Radeon HD 6850 vs Radeon HD 5850 OC

[Aidios]

I'm building a system and would like some input from a wider range of tech-specialists. I'll be using the system for gaming, and would like to be able to run the games on max settings. The highest resolution they'll be running at is 1680x1050. Both cards are 1GB 256-bit GDDR5. I don't know what the deciding factors are for video cards when it comes to gaming though, so here they are.

GIGABYTE GV-R585OC-1GD Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro)

ASUS EAH6850 DC/2DIS/1GD5/V2 Radeon HD 6850

Of these two video cards, which would be most suitable for what I'm aiming for? Thanks!

 

[Muyoso]

I am by no means the most knowledgable on this subject, but I believe the ONLY thing the 6850 is better at is tesselation. A stock 5850 is faster and better for gaming in most situations than a stock 6850.

You should be able to run pretty much any game at max settings using either of those cards at that resolution, but the edge will almost always be to the 5850.

 

[biostud]

They're so close that you're not going to notice any difference in real life.

5850 pros: slightly faster
6850 pros: slightly faster in tessellation, better AF, uses less power

 

[Aidios]

Gonna stick with the 6850. Thank you, everyone. If you want to take a look at the full build thread, here it is.

 

[GaiaHunter]

The 5850 is a faster card, but as said not by much.

They both OC nicely.

At similar prices I would get a 5850 (I got a 6850 since at that time the 5850 were still €80 more expensive).

At that resolution you shouldn't see many differences so saving some money it is a valid strategy.

 

[daRkKon]

11.4 drivers improved the 6 series even furthur so their almost neck and neck

 

[WMD]

They are both VLIW5 architecture with 32ROPs and 256bit GDDR5. The main difference is the 5850 has 50% more shader units. The 6850 somewhat make up for it with higher clocks but still trails the 5850 by over 10% in benchmarks. The gap can grow to 20% in shader intensive games

The 6800 series are better in tessellation but it is hardly an advantage in real world applications. The 6850 still trails 5850 in tessellation games

http://ht4u.net/reviews/2010/amd_radeon_hd_6850_hd_6870_test/index31.php

11.4 drivers improved the 6 series even furthur so their almost neck and neck

We heard that argument many times in the past with 5770 vs 4870. 5770 is still slower than 4870 1gb because drivers can not make up for hardware limitations. Drivers cannot magically make a card outperform another card with 50% more shader units.

OP: Get the Gigabyte 5850OC. With the 5% increased clocks it will practical perform the same as a 6870

 

[Modular]

Or grab the Sapphire Xtreme one and overclock it yourself. It's on a smaller PCB (the same one as the 6850) and from the reviews I've read, it actually uses less power than the 6850.

 

[aphelion02]

Sapphire Xtreme one is OOS

 

[hdfxst]

Sapphire Xtreme one is OOS

tigerdirect has them in stock but at 150 http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...p?EdpNo=199805

amazon has it but it says 2 to 3 weeks http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...pf_rd_i=507846

 

[Kroze]

Get 2 used Radeon 4870 for $160.

Have a monster of a graphic card for cheap FTW.

That's what i'm doing anyway.

 

[WMD]

Sapphire Xtreme one is OOS

The Asus Direct CU 5850 is the next best option. It has voltage control and will overclock better than the Gigabyte one.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121375

 

[Borealis7]

Get 2 used Radeon 4870 for $160.

Have a monster of a graphic card for cheap FTW.

That's what i'm doing anyway.

he's better off with a 5850. about same performance (5850 ~ 4870X2) and MUCH less power draw without the drawbacks of multi-GPU.

 

[Modular]

The Asus Direct CU 5850 is the next best option. It has voltage control and will overclock better than the Gigabyte one.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121375

If by Gigabyte you meant Sapphire then you should know it now has voltage control enabled through the latest TRIXX software.

 

[Kroze]

he's better off with a 5850. about same performance (5850 ~ 4870X2) and MUCH less power draw without the drawbacks of multi-GPU.

Where did you get this fact that the 4870x2 = 5850 ??

I got my performance figure from here
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/174?vs=164

and it clearly show the 5850 is pathetic compared to the 4870x2. The 4870 dominate it by a very very WIDE margin.

 

[WMD]

If by Gigabyte you meant Sapphire then you should know it now has voltage control enabled through the latest TRIXX software.

By Gigabyte I meant Gigabyte (OP link in first post). The Sapphire is clearly the best choice for the money but if you cant find one, the second best will be the Asus.

 

[nemesismk2]

I have a Sapphire Radeon HD 5850 Extreme, it's a great video card which is why after I bought my first one I bought 4 others for my friends lol

 

[Borealis7]

Where did you get this fact that the 4870x2 = 5850 ??

I got my performance figure from here
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/174?vs=164

and it clearly show the 5850 is pathetic compared to the 4870x2. The 4870 dominate it by a very very WIDE margin.

oops...i was thinking 4850X2 (or XF)