Choices =( 5850,5870,5970,480....

[Mireli]

I cannot decide! Here is the system:

i7-930
ASUS P6X58D-E X58 ATX LGA1366
Corsair 750W
Coolermaster Haf 922
Noctua NH-U12P
G.SKILL F3-12800CL6T-6GBPI Pi Series 6GB 3X2GB DDR3-1600 CL6-8-6-20
2x Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB SATA2 7200RPM 32MB
1920x1600 (But plan on 2560x1600 in the near future, around christmas)

Here are the options I've been looking into: (Prices in CAD, approximations as well)

2x 5850 Crossfire

$650. No expandability at all. If I want to change video cards it would be harder to sell/etc one than two.

Performance wise, awesome. As far as I can tell, two of these will do a little worse than the 5970.

1x 5870

$430. Expandable to crossfire 2 5870s. Performance with that setup will be insane. Will have to purchase another PSU to cover the power usage, however I will need to purchase a PSU eventually anyway, so I can't fault that.

1x 5970

$650-750. A powerhouse. This is my preference. Performance wise it blows everything out of the water. Extremely OCable as well.

Expandable as well, also 'easily' resold if I decide to go another route.

Unfortunately, I am not sure if I am able to use this card. My main questions are:

Will it fit in my case?

Will 750W be enough to run this? What about OCd?

Will I need cooling outside of what is listed above to cool it if OCd? If so, what do I need?

As you can see, this is the route I want to go- I just don't know if I am able to.

GTX480

$500. Performance is actually pretty decent. Seems on par with the 5870. However, extremely loud and extremely power hungry. I love how it looks, but so many people say to avoid this card.



What do you do?

 

[MagickMan]

A Corsair 750W is plenty for a 5970, even OCed, and it will fit in that case. No special cooling is required.

 

[Gikaseixas]

Get 2x5850. You can find great deals online, you might get new at $600 for both or $500 used.

That beats any $500 GTX480 or $400 plus 5870

 

[Mireli]

But it doesn't beat the 5970.

If I am willing to spend the extra for the performance and the ability to expand on the card later, hell, even get a second 5970... why do people keep recommending 2x5850?

Not trying to whine, just curious, I would like the input and reasoning, people just keep saying 'get the 5850' and then reference the 100-150$ price difference, which I said I was willing to sacrifice for a little bit of performance and ability to expand later.

Another thing is, keep in mind I will be wanting to run 2560x1600 by about XMas time, although I am sure 2x5850s can handle that, I want them to excel as best as they can, which is why I'm leaning towards the 5970.

Please inform me more =)

 

[manimal]

But it doesn't beat the 5970.

If I am willing to spend the extra for the performance and the ability to expand on the card later, hell, even get a second 5970... why do people keep recommending 2x5850?

Not trying to whine, just curious, I would like the input and reasoning, people just keep saying 'get the 5850' and then reference the 100-150$ price difference, which I said I was willing to sacrifice for a little bit of performance and ability to expand later.

Another thing is, keep in mind I will be wanting to run 2560x1600 by about XMas time, although I am sure 2x5850s can handle that, I want them to excel as best as they can, which is why I'm leaning towards the 5970.


Edit:

Personally I would get the 5870 and a 160 intel SDD for the same price as a 5970.
Please inform me more =)

It looks like you have already made up your mind want want someone to pat you on the back.


/pat on the back


People keep recommending xfire 5850 because its easier to keep cool than a 5970. once OC'd will perform better than a 5970 and save a couple bones to boot!

Enjoy your 5970!

 

[Mireli]

It looks like you have already made up your mind want want someone to pat you on the back.


/pat on the back


People keep recommending xfire 5850 because its easier to keep cool than a 5970. once OC'd will perform better than a 5970 and save a couple bones to boot!

Enjoy your 5970!

See =o That helps, but also confuses me a bit.

Crossfiring 5850s while OC'd would perform better than a 5970 OC'd? From what I read the OC ability of the 5970 was rather great. Was that wrong?

Also, I read that Eyefinity might be a better idea than 2560x1600, are the 5850's capable of that?

 

[Gikaseixas]

But it doesn't beat the 5970.

If I am willing to spend the extra for the performance and the ability to expand on the card later, hell, even get a second 5970... why do people keep recommending 2x5850?

Not trying to whine, just curious, I would like the input and reasoning, people just keep saying 'get the 5850' and then reference the 100-150$ price difference, which I said I was willing to sacrifice for a little bit of performance and ability to expand later.

Another thing is, keep in mind I will be wanting to run 2560x1600 by about XMas time, although I am sure 2x5850s can handle that, I want them to excel as best as they can, which is why I'm leaning towards the 5970.

Please inform me more =)

uh???
Why would you include the 2x5850 crossfire in your OPTIONS if you clearly think the 5970 is superior???

It seems like you've made up your mind already, why bother asking for others opinion then?

