HD 5870 Vs HD 7850

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

SickBeast

Lifer
Jul 21, 2000
14,377
19
81
If you look at the xbit review of the 7850 it beat the GTX 580 pretty much across the board when overclocked 22%, including in bf3 and Crysis 2.

You can't overlook overclocking with these cards. It's like running a 2500k at stock. It's a travesty.
 

Smartazz

Diamond Member
Dec 29, 2005
6,128
0
76
I wouldn't get a used 5870 personally since that was such a popular Bitcoin mining card.
 

Don Karnage

Platinum Member
Oct 11, 2011
2,865
0
0
What I meant was performance wise it can drop off rather quickly, especially in titles with tess.

Titles such as BF3 and Batman the 5870 gets beat by the $150 470 for instance.

The 7850 isn't creating any performance milestones at $250 either in BF3.

44623.png



What other games besides BF3 are you playing, since performance can very so much between titles it might help in giving you the best information towards your specific needs.

I really only play BF3 and some BC2
 

Zebo

Elite Member
Jul 29, 2001
39,398
19
81
And ofcourse someone throws another card into the mix. ;)

Let me find some reviews on it and thank you

I gave you a review of the slower regular classified in comment. Look it even beats 7950 in BF3. One you can buy for $239 is even faster, GTX 560ti 448 classfied ultra for $239.

No brainer.

BF3.png
 
Last edited:

Arzachel

Senior member
Apr 7, 2011
903
76
91
I gave you a review of the slower regular classified in comment. Look it even beats 7950 in BF3. One you can buy for $239 is even faster, GTX 560ti 448 classfied ultra for $239.

No brainer.

This would be a nice deal, but I'm guessing the op isn't against overclocking, so that 560 ti 448 goes back to being worse in every metric. Especially when you can get the 7850 for the same 239$.

As for the 660ti, no idea when Nvidia is going to release it. Looking at the shortage of 680's it seems like they'll take a month at the very least to get anything else out I'm afraid. If you want to get something now, an oc'ed 7850 is an amazing bang for the buck unless you can find some Fermi fire sales. Vliw5/4 hold their value realy well do to bitcoin mining
 

Don Karnage

Platinum Member
Oct 11, 2011
2,865
0
0
Actually leaning towards the 7870 over the 7850 at the moment. Just trying to decide whats the best for the $$$
 

3DVagabond

Lifer
Aug 10, 2009
11,951
204
106
Actually leaning towards the 7870 over the 7850 at the moment. Just trying to decide whats the best for the $$$

I don't see the 7870 being worth an extra $100 bucks. Like is typical with pro vs. xt cards, once the clocks are adjusted there's just not that much difference between the 2. I'd spend a few bucks more for a "premium model" 7850. You'll get a better made, cooler, quieter, card with only ~5% or so less performance and pay less. If I was going to pay more, which I wouldn't the 7850 is plenty of gpu IMO, I'd wait for the 7950 to get to $400 (should be any day if pricing rumors are correct) and get one of those.
 

SickBeast

Lifer
Jul 21, 2000
14,377
19
81
7870 is 3-5% faster than 7850 clock-for-clock.

You would get more out of faster system ram, and that's saying something.

Get a 7850 and put the $100 saved toward another one for crossfire down the line.
 

boozie

Senior member
Oct 12, 2006
486
1
81
I'm going to use this thread to ask a similar question. I'm looking for something near $250, I can go over if it's really warranted with a hard cap at $300. I'm prioritizing stock performance over OC within reason. I may OC eventually, but I don't want that to dictate the card I get.

Looking to buy within the next 2 months. I can wait for new cards if it's worth my time, but I'm not necessarily trying to wait for price cuts on anything.
 

Don Karnage

Platinum Member
Oct 11, 2011
2,865
0
0
I'm going to use this thread to ask a similar question. I'm looking for something near $250, I can go over if it's really warranted with a hard cap at $300. I'm prioritizing stock performance over OC within reason. I may OC eventually, but I don't want that to dictate the card I get.

