which card to use? HD5830 or HD5870. i have both.

[giantbucket]

so, i'm incredibly undecided which graphics card i want to set up my "recycled" computer with. it'll be used for movies and about half of my Steam games (see pic for listing). i'm only playing at 1080p on a TV, so max 60fps.



i own both. the HD5830 is a Sapphire and the HD5870 is an XFX reference. pics below. both take about the same power, both use 6+6 pin power plugs, and both are AMD so they "match" my A6-3650 processor.

the HD5870 is obviously stronger, but it's bigger and uglier and tougher for me to nicely manage my cables.


the HD5830 is inherently weaker, but also more compact.



argh!!! can't decide...

 

[clutchc]

Hd-5870 is faster than the HD 5830 if that is of any importance.
http://www.hwcompare.com/12/radeon-hd-5830-vs-radeon-hd-5870/
But it uses a bit more power.

 

[giantbucket]

Hd-5870 is faster than the HD 5830 if that is of any importance.
http://www.hwcompare.com/12/radeon-hd-5830-vs-radeon-hd-5870/
But it uses a bit more power.

that's, um, the entire point of this thread and my dilemma 😛

 

[clutchc]

Oh. I guess I missed the point, then. What is your indecision based on? Just which card is easier to incorporate into the system? Both cards are from the same generation. Both will do the job for movies and videos. But both are previous gen to the the newer LLano APU. Obviously the stronger card is better for later games.

Btw, I thought I was the only one who still enjoyed Riven (as well as the rest of the Myst series) 😉

 

[giantbucket]

1 - i think i'm going to drop in the 5870 mostly due to the rear exhaust (reference cooler). i guess the 5830 will be a backup.

2 - i tried replaying Myst and honestly it wasn't as good as i remember. maybe it's the totally different OS, or the screen technology (LCD vs CRT) but it just isn't quite the same, it's not as nice, it's downright worse. i think i bought the whole Cyan pack which included other garbage like Cosmic Osmo. the one game i wish i COULD replay would be the original Unreal but ONLY if i can still find & install the U4E (Unreal 4Ever) mod pack - God mode, nuker, etc! that nuker was the best thing in those games.