Worth upgrading from a 5850?

Slick Fork

Member
Nov 13, 2012
30
0
61
Hi there,

I am considering upgrading my video card from a Radeon 5850 1GB@#@# I'm finding the sheer volume of data out there a little overwhelming, particularly sorting through system requirements, what spec's are relevant, etc@#@# My @#@#@#plete spec's are below, but the TLDR version is I have an older Antec Sonata case with a 500watt PSU@#@# I am not interested or able at this time to upgrade the PSU as well as a video card so that is a firm limitation for me@#@# My current 5850 BARELY fits into the case, so size of the card is another consideration for me@#@#

My current card still plays most stuff on reasonably good levels, my favourite games right now are Skyrim, the total war series, and the DCS flight sims@#@# I would like Skyrim in particular to be nicer and smoother@#@#

Right now, in my budget of $250 Cad@#@# I see that my top choices seem to be a 7870, or GTX 660@#@# I am NOT interested in overclocking my video card at all@#@# I am not opposed to a "factory" oc'd but I don't have the knowledge, or desire to do it myself@#@#

So, I'd like some re@#@#@#mendations and advice@#@# Is a 660 or 7870 going to be a worthwhile bang for my buck in terms of improvements over a 5850?

Thanks

System Specifications:

I**
Processor/CPU:

I5-2500k 8 gb RAM

II** Current Graphics Card:

AMD 5850 1gb

III** Display Resolution:

2 monitors - 1 @ 1920x1080 2nd at 1600x1050

IV** Power Supply Unit Specification (Brand, Wattage, Ampage, Age)** If possible, please provide a link to a website containing the power supply specifications:

PSU came with the antec case - earthwatts 500w PSU

V** Case Specifications(N/A, Model, Length, Low Profile, Cooling, HTPC, Water, Silent):

Antec Sonata III

Purchase Details:

I**
Budget? Please be sure to include currency (If not USD), retailer preferences & specify whether rebates are a viable option**

Around $250 Canadian

II**
Any particular preferences (Manufacturer[nV or AMD], Brand[XFX, Sapphire, EVGA, etc], Cooling Solutions)?

Have had both brands in the past, no real preference

III** Do you plan to have any Multi-GPU solutions such as Crossfire or SLI?

No

IV** Have you previously looked at a product(s) which you feel would fit your needs?

Looked at the 660, 660ti, 7950

V** What are your needs for this GPU? Which games(If any)do you intend to play? If you have this information at hand, what are the desired detail levels?

Games played: Skyrim, Total war series, Civ V, Call of Duty

VI** Do you plan on overclocking the card you intend to purchase?

Not at all

Additional Notes
 

Termie

Diamond Member
Aug 17, 2005
7,949
48
91
www.techbuyersguru.com
Which model of 5850 do you have? If it's the reference model, it's 9.5" long, and you won't find a single 7870 that will fit. Therefore, I'd aim for the 660.

The key to Skyrim performance, in particular, is VRAM, and that's probably what's hurting you with the 5850. Either the 660 of 7870 would perform much better in that game. And your PSU will be fine, by the way, for both.

Generally speaking, a 660 is about 1.5x faster than a 5850, but probably more than that in Skyrim. Here's a bench of a number of games, including Shogun and Civ V: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/512?vs=660

Oh, and welcome to the forums!
 
Last edited:

KingFatty

Diamond Member
Dec 29, 2010
3,034
1
81
Are you planning to sell your 5850? If not, you could try overclocking it and see if that helps alleviate the Skyrim issues a bit, knowing that if you break the card, it's just an excuse to buy the replacement card sooner.

But see what comes out for prices on black friday, let that make your decision for you.
 

Qbah

Diamond Member
Oct 18, 2005
3,754
10
81
I upgraded from a HD5850 1GB to a GTX670 4GB (mostly for the texture mods). Night and day difference in Skyrim. Though a GTX670 is outside of your budget - I'm on a HX520W Corsair PSU and my CPU is at 3.2GHz. Works great - no issues! Highly recommend if you can stretch your budget a bit ;)
 

dustin25ship

Junior Member
Sep 1, 2011
2
0
0
should be able to pick up a 7850 pretty cheap (I think around $155 AR?) I just got on and I love it. Plays Skyrim great.
 

Slick Fork

Member
Nov 13, 2012
30
0
61
Thanks for the welcome and helpful replies so far.

Although I've always been happy with the AMD cards I've had, after reading Termies advice I looked at specs for a few and none of them are as short as my 5850 (Sapphire reference card @ 9.5"). so it looks like AMD is out of the running unless I want to upgrade my case.

