Best GPU for a E8400 CPU 5850 vs 5870 vs 470!

[Ray Charles]

My System

E8400 @ 3.0 Ghz
Gigabyte ga-ep45-ud3p
2gb ddr2 800
Sigma Shark 635w (20A x 20A 12v)
Acer 22"(max resolution 1680x 1050)

What is the best GPU for a E8400 CPU 5850 vs 5870 vs 470!
My concerns are bottenecking, Image Quality, Movie playback quality!

EVIDENCE FROM REVIEWS AND SITE BENCHMARKS, PERSONAL BENCHMARKS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!
I am coming from a dead HD 4870 512mb I loved and do not want a lesser experience!

 

[shubham1401]

All the three card you mentioned are much more powerful than a 4870.
However i will recommend you a HD5850 since it will max out any game at your monitor's resolution.

I would also suggest you to get another 2 GB ram stick as your 2GB is too low for gaming purposes.
That will give a good boost in performance.

5870 and 470 are more expensive than 5850 and since 5850 is plenty for that resolution there is no point in spending extra money for those GPUs.

 

[randomkid]

To OP:
At your resolution, even an HD5770 will keep you happy although it performs a bit less versus your old 4870 in some games. But it will be above par with your requirement.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-5770,2446-7.html
If money is no object, go for the HD5850.

But if you have no plans of doing eyefinity, you can get the HD5770 and see how it goes. If you do not like it, you can always get a 2nd HD5770 for crossfire.

 

[Maziar]

For your resolution i would go with a 5850,i just got one for my friend who plays on 1680x1050 and he is more than happy with it.
About HD 5770,well although it has lower power consumption alongside having newer techs but it performs lower than a 4870 so i think 5850 would be a great upgrade

 

[Ray Charles]

What about the Image quality in movies games well as the overall experience in these games?
Isn't a 470 goin to be an overwhelming experience compared to a 5850 bu just looking at? PLEASE HELP especially persons who have both and have or haveexperience both a 470 and any ATI 5000 series. PLEASE I am not familiar with the look of nvidia a had a HD 4870 and the most I have seen from nvidia is a 9800!!!

 

[shubham1401]

My friend has a HD5850 hooked to a Full HD monitor. I can't notice any difference in visuals except in games(I have a 9800GT).

I don't think 470 will be an overwhelming experience.It is a nice card but for your requirements 5850 will be more than sufficient.

 

[Ray Charles]

By requirements you mean the monitor not the PSU!

Thanks so far I have taken the 5870 out of the equation almost indefinately!
I am leaning towards the 5850!

NB: The 470 beats the 5850 clearly at 1680x1050 in most cases but with an e8400 and bottlenecking would it be possible for the 5850 to beat the 470 in my system!!!

But what about 3d vision, Physx, ray tracing, tessellations with the 470 in terms of future proofing!!!

 

[rolli59]

It is all about what you want. Both HD5850 and GTX470 will work great at your resolution, both might be slightly bottlenecked by your CPU. You want 3d vision and etc get GTX470, you want eyefinity get HD5850.

 

[Ray Charles]

Cool I am waiting till May 12th when my university semester ends if the 470 remains at $350 or better yet drops its the one or else the 5850 will be it!!!

 

[shadow187]

The 470 won't be dropping in price anytime soon. If you can get an ASU DirectCU edition, you can OC it nicely to trump the 470.

 

[qwerty45]

Get the 5850. And why did you list raytracing and tesellation, because the 5850 has it too. And the 5850 has eyefinity and will soon have 3rd party 3-d support

 

[Ray Charles]

Raytracing and tesellation are twice as good on the 470 in most cases but eyefinity is definately a ATI plus and the 5850 is the best bang for buck now obviously but I am just thinking along the lines of the fact that the 470 has now been release it would be more futuristic and pay off in the longrun but I love Ati though! Just trying to make an unbias decision and you guys are clearly not bias at least in my opinion which is good!

 

[shadow187]

We're not biased?

Looo0oo0o0000ollll...........

And tessellation...I don't recall it ever being 2x as good...but the only true tessy benchy was from Unigene with Extreme tessellation.

 

[Ray Charles]

We're not biased?

Looo0oo0o0000ollll...........

And tessellation...I don't recall it ever being 2x as good...but the only true tessy benchy was from Unigene with Extreme tessellation.

I did not say you guys are bias you are actually quite knowledgeable and have been providing some of the best advice i could find on the scenario in question! I actually want to by the 5850 because it is cheaper has eyefinifty, I like avivo for movies, I find catalyst is better than most make it out to be and the temps and power consumption are fantastic but I still want know the 470 as best as I can before saying no! to it right now only additional features and future potential is keeping its possibility alive or else its not worth the exta $50-$80.

The Feermi tessellation is NEARLY twice as good only when it is extreme and this why I am thinking future because clearly this is not useful now!

This may be a next year or two investment!

Its not a big deal but it should not be totally ignored and it is a potential value adder!!!

 

[roush2fast]

you guys are clearly not bias at least in my opinion which is good!

LOL I think people are for the most part exhausted form arguing on other threads. If that were not the case this thread would be burning down the house.


There is no doubt the 5850 has the highest price/perf right now. It just depends on what you want.

 

[Ray Charles]

Your right!!!
Which brand is more CPU dependent? Who tends to run better with Core Duos ATI or Nvidia and does memory bandwith (256bit vs 320bit) and other 'speeds' and rating (core clock, shader etc) affect bottlenecking? I think this is important for all who own Core duos, Core Quads, i3,i5, and Phenoms as most benchmarks are done with i7s which are usually overclocked and these can be misleading for non i7 owners as well as i7 owners who choose not to overclock!

 

[pheesh]

I have the same system as you have, except I got 4 GB RAM, and a lower 550W EZcool PSU.
Also using a 22" LG monitor.

I just got the 5850 (PowerColor) last week, and it works great!
I play BC2 with the highest details and MAX AA, and it works smooth (didn't check the actual framerate, but guessing it's >30).

I'm yet to try eyefinity, as soon as I get my hands on a second, or perhaps 2 more 22" monitors.
I Find it unnecessary to buy a stronger card, unless you are planning on using eyefinity with 3 monitors, and MAXing out all details, especially if you plan on using 24" monitors on higher res.