5850 1GB CF Vs. 5970 2GB

[Macboy18]

They both are about the same price. any performance differences? does overclocking have any more positive effects on a single video card versus dual cards?

upgrading from a single 4850. i can't afford to do 5970 in CrossFire ($1200 in video cards? hell no)

 

[Rifter]

do you plan to overclock?

 

[SolMiester]

If you want better performance than both, get 480 SLI for the price of 1 x 5970

 

[Macboy18]

yes, i plan to overclock. my PC's case has more than enough cooling to safely OC the CPU and GPU

 

[Macboy18]

ok, i'll look into 480

 

[SlowSpyder]

If you want better performance than both, get 480 SLI for the price of 1 x 5970

What motherboard do yo have? If you are running an AMD processor with an AMD chipset the above won't be an option.

I would go with two 5870's over the 5970. They are faster out of the box, and will likely overclock higher if you want to get into that. Also, if one happens to crap out, you still have a capable rig while you do your RMA (not that it's likely to happen, but you never know).

But, with all of the above being said, I would wait for the Radeon 6xxx cards. Rumor is that the will be here in the next few weeks and should be quite stout.

 

[Rifter]

if you plan on opverclocking and dont want to spend a ton then 460's in SLI is a good option.

 

[Macboy18]

My rig:

Asus Motherboard (compatible for Intel/Nvidia and AMD/ATI)
Core i7 950 3.06Ghz
ATI 4850
4GB Corsair DDR3 1333Mhz
Liquid/fan cooling
NZXT Phantom Black

My GPU is severely bottlenecking my comp so i'm in need of an upgrade. I think i'm compatible with Nvidia too.

 

[MagickMan]

I've been amazed at my 5850 CF performance. Overclocked it's damned incredible for the $500 I have invested in them. Doesn't suck up power like SLI 470s or 480s either.

 

[AtenRa]

What PSU do you have ?? In what resolutions do you play ??

 

[bryanW1995]

wait about 10 days and see what 6xxx has to offer. supposedly xfire scaling is much improved, you might look at 6870 xfire if the price is decent.

 

[Macboy18]

i have a 850W Corsair power supply and i'll be playing at 1920x1080 and 2560x1400

 

[Petey!]

Yeah at this point, just stick with the 4850 unless its killing u right now, and wait to see what AMDs new cards bring. Otherwise 460 SLI is probably the best bang for buck right now, although I always prefer single card.

 

[tweakboy]

I have no idea why people bothering doing this exact same thing.

Why the fudge do you get a underpowered 5850 then expect it to fly on crossfire.

Crossfire is not double the performance,, it will give you 8k more on your benchmark but thats it.

Why not get the best,, and have a single video card....

People get way happy with SLI and XFIRE ,, buy the top notch card 5970 dual gpu and your done,, unless your rich and buy another one for 1400 for both,, lol I dont know why you would want that, its already fast...

 

[Petey!]

I wouldn't buy a 5970 in the first place since it's a dual gpu card; basically crossfire on 1 board.

 

[CitanUzuki]

Just so you know, that power supply is not on the approved list of supported sli power supplies for dual 480's(from nvidia website). Also if you are sensitive to noise these cards might be an issue for you.

 

[SlowSpyder]

I wouldn't buy a 5970 in the first place since it's a dual gpu card; basically crossfire on 1 board.

Right, but he's looking at multi-GPU setups, so he is obviously fine with using SLI or CF.

 

[Golgatha]

Single 480 or dual 460 nVidia would be my recommendation for the money. One too many quirks with ATI Crossfire for my liking.

 

[Madcatatlas]

if you plan on opverclocking and dont want to spend a ton then 460's in SLI is a good option.

OP, dont go SLI GTX460s, as they are reported to have huge driverside problems. Crashes and whatnot. Either get a single card of any listed above, or wait for the new Radeons coming soon.

Do you plan to Eyefinity/multimonitor game btw? If so, id go with a HD5850 setup or GTX470 setup. About the same price with the edge going to the 470s in performance.

 

[Macboy18]

i care about the noise level. sometimes i play games all night long and i don't want to keep my family up all night because of my video cards. is there any kind of noise dampening material i can put on the inner walls of the case? i know it sounds kind of stupid, but you never know.

my 4850 isn't too loud.

 

[Macboy18]

850W is not enough? i can upgrade to a 1000W one if i need to.

 

[Madcatatlas]

If you care about the noise lvl, you really shouldnt go GTX480s. Unless you also watercool them.
GTX480 SLI is pretty nice if watercooled, but ofcourse it carries a much higher cost.


Your 850W is enough for ANY dual card setup, Except GTX480 SLI. That should tell you a few things really..

The fastest card is a Radeon HD5970 2gb, the 5970 4GB one is 25 % faster than that again, but costs alot more.

Id wait a few more weeks or a month if you need to, for the HD6950/70/90 cards

better performance with lower heat and noise than anything Nvidia has

 

[SolMiester]

If you care about the noise lvl, you really shouldnt go GTX480s. Unless you also watercool them.
GTX480 SLI is pretty nice if watercooled, but ofcourse it carries a much higher cost.


Your 850W is enough for ANY dual card setup, Except GTX480 SLI. That should tell you a few things really..

The fastest card is a Radeon HD5970 2gb, the 5970 4GB one is 25 % faster than that again, but costs alot more.

Id wait a few more weeks or a month if you need to, for the HD6950/70/90 cards

better performance with lower heat and noise than anything Nvidia has

the OC'd 4gb toxic is 20% faster at best...and the SLI 480's are only loud when at 100%, there are plenty of reviews around showing this....they dont run like that all the time so stop with the FUD mate!
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/3242/sapphire_radeon_hd_5970_toxic_4gb_video_card/index12.html

 

[Will Robinson]

the OC'd 4gb toxic is 20% faster at best...and the SLI 480's are only loud when at 100%, there are plenty of reviews around showing this....they dont run like that all the time so stop with the FUD mate!
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/3242/sapphire_radeon_hd_5970_toxic_4gb_video_card/index12.html

And yet....it isn't FUD....

For what it's worth, in case the graphs don't really convey this, two GTX 480s in SLI are really frickin' loud.

The Tech Report:whiste:

 

[CitanUzuki]

the OC'd 4gb toxic is 20% faster at best...and the SLI 480's are only loud when at 100%, there are plenty of reviews around showing this....they dont run like that all the time so stop with the FUD mate!
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/3242/sapphire_radeon_hd_5970_toxic_4gb_video_card/index12.html

Only loud when at 100% is massive pile of garbage. While many people have no problem with the noise, its really up to you and your tolerance OP. I can hear the card over my headphones when I game, so its definitely noticeable. Most of the time I don't find it overly bothersome. However, it would be nice if they made less noise.