 

[happy medium]

Call me crazy ,but I allways thought crossfired 5850's will equal or beat a 5970.
The 5850's will overclock better also.

In fact sli'd gtx 470's murder it and sometimes even sli'd gtx 465 will beat a 5970.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-465-sli-review/14

This review shows all carsd at the bottom of each review page, i'd go with crossfied 5850's.

 

[Keysplayr]

Well, the 5970 seems to have two 5870 GPUs (1600 shaders each) clocked at 5850 speeds (725MHz). So, it stands to reason that Crossfired 5850's (1440 shaders each) at stock speeds would be a bit slower than a 5970 at stock speeds. However, people have mentioned some thermal limitations and keeping the 5970 cool enough when overclocking. So, you might be able to eek out a better overclock with two 5850's over a 5970 and actually equal or surpass 5970 performance. Ending up cheaper than a single 5970, 2x5850's might be the better way to go. Yes, you can use Eyefinity with 5850's. I think you can use it in crossfire as well, but someone else has to chime in here on that.
And you should be good with a 750W quality PSU with two 5850's (also need confirmation).
My vote is for two 5850's as well. Cheaper, (matters to many in here even if it does not to you, so I have to mention it. Do with it what you will), potentially more performance if o/c'd over an o/c'd 5970 while maintaining lower thermals.

GTX480 is a great card performance wise and feature wise, but it does run hot and use more power than the AMD solutions.

Another option is 2xGTX470's. More stringent on power requirements that 2x5850's, but scaling performance seems a lot better than AMD at this point, and would be faster at stock speeds than a 5970 at stock speeds, and have better overclocking scaling as well.
Many choices.
If going AMD, 2x5850's is my recommendation.
If going Nvidia, 2x GTX470's.
Just make sure you up your power supply in either scenario.

Keys

 

[MrK6]

If going AMD, 2x5850's is my recommendation.
If going Nvidia, 2x GTX470's.
Just make sure you up your power supply in either scenario.

Keys

If he goes for two 5850's, his power supply is more than enough.

OP, 5850's give you the best bang for your buck, but you should be able to get them for much less than $650. Generally, it should cost around $580, and a sale will bring them even lower.

 

[Keysplayr]

If he goes for two 5850's, his power supply is more than enough.

OP, 5850's give you the best bang for your buck, but you should be able to get them for much less than $650. Generally, it should cost around $580, and a sale will bring them even lower.

And 2x 470's as well. Nvidia lists the Corsair TX750W and HX750W for Dual GTX470s in SLI.
http://www.slizone.com/object/slizone_build_psu.html

So it looks like the OP is good to go either way.

As far as best bang for the buck, especially with the newer drivers and better SLI scaling, that is a more of a blurred area today than it was a month ago.

 

[Zstream]

I would honestly get a 4850 and play with no AA. The cards this round have too many bugs (driver related) and I do not see them working well for another 2-3 months.

If you are going to move up in resolution by Christmas time I would wait for SI or a shrunken version of Fermi.

 

[happy medium]

(But plan on 2560x1600 in the near future, around christmas)

Last I looked a 1gb 5970 tanks in some games at this resolution, right?

Do they make 2gb 5850's? are they worth the extra money? 390$?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...37012&name=2GB

4gb 5970's are 1000$ , So that leaves that out.

Is 1gb enough for 2500x1600 resolution and aa/af or will he have to sacrafice image quality?

 

[Keysplayr]

Well, there's that as well. 470' give a little extra room where video RAM is concerned. 1280MB vs. 1024MB.

 

[happy medium]

I know I'm gonna get an earfull for this but I'm changing my recommendation to gtx 470's in sli.

Especially if you can get these Palit gtx 470 dual fan cards for 330$ each.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Palit/GeForce_GTX_470_Dual/33.html

 

[Jacky60]

I would honestly get a 4850 and play with no AA. The cards this round have too many bugs (driver related) and I do not see them working well for another 2-3 months.

Hey I have 5970 and 5870 but because of all the bugs I'd 'honestly' get an antique Voodoo 2 and play at 640x480 in black and white. I mean who really needs anything better than that.

The 5970 should easily be good for 850 on the core and will pwn the other cards mentioned except possibly higher overclocked xfire 5850's.

5970 is the fastest and will make you very happy. Unless that is you want to get a card from half a decade ago because someone 'thinks' all todays cards have 'bugs' whatever that is supposed to mean.

Oh and 5970 is fine cooling wise just turn up the fan. Only reservation might be 2gb memory which might start to struggle at 2560 x 1600.

 

[yh125d]

I'd go for 470SLI as well, particularly if you can get those $330 dual fan cards.

You just dont wanna go too crazy with the OCing until you get a better PSU, OC'd 470s can likely pull about 300w ea and 930 at 4gHz+ is 200w itself

 

[RussianSensation]

Well, there's that as well. 470' give a little extra room where video RAM is concerned. 1280MB vs. 1024MB.

