cards, which i believe to be a typo. So what do you guys think?

Cheers,

Kawzman

[jokers_greg]

Newegg has 8 options to choose from for the hd 8450,
speaking of typos :santa: (i'm jus kiddin)

Honestly, I do not know which to buy. but i'd like to know if there's some hidden specs or something. The better HS would also be enough to sway me in one direction out of the 8

[grungero]

Get the HIS. :D

[Freezer7Pro]

Anything but MSI. Even if it's a reference design, they don't deserve any support.

[jokers_greg]

Anything but MSI. Even if it's a reference design, they don't deserve any support.

you have a reason why?

[CGR]

I think you should wait for the 4870 :)

[Ashura]

I just bought the ASUS one today because it comes with the biggest rebate ($30).

Of course with newegg charging NY state tax now, I had to buy it from zipzoomfly instead but still. :p

[WorshipMe]

The MSI does have a slightly better HSF, and it also includes the Witcher. Here are the differences in the HS: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/HD_4850/4.html
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Powercolor/HD_4850/4.html

[xb1az3x]

Visiontek has a lifetime warranty: http://www.visiontek.com/teksupport/warranty/warranty.html

I think it may be the only ATI manufacturer that has that.

[anothermbdusted]

i know ill be buying a Visiontech as my 9800 the fan went out 2 times in one year and on my 800gto the memory went out after 1 month and the fan stopped working after 4 months. the only one i would consider other then that is the HIS and I only state that because well look at them they generally have awesome heatsinks and they OC like mad from what ive seen on these boards

[chrome-187]

i think the diamond..it looks better then all the other 4850's..and it may be able to be xfired on nvidia chipsets...so in turn it makes it more valuable then the rest of them..

[Freezer7Pro]

you have a reason why?
I've had my fair share of bad MSI products and customer care. I've bought things that are so obviously faulty from factory that it hurts, that they wouldn't let me RMA. A 7900 with a part from the PCB rattling loose in the see-through, unopened box? It's my fault. Caps that blow after less than three months without any kind of OCing? It's my fault.

Coolers fall of cards, PCBs break, connectors that won't fit, cheap marketing tricks... I'm never again buying an MSI product.

[jokers_greg]

only downfall i can see of this card, is its OCing potential. Can the 4870 do better? I hope so

[jokers_greg]

I've had my fair share of bad MSI products and customer care. I've bought things that are so obviously faulty from factory that it hurts, that they wouldn't let me RMA. A 7900 with a part from the PCB rattling loose in the see-through, unopened box? It's my fault. Caps that blow after less than three months without any kind of OCing? It's my fault.

Coolers fall of cards, PCBs break, connectors that won't fit, cheap marketing tricks... I'm never again buying an MSI product.

i've had a few MSI products myself. Mainboards and GFX cards. Never had a problem yet. The MSI X1800 XL was unlockable to XT, I don't have anything against the company.

Guess you just got shafted, but everyone has bad incidences with every company.

[moocow]

I would go with the MSI or the HIS. Depending if you want The Witcher or that thing that makes your picture "more clear".

[Kawzman]

i'm not building my system until mid july, so i'll get to see some reviews of the 4870 before orderng all the parts. til then, i'm planning on buying 2 4850s for crossfire. i just have to pick which 1 f the 8 i'm going to want.

[IWasHungry]

Get whatever's cheapest. I have NEVER decided my video card purchase based on what brand it was. Aren't all cards manufactured by one company anyway (Sapphire) or has that changed in the last few years?

[juane414]

Sapphire has been very good to me. High quality and good support to back it up.

[Micmal]

Typically the answer is what ever is cheaper. But another excellent choice is Visiontek. NOTHING beats a lifetime warranty, except may be double lifetime.

[imposter]

Thats of course if they honor it. Life time warranty is big gimic. Life time is basically how ever long the manufacture makes the product. when the manufacture doesnt make the product its out of life time there for out of warranty. or if the company is bought out or changes there name, dont have to honor their warranty either.

Keep it simple Sapphire or Asus. two companies you cant go wrong with.

Also you may want to wait for the 4870's..

[jokers_greg]

Get whatever's cheapest. I have NEVER decided my video card purchase based on what brand it was. Aren't all cards manufactured by one company anyway (Sapphire) or has that changed in the last few years?

that rule applies when the price aren't the same. But in this case they're all exactly the same. the only differences are whats bundled in with the card, and what company made the card.

[Slmhofy]

I ended up getting the VisionTek variant. Works really well, heat sink has a lot of mass, though I suspect the others do too. And using the catalyst control center, I auto overclocked it to 690/1113

[IWasHungry]

that rule applies when the price aren't the same. But in this case they're all exactly the same. the only differences are whats bundled in with the card, and what company made the card.

The ASUS has a $30 rebate, which is more than the others have at the moment.
http://images10.newegg.com/uploadfilesfornewegg/rebate/SH/ASUS58-109-024May19Jun3008tl24.pdf
(What I'm saying is that's the one I would've chosen. :))