ATI 5970 or 160GB Intel SSD

[scooterlibby]

GPU's aren't really good for gaming. They do not help nearly as much as an SSD would. You should see at least a 74% boost in FPS with a new SSD.

 

[hawtdawg]

Yep, SSD all the way. A 5970 might even lower your gaming performance due to it being 2 GPU's instead of one.

 

[RaistlinZ]

Interesting suggestion on adding another 4870x2. Has anyone had experience running two of those in CrossFire before? Framerates should be off the charts. But you'd probably have to plug it directly into Iron Man's ass to power it.

 

[RussianSensation]

Intel makes the best SSDs, and AMD makes the best GPUs.
I vote for a 5870 and 160GB SSD.

Ok but 5870 is not faster than 4870X2. So why spend $ on it?

Also the new sandforce drives by OCZ (Vertex 2) and Corsair are faster than Intel's Gen 2 drives. AMD does have the best price/performance GPUs this generation, but not necessarily the best. It also depends on which games you play. GTX480 is still faster than 5870. One can argue that a GTX470 SLI setup is also better than a single 5970. Please be careful with generalizations like that.

As to Ruby's comments on 5970 vs. 480, here is a review.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/gigabyte-gf-gtx400_8.html#sect1

My motherboard will do crossfire, and my PSU is a Corsair 850TX.

You can always sell the 4870 x2 and get dual 5850s.

 

[Qbah]

GPU's aren't really good for gaming. They do not help nearly as much as an SSD would. You should see at least a 74% boost in FPS with a new SSD.

The OP already has an SSD and knows he can split his Steam game folder so keep the current games he plays on his Intel SSD.

Yep, SSD all the way. A 5970 might even lower your gaming performance due to it being 2 GPU's instead of one.

The OP has a HD4870x2... those are 2 GPUs on one card...

Seriously, do you guys read the first post at all?

As for the question, either get a HD5970 or a cheaper GTX480 (and slower). Your system already has a Core i7 and a SSD... the only thing that will give you more performance is a new GPU. Which one of those two? It's up to you to decide. Since a HD4870x2 is a bit faster than a HD5870, the difference going to a GTX480 will be not so great, if at all noticeable. If you're happy with your HD4870x2, you will be very happy with a HD5970, so in your position that's the choice I'd make. It is the fastest card available after all and is noticeably faster than a GTX480 (uses less power too!).

 

[Jacky60]

5970 -you can easily keep performance of most games with 1tb HD and I couldn't stop giggling and smiling whan I replaced my 4890 xfires with 5970. Those 4890xfires would be qicker than your 4870x2 and although I don't have a SSD (next on list) the 5970 was by far the best gfx card I've owned (from 2 voodoo 2 in SLI to x850PE etc all very high end) Mind you I'd recommend 5970 trifire with a 5870 just to make sure you need no more gfx card for at least 6 months. Although adding another 4870 x2 would be a very effective way of increasing GPU power to 5970 ballpark speeds and might even allow an ssd as well.

 

[Jacky60]

GPU's aren't really good for gaming. They do not help nearly as much as an SSD would. You should see at least a 74% boost in FPS with a new SSD.

Is this true -or is scooterboy having a laugh? I can't see how this would be so please explain

 

[blanketyblank]

Is this true -or is scooterboy having a laugh? I can't see how this would be so please explain

depends on how the game was made, but yes ssd could potentially increase fps if the game had to get data from the hard drive. I highly doubt 74% unless it was a horribly programmed game or your system had very little RAM.

 

[hawtdawg]

The OP has a HD4870x2... those are 2 GPUs on one card...

Seriously, do you guys read the first post at all?

You took those posts seriously?

 

[Qbah]

You took those posts seriously?

The OP asked a question. You answered. You have 6 posts. Yes, I did take your reply seriously. Not to mention other people clearly didn't read the opening post and replied anyway.

Sarcasm, irony and jokes do not go well over writing. So next time when you want to joke about a recommendation, kindly mark it somehow.

 

[guskline]

Get the video card for DX11!!! Move the games to the HDD. Much more bang for the buck from the video card.

 

[hawtdawg]

The OP asked a question. You answered. You have 6 posts. Yes, I did take your reply seriously. Not to mention other people clearly didn't read the opening post and replied anyway.

Sarcasm, irony and jokes do not go well over writing. So next time when you want to joke about a recommendation, kindly mark it somehow.

