512MB 5770 vs. 1GB 5750?

[pm]

I noticed at Newegg they have a 512MB 5770 for $130 (shipped, no rebates). Meanwhile, the cheapest 5750 (w/ no rebates) is $130 as well. I avoid rebates - if the manufacturer actually remembers to mail it to me, my wife throws them away as junk mail.

I Googled and I searched but I can't find out how much slower a 5770 512MB is than the 1GB version. And I can't tell if that puts it in the range of a 5750, or if it's still a bit faster. My monitor is 1920x1200 and I have a Core i7 920.

Has anyone seen benchmarks for a 512MB 5770?

 

[toyota]

at 1920 any 5770 not to mention 5750 may not make you very happy if you like to crank the settings. that being said a 512mb card at 1920 is not going to cut it anymore. there are at least 3 or 4 games that will run run past the 512mb of vram that the 5770 could handle just fine if it had 1gb. its not really of question of just how many more fps a 5770 1gb would give you over a 512mb. the prob is when you run out of memory its going to hitch and disrupt your gameplay.

 

[dguy6789]

512MB 5770 is the better option.

The 5770 is a 1680x1050 class card(for the most modern games). For that resolution, 512MB of video ram is more than enough. The extra 512MB on the 5750 card wouldn't be used, you would just be getting lower performance from the lesser GPU. If you tried to run at settings that would need more than that much video memory, you would run out of GPU power on either card before memory was a bottleneck.

 

[toyota]

512MB 5770 is the better option.

The 5770 is a 1680x1050 class card(for the most modern games). For that resolution, 512MB of video ram is more than enough. The extra 512MB on the 5750 card wouldn't be used, you would just be getting lower performance from the lesser GPU. If you tried to run at settings that would need more than that much video memory, you would run out of GPU power on either card before memory was a bottleneck.

even at 1680, 512mb is not enough for some games. at 1920 a 512mb card would be a problem in even more games. neither the 5770 512mb or 5750 1gb are very good options for 1920x1080.

 

[dguy6789]

even at 1680, 512mb is not enough for some games. at 1920 a 512mb card would be a problem in even more games. neither the 5770 512mb or 5750 1gb are very good options for 1920x1080.

512MB is enough for every game. There are a very small number of titles where your fps will grow a little if you have a 1GB card at 1680x1050(not enough to close the performance difference between the 5750 and 5770 in nearly all cases), but there are no games that have problems running smoothly with a 512MB card at 1680x1050.

 

[toyota]

512MB is enough for every game. There are a very small number of titles where your fps will grow a little if you have a 1GB card at 1680x1050(not enough to close the performance difference between the 5750 and 5770 in nearly all cases), but there are no games that have problems running smoothly with a 512MB card at 1680x1050.

it is NOT enough for every game at 1680x1050 so please stop claiming it is. if you go over 512mb you will have a problem and the game will hitch. Far Cry 2, GTA 4, and Batman are games that I am 100% positive will use over 512mb at 1680x1050 with settings that a 5770 could easily run if it had 1gb.

 

[MarcVenice]

it is NOT enough for every game at 1680x1050 so please stop claiming it is. if you go over 512mb you will have a problem and the game will hitch. Far Cry 2, GTA 4, and Batman are games that I am 100% positive will use over 512mb at 1680x1050 with settings that a 5770 could easily run if it had 1gb.

GTA 4, yes, in Batman and FC2 you'd have to be pushing a lot of AA to go over 512MB. Also, the question is, even in those few games that will use over 512MB at 1680*1050, which will give a better experience, a 5750 1GB or a 5770 512MB? I think the latter will be better ...

 

[toyota]

GTA 4, yes, in Batman and FC2 you'd have to be pushing a lot of AA to go over 512MB. Also, the question is, even in those few games that will use over 512MB at 1680*1050, which will give a better experience, a 5750 1GB or a 5770 512MB? I think the latter will be better ...

just fired up Batman and at 1680 on very high settings and 4x AA the vram usage was 532. on Far Cry 2 using just very high and 2x AA not even ultra settings the vram usage was at 538. those are settings that a 5770 could easily run IF it had more than 512mb of ram.

 

[happy medium]

The O.P's resolution is 1920x1080 anyway. I would never recommend a 512 mb card to him.
In any case I would not recommend a 512 mb card unless you have a 19 inch 1280x1024 monitor.

