Should I buy GPU or wait and pay 20euro more.(DABS or ELARA)

LeakingLava · 23-06-2012 12:43AM #1

Hey guys. I'm now in a small dilemma. I have been looking at the 7850 at

elara
(http://www.elara.ie/productdetail.aspx?productcode=MMEM310956),

and the one at dabs
(http://www.dabs.ie/products/sapphire-technology-ati-radeon-7850-920mhz-2gb-pci-express-3-0-hdmi-oc-80T8.html?q=7850&src=16)

for the past few days and now, elara doesn't have it in stock. They say that the approximate time for arrival of stocks is july 10. The question is, should I wait for the stock at elara, pay a bit more and trust their very good customer feedback, or should I risk* on Dabs and pay less?

*This risk that I'm talking about is due to all this commotion about dabs not having very good customer support, very long security checks, and other things that other consumers are not happy about.

What do you think guys? Advance thanks to all of those who will take time and read this and provide answers and opinions. Thank you so much

.

daz801 · 23-06-2012 01:00AM

I've bought multiple times from dabs and never had a problem, longest shipping time was 5 working days.

Fiddlex · 23-06-2012 01:35AM

Just a suggestion but you could try scan.co.uk they have good prices and have great customer support and feedback.

I use them a lot and never have any problems also shipping is 2-3 days.

LeakingLava · 23-06-2012 02:52AM

Fiddlex wrote: »

Just a suggestion but you could try scan.co.uk they have good prices and have great customer support and feedback.

I use them a lot and never have any problems also shipping is 2-3 days.

well they dont have the one i was looking at but anyway, considering your suggestion, what do you think about their xfx? http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-xfx-radeon-hd-7850-dd-black-edition-5000mhz-gddr5-28nm-gpu-975mhz-1024-cores-dl-dvi-hdmi-mdp

N64 · 23-06-2012 02:54AM

pixmania have the cheapest 7850 at €219 delivered (sapphire non OC edition) although I don't think their after sales service is the best

LeakingLava · 23-06-2012 03:09AM

N64 wrote: »

pixmania have the cheapest 7850 at €219 delivered (sapphire non OC edition) although I don't think their after sales service is the best

Yeah I've heard about that after sales service. If that would be the case I'd rather go to Dabs. I'm thinking about scan.co.uk though. That XFX seems really nice. 975 clock. rather than the sapphire's 920. I don't plan on overclocking either so that's really nice.

daz801 · 23-06-2012 04:06AM

I bought my 7850 of scan. They're probably the best company I've dealt with, received an email every step of the delivery. I went with the msi version, great little card.

Monotype · 23-06-2012 10:44AM

What about this Sapphire? £182 + 3% extra on VAT (186.55) and free delivery.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sapphire-11200-00-20G-HD7850-GDDR5-Graphics/dp/B007JRGRPO/

Works out about €230. Possibly +€5 for credit card exchange rates.

Fiddlex · 23-06-2012 02:11PM

LeakingLava wrote: »

well they dont have the one i was looking at but anyway, considering your suggestion, what do you think about their xfx? http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-xfx-radeon-hd-7850-dd-black-edition-5000mhz-gddr5-28nm-gpu-975mhz-1024-cores-dl-dvi-hdmi-mdp

It looks good but the only thing is its pre order which means its not in stock and there's no eta. You should only order items that are in stock as you could be waiting a long time.

