5850 or 5870

[Apokalipse]

The difference in performance between the 5870 and the GTX 480 isn't much generally. Normally about 10%
Considering it costs significantly more and consumes twice the power, I would say the 5870 is definitely a better buy.

 

[Sean W.]

plus the 5870 is freakin awesome... and its Radeon... also freaking awesome...

 

[Druid]

Yeah, ATI cards are always gonna be a better buy. There is little reason to go Nvidia.

With your monitor, you're not going to need anything better than a 5850 for anything really. Even Crysis on very high/enthusiast settings will be more than playable on your 5850. The 5850 is slightly better than the gtx 285 (the card I have) and I play Crysis on highest at about 30 fps @ 1920x1200. I get like 35 fps on warhead. At your res, I would imagine the 5850 would give you 45-50 frames which is fantastic Crysis. Crysis isn't like other games. It will look good at that framerate. I don't know much about it, but there is something built into its engine.

However, a 5870 will up your frames even more. This really isn't going to help in anything, but Crysis though. Just remember, Crysis is like 6-8 hour game. The only reason to spend the extra $100 and get the 5870 is if you want to future proof some more. With your current monitor and the available games, there is no need for it. Just don't buy Nvidia. They are a waste of money.

 

[Sean W.]

Yeah, ATI cards are always gonna be a better buy. There is little reason to go Nvidia.

With your monitor, you're not going to need anything better than a 5850 for anything really. Even Crysis on very high/enthusiast settings will be more than playable on your 5850. The 5850 is slightly better than the gtx 285 (the card I have) and I play Crysis on highest at about 30 fps @ 1920x1200. I get like 35 fps on warhead. At your res, I would imagine the 5850 would give you 45-50 frames which is fantastic Crysis. Crysis isn't like other games. It will look good at that framerate. I don't know much about it, but there is something built into its engine.

However, a 5870 will up your frames even more. This really isn't going to help in anything, but Crysis though. Just remember, Crysis is like 6-8 hour game. The only reason to spend the extra $100 and get the 5870 is if you want to future proof some more. With your current monitor and the available games, there is no need for it. Just don't buy Nvidia. They are a waste of money.

this, game set match.

i have a 5870, in crysis at 1920 x 1080, with no AA ( AA at high resolutions doesnt do anything but bog down your system with crysis ) im at average 40 -45FPS, i spike around 60 -70FPS and when i look at the sky it gets up to 110 fps... with 8aa, im down to like... 25 fps and it constantly bogs down to like 3 fps and there is NO graphics increase what so ever.

 

[michaelvvmm]

Thanks for the help! I will go for a 5870 and maybe a monitor upgrade. Also around when do you guys think there will be a price drop to the 5870?

 

[CalcProgrammer1]

Just got my build set up with my Diamond 5870 card, it's amazing, Source games run with everything maxed at a constant 1680x1050 WHILE running the Folding@Home GPU client in the background. Crysis (the SP Demo at least) runs at an incredibly playable rate with all settings on Very High, 1680x1050 with 2x AA. I'm going to test some other games soon (Oblivion installed, going to run 3dMark 06 and Vantage when I get the chance).

 

[Luke]

Well. I have a 5870. But i have a 24.6' monitor with a 1920x1080 res. I can run crysis in upwards of 50fps usually maxed out. With aa dont even think about it. (maybe like 2x would be ok, but still a pretty significant drop). crysis aside, a 5870 will run everything maxed pretty easily at 1920x1080. But you are not running at nearly that res. even if you upgraded to a 22' 1680x1050 monitor 5870 maybe a little bit of a waste. I mean, not a waste, but not needed. You could very easily get by with a 5850. So perhaps you should do what james sugested, get the 5850, and a new monitor.

 

[Sean W.]

crysis has problems with AA, at high resolutions AA doesnt do anything in Crysis, if you are looking at a buildings lines, at no AA and then turn on 8xAA there is no difference, and it bogs down your system hard core. so AA in Crysis is pointless.

 

[Luke]

^ i can see difference.

 

[memory]

Don't mean to hijack the thread but do you think the 2gb 5870 version would be worth it? I am looking at buying a 5870 but don't know if it is worth the extra money for the 2gb version. I am running a 24 inch monitor @ 1920x1080. Would there be a noticeable difference in games between the 2 versions? Or is the 2gb version mainly for people that use multiple monitors? I have no intention of do that.