Best 5870 card

[rockitman]

I 'm building a rig and just can't justify the extra $300 for the 5970.

Can you guys recommend which company makes the most solid 5870?

 

[JofaMang]

If you are not interested in overclocking the card, than most any reference model will give the same performance, and would be the most cost effective way to go. If you do want to OC, then you will have to look at the cards with custom cooling solutions (Like Sapphire Vapor-X, HIS Ice-Q, or any of the companys that use Zalman coolers) or companies that put voltage control into their bios (like Asus).

 

[shadow187]

If you can OC, get an ASUS/MSI model (Lightning edition for MSI). If you don't want to worry about it, there's a powercolor and gigabyte card that comes factory OC'd to 950mhz core, which is very nice.

 

[JofaMang]

If you can OC, get an ASUS/MSI model (Lightning edition for MSI). If you don't want to worry about it, there's a powercolor and gigabyte card that comes factory OC'd to 950mhz core, which is very nice.

The problem I have with those factory OC cards is that they cost so much more than the reference model, making a home OC job on a reference board a much more economical choice.

 

[shadow187]

Which is why I said if he doesn't want to worry about overclocking.

 

[JofaMang]

Oh i gotcha, sorry, hah. I guess my personal opinion (i know it stinks, just like everyone elses) is that the factory OC cards are best suited for those that desire to OC past those levels anyway. If someone wanted the performance that a factory OC card provides, and nothing more, than a reference is almost always a smarter choice.

 

[megamanx00]

I say go with the Ultra Durable Gigabyte model (that's what I have 😀). It's cooler and quieter than a card with the reference cooler and should last longer.

 

[ssmokeyy]

What about the 5870 xfx xxx line with the heatpipes?
forgot also comes with lifetime warranty.

 

[shadow187]

Most cards come with 3 year warranty.

 

[ssmokeyy]

That's why the xfx brand is so sweet for ati xfx is the best brand because it has lifetime warranty on it. really 389 for a beefed up cooler and lifetime warranty on a 5870 is a sweet deal. That same card is the one they use to do the oc witch is nice