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-msi-r7850-power-edition-2gd5-oc-950mhz-core-gddr5-4800mhz-dl-dvi-i-2xmini-dp-hdmi

You could go for the MSI one they are a good brand to go with and only 173£

frozenfrozen · 23-06-2012 02:14PM

Dabs have been fine to me. Never had to return anything but they've replied to emails fairly quick and the postage took less than a week.

glynf · 23-06-2012 02:19PM

Komplett have the twin frozr for <250 and free delivery:

http://www.komplett.ie/Komplett/product/ati__amd/20154414/msi_r7850_twin_frozr_2gd5_oc_graphics_card_/details.aspx

LeakingLava · 24-06-2012 03:00AM

glynf wrote: »

Komplett have the twin frozr for <250 and free delivery:

http://www.komplett.ie/Komplett/product/ati__amd/20154414/msi_r7850_twin_frozr_2gd5_oc_graphics_card_/details.aspx

Would you prefer that than the faster clocked(20MHz difference) GPU and memory that I have linked(Sapphire)? Would there be much difference? Another thing that I'm looking at for future use is the maximum resolution supported by the card. That MSi only supports up to 2560 x 1600 and I'm really interested in upgrading to a 3 monitor eyefinity set-up(please do not look at the other computer components that I currently have in my sig. I'm gonna be changing all of that except the GPU sometime this year) and the sapphire can support up to 4096 x 2160.

Thank you guys a lot but I think I really want an Irish company. I've been thinking about it and even dabs is a bit wonky for me firstly due to some of the bad feedback and second due to the fact that I can only deal with them on-line or through phone. I'd like to consider komplett or elara first. If nothing works within those to sites, I'll reconsider the other ones. Thank you guys for all your help.

P.S. : AAHHHHhh I really do not know what to do.

glynf · 24-06-2012 11:18AM

LeakingLava wrote: »

Would you prefer that than the faster clocked(20MHz difference) GPU and memory that I have linked(Sapphire)? Would there be much difference? Another thing that I'm looking at for future use is the maximum resolution supported by the card. That MSi only supports up to 2560 x 1600 and I'm really interested in upgrading to a 3 monitor eyefinity set-up(please do not look at the other computer components that I currently have in my sig. I'm gonna be changing all of that except the GPU sometime this year) and the sapphire can support up to 4096 x 2160.

Thank you guys a lot but I think I really want an Irish company. I've been thinking about it and even dabs is a bit wonky for me firstly due to some of the bad feedback and second due to the fact that I can only deal with them on-line or through phone. I'd like to consider komplett or elara first. If nothing works within those to sites, I'll reconsider the other ones. Thank you guys for all your help.

P.S. : AAHHHHhh I really do not know what to do.

If you plan on overclocking, 20Mhz is not really an issue as 7850's can OC to well over 1200MHz anyway, you have to use 3rd party software like ASUS GPU Tool/MSI Afterburner to do so. Both work with most brand cards.

TBH I would go for any aftermarket cooler like the Sapphire, MSI or ASUS. All are much better than the stock cooler, not a huge difference between same-though the Asus DCUII amd the MSI twin frozr are well regarded by reviewers.

You should notworry about buying outside Ireland, as most euro online retailers are easier to deal with these day-in no small part thanks to babelfish and google trasnslate.:)

Personally I go with the likes of Komplett over german/UK retailers if there is only as small +/- difference in cost, reason being if I have to RMA its easier if I can deliver the part to their drop off point & talk to someone there.

Also consider Amazon.de and hardwareversand.de if you are ordering several bits together as the shipping usually works out cheaper. I have not used scan/overclockers/other UK retailers in over a year-mainly because of the exchange rate.

LeakingLava · 24-06-2012 07:45PM

glynf wrote: »

Personally I go with the likes of Komplett over german/UK retailers if there is only as small +/- difference in cost, reason being if I have to RMA its easier if I can deliver the part to their drop off point & talk to someone there.

Yeah that's part of my reasoning of why I'm leaning over to Komplett/Elara. With the links I've provided, which would you prefer?

elara
http://www.elara.ie/productdetail.aspx?productcode=MMEM310956

komplett
http://www.komplett.ie/Komplett/product/ati__amd/20154414/msi_r7850_twin_frozr_2gd5_oc_graphics_card_/details.aspx

http://www.komplett.ie/Komplett/product/ati__amd/20155877/asus_radeon_hd7850_dc2_2gd5_2gb_pci_e/details.aspx

I really don't want to overclock. I'm not sure why but I'm just not comfortable in doing it. I may or may not have enough knowledge about it, that's another thing. And maybe I'm looking at the GPU's life, too(the life decreases when I overclock right?). I really think I'm going to stick to the stock clocks. So what do you think? Considering the clocks, and the maximum resolution of the sapphire one at elara(although there is a waiting time to consider for the one at elara).

