I don't exactly remember how the demo version (1.06 or even 1.05 I think) compares to the full version that now is at 1.14. There have been many improvements, the demo might be even harder on the system. Be aware that there is only a modified southern Sahrani included, so not the more demanding northern part, and only the "Mission Wizard" editor. At least that was the content in the version that came out here. It should be enough to test around though.

And I think the reviews here are fine, it just would be better not to completely leave out sims. Even if it's just a few results and a "no noticable impact upgrading from the last generation", that would be enough for me and certainly more than you can find elsewhere. Most of the time you only get to compare results from different users on a forum, with not the same system and no idea how "clean" it is.


I know the Oblivion shots don't look good, but that's the point. Those are the highest settings I get here without any modification, nearly the same as with the ArmA ones. Actually, I use a mod in ArmA to remove the shaders from foliage to get better performance. It just should be a proof that the engine is cappable of this quality. Another sidenote on a german magazine: Oblivion gets a 9/10 for graphics (without mods) while ArmA was recently devaluated from 8 to 7/10.
I never used any graphic mods in Oblivion so far, as my old PC wasn't good enough. I will definitely look into it though when I start again, as soon as I sort out the sound problems.

But that's more offtopic again. The 4850 is a good card and for a great price. It bothers me a bit that I paid more for a 3870 not even half a year ago, but that's the way it goes. But I recommended it to a friend who upgrades his card next month. I'll see how ArmA performs on it then and if the alpha-bug-bug from the 2000s and 3000s is still there.

The latest PC Gamer arrived today and I read its cover story while at the gym tonight after work, a pretty lengthy preview for Fallout 3. That game just screams 'add me to SimHQ's benchmark suite!' Guod says no dragons & elves, but he never said anything about post-apocalyptic radioactive super-powered mutants!

No post-apocalyptic radioactive super-powered mutants.

Okay, now I've said it.

You must admit though, they're pretty in pink.

Isn't everyone?

I just bought the 3870 over the 4850.

I've just got rid of my Radeon 4870 for a GTX 280 (sent the Radeon back within 7 days)

The driver support (there isn't any) is just a joke by ATI, there is one set of drivers available for the 48xx series (ATI's hotfix) and there are all sorts of problems within the games. There is a hack for the temperature of the card which I used successfully, without it the 4870 idles at 80C!! - the fan speed sits at 23% but when pushed to 35-40% it drops the idle temp down to 50.

What isn't mentioned on a lot of the reviews is the limitation of the 512MB onboard memory....There is a lot of talk about the GDDR5 but in games like FSX and Arma with massive textures, the card is found wanting on max settings which otherwise the card would handle easily.

Maybe it's my fault for jumping the gun and buying early but I'm sure the 4870 with 1GB onboard RAM will help and there is no doubt that the 4870 X2 will blow the GTX280 away......just as long as ATI get a grip of their drivers.

One reason I decided to go with the 3870 is because it has better temperature management. I had the 2900 and it would peak at 95. That is insane. My friend's 3870 never gets above 63.