Upgrade or replace? Gfx card.

[SubFusion]

I own a Radeon HD 5850 Sapphire. NOT the xtreme edition. IT is not the reference card. Model number is: 100282-3SR. Id like to xfire my machine. So my question is, should i forget about the year old 5850 and sell it to get some cash for an upgrade? Or am i better off buying another card and xfire my rig? Thanks.

~Subfusion

 

[Roark]

I'd say it really depends on your machine.
If you have 2x PCIe 2.0 that will do x8/x8 in crossfire and a 600w+ PSU with 4x 6-Pin connectors, do it.

Looks like the 5850 is around $300, for new cards you could get a 6950 or GTX 560Ti for that.
Neither is as powerful as 2x HD 5850s though.

Around $350 you snag a GTX 570 which will start to close the gap.
Or if you could get ~$200 for your 5850 + the $300 you'd spend on a new one = GTX 580

 

[SubFusion]

I rock a AMD Crosshair IV Formula. And the config for that has 3 PCIe 2.0 x16 slots, running x16/x16 in dual and x16/x8/x8 in triple. So another Radeon HD 5850 then? Just confirming.

 

[Roark]

Yeah man, for $300 your best bet is to get a 2nd 5850.
As long as you have the PSU for it.

 

[SubFusion]

Corsair 850 series. So im not worried about power. I have been looking at some of the markets dual gpu cards ( HD 5970 and the GTX 590 ). Seeing as those combine in one card what would take two of mine, would i still be better off with xfire 5850s? Is it along the same principal as memory where 2 x 2gb sticks in dual channel is better then a singular 4gb stick? Again thanks for the help!

 

[Roark]

AFAIK, there isn't a performance boost just because they are dual GPU in one card, it is more of a convenience not having to Xfire/SLi.
Started typing about how the 590 and 580 SLi should perform the same, then I read this thread.

But it really comes down to price, its $300 for another 5850 or $500 for a 580.
If it were me I would go with a single GTX 580, it performs on-par with 5850s in Xfire.
Would actually sell my 5850 + Corsair 850w and grab this combo so I'd have enough juice to dual 580s later.

 

[SubFusion]

Now i understand ATI is now part of AMD, and i know Nvidia will work with AMD systems, but more often than not the products that are made to work with each other will work better than mixing technologies... However is there really no compatibility issue in pairing an AMD system with Nvidia technology, as long as the correct drivers are installed? I only ask cause Ive never played on any of Nvidias cards, let alone an AMD rig with Nvidia gfx hardware. Thanks!

 

[MindoverMaster]

ATI/AMD cards and Nvidia cards will work on a AMD board. It's just that most AMD boards won't have SLI capability.

 

[SubFusion]

I have a slightly dumb question... but i like making sure when $$ is involved so i appreciate it =). Im reading mixed reviews about the Crosshair IV Formula, my board. Im reading that it doesn't support SLI, yet im also seeing in some spec sheets that it does... Im experienced with computers, im just looking for a second opinion... Doctors don't go see themselves when they get sick, if you know what im saying. Thanks!

 

[Roark]

HOWTO: SLI on a non-SLI Motherboard (GTX5xx compatible 1.0 final released!) - Overclock.net - Overclocking.net.
Wasn't even thinking of SLi compatibility. You can follow the above, will need to snag an SLi bridge though.

If you don't feel like tweaking snag an HD 6970.
Alone they aren't as beefy as 2x 5850s, or a 5970, or a GTX 580.
If you crossfire them though, they beat the first two and go punch for punch with the 580 in SLi.
And your current PSU is plenty to handle two of them.