Minelab SDC2300 or GPX4000 / GPX4500 / GPX5000

[PhaseTech]

If I want to find gold no matter how small, I'd grab the SDC.

If I want to find gold less often, but have a better weight after many trips, the I'd go 4500.
Mind you, the 4500 with the 14x9" Evo is very close to the SDC on small stuff, but the SDC will purr along happily on bad ground with no fuss.

With the 4500 you will need to learn to adjust it to suit various conditions, so a bit of a learning curve. I like the adjustability of the various audio settings on the GPX's, which
makes it run exactly as you want.

Best thing about the GPXs, is you can strap on a big coil and hunt to 1m depth. Can't do that with the SDC - it is a more specialised tool, but it does its job very well.

 

[Diamo gold]

Money wise one of these two machines used are the best I can afford. Leaning towards the 4500. Thoughts ?

Still your a lucky bugger goldfreak , my budget at the moment only allows me to get the xt1700 repaired and pick up a new gm1000 soon ! Ahh the thought of being single and owning a gpz , one day maybe ! Lol

 

[hAyyoUinAU]

Big gold is not always deep. That is also something I have learnt.

Kinda goes against the physics, but that's gold for ya.

80% research and location
20% metal detector

Most good size gold (most) will be able to be picked up by quite a variety of metal detectors. So in the end, it is mostly about usability. Which is different for everyone.

Good luck with your choice. Either way you won't go wrong.

 

[Goldfreak]

Money wise one of these two machines used are the best I can afford. Leaning towards the 4500. Thoughts ?

Still your a lucky bugger goldfreak , my budget at the moment only allows me to get the xt1700 repaired and pick up a new gm1000 soon ! Ahh the thought of being single and owning a gpz , one day maybe ! Lol

Easy solution staring you in the face Diamo. Go and buy the GPZ and then you will become single

 

[Goldflower]

which one you going for Goldfreak ?

 

[Goldfreak]

which one you going for Goldfreak ?

Depends what comes up at what price. There was a 2300 in Adelaide new condition recently for 3000 negotiable but I not in Adelaide at the moment. Be stuck working for the next 6 months so have anouther look when I get back.

 

[haveago]

has any body had a 6" or 8" coil on a gpx4500 and compared with the sdc2300 for(1) finding small gold(2) in red clay hot ground,(3) also using the 6"coiltek in water .cheers, thanks for any advice on this.

 

[Balmain Bob]

Hi ,
Im running a Sadie coil on my 4500 up here in Clermont and ,although it hasnt found any gold yet , it is finding the small bits of lead and metal that my 2300 does. Im going back to where I found my little speckie up here last week to run the sadie coil over the area to see if it can find anything.

Bob

 

[Ridge Runner]

has any body had a 6" or 8" coil on a gpx4500 and compared with the sdc2300 for(1) finding small gold(2) in red clay hot ground,(3) also using the 6"coiltek in water .cheers, thanks for any advice on this.

Yes Phase Tech has some great Coil shoot outs on YT.

Have a look at these reviews

http://www.minelab.com/go-minelabbing/treasure-talk/comparing-minelab-s-sdc-gpx-gpz-detectors

 

[Heatho]

The GPX range can get pretty close to the SDC but will never match it exactly for sensitivity on certain types of gold. In saying that though on my last gold trip my GPX found the smallest nugget of the trip with the 15x12 commander coil attached, it was a very very tiny but repeatable response.

 

[old hand]

I have found some very small gold at a good depth for its size with a 14x9 evo using boost on the audio in red clay :Y:

 

[Kozi M]

My second piece was tiny found with 12 inch evo nugget finder at 145mm.

 

[PhaseTech]

The three coils that will get you closest to SDC performance is the 6" detech, 8x6" sadie, and 14x9" Evo.
To match how the SDC sounds/performs, you want to use Enhance, Quiet Audio, Stabilizer 16 and then Rx Gain as high as conditions allow, and Slow Tracking. Fine-Gold on the gpx5000 gets you a bit closer to the SDC, particularly on the flaky/prickly nuggets.

In red hot clay, you will run into troubles with the GPX sooner than you will with an SDC, causing you to lower your settings, which puts the SDC a little further in front. But, on nice clean waterworn gold, even down to 0.2's you can still get better depth with the GPXs.

 

[Bjay]

Gotta agree on the red hot clays. Found a patch with the 5000 and Sadie that I got around 10 small bits from and when I ended up getting an sdc me and the wife ended up getting well over 70 extra bits from . All small but even when out still couldn't here some of them with the Sadie. The sdc loves them prickly reef bits.

 

[Goldfield Joe]

I have found small gold with the 4500 and standard 11" Commander coil. My smallest piece is .15g which I think is pretty good going I reckon. I think though with a 14x9 coil like Old Hand says, you will find smaller bits.

 

[haveago]

thanks guys for your input cheers haveago

 

[Etienne]

Hi !

I know that there is lot of topics about this, I read them but I didn't find what I'm looking for.

I know that we usually say that the SDC 2300 is perfect to find many small gold nuggets and very easy to use, it's probably good for a beginner like me.

But if I want to become a gold seeker, it's to have a chance to find a very big one gold nugget ! And I saw often that the SDC 2300 is not really good for that if the nugget is deep, and GPX 4500 is better to find a big one.

So which one I should buy? Can we find a huge nugget with the SDC 2300?

Thanks !

 

[Bjay]

Yes you can find a huge nugget with a sdc. Just got to find a huge nugget to swing the tector over. Also depends how deep said huge nugget is. If your looking for a huge nugget I suggest your chances are better buying some lotto tickets but not as fun as having a look anyway.

 

[Wishfull]

SDC mate. Can't go wrong. 4500 good as well but harder to learn.

 

[Rockhunter62]

Doesn't matter what detector you have, you still have to do your research and be lucky enough to actually put your coil over your big nugget. 8.(

Cheers

Doug