Do I need a new video card? Chime in

[Gepidae]

So Im currently using my xfx 5850 at 1920x1080. I feel the urge to upgrade again because 1)Im getting tired of ati drivers 2)I feel like the card is dating itself.

Could I please get some recommendations in the $250-350 range for an NVIDIA video card. Also are there people out there that feel that an upgrade wouldn't benefit me?

 

[blastingcap]

If you can stretch your budget OR wait, I would wait for GTX670 to fall into the $350 range, or for GTX 660 to launch (which apparently won't happen until the end of summer at earliest, if rumors are correct).

If you MUST upgrade in that price range now, the only real answer is the 7850. Overclock it to ~580 speeds. It also has 2GB VRAM and is more power-efficient than 40nm chips in its performance class.

 

[Arkadrel]

well... a stock 5850 can still do this: 1920x1200 - High settings 0xMSAA/16xAF:

Give it a OC and you ll be avg. 58 fps (5870 speed's).
Your missing out on ULTRA settings and haveing MSAA...
... if you feel thats worth blowing like 300$ on, go ahead.

And honestly what game is more demanding atm than BF3? And your card is still pretty decent for it
(though not at everything maxed out, but close there too).



And like blastingcap said.... a 7850 can reach around 580-7950 performance if you can get it running at ~1250mhz core.
It seems like most can hit over 1200mhz core judgeing by this thread:
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18389760


so 7850 @ 1250mhz, enjoy haveing 580 stock perf or better, for 250$.

^ probably worth it if you can find someone that bitcoin mines and wants to buy your 5850.

 

[Termie]

OP - post your rig specs. That's an important part of the equation.

Also post the games you play.

 

[Jaydip]

So Im currently using my xfx 5850 at 1920x1080. I feel the urge to upgrade again because 1)Im getting tired of ati drivers 2)I feel like the card is dating itself.

Could I please get some recommendations in the $250-350 range for an NVIDIA video card. Also are there people out there that feel that an upgrade wouldn't benefit me?

Gtx 570 would fit ur bill but it won't be a major upgrade over 5850.

 

[Jaydip]

well... a stock 5850 can still do this: 1920x1200 - High settings 0xMSAA/16xAF:

Give it a OC and you ll be avg. 58 fps (5870 speed's).
Your missing out on ULTRA settings and haveing MSAA...
... if you feel thats worth blowing like 300$ on, go ahead.

And honestly what game is more demanding atm than BF3? And your card is still pretty decent for it
(though not at everything maxed out, but close there too).

Where is 5850 in that chart?

 

[Face2Face]

I would wait until the GTX 660 - It could be the next 8800GT....?

 

[blastingcap]

There will be no 8800GT for the next several months; AMD is too close this time to completely blow away, and no NVDA 28nm chip is going to double the performance of GTX 580 at $500. Unless you think BigK is going to be that fast and is going to launch at $500 anytime soon, lol.

Still, I suppose BigK has the potential to become a 8800GTX type of chip if it does have those characteristics, but if it keeps getting delayed, it will have to beat up on HD8970, not HD7970.

 

[Gepidae]

Off the top of my head Im using i5 2500k, Asrock extreme 4, 8gb memory. If there is another important factor Im missing just let me know. O I also play a slew of games none of which is BF3. Probably just playing D3 for a while

I think you guys might be right. I could bump it a bit and let it ride out until GTX 660 releases and see how prices move from there. With that said my local area has someone selling his EVGA gtx 580 SC for ~300. Looks to be a steal if he does sell it. What you guys feel about that? Big jump from the 5850 or is the last gen not worth it?

 

[Termie]

You definitely have the system to take a more powerful graphics card. A used 580 is a pretty good option - will give you about 50-60% improvement in most games.

Just in case you're interested, my pair of 5850s are for sale, and going crossfire may be more cost-effective for you than buying a 580 and selling your 5850. Here's my thread: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2245036

Then again, if you don't like AMD drivers, this idea won't help you...

 

[guskline]

The 5850 is a rock solid card. I have 2 of them in Crossfire in rig 1 below and they play very well on the monitor attached. I am using a very similar setup with them. Really, the move to see significant perfornce would be a Nvidia 670 GTX at @$400. Does your motherboard support Crossfire? Pretty sure the Asrock Extreme 4 for the 2500k does. ( it does). Have you thought about crossfiring the 5850? I know you say drivers but 5850s did a nice job in crossfire and you can pick up a second one for $100-125. You will see a significant jump in fps. Take a look at this Anand bench mark link of 5850s in CF vs the GTX 580
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/303?vs=305

As you can see, I also own the 680 GTX which is powering 3 monitors in a similar 2500k rig (see rig 2) Is it faster than 1 5850 sure! 2 in CF not that I can tell. It has more Vram and is more modern but I paid a steep price for that. If your itching to have a big jump and don't want to crossfire, break you piggy bank and buy a 670 GTX!

