Sub-$200 Grudge Match: GF 560 vs RD 6870

[OptimumSlinky]

Coming back home to my computer after being away for a year. Ideally, I would have simply bought a second 5850, but thanks to bit coin mining and what not, 5850s are apparently unavailable these days. So, I have decided to allocate roughly $400 to upgrade the GPU, and have concluded that an SLI/CF set up is the best value for my money. I'd basically like to run any and all games (Crysis, Battlefield 3) at max settings at 1920x1080 resolution maintaining no fewer than 60-fps and future-proof my system for the next 18 months (at least on the GPU side of the house).

I've basically narrowed it down to to either the GeForce 560 or the Radeon 6870. The Radeon seems to be a CrossFire beast, but I'm well aware that nVidia seems to have an upper hand with DX11 tessellation (particularly in Crysis 2). Right now, the Sapphire 6870 is about $180 on NewEgg, the eVGA 560 $190, so between various rebates, I consider price to be a wash.

I have a slight brand bias towards AMD, but am open-minded. Not really interested in overclocking either card, as running two in SLI/XF should be plenty of power. I'd like some honest opinions, preferably from individuals who have these cards in XF/SLI configurations.

 

[Silverforce11]

Neither of those in CF or SLI is an improvement over a pair of modestly OC 5850s, not to mention near 1ghz core which is achievable with vcore tweaks.

 

[tviceman]

Coming back home to my computer after being away for a year. Ideally, I would have simply bought a second 5850, but thanks to bit coin mining and what not, 5850s are apparently unavailable these days. So, I have decided to allocate roughly $400 to upgrade the GPU, and have concluded that an SLI/CF set up is the best value for my money. I'd basically like to run any and all games (Crysis, Battlefield 3) at max settings at 1920x1080 resolution maintaining no fewer than 60-fps and future-proof my system for the next 18 months (at least on the GPU side of the house).

I've basically narrowed it down to to either the GeForce 560 or the Radeon 6870. The Radeon seems to be a CrossFire beast, but I'm well aware that nVidia seems to have an upper hand with DX11 tessellation (particularly in Crysis 2). Right now, the Sapphire 6870 is about $180 on NewEgg, the eVGA 560 $190, so between various rebates, I consider price to be a wash.

I have a slight brand bias towards AMD, but am open-minded. Not really interested in overclocking either card, as running two in SLI/XF should be plenty of power. I'd like some honest opinions, preferably from individuals who have these cards in XF/SLI configurations.

It sounds like you have all the information you already need and should just pull the trigger on what you want the most. Crossfire does generally scale better, but if you like to overclock, the gtx560 has a better chance of overclocking higher since it's a fused chip. Also, the gtx560's come with batman AC for free. You'd get two copies, so you could keep one and sell one, or sell both.

You really can't go wrong with either one, and since the VC&G forums here are filled with mostly polarized opinions, those who like Nvidia are going to tell you to get Nvidia while those who like AMD are going to tell you to get AMD.

 

[Termie]

Two pieces of advice:

(1) The HD6870 can easily be had for <$150AR from multiple vendors, and therefore is the better choice between the 560 and 6870: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...CE&amp;PageSize=20

(2) You may be in for a bad surprise with BF3. Crossfired 1GB cards will not be able to max the settings, due to a memory limitation.

In all honesty, I just couldn't stomach plopping down $400 for two cards that are virtually identical in performance to your current card, just because you can't get another 5850 right now. Don't fall for the trap. At the minimum, get a card that would beat your card in single-card performance, otherwise you'll be disappointed when crossfire/SLI fails.

How about this HD6950 2GB for $230AR: http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=601...r&amp;promoid=1208

 

[OptimumSlinky]

@ Termie, you make a valid point. I am just looking to stay between $300-$400, and in that price range, the real-world impact of the single card solution doesn't really impress me. I mean, using AnandTech's bench as a reference, a single 6950 at 1920x1200 is looking at roughly 48-fps in Crysis: Warhead, 61-fps in Bad Company 2. In contrast, two 6870s crank out 74-fps, 111-fps respectively, for just a tad more cash. Ideally, I'd just XF two 6950s and call it a day, but that costs more than I'm willing to spend on GPU alone (looking at adding an SSD to the rig as well). Now that games are starting to really take advantage of multiple-GPU scaling, it's kind of hard to resist.

As for BF3, yeah, I'll probably have to tone it back (or run without any AA). But for a little north of $300 and some change, I think it could be worse.

 

[Silverforce11]

Get another 5850 from ebay for <$100 and call it a day.

OC it and get better than CF 6870 performance for a lot less $$. Buy a bigger SSD with the savings.

 

[tviceman]

Two pieces of advice:

(1) The HD6870 can easily be had for <$150AR from multiple vendors, and therefore is the better choice between the 560 and 6870: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...CE&amp;PageSize=20

There is a nominal price difference between the two cards, and as I pointed out, all Nvidia cards come with Batman Arkham City, which the OP could either sell both copies he'd get, making the Nvidia cards $40+ cheaper in the end, or he could keep one copy and sell the other, making the Nvidia cards slightly cheaper when it's all said and done.

So going back to my original sentiment,

You really can't go wrong with either one, and since the VC&G forums here are filled with mostly polarized opinions, those who like Nvidia are going to tell you to get Nvidia while those who like AMD are going to tell you to get AMD.

