5850 CF vs. 6870 CF

[Hasko]

Guys,

I have an Asus 5850 directCU, not a ref design (can't OC but through smart doc), just got an offer to swap it for 6870...

What do you recommend?
1. Keep the 5850 and get another one/ perhaps Sapphire Extreme for about 150eur &CF

2. Swap the 5850 for 6870 and buy another 6870 &CF

3. Discard 1&2, sell 5850 and sometime down the road buy single 6950 or 6970 &CF next year… AND- would it be overkill for my i7 930 (will OC to some 3.8), PSU is Ok, corsair 1000HX/ check my PC details…


I am aware that the option 3 is the best and would give me the most longevity…but what do you say should I CF 5850 or 6870 if given above options…?


I will def play a lot of BF3 and some other upcoming titles, do lots of F1 2010 and Dirt2&3 right now I do all at 1920x1080/ not the BF3 for sure … (though, BFBC2 isn’t a joy to run at this res either…)

I’m just satisfied with the single 5850 performance, but how would it do in CF through the next year with all the new titles???

I would be just happy to buy another 5850 &CF if it gets me through the next year…and yes, it takes a *iss out of me for not being able to OC it (read about BIOS flashing but it’s a no-no-no for non ref design , right??? )

As a hint, I could easily sell my 5850 for some 180eur down in my neck of the woods- Bosnia…and have no probs getting anything from abroad (it’s a lot cheaper, sure )


Any help is appreciated

Cheers!

 

[Cygnus x-1]

Personally I would just add another 5850 if you feel the need for more speed. CF 6870's are faster, but not by a lot.

 

[Hasko]

Personally I would just add another 5850 if you feel the need for more speed. CF 6870's are faster, but not by a lot.

Tnx mate...guess will just hold on till Xmass, that is if I don't sell it down in my neck of the woods...then I'll check the options and probably toss in 2x6970

Cheers!

 

[ps3hacker12]

heres a nice comparison 5850 crossfire vs 6870:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/303?vs=290

5850 CF vs 6870 CF:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/303?vs=301

even beetween the 6970 CF and the 5850 CF its not that different and not worth the money imo:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/303?vs=298

 

[jjb8675309]

all I can say from personally using 6870 crossfire is that the micro stutter was horrible across several drivers, have you read the latest toms HW article about the matter?

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-stutter-crossfire,2995.html

let me tell you from experience that it is not worth it, id recommend a single strong card. Id hold on to the 5850 and oc it with msi afterburner until the next gen of gpu are released

cant speak for your model but my asus dc2 ocs to 1040mhz core with little voltage increase it is the performance of a gtx 570

 

[Hasko]

all I can say from personally using 6870 crossfire is that the micro stutter was horrible across several drivers, have you read the latest toms HW article about the matter?

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-stutter-crossfire,2995.html

let me tell you from experience that it is not worth it, id recommend a single strong card. Id hold on to the 5850 and oc it with msi afterburner until the next gen of gpu are released

cant speak for your model but my asus dc2 ocs to 1040mhz core with little voltage increase it is the performance of a gtx 570

Tnx guys!

Yup, read all about the micro stutter, chilled me off big time...

Thanks for posting comparisons, read some of them, will read now vs. CF6970...

The darn thing with my Asus 58580 DirectCU is that it's non-ref design, tried all swings and roundabouts on MSI afterburner, just won't OC BUT, last night I downloaded Asus GPU Tweak (just found out about it actually), it's v.1.1.something, looks nice, DOES allow voltage control, but is rather unstable, did not fiddle with it a lot, will try next few days...

Fired up BFBC2 for couple hours last night too, figured out that I had shadows on Max, put it down to Medium and FPS doubled :lol: DAMN... used smart doctor to bump up the Voltage to 1.86 and 900MHz (max the smart doc would let me), AA x8 AF x8, fraps displayed anywhere from +50 to +80 guess, would just toss another one in...

BTW, do you have a recommendation where to get another one from, apart the www.amazon.de and www.amazon.co.uk as prices are still ridiculous, like 225EUR for the same model...would appreciate your tips ...


Cheers!

 

[ps3hacker12]

where do you live? for me here in the UK i use ebuyer, dabs, ebay, aria, novatech and scan mainly.

 

[jjb8675309]

cant recommend the crossfire config personally if that's what you want give it a try if you need to experience its ineptitude first hand... just my 2 cents and I speak from personal experience, good luck!

 

[i7n00b]

where do you live? for me here in the UK i use ebuyer, dabs, ebay, aria, novatech and scan mainly.

Live all the way down in Bosnia, but got no probs getting something from the mainland

Tnx, some great sites, gee, makes me cry out loud when I see the prices you got there guys...

 

[i7n00b]

all I can say from personally using 6870 crossfire is that the micro stutter was horrible across several drivers, have you read the latest toms HW article about the matter?

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-stutter-crossfire,2995.html

let me tell you from experience that it is not worth it, id recommend a single strong card. Id hold on to the 5850 and oc it with msi afterburner until the next gen of gpu are released

cant speak for your model but my asus dc2 ocs to 1040mhz core with little voltage increase it is the performance of a gtx 570

Ok, roger that, tnx for the effort, I am getting there to as it seems, guess will hold on for 7xxx series and then buy something...well, we'll see what's up for New Year's

Tnx once again guys!

 

[ps3hacker12]

you could always return the card, and i get the same feeling looking at US prices

 

[i7n00b]

Just as a quick update and to close the thread, just sold mine asus 5850 for 180eur (yup, prices down here are totally over the board...)

What do you suggest guys now, do I hold on for 7xxx series or upgrade to 6950, I know it's not much of an upgrade, and I def could hold on for few months as I will not have much time play...

Cheers!

 

[cats_Paw]

Rule of thumb in gpus: If you can wait, wait. As aoon as the 7xxx comes out you will be able to see many reviews and you will do the decision fully informed of the gains or losses of every possible setup.

Also, when you ask about 1 gpu vs crossfire: Always, i say again, ALWAYS favour single card vs dual cards.

Reasons: first you never get problems with dual configurations like micro shuttering. Second, some games dont actually support coressifre/SLI) so its like you only have one of those cards.
Third, 1 gpu almost always uses less energy than 2, so apart from lower bills, your PSU is less likely to fail.
And finally, Adding another gpu to creossfire or SLI is a good option when time has passed, prices have droped, and games have moved forward, so that a small investment gives a decent increase.