I joined this forum before you did

 

[Cogman]

IMO, there is no reason up upgrade anything you have. Move stuff off of the SSD drive and onto your terabyte drive.

I guess if you really want something, get a bigger monitor, but for the most part you are near top of the line.

 

[Dorkenstein]

I thought the dual gpu "smoothness" issues were a thing of the past.

 

[Rubycon]

As for the question, either get a HD5970 or a cheaper GTX480 (and slower). Your system already has a Core i7 and a SSD... the only thing that will give you more performance is a new GPU. Which one of those two? It's up to you to decide. Since a HD4870x2 is a bit faster than a HD5870, the difference going to a GTX480 will be not so great, if at all noticeable. If you're happy with your HD4870x2, you will be very happy with a HD5970, so in your position that's the choice I'd make. It is the fastest card available after all and is noticeably faster than a GTX480 (uses less power too!).

Well as an owner of both I can tell you that the 480 plays smoother than the 5970. Forget the benchmarks. Nothing wrong with mine as the 5970 shows higher numbers but numbers aren't games, right? The 480 just moves smoother on the screen that is all.

 

[Bill Brasky]

If you mean simply swapping one SSD for another, I agree, there is no benefit, but SSD's with it's low latency and high random reads in general have shown to improve texture streaming.

http://images.anandtech.com/graphs/intelx25mlaunch_090808151933/17331.png

Holy shit, man. I need to read that article more carefully. Almost 14fps difference on the *minimum* is huge.

 

[Dorkenstein]

Well as an owner of both I can tell you that the 480 plays smoother than the 5970. Forget the benchmarks. Nothing wrong with mine as the 5970 shows higher numbers but numbers aren't games, right? The 480 just moves smoother on the screen that is all.

That's no good, I just ordered a new 5970. Hopefully this gets fixed somehow.

 

[Rubycon]

That's no good, I just ordered a new 5970. Hopefully this gets fixed somehow.

Problem is if you look by benchmark numbers there is nothing to fix.

 

[Dorkenstein]

Problem is if you look by benchmark numbers there is nothing to fix.

It's purely for games, I've never benchmarked in my life. The 480 I tried made my room hotter, or I'd have kept it.

 

[Rubycon]

It's purely for games, I've never benchmarked in my life. The 480 I tried made my room hotter, or I'd have kept it.

Haha well a 5970 puts out plenty of heat too! If it were wireless I could use it for a blow dryer. For me that is saying a LOT!

 

[Dorkenstein]

Strange, the 5970 I've used before wasn't as noticeable with heat. If I'm gaming at 1920x1200, is the 480 going to serve me better?

 

[Rubycon]

Strange, the 5970 I've used before wasn't as noticeable with heat. If I'm gaming at 1920x1200, is the 480 going to serve me better?

I suppose it depends on your games, settings and personal preferences. Both can handle that resolution with no issues. I run 2560x1600 as much as possible and am testing 480 2X SLI now.

I'm not into flight simulators but I can tell you the whir of the fans would add to the realism.

 

[Dorkenstein]

Hmm, now I'm torn. Since the stuttering issue is on my mind, I'm sure I'll be noticing it more. I like Nvidia/drivers/physx more, but the heat was my problem. If there's a way to reduce the "hot" feeling while sitting at my desk, I'd go back to a GTX 480 but I'd have to sell my Asus 5970.

 

[Rubycon]

Hmm, now I'm torn. Since the stuttering issue is on my mind, I'm sure I'll be noticing it more. I like Nvidia/drivers/physx more, but the heat was my problem. If there's a way to reduce the "hot" feeling while sitting at my desk, I'd go back to a GTX 480 but I'd have to sell my Asus 5970.

Yes there is heat and yes the case does get hotter as the cooler isn't as efficient as AMDs in regards to pushing heat out of the case.

If it's under a desk where heat gets "trapped" yes it's gonna be a foot warmer! Lucky for me that's not a problem as there's a return behind my case and plenty of A/C vents here.

But sitting in the open on the bench it's definitely noticeable.

 

[Dorkenstein]

My case was next to my desk with no obstructions blocking exhaust. I live on the top floor of a 19th century house, though. It also might have just been the weather while I tested the 480. I think I'll probably give the 480 another try, since I don't really have enough proof that it was what caused my room to get toasty.