Eboggles · 24-06-2012 08:08PM

Overclocking the GPU does have an adverse effect on it's life, but it'd reduce it's lifespan from 14 years to 13 or something like that. There's no good reason not to overclock when you stand to benefit a lot from doing so.

LeakingLava · 24-06-2012 08:18PM

Eboggles wrote: »

Overclocking the GPU does have an adverse effect on it's life, but it'd reduce it's lifespan from 14 years to 13 or something like that. There's no good reason not to overclock when you stand to benefit a lot from doing so.

I'm going to research more about that. That is certainly music to my ears. If I was to overclock, which would you choose? Still considering the max res. on the sapphire although there is a waiting time for it.

glynf · 24-06-2012 08:56PM

LeakingLava wrote: »

Yeah that's part of my reasoning of why I'm leaning over to Komplett/Elara. With the links I've provided, which would you prefer?

elara
http://www.elara.ie/productdetail.aspx?productcode=MMEM310956

komplett
http://www.komplett.ie/Komplett/product/ati__amd/20154414/msi_r7850_twin_frozr_2gd5_oc_graphics_card_/details.aspx

http://www.komplett.ie/Komplett/product/ati__amd/20155877/asus_radeon_hd7850_dc2_2gd5_2gb_pci_e/details.aspx

I really don't want to overclock. I'm not sure why but I'm just not comfortable in doing it. I may or may not have enough knowledge about it, that's another thing. And maybe I'm looking at the GPU's life, too(the life decreases when I overclock right?). I really think I'm going to stick to the stock clocks. So what do you think? Considering the clocks, and the maximum resolution of the sapphire one at elara(although there is a waiting time to consider for the one at elara).

I'd go with the ASUS myself Lava. If you look here, the official card page:

Maximum Resolution analog: 2048x1536 (via Dual-Link DVI to VGA adapter)
Maximum Resolution Single-Link DVI: 1920x1200
Maximum Resolution Dual-Link DVI: 2560x1600
Maximum Resolution HDMI 1.4a: 4096x3112
Maximum Resolution Mini DP 1.2: 4096x2160

All 7850's will do that res-on the respective output, they're quoting max res. as a sales tactic I'd imagine.;)

Eboggles is right-OC'ing is not at all detrimental to a card if you don't over do it, and this gen. AMD cards are well up to it as well.

LeakingLava · 24-06-2012 09:14PM

glynf wrote: »

I'd go with the ASUS myself Lava. If you look here, the official card page:

Maximum Resolution analog: 2048x1536 (via Dual-Link DVI to VGA adapter)
Maximum Resolution Single-Link DVI: 1920x1200
Maximum Resolution Dual-Link DVI: 2560x1600
Maximum Resolution HDMI 1.4a: 4096x3112
Maximum Resolution Mini DP 1.2: 4096x2160

All 7850's will do that res-on the respective output, they're quoting max res. as a sales tactic I'd imagine.;)

Eboggles is right-OC'ing is not at all detrimental to a card if you don't over do it, and this gen. AMD cards are well up to it as well.

That's crazy. Ridiculously crazy. Anyway, I'll go with that ASUS in komplett then. Thank you guys a lot. By the way, would you mind posting up a link to how to overclock the asus? Thank you so much again people.