I always aim a little higher then what people need when giving recommendations.
Most people keep there cards for at least a year.

 

[ZipSpeed]

Agreed. If anyone plans to game whether it's light or heavy, it's good to have that extra 512 MB cushion for future titles.

 

[dguy6789]

it is NOT enough for every game at 1680x1050 so please stop claiming it is. if you go over 512mb you will have a problem and the game will hitch. Far Cry 2, GTA 4, and Batman are games that I am 100% positive will use over 512mb at 1680x1050 with settings that a 5770 could easily run if it had 1gb.

Oh please, you speak like 512MB makes them unplayable. Don't be ridiculous and learn to read. I already said that in a couple games more memory would help a little, but it is absolutely not necessary like you claim it is. I've played every one of those games on a 512MB card and they run just fine.

 

[toyota]

Oh please, you speak like 512MB makes them unplayable. Don't be ridiculous and learn to read. I already said that in a couple games more memory would help a little, but it is absolutely not necessary like you claim it is. I've played every one of those games on a 512MB card and they run just fine.

you said 512mb was enough for EVERY game at 1680 and that is WRONG. I said some game will go over 512mb at 1680 and they DO. I said that once you go over 512mb of vram on a 512mb card you will get some hitching and you WILL. sure in Batman you can just turn down the AA to 2x because then it will rarely get over 512mb. with Far Cry 2 and especially GTA 4 you will have to significantly reduce the settings from what the 5770 could easily handle smoothly if it had 1gb instead of 512mb. again all that was just at 1680 so at 1920 that he is playing at there is no reason to get a 512mb card.

 

[dguy6789]

When you say things like "512MB isn't enough for so and so game" you make it sound like you're trying to say that a 512MB device couldn't possibly play the game. AA and such is all extra, it's not a requirement.

 

[happy medium]

just fired up Batman and at 1680 on very high settings and 4x AA the vram usage was 532. on Far Cry 2 using just very high and 2x AA not even ultra settings the vram usage was at 538. those are settings that a 5770 could easily run IF it had more than 512mb of ram.

Toyota, How do you check for how much video memory usage in game?
I wanna try that.

 

[toyota]

When you say things like "512MB isn't enough for so and so game" you make it sound like you're trying to say that a 512MB device couldn't possibly play the game. AA and such is all extra, it's not a requirement.

so perhaps you missed the part where I said that having only 512mb would keep the 5770 from running the settings it is capable of with more vram. at no point did I say you cant play the games.

 

[toyota]

Toyota, How do you check for how much video memory usage in game?
I wanna try that.

gpu-z. you can use it in the background and have it check the max, min, or average vram usage. also EVGA precision 1.9.1 has a vram usage monitor.

 

[happy medium]

gpu-z. you can use it in the background and have it check the max, min, or average vram usage. also EVGA precision 1.9.1 has a vram usage monitor.

I'll give it look

... thanks

 

[betasub]

A lot depends on how OP is prepared to change his settings with a mid-range graphics card.

Gaming at 1920x1200, and setting details up high would justify a 1GB card, but also push 2 of those 5750s in Crossfire (GPU equivalent to 5850?).

Lower res or details could allow good performance from a 512MB card: a 5770 512MB would work well if OP is prepared to compromise. Is this an upgrade from an older PCIe gfx card?

 

[happy medium]

gpu-z. you can use it in the background and have it check the max, min, or average vram usage. also EVGA precision 1.9.1 has a vram usage monitor.

Unfortunatly both of these utilities don't give me vram usage.
Mabe because I have a newer card? I don't know.

 

[toyota]

Unfortunatly both of these utilities don't give me vram usage.
Mabe because I have a newer card? I don't know.

well EVGA probably doesnt work with ATI cards. so do you see the place for vram usage in gpu-z or is there nothing there at all? I have version 0.3.7 if that matters.

 

[happy medium]

well EVGA probably doesnt work with ATI cards. so do you see the place for vram usage in gpu-z or is there nothing there at all? I have version 0.3.7 if that matters.

None at all. I just tried Riva tuner also.
Guess I have to wait for some updates.

I got version 0.3.8 . so it should be about the same if not better.

 

[pm]

Thank you all for your replies. I'm still not sure of the answer, but I am leaning towards the 512MB card simply because chopping memory off of a faster card has worked for me in the past.