 

[Gepidae]

I was seriously contemplating doing xfire for a while but it doesn't really help my original issue of disliking ATI drivers so yeah, don't think I want to go that route. Im also tired of tweaking games around to make xfire optimized. Thanks for the suggestion though

 

[Zebo]

There is nothing worth buying from $190 all the way to $350 that's not a 7850. This is a awesome little card that can overclock 50% almost reaching stock 7970 levels, uses half power as cards generation before and is only $239...I've seen as low as $220 when you hit sales.

best deals
$150? 6870

$170-$190? 560tis

$190-$350 7850

$360-$380 7950

$400 to infinity GTX 670

 

[Grooveriding]

You should probably bite the bullet and get the 670 for a bit more. It's a good deal faster than a 5850.

670 is 60% faster than a 5870 @1080P w/4xAA

Look at it this way, 680 is 30% faster than GTX 580, 670 is 20% faster than GTX 580 - just how much faster can the 660 be ?

I think at best the 660 will be the same speed as a 580, could be slower. Maybe a $300 580 is your best bet... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...CE&PageSize=20

or not, GTX 580 is still $380+ ? lol. Who is going to buy it for that price ?!

 

[Zebo]

or not, GTX 580 is still $380+ ? lol. Who is going to buy it for that price ?!

Someone reading year old benches? Seriously that card is most overpriced on the market - worse than 7870 which I did not think possible. There are $220 cards that beat it easy with a slight bump with no voltage. Not to mention use half power doing it.

GTX 580 should be $280 tops.

 

[Gepidae]

You should probably bite the bullet and get the 670 for a bit more. It's a good deal faster than a 5850.

$100 bucks isn't exactly a bit more lol. Used gtx 580 for 300 and new gtx 670 for 400

GTX 580 is still $380+ ? lol. Who is going to buy it for that price ?!

Yeah well its unfortunate but the market/demand sets the price. I got no choice to believe that 580 used for 300 is "good"

All in all I think the most logical solution is to wait and see if and when the 670 drops to ~350

 

[aaksheytalwar]

Get a 7850 and oc to 580 oc levels for $250

 

[jjj807]

OP - post your rig specs. That's an important part of the equation.

Also post the games you play.

this

 

[Gepidae]

Off the top of my head Im using i5 2500k, Asrock extreme 4, 8gb memory. If there is another important factor Im missing just let me know.

Couldn't edit my original post for some reason...

 

[guskline]

$100 bucks isn't exactly a bit more lol. Used gtx 580 for 300 and new gtx 670 for 400



Yeah well its unfortunate but the market/demand sets the price. I got no choice to believe that 580 used for 300 is "good"

All in all I think the most logical solution is to wait and see if and when the 670 drops to ~350

It might be awhile for the GTX 670 to drop to $350. Look at the bright side, a few weeks ago your GTX 580 was one of Nvidia's top dogs. Still an extremely powerful GPU.

 

[SickBeast]

5850 Crossfire is quite powerful AFAIK. I would do that or else go with maybe a 7850.

 

[guskline]

Is it need or want? Truthfully a lot of my purchases are really want though I kid myself into thinking they are "need". That being said the 5850 is still a very nice Video card. What games do you play? What size monitor? I'd wait until the GTX 670 market settles down. If the 28nm production ramps up and 680s become plentiful their price will drop and the 670s might drop.

 

[Gepidae]

Hm I suppose this is in the want category. My monitor resolution is in my original post. Games are most likely going to be D3 till I die, lol.

Yup guess its best to wait until the hoopla settles down a bit. Thanks everyone for their input, the community here always helps put things into perspective when I have the urge

 

[Destiny]

Off the top of my head Im using i5 2500k, Asrock extreme 4, 8gb memory. If there is another important factor Im missing just let me know. O I also play a slew of games none of which is BF3. Probably just playing D3 for a while

I think you guys might be right. I could bump it a bit and let it ride out until GTX 660 releases and see how prices move from there. With that said my local area has someone selling his EVGA gtx 580 SC for ~300. Looks to be a steal if he does sell it. What you guys feel about that? Big jump from the 5850 or is the last gen not worth it?

I say wait for the GTX 660 and here are the reasons why:

1. You say the main game you will be playing is D3?... when D3 comes out I'm going to assume you will put a good 3 months of almost 100% of your gaming time (free time) on that game (Because I will be doing the same when D3 comes out)... then by that time, August/Sept either the GTX 660 will be out or current available cards will price drop to meet your budget.

2. The ATI 5850 is MORE than enough to max out D3 at 1920x1080 resolutions.

If you can't wait... sell your ATI 5850 for like $100 and put it towards a GTX 670 or other $400 card and there you go... get a card for your budget..

 

[Termie]

Hm I suppose this is in the want category. My monitor resolution is in my original post. Games are most likely going to be D3 till I die, lol.

Yup guess its best to wait until the hoopla settles down a bit. Thanks everyone for their input, the community here always helps put things into perspective when I have the urge

In case you didn't see this:

Source: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/diablo-iii-performance-benchmark,3195-5.html

In other words, you definitely don't need a new card.