Believe it or not, but I would actually take 470s in SLI over a 5970 for $700. 470s in SLI should be faster than 5970 due to inferior CF scaling. Plus a setup like this will last quite a while, in which case I will want the superior tessellation performance that future games will require.

I would also consider going with dual 5850s as the bang for the buck solution at $290 x 2 = $580. Overclocked, 5850s should give similar performance to having dual 5870s in CF which is faster than 5970.

EDIT: I found this review but it's rather stale, dating to April. NV drivers gave substantial boost to SLI over last couple of releases.

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...0999-nvidia-geforce-gtx-470-sli-review-3.html

 

[KIAman]

Considering the rest of your setup (your budget is big) and your resolution you play, go get the HD5970 and call it a day.

 

[MagickMan]

Considering the rest of your setup (your budget is big) and your resolution you play, go get the HD5970 and call it a day.

This. If I had no budget at all I'd get a 5970 and call it a day, then add another later if I needed more power. As it stands, I decided to go 5850 and OC it like mad, and I'm going to add a second when I can find another reference card for $250. I almost pulled the trigger when Tiger had those OEM white box cards for $215, and now I wish I had. That was a hell of a deal and would have been all I would ever need until Northern Islands or beyond.

And 2x 470's as well. Nvidia lists the Corsair TX750W and HX750W for Dual GTX470s in SLI.
http://www.slizone.com/object/slizone_build_psu.html

So it looks like the OP is good to go either way.

As far as best bang for the buck, especially with the newer drivers and better SLI scaling, that is a more of a blurred area today than it was a month ago.

That's what they claim, but I wouldn't try to OC those 470s very much with a 750W PSU, especially not if his CPU is overclocked too.

 

[happy medium]

This. If I had no budget at all I'd get a 5970 and call it a day, then add another later if I needed more power. As it stands, I decided to go 5850 and OC it like mad, and I'm going to add a second when I can find another reference card for $250. I almost pulled the trigger when Tiger had those OEM white box cards for $215, and now I wish I had. That was a hell of a deal and would have been all I would ever need until Northern Islands or beyond.


That's what they claim, but I wouldn't try to OC those 470s very much with a 750W PSU, especially not if his CPU is overclocked too.

A 5970 with 2gb of ram even crossfired still uses 1gb of ram.
Thats a deal killer.

An overclocked i7 @ 3.75 and 2 gtx 470 consume 567 watts under load.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-470-2-3-way-sli-review/23

And they said there system draws a little more power due to the water cooling.

He should be just fine. I wouldn't try 3 though.

 

[MagickMan]

An overclocked i7 @ 3.75 and 2 gtx 470 consume 567 watts under load.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-470-2-3-way-sli-review/23

And they said there system draws a little more power due to the water cooling.

He should be just fine. I wouldn't try 3 though.

You have a bad habit of twisting my words in every thread. Pay attention, I didn't say it wouldn't work, I said:

I wouldn't try to OC those 470s very much with a 750W PSU, especially not if his CPU is overclocked too.

anyway...

A 5970 with 2gb of ram even crossfired still uses 1gb of ram.
Thats a deal killer.

Perhaps, perhaps not. It depends on the use of AA and the game itself. Of course, it does seem that cost is no object with him, so he'd just grab a 4GB card. "In for a penny, in for a pound", if he's going to spend $600, $700 isn't a stretch.

 

[happy medium]

You have a bad habit of twisting my words in every thread. Pay attention, I didn't say it wouldn't work, I said:

You pay attention, I didn't say you said it wouldn't work...

I was implying that even with his cpu overclocked he has some gpu overclocking room also with that psu.

Last I looked a 4gb 5970 was 1000$, did they drop in price that much?

A 5970 does fall on its face at high detail and high resolutions with 1gb of ram.

 

[WelshBloke]

Well, there's that as well. 470' give a little extra room where video RAM is concerned. 1280MB vs. 1024MB.

Is 256MB going to make much of a difference at high res?

 

[MagickMan]

You pay attention, I didn't say you said it wouldn't work...

I was implying that even with his cpu overclocked he has some gpu overclocking room also with that psu.

Then why post anything? I said it would be fine as long as he wasn't OCing the 470s very much, but for some reason you butted in like you were refuting my comment. You do that a lot, Jeez.

Last I looked a 4gb 5970 was 1000$, did they drop in price that much?

A 5970 does fall on its face at high detail and high resolutions with 1gb of ram.

No, it doesn't "fall on it's face", it still beats the 480, and does it requiring less power, while producing less heat and noise.

Besides, like I said, it depends on what you play and the amount of AA. At 25x16 you don't need much AA, if any at all.

$700, $1000, there's no budget, who cares?

Is 256MB going to make much of a difference at high res?

Not really.

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/3242/sapphire_radeon_hd_5970_toxic_4gb_video_card/index11.html