Right now I'm on a 8800GT 256MB and I'm mostly content, but there's been a few games where I had to letterbox them. I realize that I won't be able to run everything at full resolution with full settings. I am just looking for about a 50% boost over where I am. I thought about SLI, but the power output of two 8800GT is about 80W idle and 200W+ load, so I'm thinking that once I ebay my old 8800GT (for ~$70) an upgrade to a 5770 512MB or 5750 1GB should be a noticeable improvement for about $50ish which is about what I want to spend.

When I bought the 8800GT 256MB, it just seemed like it got lower framerates than the 8800GT 512MB... just subtracted off a fixed percentage like 10%. I don't remember it causing major slowdowns... just things ran slower. I have never turned on AA in any game... ever.

I recognize that these cards will likely not let me run everything max'd. But in my life I never pay enough money to run everything max'd. I'm just looking for a significant upgrade from an 8800GT. I'll keep it about a year and then upgrade to the next level - with the power draw of these cards being "low", maybe Crossfire them.

 

[toyota]

Thank you all for your replies. I'm still not sure of the answer, but I am leaning towards the 512MB card simply because chopping memory off of a faster card has worked for me in the past.

Right now I'm on a 8800GT 256MB and I'm mostly content, but there's been a few games where I had to letterbox them. I realize that I won't be able to run everything at full resolution with full settings. I am just looking for about a 50% boost over where I am. I thought about SLI, but the power output of two 8800GT is about 80W idle and 200W+ load, so I'm thinking that once I ebay my old 8800GT (for ~$70) an upgrade to a 5770 512MB or 5750 1GB should be a noticeable improvement for about $50ish which is about what I want to spend.

When I bought the 8800GT 256MB, it just seemed like it got lower framerates than the 8800GT 512MB... just subtracted off a fixed percentage like 10%. I don't remember it causing major slowdowns... just things ran slower. I have never turned on AA in any game... ever.

I recognize that these cards will likely not let me run everything max'd. But in my life I never pay enough money to run everything max'd. I'm just looking for a significant upgrade from an 8800GT. I'll keep it about a year and then upgrade to the next level - with the power draw of these cards being "low", maybe Crossfire them.

wow you actually bought an 8800gt 256mb? that had to be one of the silliest cards ever made especially for playing games above 1280. the 8800gt was such a great card and to gimp it with only 256mb was just ridiculous. I still remember some guy complaining about his performance with his 8800gt 256mb sli set up. lol

why are you limiting yourself to a 5750 1gb or 5770 512mb in the first place? really go for the 5770 1gb when and if you can find a deal on that. I certainly would not crossfire two 5770 512mb cards at 1920. if a game is demanding enough that you need that setup then it will also need more than 512mb of vram in many cases to actually crank those settings. honestly at 1920 and with your cpu the upcoming 5830 would be the very lowest I would go if possible.

 

[MarcVenice]

A HD 5770 1GB will run HAWX, FC2, DiRT 2, Batman and CoD : MW2 just fine at 1920x1200. Cutting it close in FC2, but minima of 30 are quite okay. I can vouch for those games. Games like left 4 dead 2, dragon age: origins and some other 'lightweight' games will run just fine too. I don't know if a 512MB-version will, because I haven't tested it.

Since you have a 2 year life-span for a videocard, is $20 extra really worth saving? With the 1GB you should also get better resale-value and it'll last a bit longer, because at 1920x1200 vram does start to make a real difference.

 

[toyota]

A HD 5770 1GB will run HAWX, FC2, DiRT 2, Batman and CoD : MW2 just fine at 1920x1200. Cutting it close in FC2, but minima of 30 are quite okay. I can vouch for those games. Games like left 4 dead 2, dragon age: origins and some other 'lightweight' games will run just fine too. I don't know if a 512MB-version will, because I haven't tested it.

Since you have a 2 year life-span for a videocard, is $20 extra really worth saving? With the 1GB you should also get better resale-value and it'll last a bit longer, because at 1920x1200 vram does start to make a real difference.

agreed. getting the 5770 512mb card would limit you from the get go. getting the 5770 1gb card will already have an immediate benefit in numerous current and upcoming games. it will also allow a more sensible crosssfire setup in the future if desired. and yeah if you decide to sell that card in the future having a 1gb model will certainly help. no matter how you look at it paying 20 more bucks for the 5770 1gb model is most certainly worth it.