(OOS) XFX 4890 (refurb) for $119.50 shipped after BCB and ebillme MIR!

[konakona]

me neither, but I wouldn't bet my money on it. when in doubt, don't count on it
5850 seems to go for 260ish according to another thread, maybe that's something to consider.

 

[soccerballtux]

hmm bing for TD is back up to 15%. Should I go with the 5770 or wait til fermi comes out at the 26th to see if prices drop? Also, can I still use the ebillme for 25 off since I returned the 4890 I got from TD? I never sent the rebate in.

I don't know, that's why I'm talking with XFX at the moment to see what they'll do-- so I don't have to give up the BCB and ebillme.

 

[kalrith]

5850 seems to go for 260ish according to another thread, maybe that's something to consider.

That's the route I decided to go. It'll be a birthday present for me (probably my only one), and my birthday's not until April 23. That gives me some time to wait and pray that the prices on the 5850 come down before then. I really don't want to settle for the 5770, although if you're lucky enough to get a really good overclock on one, it would put up some decent performance.

I agree that the ebillme MIR seems highly unlikely after already using it, even if he cancels his order.

 

[fffblackmage]

I did some extensive benchmarking using Resident Evil 5, Street Fighter 4, Devil May Cry 4, Lost Planet, STALKER COP, DIRT2, and Far Cry 2.

The results: the XFX 4890 (ZDFC, stock 850/975) equals my overclock 4830 1GB (800core/1000vram).

I'm not even kidding or exaggerating; the numbers are so close, it's a practical match in most cases. Let me also remind some of you that my 4830 is also a refurb.

I also ran the benchmarks on stock clocks for my 4830. Interestingly, with the ~37% bump in gpu clock, and ~11% bump on vram, I get roughly a 20% performance boost in framerates. I don't even see that kind of performance boost going from my OC'ed 4830 to the 4890...

--------------
All numbers are average framerates, settings set on max
using comp in sig: unlocked 550BE, stock cpu clock
(OC'ed 4830/stock 4890)

RE5 DX9 8xAA Variable bench: 50.7 / 50.0
RE5 DX9 8xAA Fixed banch: 43.3 / 43.3

SF4 0xAA: 91.76 / 95.6
SF4 8xAA: 59.22 / 61.73

DMC4 DX9 0xAA:
part1: 87 / 90
part2: 70 / 71
part3: 111 / 105
part4: 70 / 72

DMC4 DX9 8xAA:
part1: 72 / 72
part2: 55 / 56
part3: 86 / 82
part4: 53 / 55

LP DX9 0xAA:
Part1: 32.4 / 32.4
Part2: 37.3 / 36.9

LP DX9 8xAA:
Part1: 25.1 / 24.9
Part2: 37.3 / 36.9

STALKER:COP DX9 0xAA:
part1: 55.8 / 58.3
part2: 61.8 / 68.2
part3: 67.7 / 75.2
part4: 21.5 / 23.5

STALKER:COP DX10 0xAA:
part1: 52.2 / 53.9
part2: 43.1 / 45.1
part3: 45.6 / 47.6
part4: 20.9 / 23.5

DIRT2 0xAA: 45.9 / 46.6
DIRT2 8xAA: 40.0 / 39.1

FC2 DX9 0xAA: 30.09 / 31.10
FC2 DX9 8xAA: 18.69 / 18.42

(Accidentally set "very high" preset instead of the "ultra" preset for FC2 DX10, I think)
FC2 DX10 0xAA: 45.21 / 45.62

 

[RaistlinZ]

How high can you OC your 4830 without the Vmod though?

 

[kalrith]

hmm bing for TD is back up to 15%. Should I go with the 5770 or wait til fermi comes out at the 26th to see if prices drop? Also, can I still use the ebillme for 25 off since I returned the 4890 I got from TD? I never sent the rebate in.

If you do decide to go with a 5770, then this is a better deal at $126.99 ACB/AR.

 

[fffblackmage]

How high can you OC your 4830 without the Vmod though?

I think I was able to get 750 MHz-ish without the vmod or maybe just short of that. The other 4830 512MB I have was only able to do 700 MHz without the vmod, though it still did 800MHz with the vmod.

 

[nobodyknows]

non-refurb ZDFCs suck to begin with, that has nothing to do with the cards being refurb. on the flipside, non-ZDFC refurbs would have been just fine, which is what everyone was expecting to get judging by the part number and pics posted on the product page. It was nothing more than a boo-boo on TD's behalf, and they have handled the case accordingly. There is no connection between these card being refurbs and ZDFCs being worse performers.

In other words nobody would have ordered the sucky cards even if they weren't refurbs so TD did a little "bait and switch" to get rid of them.

