7850 1 vs. 2 gigs and brand

[hodgenutts]

Hello. I'm assuming I would get quite a gain going to the 7850 from my current 5850. Can someone tell me which would be the better value?

this XFX with 1 gig memory and 2 free games at $179:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150617

or this ASUS 2 gig memory with now free games at $189:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121623

Didn't know what ASUS cards where like as I've never owned one. I've owned several xfx cards. Didn't know which one would have the better cooler, and if the 2 gigs made a big difference on this card...

 

[toyota]

why would you assume when you can just look at reviews? a 7850 is only about 30% faster than your old 5850 so to me thats not much of an upgrade after all that time.

in general, getting a card like a 7850 with only 1gb at this point is silly. of course you need to list your resolution as that would be helpful. really you need to list ALL your specs when starting a thread like this.

 

[EliteRetard]

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/512?vs=549

Looks like 20-30% faster and a little less power usage. The 7850s are also known to OC well, so you may be able to get another 5-10%. Your links no worky, but I would definitely go with 2GB minimum on any new card over $100. Many games already need the extra memory, 1GB will just become more and more of a limiting factor.

 

[RussianSensation]

I would wait 1 more generation. HD7850 is not enough of an upgrade from a 5850 to waste $180 on. Overclock your 5850 to 900-950mhz and wait until HD8000/GTX700 series (or a nice sale on a GTX670/HD7950). I also would not really upgrade from a 1GB card to another 1GB card.

 

[hodgenutts]

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/512?vs=549

Looks like 20-30% faster and a little less power usage. The 7850s are also known to OC well, so you may be able to get another 5-10%. Your links no worky, but I would definitely go with 2GB minimum on any new card over $100. Many games already need the extra memory, 1GB will just become more and more of a limiting factor.

sorry I updated the links accordingly

 

[SickBeast]

I would wait 1 more generation. HD7850 is not enough of an upgrade from a 5850 to waste $180 on. Overclock your 5850 to 900-950mhz and wait until HD8000/GTX700 series (or a nice sale on a GTX670/HD7950). I also would not really upgrade form a 1GB card to another 1GB card.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't an overclocked 7850 be about twice as fast as a 5850?

 

[toyota]

sorry I updated the links accordingly

would you please provide the info I asked for?

 

[toyota]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't an overclocked 7850 be about twice as fast as a 5850?

no. and what is it with people wanting to oc the new cards and compare them to previous stock cards?

 

[hodgenutts]

resolution: 1080

ram: gskill rip jaw 1333 4 gig x 4 stick = 16 gigs total
psu: ocz mod xtream 750
intel i3 530
current vid card: ati 5850

 

[lehtv]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't an overclocked 7850 be about twice as fast as a 5850?

5850 vs overclocked 7850

 

[blastingcap]

I would wait 1 more generation. HD7850 is not enough of an upgrade from a 5850 to waste $180 on. Overclock your 5850 to 900-950mhz and wait until HD8000/GTX700 series (or a nice sale on a GTX670/HD7950). I also would not really upgrade form a 1GB card to another 1GB card.

I agree.

 

[Red Hawk]

5850 vs overclocked 7850

Uh, that's a 7870. Not an overclocked 7850.

hodgenutts: The 7850 is better than the 5850, but not overwhelmingly so. I agree with others that to make the upgrade really worth your while, you should either get a Radeon HD 7950 or wait until the next GPU generation.

 

[lehtv]

Uh, that's a 7870. Not an overclocked 7850.

That's because the chart doesn't have an "overclocked 7850". The 7870 is supposed to estimate how an overclocked 7850 will perform. And it's a good estimate. That's how it generally works - a graphics card will performs similar to its bigger brother when properly overclocked. 560 Ti OC ~ 570, 570 OC ~580, 6850 OC ~6870, 7850 OC ~ 7870, etc.

 

[Red Hawk]

That's because the chart doesn't have an "overclocked 7850". The 7870 is supposed to estimate how an overclocked 7850 will perform. And it's a good estimate.

A 7870 has 25% more shaders and texture units. Yes, other parts of cards are similar, but the difference is still there. One benchmark doesn't change that. It's misleading to give someone a link for an "overclocked 7850" when it's really not.

 

[Termie]

OP, if you have a reference 5850, you can overvolt it and easily get 950MHz out of it, which is a 30% overclock. It will perform very similarly to a stock 7850. The 7850 can be overclocked about 40% with voltage, and based on 75% scaling, will perform about 30% faster than an OC'd 5850. The thing everyone is assuming is that you can overvolt, which is NOT true on most aftermarket cards, which will be limited to 850MHz at the most.

Assuming you can overvolt, the 7850 is not a huge upgrade, and probably not worth the investment, unless you're playing VRAM limited games like Skyrim. And of course that assumes you'd be getting the 2GB version. The 1GB version is worthless.

IMO, the 7870 is the minimum card I would upgrade to from a 5850.

 

[SlowSpyder]

OP, if you do choose to get a 7850, get a 2GB model. Don't waste your money on a 1GB card at this point.

 

[antihelten]

And it's a good estimate.

Actually that review only overclocked the 7850 to the catalyst overdrive limit, so a 7850 overclocked with proper software, would be upwards of 10% faster.

 

[lopri]

Now that GPUs are used more and more, not just 3D games, 2GB of onboard memory isn't as ridiculous as it used to be on lower end cards.

 

[3DVagabond]

The only reason I can think of for buying a 1gig card instead of a 2gig is if someone is running a 32bit OS. Surely it's not worth saving $10.

 

[Termie]

resolution: 1080

ram: gskill rip jaw 1333 4 gig x 4 stick = 16 gigs total
psu: ocz mod xtream 750
intel i3 530
current vid card: ati 5850

OP, given that you're on an i3-530, I think you should know that many games will be cpu-limited with a more powerful GPU, so you won't necessarily get much of an improvement. The 5850 is already probably somewhat cpu-limited in your system.

 

[crisium]

I'm surprised there's a 1gb card for such a new card. Definitely takes the crown as the best 1gb single gpu card ever, but unless you game at 1680x1050 or 1600x900 or, god-forbid, lower, then you will want the 2gb version. Since you are 1080, go for 2gb. But that's if you even need to upgrade and still want to hang with an i3 530.

 

[hodgenutts]

Ordered a new socket 1155 mobo last night, now I just have to find a processor for it. Trying to stay under $140 if possible for the processor.

 

[Termie]

Ordered a new socket 1155 mobo last night, now I just have to find a processor for it. Trying to stay under $140 if possible for the processor.

That sounds great. There's always the i3-3220, the best option retailing for under $140 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116775). If you have a MicroCenter nearby you, you can pick up the quad-core 3450 for $150.

The only catch is that if you bought an older s1155 board, it may need a BIOS update before it can boot these chips, in which case you should aim for a Sandy Bridge processor, such as the 2120 or 2130.

 

[Pheran]

That sounds great. There's always the i3-3220, the best option retailing for under $140 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116775). If you have a MicroCenter nearby you, you can pick up the quad-core 3450 for $150.

Another interesting alternative is the new Ivy Bridge Pentium G2120 ($100 Newegg/$80 if you have MC). I have that Microcenter 3450 though, it's nice.

 

[bigsnyder]

For what it is worth, I upgraded from two crossfired 4850s to a 7850. Big improvement, generally twice as fast. The point of the overclocking argument is most 7850s (very rarely does one not) will overclock to the catalyst driver limit without breaking a sweat. There is no point in running a 7850 stock, it would be a waste of the card's potential.