Looking to buy within the next 2 months. I can wait for new cards if it's worth my time, but I'm not necessarily trying to wait for price cuts on anything.

What games do you play the most?
 

boozie

Senior member
Oct 12, 2006
486
1
81
Well right now and for the next year it's probably going to be mostly DOTA2/D3/Tribes Ascend. I know the first two aren't very demanding. I'm looking for high settings on 1920x1080. I do play BF3, but I don't play it enough to warrant buying a card around it. I expect to play CS:GO which I also don't expect high requirements, but I'd like to play on high settings.

I don't know how much it matters (maybe GPU RAM?), but I also have a 2nd monitor and try to play my games on one monitor windowed borderless so I can access anything else I need while in game.

I could alternatively just try to OC my 5770, but I really want high settings on Dota2/D3.
 

Don Karnage

Platinum Member
Oct 11, 2011
2,865
0
0
Well right now and for the next year it's probably going to be mostly DOTA2/D3/Tribes Ascend. I know the first two aren't very demanding. I'm looking for high settings on 1920x1080. I do play BF3, but I don't play it enough to warrant buying a card around it. I expect to play CS:GO which I also don't expect high requirements, but I'd like to play on high settings.

I don't know how much it matters (maybe GPU RAM?), but I also have a 2nd monitor and try to play my games on one monitor windowed borderless so I can access anything else I need while in game.

I could alternatively just try to OC my 5770, but I really want high settings on Dota2/D3.

First off overclock your 5770. I run BF3 @ 1920X1080 on High settings with a pair of 5770's in xfire overclocked to 1000 core and 1400 mem.

PM me if you have any questions
 

Termie

Diamond Member
Aug 17, 2005
7,949
48
91
www.techbuyersguru.com
Guy who is selling the 5870 Matrix dropped his price to 175. Still too high IMO

First off overclock your 5770. I run BF3 @ 1920X1080 on High settings with a pair of 5770's in xfire overclocked to 1000 core and 1400 mem.

PM me if you have any questions

By the way, I'm not sure a 5870 or a 7850 is that great of an upgrade from 5770 crossfire. You'll get slightly more consistent performance, and with the 7850 you'd have more VRAM to work with, but overall, unless you already purchased that 5870 for $125, I'd hold off for different options once nVidia brings something to the table in that price range.
 

SlowSpyder

Lifer
Jan 12, 2005
17,305
1,002
126
By the way, I'm not sure a 5870 or a 7850 is that great of an upgrade from 5770 crossfire. You'll get slightly more consistent performance, and with the 7850 you'd have more VRAM to work with, but overall, unless you already purchased that 5870 for $125, I'd hold off for different options once nVidia brings something to the table in that price range.

Pretty much was going to post this. 5770 xfre to a 5870 is basically the same. If I remember right, even with the hit from Crossfire the 5870 is actually a bit slower, probably something to do with keep all those VLIW5 shaders full. So, unless you are having CF issues or notice microstutter, I probably would not go with the 5870.
 

jacktesterson

Diamond Member
Sep 28, 2001
5,493
3
81
I have my 7850 running at Specs below running nice and cool without problems. I am running a lot of fans (9 in total in my case), so running at 35% Fan speed, I can't hear the GPU at all over the actual case, which is not very loud at all. I could easily lower my fan speed but whats the point since I can't hear it now over my case. At 40% i start to hear it.

I know I could go higher with increasing voltage but have no need for it as I'm happy where it is now. In a year or more I'll probably start running more juice in it. (I am a casual gamer, 4-5 hours a week, so I am going to try to keep this card around for at least 2 yrs)

and $220 is way too much for a 5870 at this point. Even 2GB. I bought a used one for $160 in the FS forum 3-4 months ago.
 
Last edited: