going the dual 5970 route..for my eyefinity RIG.

FiLeZz

Diamond Member
Jun 16, 2000
4,778
47
91
I have one, I had to buy another for a customer and decided what the hell so I bought another for me..

Card will be here on Friday, for 5970 crossfire goodness..


(Update)Cards came in and are working well.

Just ordered two more 3008wfp 30" monitors, for a total of three. My eyefinity rig is now completed.
Now I can put this hardware to use.
Pics will be added when I get it all setup..
 
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lavaheadache

Diamond Member
Jan 28, 2005
6,893
14
81
I have one, I had to buy another for a customer and decided what the hell so I bought another for me..

Card will be here on Friday, for 5970 crossfire goodness..




I wonder where the justification for this comes from? Please don't attack me because I'm not bashing you guys.

First off. I game @ 2560x1600 and have an hd4870x2 and a hd4870 1 gig. Besides the lack of dx11 and not being able to use AA in Crysis on very high, There is nothing my rig doesn't run exceptionally well. My video card setup can be had for less than the cost of a 5870 and smoke it handily.

What are you guys doing that even remotely warrants a 5970 nevermind 2?

Secondly, In all the benchmarks/reviews they've shown terrible scaling with card due to lack of material out there capable of stressing the card on top of what appears to immature drivers.

Add to the first 2 problems with the card, there is a very high price premium for this kind of setup.

aside from people who get thier hardware for free, these cards can cost 1200 or so. I hope you guys have very deep pockets and don't care about abysmal performance gains. I understand bragging rights but is there anything worth bragging about having hardware that doesn't perform yet?


It's like buying a ferrari that misfires when you push the gas pedal all the way, where is the ferrari goodness in that?
 

PUN

Golden Member
Dec 5, 1999
1,590
16
81
I wonder where the justification for this comes from? Please don't attack me because I'm not bashing you guys.

First off. I game @ 2560x1600 and have an hd4870x2 and a hd4870 1 gig. Besides the lack of dx11 and not being able to use AA in Crysis on very high, There is nothing my rig doesn't run exceptionally well. My video card setup can be had for less than the cost of a 5870 and smoke it handily.

What are you guys doing that even remotely warrants a 5970 nevermind 2?

Secondly, In all the benchmarks/reviews they've shown terrible scaling with card due to lack of material out there capable of stressing the card on top of what appears to immature drivers.

Add to the first 2 problems with the card, there is a very high price premium for this kind of setup.

aside from people who get thier hardware for free, these cards can cost 1200 or so. I hope you guys have very deep pockets and don't care about abysmal performance gains. I understand bragging rights but is there anything worth bragging about having hardware that doesn't perform yet?


It's like buying a ferrari that misfires when you push the gas pedal all the way, where is the ferrari goodness in that?

true, but i rather have a misfiring ferrari than a honda accord.
 

mchammer187

Diamond Member
Nov 26, 2000
9,114
0
76
I wonder where the justification for this comes from? Please don't attack me because I'm not bashing you guys.

First off. I game @ 2560x1600 and have an hd4870x2 and a hd4870 1 gig. Besides the lack of dx11 and not being able to use AA in Crysis on very high, There is nothing my rig doesn't run exceptionally well. My video card setup can be had for less than the cost of a 5870 and smoke it handily.

What are you guys doing that even remotely warrants a 5970 nevermind 2?

Secondly, In all the benchmarks/reviews they've shown terrible scaling with card due to lack of material out there capable of stressing the card on top of what appears to immature drivers.

Add to the first 2 problems with the card, there is a very high price premium for this kind of setup.

aside from people who get thier hardware for free, these cards can cost 1200 or so. I hope you guys have very deep pockets and don't care about abysmal performance gains. I understand bragging rights but is there anything worth bragging about having hardware that doesn't perform yet?


It's like buying a ferrari that misfires when you push the gas pedal all the way, where is the ferrari goodness in that?