Eboggles · 24-06-2012 09:26PM

A 7850 overclocking guide? Just download MSI afterburner, put on your hardest GPU benchmark (CRYSIS 2, 3DMARK11 etc.) and start moving the GPU clock up in 5mhz increments. Keep doing so until you start to notice (a) unsafe temperatures, (b) visual artefacts indicating instability or (c) driver failures resulting in a reboot of the system. Once you reach the limit, back down by a few mhz (10 normally) and call it a day. Do the same for the memory clock.

The 7850s are monster overclockers, have a look at this.

Actually, Serephucus did a great piece on CPU and GPU overclocking; it's in Monotype's signature, and in the PC Building 101 thread.

LeakingLava · 24-06-2012 10:18PM

Eboggles wrote: »

A 7850 overclocking guide? Just download MSI afterburner, put on your hardest GPU benchmark (CRYSIS 2, 3DMARK11 etc.) and start moving the GPU clock up in 5mhz increments. Keep doing so until you start to notice (a) unsafe temperatures, (b) visual artefacts indicating instability or (c) driver failures resulting in a reboot of the system. Once you reach the limit, back down by a few mhz (10 normally) and call it a day. Do the same for the memory clock.

The 7850s are monster overclockers, have a look at this.

Actually, Serephucus did a great piece on CPU and GPU overclocking; it's in Monotype's signature, and in the PC Building 101 thread.

Thank you so much.

LeakingLava · 24-06-2012 11:12PM

glynf wrote: »

I'd go with the ASUS myself Lava. If you look here, the official card page:

Maximum Resolution analog: 2048x1536 (via Dual-Link DVI to VGA adapter)
Maximum Resolution Single-Link DVI: 1920x1200
Maximum Resolution Dual-Link DVI: 2560x1600
Maximum Resolution HDMI 1.4a: 4096x3112
Maximum Resolution Mini DP 1.2: 4096x2160

All 7850's will do that res-on the respective output, they're quoting max res. as a sales tactic I'd imagine.;)

Eboggles is right-OC'ing is not at all detrimental to a card if you don't over do it, and this gen. AMD cards are well up to it as well.

hey there. Just did another check on asus.com(I saw that the website you posted is club 3d and I couldn't see the resolutions there either)..I found this

http://ie.asus.com/Graphics_Cards/AMD_Series/HD7850DC22GD5/#specifications

Maximum resolution I see is

D-Sub Max Resolution : 2048x1536
DVI Max Resolution : 2560x1600

daz801 · 25-06-2012 12:25AM

Do not use msi afterburner to overclock the 7850. It has a limit of 1050mhz. Use asus gpu tweak and when installing the drivers avoid installing catalyst control centre. Have a look at this thread. Most people get at least 1200mhz.

Eboggles · 25-06-2012 12:29AM

daz801 wrote: »

Do not use msi afterburner to overclock the 7850. It has a limit of 1050mhz. Use asus gpu tweak and when installing the drivers avoid installing catalyst control centre. Have a look at this thread. Most people get at least 1200mhz.

It was more of a general guide

. Is there much difference in using afterburner's (or trixx) unofficial overclocking mode than using asus GPU tweak?

glynf · 25-06-2012 11:09AM

LeakingLava wrote: »

hey there. Just did another check on asus.com(I saw that the website you posted is club 3d and I couldn't see the resolutions there either)..I found this

http://ie.asus.com/Graphics_Cards/AMD_Series/HD7850DC22GD5/#specifications

Maximum resolution I see is

D-Sub Max Resolution : 2048x1536
DVI Max Resolution : 2560x1600

Wrong link-give a look here.

Those res' are per port, you're more than covered for multi monitors if you do go eyefinity-though you would definitely be looking at a second GPU for same.

LeakingLava · 25-06-2012 11:42AM

glynf wrote: »

Wrong link-give a look here.

Those res' are per port, you're more than covered for multi monitors if you do go eyefinity-though you would definitely be looking at a second GPU for same.

That's cool. Thank you so much. Just ordered the ASUS in Komplett

Should I buy GPU or wait and pay 20euro more.(DABS or ELARA)

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