ATI 4870 1GB - HD playback

[Madellga]

I've not posted in a while here, it is more than 2 years since I bought the 8800GTX and didn't feel the need to upgrade it.

But yesterday a local store offered me a 4870 1GB with the cooler similar to the old 7900GTX at a a reasonable price. Before I jump in, I would like to confirm 2 things:

1) 1080p24 playback is ok on the ATI
Wesley mentioned ATI issues on this guide here (HTPC)
http://www.anandtech.com/guides/showdoc.aspx?i=3486&p=6

and recommended nvidia over ati, but I'm not sure if this is limited to the IGP or does it apply to stand alone GPUs also.

Recently I purchased parts for a HTPC (before reading the guide) and I did have the issues he mentioned, on a clean install (AMD 790GX chipset). Fortunately the store replaced the mobo and CPU with a nforce9300/core2 combo, problem gone.

2) I saw the card running on a case similar to mine and it was very loud running 3DMark, much more than the 8800GTX. The guy used the catalyst control to throttle the fan down to 30% and left it fixed, noise was ok but would this risk overheating the GPU?

I really appreciate your thoughts and any feedback is welcomed.
Tks
Madellga

PS: I did look into recent posts and didn't find a topic on this, sorry if this has been discussed before.

 

[SlowSpyder]

I'm pretty sure with the fan set to auto it'll run under 30%. The 4870's run hot, but with the fan at 30% I think you'd be fine assuming you're in a normal room temp environment with a case that has ok air flow.

I never tried running any 1080P HD content with my 4870 so I can't comment on that.

 

[Madellga]

I appreciate your feedback. He was using the last catalyst and when he grayed out the fan control, it would get above 50% under load and that was loud.

His card is the Sapphire 1GB black one, perhaps the card is programed with a custom setting, as the cooler is not reference design - it is the one with the heatpipes, similar to what Nvidia used on the 7800GTX 7900GTX models.

Anyone else on the video 1080p24 playback? With all the people visiting this forum someone must have experience with that.

Tks

 

[Madellga]

As I got just one reply here, I went to AVS forum and read some threads.

Based on the little information I was able to collect, I decided to pay a little bit more and play safe - I went witn the GTX 285.

So far no issues, all works. One positive point though, the GTX 285 runs quieter under load than the 4870 1GB under load: I can hear the cooler but it matches the noise from the case, ie, it is not the "main noise". That was not the case wit the 4870 1GB.

The guy did offer also this 4850 X2 that we now have the article, but the card is longer than the GTX/4870 and it wouldn't fit in my case (guessing, I didn't measure it up). Noise was also an issue on this one.
I was also afraid of the performance across the board, having used a 7950GX2 in the past, there were always minor glitches and issues when switching from game to desktop (WoW would freeze or disconnect). For that, I'm keeping always the rule to have a good single core card.