Like I said, refurbs suck. I have never been completely satisfied with any refurb I ever bought. It's faults may not have been immediately noticeable, but they did eventually come to light and I just don't waste my time with refurbs anymore, especially when I would have to jump through hoops to get it in the first place. That's idiocy IMO, but hey, live and learn.

 

[kalrith]

I'll save you the trouble of posting:

You: See! I told you refurbs suck!

Me: Reading comprehension fail. :thumbsdown:

In other words nobody would have ordered the sucky cards even if they weren't refurbs so TD did a little "bait and switch" to get rid of them.

Like I said, refurbs suck. I have never been completely satisfied with any refurb I ever bought. It's faults may not have been immediately noticeable, but they did eventually come to light and I just don't waste my time with refurbs anymore, especially when I would have to jump through hoops to get it in the first place. That's idiocy IMO, but hey, live and learn.

 

[nobodyknows]

Refurbs suck, and so do you.

 

[jthunderloc]

Has anyone got there refund yet? How long did it take once TD got the card?

-Wes

 

[bdub951]

Has anyone got there refund yet? How long did it take once TD got the card?

-Wes

I received my refund yesterday. I mailed it back UPS the same day I received my RMA whatever day that was (I posted RMA info a few pages back so you can check timestamp if you need an exact day).

 

[Itchrelief]

Refurbs suck, and so do you.

I really distrust refurbs, but I also agree with Kalrith in that the problem here is not really the refurbs...

You just can't admit when you're wrong.

 

[nobodyknows]

I really distrust refurbs, but I also agree with Kalrith in that the problem here is not really the refurbs...

You just can't admit when you're wrong.

It's not just the fact it's a refurb.

It's also the fact you had to do the ebill thing AND a rebate to buy a sucky refurb in the first place. I stated that earlier in the thread it looked like it might be worth it if one didn't have to jump through so many hoops to get the deal and Kalrith posted next saying what a hell of a deal it was. OK, it COULD have been a good deal, but now he's glad his got cancelled. I COULD have been wrong, but I wasn't LOL, whatever.

I stay away from refurbs because the manufacturer won't even give as a good of a warranty as they do there regular products. That should tell you something right there. Now they want you to do a rebate to buy a refurb? LMAO!!

 

[fffblackmage]

So, last week on Monday, I started a support ticket via XFX's website. It took them a couple days to reply. They asked what power supply I had and instructed me to reinstall the drivers. I did, but that didn't change anything. I responded that Wednesday and I waited a day for a response, but I got tired of waiting so I tried calling instead.

To my surprise, XFX HQ was only a couple miles from my house, so I was able to just drop off my 4890 for RMA that Thursday. They told me they'd test it and get back to me on Friday. Well, they didn't get back to me that quickly, but they called me on Monday and I was able to go pick up a replacement right away.

I was particularly worried when I saw the replacement had the same exact model number as the defective 4890. Turns out that the replacement was a reference design 4890, but with a black PCB, and 6pin and 8pin PCI-e power connectors.

Pictures! (Sorry for the fuzziness)

Pic1 - The replacement "ZDFC" 4890.

Pic2 - Looks like reference design.

Pic3 - Down near the bottom, that looks like the digital voltage regulating thing, I think. It doesn't look like the analog VRMs found in the previous gfx card.

Pic4 - 6-pin + 8-pin PCI-e connectors.

My PSU doesn't have an 8-pin PCI-e connector... I called them today and they were able to provide me with a 6-pin to 8-pin PCI-e adapter.

Now that I have the replacement 4890 up and running, I ran a couple quick benchmarks.

(stock 4830 / OC'ed 4830 / replacement stock 4890)

FC2 DX9 0xAA: 24.13 / 30.09 / 36.80
FC2 DX9 8xAA: 15.66 / 18.69 / 24.44

SF4 8xAA: 47.9 / 59.22 / 76.33

While the OC'ed 4830 was roughly 20-30% faster than stock, the replacement 4890 is roughly 50-60% faster than the stock 4830. That's more like what I had originally expected.

I'm not sure I'll bother doing more benchmarks. For the moment, I'm quite happy, especially seeing how helpful and useful XFX's support is. Now, back to playing ME2...

EDIT: I noticed something. Apparently, this replacement I got is V1.0, while the older one that I RMA'ed was V5.4. Just worth noting in case anyone cares...

 

[jthunderloc]

hmm, I picked up a used xfx 4890 and its a referance design, black PCB and all that and it has 2 6 pin adapters, just like the Diamond XOC 4890 I've got. I've never seen one with 1 6 pin and 1 8 pin.

Glad they sorted it out for you

-Wes

 

[crustybooger]

you guys should check out your local best buys if you're still looking for a 4890. They're on clearance for $125. Best buys trying to clear these out so YMMV.