There is no way a 4870x2 + another 4870 costs less than a 5870

a refurbished 4870x2 goes for $320 on ebay + shipping and if bought new it would be $400

a new 4870 is $200

$520-$600 which is $100-150 less than a 5970 new and a more than a 5870 by at least $100

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-5970-review-test/23 seems to indicate the 5970 scales pretty damn well with CF

I will agree that CF is overkill

A single 5970 however is perfect for a top of the line system and for a top of the line part it has an extremely good price/performance and it will only get better when it can be found at MSRP or lower.
 
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CitanUzuki

Senior member
Jan 8, 2009
464
0
0
There is no way a 4870x2 + another 4870 costs less than a 5870

a refurbished 4870x2 goes for $320 on ebay + shipping and if bought new it would be $400

a new 4870 is $200

$520-$600 which is $100-150 less than a 5970 new and a more than a 5870 by at least $100

just bought a brand new 4870 x2 for 250 on ebay.
 

lavaheadache

Diamond Member
Jan 28, 2005
6,893
14
81
hmm.... last time i checked, it was relatively easy to find a 4870x2 for 250 and a 1 gig 4870 for 125 briniging the total to $375. Show me a 5870's that can be had for that price.

Sorry for thread crapping.

BTW, I think that 5870's are a good deal at 400, I just can't justify the switch
 

TemjinGold

Diamond Member
Dec 16, 2006
3,050
65
91
There is no way a 4870x2 + another 4870 costs less than a 5870

a refurbished 4870x2 goes for $320 on ebay + shipping and if bought new it would be $400

a new 4870 is $200

$520-$600 which is $100-150 less than a 5970 new and a more than a 5870 by at least $100

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-5970-review-test/23 seems to indicate the 5970 scales pretty damn well with CF

I will agree that CF is overkill

A single 5970 however is perfect for a top of the line system and for a top of the line part it has an extremely good price/performance and it will only get better when it can be found at MSRP or lower.

You must not shop around much. A new 4890 can easily be had for less than $200, let alone a 4870.
 
Apr 17, 2003
37,622
0
76
There is no way a 4870x2 + another 4870 costs less than a 5870

a refurbished 4870x2 goes for $320 on ebay + shipping and if bought new it would be $400

a new 4870 is $200

$520-$600 which is $100-150 less than a 5970 new and a more than a 5870 by at least $100

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-5970-review-test/23 seems to indicate the 5970 scales pretty damn well with CF

I will agree that CF is overkill

A single 5970 however is perfect for a top of the line system and for a top of the line part it has an extremely good price/performance and it will only get better when it can be found at MSRP or lower.

4870s commonly dip to $125 or so. They can be had right now for $150.
 

happy medium

Lifer
Jun 8, 2003
14,387
480
126
I agree. I've seen 4870x2 going for 225$ and 4870's for 120$ all the time. Thats 345$.
I take it tri fire 4870's would demolish a 5870?

Can you trifire a 5970 and a 5870?
 

mchammer187

Diamond Member
Nov 26, 2000
9,114
0
76
You must not shop around much. A new 4890 can easily be had for less than $200, let alone a 4870.

I just looked up prices via google/ebay/newegg and the cheapest I came up with for 4870 was 165 that was new of course

and for 4870x2 it was $390 and I still can't find anything close to 250 for an X2

I don't really shop pay attention to prices unless I'm upgrading myself and I was planning on getting a 5970 sometime around when the westmere xeons come out
 
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happy medium

Lifer
Jun 8, 2003
14,387
480
126
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FiLeZz

Diamond Member
Jun 16, 2000
4,778
47
91
If it is over kill and I and I don't like it, I will sell a card.. That will not happen though..
 

mchammer187

Diamond Member
Nov 26, 2000
9,114
0
76
Ebay x2 4870 200$ 1 hour left.

http://cgi.ebay.com/HIS-ATI-Radeon-...emQQptZPCC_Video_TV_Cards?hash=item3ca8d9537d

