5850 or 5870

[michaelvvmm]

Hi,
Should I get a 5850 or a 5870? I am almost done with a build but I don't know what card to get I am only playing at 1400 x 900 on a 19 in monitor. What one is a better buy?

 

[Sean W.]

5870...

 

[CalcProgrammer1]

From what I've read the 5870 can pull good frame rates on graphically intense games even at very high resolutions. You may be able to get by with a 5850 depending on the games you play, the image quality you want, if you ever plan on getting a bigger monitor, and how long you want the card to last you. I have a 1680x1050 monitor and just ordered a 5870, I'll pretty much be able to play everything maxed, but I may get a bigger monitor in the future (actually I plan to buy a 1080p HDTV and use it as a huge monitor, but that's 1920x1080 which is bigger than my current monitor).

Also the 5000 series support multiple monitors (individually, 3 monitor Eyefinity, or 6 monitor Eyefinity on select models) so you should take that into consideration as well (if I do get a TV I'll probably leave my desktop+monitor at my desk and hook the TV via HDMI as a second monitor with a long cord)

 

[Sean W.]

From what I've read the 5870 can pull good frame rates on graphically intense games even at very high resolutions. You may be able to get by with a 5850 depending on the games you play, the image quality you want, if you ever plan on getting a bigger monitor, and how long you want the card to last you. I have a 1680x1050 monitor and just ordered a 5870, I'll pretty much be able to play everything maxed, but I may get a bigger monitor in the future (actually I plan to buy a 1080p HDTV and use it as a huge monitor, but that's 1920x1080 which is bigger than my current monitor).

Also the 5000 series support multiple monitors (individually, 3 monitor Eyefinity, or 6 monitor Eyefinity on select models) so you should take that into consideration as well (if I do get a TV I'll probably leave my desktop+monitor at my desk and hook the TV via HDMI as a second monitor with a long cord)

i have a 5870, and my monitor is 1920 x 1080, i run crysis at 40 - 45 fps at highest everything.

Radeon 5870 FTW

 

[james.wired]

Depends on your budget. You should get a 5850 and a new monitor...that would be a nice upgrade rather than just a 5870

 

[Fozzy]

If you have the money, get the 5870.

 

[michaelvvmm]

Thanks guys. Would you think that a gtx 470 would be better than the 5870 after the drivers get better?

 

[Fozzy]

From the looks of it the gtx 480 can hardly keep up with the 5870, so no I don't the 470 will be a better option. Just my opinion, maybe not everyone else.

 

[Apokalipse]

Not to mention it has about twice the power consumption of a 5870

 

[james.wired]

The 480 does out do the 5870. The 470 will not match it though. If it were me, I would grab a 5850 over a 470, and a 480 over a 5870. But that's if I didn't have to buy a new PSU and no budget for a new GPU. What are your other specs though??