2gb 7850 or wait forn the 7790's to hit the streets

[Bushwicktrini]

I have 2 5850 in x-fire and I want to upgrade but I am not sure which card to get.

System Specifications:

I. Processor/CPU: Core i7 920


II. Current Graphics Card: 2x 1gb 5850


III. Display Resolution:1900x1200


IV. Power Supply Unit Specification: CM Silent Pro Gold 800w
http://www.cmstore-usa.com/silent-p...er-supply-120mm-ultra-silent-fan-80plus-gold/


V. Case Specifications: CM HAF 932


Purchase Details

I. Budget: $150- $200


II. Any particular preferences: none

III. Do you plan to have any Multi-GPU solutions such as Crossfire or SLI? NO


IV. Have you previously looked at a product(s) which you feel would fit your needs?


V. What are your needs for this GPU: Gaming first MMO's, Civ V, Skyrim, Batman AA


VI. Do you plan on overclocking the card you intend to purchase?NO

Other info:Specs in sig

 

[Eureka]

FYI... you shouldn't see that much performance difference in going from 2x 5850s to a 7850. You might do better in terms of vram but that's it, in terms of power it's a downgrade. 7790 would be worse.

At minimum I would say look at a 7950 or GTX670.

 

[Termie]

^This.

My prior setup was 5850 Crossfire. It was nearly the equal of my GTX670, and in most games, it would beat my 7870. Modern games do typically require more than 1GB of VRAM for maximum settings, but these are often settings that wouldn't run on a $200 card with 2GB.

In short, do not buy either the 7850 or 7790. The 7870 at around $200 is the minimum card you want, and that's if you're willing to go with a sidegrade that only offers better efficiency, lower noise, and fewer issues with new games. The 7950 would be a minor upgrade and can typically be had for about $280AR.

 

[raghu78]

yeah. the HD 7950 boost is the only card which can be considered an upgrade. overclock the HD 7950 to 1150 mhz (quite easy) and you will match HD 6970 CF performance in the latest DX11 games.

 

[Kenmitch]

Get 7870 or better as suggested already.

I got this HIS for just a little more than the 2gb. 7850's
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161404

Could always sell the game codes to offset the cost.

 

[KingFatty]

Bush, what pushed you to decide to upgrade the 5850 crossfire? Are you having a specific issue with the performance, or is it just upgrade-itis and you want something new without any specific need to fix an issue with the 5850 crossfire?

 

[lehtv]

A stock 7950 3GB would be a sidegrade to 5850 in terms of raw performance, but an upgrade in terms of VRAM, power efficiency and experience. And once overclocked, it'll be noticeably faster. But anything less is a sidegrade, so I'm going to have to say the 7870 is not a a good idea

 

[alcoholbob]

Neither. Looking at your games, they are mostly CPU bound anyway. Getting a single card like the ones you listed might improve performance a little by reducing SLI overhead, that's about it.

 

[RaistlinZ]

You really ought to be pushing that i7-920 much more than 3.0Ghz. You're giving up a lot of performance.

I vote for 7970 Ghz btw, but don't bother until you overclock that CPU.

 

[alcoholbob]

You really ought to be pushing that i7-920 much more than 3.0Ghz. You're giving up a lot of performance.

I vote for 7970 Ghz btw, but don't bother until you overclock that CPU.

Pretty much this, in fact if he just overclocked his 920 to like 3.8ish that would do more than upgrading from 5850 XFire to a 7850.

 

[Meekers]

You really ought to be pushing that i7-920 much more than 3.0Ghz. You're giving up a lot of performance.

I vote for 7970 Ghz btw, but don't bother until you overclock that CPU.

If he has c0 stepping and stock cooler that might be close to his limit. I can only get mine to 3.3 with a H212+

 

[geniusloci]

A 7870 sits VERY nicely at 1920x1200, which is what I'm running. I highly recommend it. Saves cash vs the 7950, and runs the hell out of most everything just fine. And right now you're getting Tomb Raider and Bioshock both free with the 7870.

I have the xfx ghz edition double d

 

[Bushwicktrini]

After reading everything that was posted here I think I will stay with what I have. I do have a C0/C1 i7 but I am using the venomous x cooler on it the best overclock I can get is 3.4 after that I start getting errors so I think I will be happy with that until I build a new system. Thanks to all that posted.

 

[FalseChristian]

The only upgrade possibility for you would be 2 7870 in XFire. Your 2 5850 beats even the GHz edition of the 7970. You seem to be a 2 GPU lover like myself. I have 2 GTX 460 1GB SLI and the only single GPU to beat it is the GTX 670/680. Our cards are similar in performance so only 2 7870s in XFire would be a decent upgrade for you.