2 Radeon 5770 for a very good price ?

[SpeedyGonzales]

I prevented CF so far, as I am playing at 1650*1080 and only needed to prevent high AA levels.

However I would like to upgrade my 4870, which has only 512mb videoram, which is a limiting factor from time to time (hi-res texture packs or GTA IV).

Prices for a R5870 are around €400.

Now a very reliable hardware shop is offering a Powercolor 5770 for €114.

That means R5870 performance for around €230.

Disadvantages:

- Potential CF issues
- Bandwidth limitations/lower min-FPS at high AA levels.

I do not plan to upgrade my trusted Eizo LCD in the next 12 months.

What do you think ?

 

[TemjinGold]

Sounds like a great deal for you! I would go for it.

 

[RussianSensation]

Ya that's a good deal! Sell the 4870 too to cushion the upgrade. Although 5770 CF performance for 1650*1080 is probably overkill!

 

[blanketyblank]

If you don't have to buy 2 to get that price I'd just get one for now and wait on the other. Performance should be about the same as your 4870 at stock, but you'll have 1 GB of VRAM and overclocking can increase the performance up to a stock 4890.

 

[faxon]

i would get 2 and be happy for the long haul. down the road you could probably resell them for around that again if you need to go to a faster single card for whatever reason, but for 1680x1050 that will be a rocking solution for a good year at least, and even better if you do a monitor size increase in the near future

 

[blanketyblank]

i would get 2 and be happy for the long haul. down the road you could probably resell them for around that again if you need to go to a faster single card for whatever reason, but for 1680x1050 that will be a rocking solution for a good year at least, and even better if you do a monitor size increase in the near future

My bad thought the symbol was pounds for some reason thought you're in euros. 114 euros is about 164 usd so that's a pretty fair price same as newegg and very good for a local store (they tend to gouge). I think there is some room for the price to decrease though by April depending on fermi's release so if you aren't changing monitors I'd stick with one till then.

 

[nyker96]

i don't know this off hand but I think a single 58xx can match a pair of these maybe more economical to go single 58xx?

 

[toyota]

i don't know this off hand but I think a single 58xx can match a pair of these maybe more economical to go single 58xx?

the 5770 crossfire is as fast as the 5870 in many cases. the problem is that the minimum framerate is not even as high as the 5850 and some cases no better than a single 5770. personally I would never buy a multi gpu setup because it doesnt always deliver in every game. IMO a fast single gpu is always the most consistent performer.


Although the CrossFireX configuration built out of two Radeon HD 5750 was overall superior to the single Radeon HD 5850 and the two Radeon HD 5770 were faster than the single Radeon HD 5870, I wouldn’t say that they are preferable. The problem is that the CrossFireX tandems are often inferior in terms of bottom speed due to the AFR rendering mode and 128-bit memory bus. The latter shows up in high-quality modes and at high resolutions. So, while CrossFireX boosts the average frame rate to the level of top-end graphics cards, the bottom frame rate remains rather low. And it is the bottom speed that determines the level of playing comfort.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/radeon-hd5770-hd5750-crossfirex_14.html#sect0

 

[SpeedyGonzales]

Thanks for your responses.

Although the US$ to € rate is 1:1.44, this is not reflected in hardware prices, which are higher in Central Europe, than what you are used to. The factor in the graphics adapter market is closer to 1:1.1-1.2

However, I have made up my mind: I will continue to stay away from CF/SLI although the offer was tempting. I will wait until the 5850 prices have come down to their level at launch and then wait for one of the weekly deals and maybe overclock it to 5870 level.

Btw. my 4870/512mb is overclocked as well to 800core/1000mem.


Thanks again

 

[crisium]

It seems to me from that article that at the worst minimum frame rates were the same as a 5850 (besides a couple outliers like Borderlands). At the best, they were equal or better to 5870. 2x 5770s is about the same as 1x 5850 price, thus I'd still say they're still a fine deal. Sometimes you get a 5870 killer, other times you're closer to a 5850. But if you buy a 5850 you'll always be at 5850 level.

In other words, I see why someone would choose 5870 over 2x 5770, but it seems to me that it would be harder to choose 5850 over 2x 5770. Sure sometimes you get Borderlands results, but for the most part you'd rarely be slower than the 5850 - and often a decent deal faster.

Don't overlook this deal quite yet. Let's see if anyone else wants to chime in on 5850 vs 2x 5770.

 

[nyker96]

the 5770 crossfire is as fast as the 5870 in many cases. the problem is that the minimum framerate is not even as high as the 5850 and some cases no better than a single 5770. personally I would never buy a multi gpu setup because it doesnt always deliver in every game. IMO a fast single gpu is always the most consistent performer.


Although the CrossFireX configuration built out of two Radeon HD 5750 was overall superior to the single Radeon HD 5850 and the two Radeon HD 5770 were faster than the single Radeon HD 5870, I wouldn’t say that they are preferable. The problem is that the CrossFireX tandems are often inferior in terms of bottom speed due to the AFR rendering mode and 128-bit memory bus. The latter shows up in high-quality modes and at high resolutions. So, while CrossFireX boosts the average frame rate to the level of top-end graphics cards, the bottom frame rate remains rather low. And it is the bottom speed that determines the level of playing comfort.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/radeon-hd5770-hd5750-crossfirex_14.html#sect0

take a look at 3dguru's benchmarks of 5770 xfire and 5750 xfire vs all other setups:
http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-5770-review-test/14

the lack of memory bandwidth makes both slower than it should be in xfire situations where textures are duplicated on both cards thus the need for more memory bandwidth. they did about 8 games in 3d guru, 5770 xfire win a few lost a few rest about even vs single 5870, not sure the 5770 xfire shows a clear winner vs 5870 although as of now it is cheaper to get 2x 5770 vs single 5870. I still think a single card will save you headaches in driver issues and power consumption.