MichaelTS

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Which should I get if I want to play shooters and MMORPGs? What will be the difference in performance between the two, and how much of a difference will I notice if I upgrade from my 4870? Also, when is a graphics card in idle, and when is it in load?
 

Mudit Sathe

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What's your monitor native resolution?Both cards will offer you a good upgrade.Graphics card in idle means usage of graphic card in normal use like during web surfing etc,Graphic card at full load means full load of the graphics card in the event of playing heavy graphic demanding games or running heavy graphic demanding benchmarks.They are useful in calculating power requirements for a card.
 

beltzy

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There are a lot of factors that come into play (what specific games you are running, what your current system looks like, size/resolution of monitor, etc). I'd recommend getting the 5850- it's more than enough muscle for the vast majority of users and you can always grab a 2nd one down the road and crossfire if you want to really stretch your system's legs.
 

MichaelTS

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Getting a new monitor, though I don't know which yet, so I can't say the resolution. Likely around 1920 x 1080, maybe more, maybe less. But how can I know exactly when it is in load? And how much stronger will the 5870 be?
 

kiban

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Difference would be around 10FPS give take for the 5870 over the 5850. Both cards are great.

Idle: When no 3D application is in place IE: using web browser, text work, playing solitaire...(watching videos or dvd movies is considered idle on graphic cards, as they don't need to work more than 2% average) Clocks stays at 157/300(depending on the card this is an example of the 5870)

Full load: When 3D application is in place IE: Games(some games uses the gpu more that others, but it is full load). Clocks stays at 850/1200(depending on the card this is an example of the 5870)
 

MichaelTS

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I looked them up on tom's hardware and it said the 4870 was 183 on idle and 314 on load, 5850 being 145 on idle and 305 on load, and the 5870 141 on idle and 354 on load. Do they mean watts? I tried finding the watt usage of the cards, but every website has different results. It also seems that these higher end cards use even less power than the 4870, is that true?
 

Truhls

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Yes, the new cards use less because, the actual GPU is smaller, but more efficient. Thus you get a performance gain with less electricity, and thus less heat.
 

rmmil978

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I recommend getting the 5850. Wonderful temperatures, great idle power usage, and if you really need more muscle, get another 5850 for crossfire. I have a pair in crossfire, and it totally murders every game I play for FPS. Also, although I don't do it due to a lack of needing to, due to the low temps these cards can be overclocked like a dream if you should ever need to.
 

kiban

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That is the whole system wattage, what I posted are the specific card wattage(just the card wattage).
 

rmmil978

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Oh my, the one seller on Amazon is charging WAY TOO MUCH for that card! Usually if cards say "unavailable" on Newegg it means that they are discontinued, not always, but usually. That card in particular has probably been replaced by a newer version. Take a look at this one : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150491&Tpk=xfx%205850. Over $100 cheaper and it has the same stats, just looks different (non-reference design). Same manufacturer and warranty.
 
If you already have a 4870 I think you will be spending alot on a 5850 for not a huge differance. If you mb supports crossfire I suggest you consider a second 4870 that should get you a bigger boost for half the money (or if you need a new MB & PSU the same money).
 

MichaelTS

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I'm selling my current comp anyway, I'm not going to crossfire and I'm definitely not going to use 2 4870s. Read on amazon and saw that it was only sold by one person. So where can I buy it then? Not on tigerdirect either.
 

BruceOTB

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Agreed. 4870-5850 is not that big of a jump, 5870 or stay with 4870. But If your selling your computer and your budget only allows for a 5850, then get what you can afford of course :)
 

kiban

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He says he is going to crossfire, and even if not, the 5850 is a huge leap over 4870. Less power usage, less heat, new tech, more performance less money, and a lot of OC room. So yes it is a big leap.

On your question about where to buy it, sorry I have no idea, I buy every component from physical store.