4870's are mostly out of stock but were going for 150/160$.

http://www.katerno.com/detail/s/145...I-PCI-Express-Video-Card,-Retail---100259-1GL

A used one can easily be found for less then 150$

Just crossfire a 4890 with a 4870x2 for 179$

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....&ref=39&loc=01

I wonder why that auction didn't show up for me
I searched for "4870x2" verbatim no quotes
ebay.JPG


Can you please either make this image MUCH smaller, or thumbnail it please.
Anandtech Moderator - Keysplayr
 
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exar333

Diamond Member
Feb 7, 2004
8,518
8
91
Sound's like a benchmark monster. If they finally release a updated ATI F@H, you coould really have a folding monster (along with a monster power bill) too. :)

Enjoy!
 

adairusmc

Diamond Member
Jul 24, 2006
7,095
78
91
I game at 2560x1600 myself, and I was seeing some big slowdowns in Borderlands with my 4870X2 that I had. I once had it tri-fired, but I sold the other card to a co-worker for $100 since he needed one.

The 5970 I got to replace the X2 card has made a world of difference for me, so it was well worth upgrading to. I got my card through my work though, for around $580, so it was too good of a deal to pass up with the cards selling in the $679 range (I have a HIS card BTW).

I cant imagine I would need to quadfire them though, unless I was doing a few 30" monitors in eyefinity or something - but one 30" monitor suits me just fine.
 

lavaheadache

Diamond Member
Jan 28, 2005
6,893
14
81
I game at 2560x1600 myself, and I was seeing some big slowdowns in Borderlands with my 4870X2 that I had. I once had it tri-fired, but I sold the other card to a co-worker for $100 since he needed one.

The 5970 I got to replace the X2 card has made a world of difference for me, so it was well worth upgrading to. I got my card through my work though, for around $580, so it was too good of a deal to pass up with the cards selling in the $679 range (I have a HIS card BTW).

I cant imagine I would need to quadfire them though, unless I was doing a few 30" monitors in eyefinity or something - but one 30" monitor suits me just fine.

I agree

With 1 hd4870x2 there are some big slow downs here and there. Pop in the 4870 for trifire and it literally adds 15 fps in almost any scenario were you would have normal been at 45fps meaning you can run vsync locked at 60fps no slowdowns
 

FiLeZz

Diamond Member
Jun 16, 2000
4,778
47
91
I agree

With 1 hd4870x2 there are some big slow downs here and there. Pop in the 4870 for trifire and it literally adds 15 fps in almost any scenario were you would have normal been at 45fps meaning you can run vsync locked at 60fps no slowdowns



I came from 2 4870x2's ran well on most things..

Now there is a new king in town and his name is two 5970's

I was tired of the older 4870x2 cards that I had from when they came out..

I like to upgrade.. Call it silly, dumb, I don't really care.. I want to do three 30" monitors I know I will use the horse power at that point. I have 2 20"'s and 1 30" at the moment.
 

RaistlinZ

Diamond Member
Oct 15, 2001
7,470
9
91
How did this thread get hijacked into talking about 4870's?

At any rate, congrats on your dual 5970 rig! What kind of power supply are you using for that? Are the cards overclocked at all?
 

FiLeZz

Diamond Member
Jun 16, 2000
4,778
47
91
No overclocking yet.. should not really need to.. for a few reasons.. Life of cards and power and heat. I may overclock them to bench vantage or something. I have a 1200watt silverstone.. modular..
 

Patrickz0rs

Senior member
Dec 20, 2007
355
0
0
Please list the games you will be playing and at what resolution. Until then, you have the biggest e-peen that I have seen.
 

cbn

Lifer
Mar 27, 2009
12,968
221
106
I am running two now and I love it!

How much quieter are the HD5970s now that they are on water?

I can only imagine trying to cool two (especially overclocked) Cypress cores with a single tiny video card fan makes for a louder computer.