 

[Termie]

@ Termie, you make a valid point. I am just looking to stay between $300-$400, and in that price range, the real-world impact of the single card solution doesn't really impress me. I mean, using AnandTech's bench as a reference, a single 6950 at 1920x1200 is looking at roughly 48-fps in Crysis: Warhead, 61-fps in Bad Company 2. In contrast, two 6870s crank out 74-fps, 111-fps respectively, for just a tad more cash. Ideally, I'd just XF two 6950s and call it a day, but that costs more than I'm willing to spend on GPU alone (looking at adding an SSD to the rig as well). Now that games are starting to really take advantage of multiple-GPU scaling, it's kind of hard to resist.

As for BF3, yeah, I'll probably have to tone it back (or run without any AA). But for a little north of $300 and some change, I think it could be worse.

Have you thought about trying to buy a 5850 in the used market? I don't know what they're going for right now, but I do know the bitcoin market recently crashed. I agree that the benchmarks for crossfire look great (but be wary of microstutter, it's real: http://techreport.com/articles.x/21516/1). You can flip to this page to see just how bad crossfired 6870s might be (and by extension the 5850): http://techreport.com/articles.x/21516/3

If you're serious about spending $400, I'd actually get a GTX580. You won't have a problem running max settings with it: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814134124.

@tviceman: not playing favorites here, just winners!

 

[tviceman]

Get another 5850 from ebay for <$100 and call it a day.

OC it and get better than CF 6870 performance for a lot less $$. Buy a bigger SSD with the savings.

This is probably the best advice. Although I personally would not recommend getting too crazy with overclocking sli / crossfire cards on air cooling. It will get loud, run the chips very hot, and more than likely significantly shorten the lifespan of the top card (the one that isn't getting good airflow).

 

[OptimumSlinky]

All valid points. As for the used market, call me stupid, but I've never liked purchasing used products. I've literally never bought a single item off eBay, and the few times I picked up stuff used, they were items I got from close friends so I knew the level of wear/tear.

It also seems like a lot of cards don't come with the SLI/XF bridges. What's the deal with that? Do you have to purchase them separately? Maybe it is worth waiting until the next generation...

 

[notty22]

SLI bridges never come with the video card. They come with your m/b.
With the crossfire bridges, pay attention if they show them in the newegg picture, then you should get it with the cards. I read people sometimes call the vendor or newegg if they don't get one with the AMD card, and ask for a complimentary one.

 

[Grooveriding]

All valid points. As for the used market, call me stupid, but I've never liked purchasing used products. I've literally never bought a single item off eBay, and the few times I picked up stuff used, they were items I got from close friends so I knew the level of wear/tear.

It also seems like a lot of cards don't come with the SLI/XF bridges. What's the deal with that? Do you have to purchase them separately? Maybe it is worth waiting until the next generation...

In my experience for SLI the bridge comes with the motherboard. (perhaps related to the SLI licensing fee per MB) With Crossfire, the bridge comes with the card.

 

[Skurge]

For $400 I would just get a GTX580 actually.

 

[Athadeus]

All bogus points. It is worth waiting until the next generation.

Fixed

 

[happy medium]

For $400 I would just get a GTX580 actually.

:thumbsup:

 

[jason166]

Amazon has the Sapphire 5850 in stock for 149.99 with free shipping. There are 19 left in stock as of this post. Good luck.

http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-Radeo...9314829&amp;sr=8-1

 

[Jhatfie]

I had 6870's in crossfire but have since migrated to a single GTX580. In some games the 6870's had a decent frame rate advantage, but in reality it did not impact playability or settings that I used because both setups get well beyond 60fps. But other games, like Witcher 2 would cause the 6870's to choke a bit because of the vram limitations and some stuttering was introduced while the 580 was silky smooth. Between the two I prefer the single oc'd GTX 580, which has been mentioned some can be picked up for $400 or less. My Galaxy was about $360 after I sold Arkham City that came with it and rebate.

 

[Termie]

Amazon has the Sapphire 5850 in stock for 149.99 with free shipping. There are 19 left in stock as of this post. Good luck.

http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-Radeo...9314829&amp;sr=8-1

That's kind of crazy! That thing has been long-dead, and now it's back?

Optimum - that's your best choice, and heck, I might get one too!

 

[hdfxst]

I would email them first.I can't remember where i read it but i know i read that they were sending 6850's as a replacement.last week newegg had an open box 5850 xtreme for 90 dollars

 

[Termie]

I would email them first.I can't remember where i read it but i know i read that they were sending 6850's as a replacement

Are you talking about Amazon? Do you mean this is a mistake and they don't actually have the 5850?

How's yours by the way? A couple people on Newegg complained about broken fans.

 

[hdfxst]

yeah the one on amazon,check with them first before you order it(you order the 5850 and they send the 6850 as an upgrade).mine are doing good they survived the summer doing bitcoin 24/7.I heard running the fans 100&#37; would burn them up in a couple months

 

[nenforcer]

I think you are too late in the upgrade cycle to purchase a new GPU right now with your budget.

I would seriously consider getting a second 5850, either used or new if you can find one, and try Crossfiring them especially if you've never done it before.

The Radeon HD 7000 series should premiere in January and the Geforce GTX 600 series sometime later in March.

 

[jason166]

I would email them first.I can't remember where i read it but i know i read that they were sending 6850's as a replacement.last week newegg had an open box 5850 xtreme for 90 dollars

Wow, that would be disturbing... the 6850 as an upgrade doesn't pass the smell test.

 

[TakeNoPrisoners]

Get 2 of those 5850's for trifire.

 

[RaistlinZ]

Get 2 of those 5850's for trifire.

I thought Trifire scaling on the 5000 series was horrible. :hmm:

At any rate, I'm in a similar boat to the OP. But at this point in the year I'm just waiting for a high end 7000 series to replace my current 5870.