That leaves me with either a 660 - Newegg.ca has an MSI OC 2GB 660 (N660 TF 2GD5/OC) for $240.

They also have an EVGA superclocked model with 3gb of VRAM (03G-P4-2666-KR) for ~$280

I did check out a 670 and Newegg.ca has another MSI (N670GTX-PM2D2GD5/OC) and that one is currently ~$348

So, I'd like some thoughts on these three. Obviously the 670 is a much better card but with a price tag out of my current budget. Does the extra GB of RAM on the 660 3gb justify an adittional $40 or is that wasted money?

The sole Nvidia card I've had in the past was an EVGA and I was thrilled with it - are they still a reputable brand? How about MIS?

My current plan, is to see how the deals shape up over the next couple of months and make my decision based on the price drop; if the 670 falls within my grasp I'll grab it.

For my fellow canadians - do boxing day deals trump whatever we might see over the black friday weekend? Or if the deal looks great next week should I jump on it?

Cheers
 

Greenlepricon

Senior member
Aug 1, 2012
468
0
0
Thanks for the welcome and helpful replies so far.

Although I've always been happy with the AMD cards I've had, after reading Termies advice I looked at specs for a few and none of them are as short as my 5850 (Sapphire reference card @ 9.5"). so it looks like AMD is out of the running unless I want to upgrade my case.

That leaves me with either a 660 - Newegg.ca has an MSI OC 2GB 660 (N660 TF 2GD5/OC) for $240.

They also have an EVGA superclocked model with 3gb of VRAM (03G-P4-2666-KR) for ~$280

I did check out a 670 and Newegg.ca has another MSI (N670GTX-PM2D2GD5/OC) and that one is currently ~$348

So, I'd like some thoughts on these three. Obviously the 670 is a much better card but with a price tag out of my current budget. Does the extra GB of RAM on the 660 3gb justify an adittional $40 or is that wasted money?

The sole Nvidia card I've had in the past was an EVGA and I was thrilled with it - are they still a reputable brand? How about MIS?

My current plan, is to see how the deals shape up over the next couple of months and make my decision based on the price drop; if the 670 falls within my grasp I'll grab it.

For my fellow canadians - do boxing day deals trump whatever we might see over the black friday weekend? Or if the deal looks great next week should I jump on it?

Cheers

If you can get a 7850 for cheaper than the 660 then I think it's the best choice if you're willing to oc. 660ti will also work. The 670 will opviously beat both of them to a pulp. I say wait for a good deal depending on how much you're willing to spend, and jump on whatever comes your way, which is your original plan anyway so you should be set!
 

Termie

Diamond Member
Aug 17, 2005
7,949
48
91
www.techbuyersguru.com
Thanks for the welcome and helpful replies so far.

Although I've always been happy with the AMD cards I've had, after reading Termies advice I looked at specs for a few and none of them are as short as my 5850 (Sapphire reference card @ 9.5"). so it looks like AMD is out of the running unless I want to upgrade my case.

That leaves me with either a 660 - Newegg.ca has an MSI OC 2GB 660 (N660 TF 2GD5/OC) for $240.

They also have an EVGA superclocked model with 3gb of VRAM (03G-P4-2666-KR) for ~$280

I did check out a 670 and Newegg.ca has another MSI (N670GTX-PM2D2GD5/OC) and that one is currently ~$348

So, I'd like some thoughts on these three. Obviously the 670 is a much better card but with a price tag out of my current budget. Does the extra GB of RAM on the 660 3gb justify an adittional $40 or is that wasted money?

The sole Nvidia card I've had in the past was an EVGA and I was thrilled with it - are they still a reputable brand? How about MIS?

My current plan, is to see how the deals shape up over the next couple of months and make my decision based on the price drop; if the 670 falls within my grasp I'll grab it.

For my fellow canadians - do boxing day deals trump whatever we might see over the black friday weekend? Or if the deal looks great next week should I jump on it?

Cheers

Just to confuse the issue slightly, Sapphire just this week released a new HD7870 built on a shorter PCB (8.8"). It would surely fit in your case: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16814202010

As between the 2GB and 3GB GTX660, definitely just stick with the 2GB model. The 670 is much faster than either of the cards you were looking at, but it's in a completely different price range, which also includes the 7950, so you need to take a hard look at your budget and decide what you can afford.
 

Slick Fork

Member
Nov 13, 2012
30
0
61
Hi again,

Just to update, saw an MSI 670 on Black Friday sale for $299 after rebate and couldn't pass it up as the 660 and 7870 were not discounted at all :). Should arrive early next week!