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HD6870 vs HD6850

N

nitric0

Member
Hey guys,

I'm upgrading my GPU and wanted to ask which of these cards have the best value? The 6850 or 6870. I really wanted to pick up the 5850 but they are sold out everywhere or are overpriced. I won't be overclocking so which do you think is the better deal? 6870 or 6850?

Overall setup:
AMD Athlon II X4 635
4GB RAM
Antec 550W PSU
 
6850 makes more sense unless you can get a really good deal on the 6870. if you were to oc both cards to their typical respective max then the 6870 will only have about a 5% advantage. so basically you are going to pay more to get about the same performance because you do not want to simply move a slider.
 
toyota said:
6850 makes more sense unless you can get a really good deal on the 6870. if you were to oc both cards to their typical respective max then the 6870 will only have about a 5% advantage. so basically you are going to pay more to get about the same performance because you do not want to simply move a slider.
Click to expand...

So if I get a 6850, I can just overclock it which would essentially be the same as the 6870?
 
mosox said:
I don't know which is the best bang for the buck (you run full HD?) but I like very much these two XFX cards:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-515-_-Product
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-521-_-Product

Cool, quiet, lifetime warranty (you need to register the card on their site within 30 days after the purchase in order to activate the lifetime warranty).
Click to expand...

I'm kind of restricted to Amazon as I have giftcards in my account. How is this 6870? http://www.amazon.com/MSI-CrossFireX...6138228&sr=8-9
 
nitric0 said:
So if I get a 6850, I can just overclock it which would essentially be the same as the 6870?
Click to expand...
yep. a 6850 should go to 875 or so with no voltage adjustment at all. at that point you would be looking about 5-7% difference between the cards. of course you could oc even more if you wanted to mess with voltage. personally I don't like to do that though.
 
toyota said:
yep. a 6850 should go to 875 or so with no voltage adjustment at all. at that point you would be looking about 5-7% difference between the cards. of course you could oc even more if you wanted to mess with voltage. personally I don't like to do that though.
Click to expand...

I could do the same with the 6870 though, no? Overclock it which would separate it from the 6850
 
nitric0 said:
I could do the same with the 6870 though, no? Overclock it which would separate it from the 6850
Click to expand...
no kidding but perhaps you missed my earlier post because I already covered that. IF you oc BOTH the 6870 AND 6850 to their typical max then they will be within 5% of each other. so is that 5% worth the extra cost? all I was saying to him in the post you quoted was that he could do a simple easy oc on the 6850 if he did not want to push it.
 
toyota said:
no kidding but perhaps you missed my earlier post because I already covered that. IF you oc BOTH the 6870 AND 6850 to their typical max then they will be within 5% of each other. so is that 5% worth the extra cost? all I was saying to him in the post you quoted was that he could do a simple easy oc on the 6850 if he did not want to push it.
Click to expand...
no kidding perhaps you missed the part where the person you quoted who quoted you is the OP.

Overclocking is a crapshoot and the difference could just as easily be 15-20% as it would be 5% if we were to compare individual samples against each other. Here's a couple of reference cards overclocked and each card overclocks the same so the difference between them is pretty much the same 15-20% difference as between reference cards.

HD 6580
HD 6870

Considering the price difference is the smallest it's ever been between these cards, either one would be a fine purchase; the 6870 is only about 14% ($188 to $165) more expensive and 17% faster.
 
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cusideabelincoln said:
no kidding perhaps you missed the part where the person you quoted who quoted you is the OP.

Overclocking is a crapshoot and the difference could just as easily be 15-20% as it would be 5% if we were to compare individual samples against each other. Here's a couple of reference cards overclocked and each card overclocks the same so the difference between them is pretty much the same 15-20% difference as between reference cards.

HD 6580
HD 6870

Considering the price difference is the smallest it's ever been between these cards, either one would be a fine purchase; the 6870 is only about 14% ($188 to $165) more expensive and 17% faster.
Click to expand...
yes I did miss that. really his post made no sense then since I had already addressed that I thought.

yeah I guess with prices like they are a 6870 is just fine. plus he will not have to worry about ocing the 6850 with extra voltage to match the 6870.
 
cusideabelincoln said:
no kidding perhaps you missed the part where the person you quoted who quoted you is the OP.

Overclocking is a crapshoot and the difference could just as easily be 15-20% as it would be 5% if we were to compare individual samples against each other. Here's a couple of reference cards overclocked and each card overclocks the same so the difference between them is pretty much the same 15-20% difference as between reference cards.

HD 6580
HD 6870

Considering the price difference is the smallest it's ever been between these cards, either one would be a fine purchase; the 6870 is only about 14% ($188 to $165) more expensive and 17% faster.
Click to expand...

Not to nitpick, since OCs do indeed vary between samples they do say this about that particular 6850:

The overclocks of our card are 820 MHz core (6% overclock) and 1115 MHz Memory (12% overclock). Compared to other HD 6800 cards we tested today, this overclock look extremely weak. All our other cards easily managed far above 900 MHz. One possible reason is that the GPU installed on the HIS HD 6850 is an Engineering Sample.
Click to expand...

On the other hand with such a small price difference, both relatively and in absolute terms, if the 6870 fits the budget there is no reason not to buy it.
 
Intel17 said:
I'd go with the 6870 if you can afford it. If you're really tight budget wise, go with the 6850.
Click to expand...

Which HD 6870 do you suggest? I was looking at these 4 models at Amazon

XFX
http://www.amazon.com/XFX-Radeon-Dis...6264344&sr=8-1

Sapphire
http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-DL-DV...6264344&sr=8-2

ASUS
http://www.amazon.com/Eyefinity-EAH6...6264344&sr=8-5

VisionTek
http://www.amazon.com/VisionTek-Rade...6264344&sr=8-6

*(I can only buy from Amazon as I have a gift card there. My budget is strictly below $200.)*
 
I would definitely go with the Asus out of those 4 if it was me.
The xfx and visiontek use reference 'blower' type cooling fans. These use a design that accomplishes exhausting the heat out of the case, but are usually louder than other 'custom' heat pipe, fan blow down designs.
 
notty22 said:
I would definitely go with the Asus out of those 4 if it was me.
The xfx and visiontek use reference 'blower' type cooling fans. These use a design that accomplishes exhausting the heat out of the case, but are usually louder than other 'custom' heat pipe, fan blow down designs.
Click to expand...

I'm just trying to save money. Would the XFX be a good choice? I have good airflow in my case. I will try to overclock as well without changing the voltage. Is the XFX a decent choice?


and for what it's worth. How does this card compare to the GTX 560(non ti)?
 
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They are very similar performance wise (560nonti). Its impossible to say one is much better than the other.
Is the xfx model good ? I'm sure its fine and sold for 240.00+ more for a while. The Asus model would most surely o/c more to be honest.
 
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