ATI Radeon 5850 vs 5870

[Soylent Red]

Hi all,

I know this one has been done a couple of times, but humour me

I'm currently on the waiting lists for a 5870 (3 months and counting), but recently the more i read, the more it seems people recommend the 5850 over it?

What are people's thoughts on this?

Also: I've heard that the 5850 can easily be clocked to 5870 speeds. What's the impact on noise and heat from doing so?

Thanks in advance

 

[BigRazer93]

Like you said mate, the 5850 can be clocked to 5870 speeds with more headroom to overclock. Heat and noise would not be an issue and for £100 cheaper, you can't go wrong mate. People have gained 10fps+ on every game on overclocking the 5850 to/[ast 5870 speeds.

 

[Didaco]

they are essentially different cards so if you clock a 5850 to 5870 speeds they wont be thae same the 5870 has more shaders
oh and btw get a 5850 despite what i said above its so much more value for your money and more available

 

[_lecro_]

Also: I've heard that the 5850 can easily be clocked to 5870 speeds.

And a 5870 can easily be overclocked beyond an overclocked 5850

5870's are available depending where you look
I only waited in the que for 3 days before i got bored and sourced one elsewhere

 

[BigRazer93]

And a 5870 can easily be overclocked beyond an overclocked 5850

5870's are available depending where you look
I only waited in the que for 3 days before i got bored and sourced one elsewhere

But from what I've read, you can overclock the 5870 but you will not get a huge gain where as the 5850 does.

 

[_lecro_]

But from what I've read, you can overclock the 5870 but you will not get a huge gain where as the 5850 does.

Mmmm well yea pay yea money and take yea choice http://hardocp.com/article/2009/10/25/asus_eah5870_video_card_review/

EDIT : with our CPU's neither of these cards are going to be running at full potential
Bring on i7

 

[BigRazer93]

But like you said, I can see your point but it depeds on the Gpu really. Don't get me wrong, 5870 a fantastic card but not really worth paying the extra's £££. Unless your minted. More money then sense them people

 

[_lecro_]

ahh well it was a prezzy to my self

 

[Soylent Red]

ahh well it was a prezzy to my self

Dya find it's a bit overkill for all the current games?

I'm not sure if i want to switch to another 5870 from the Asus i'm waiting for, as i'd basically be paying an extra £30+ for a slightly inferior card (less warranty, overclockability).

Ugh, dilemma.

 

[BigRazer93]

It wont be an overkill no. Dirt 2 in dx11 actually is a challange for for thr 5870 as fps does drop to around £50 at min.

 

[_lecro_]

Dya find it's a bit overkill for all the current games?.

Not really .. just find it works on max settings
but there's plenty more to come once i get my new cpu

I did originally order the XFX ver. but after waiting for way too long i got the ASUS from elsewhere..
would have preferred to stay with OCUK but couldn't wait due to my 8800gtx dieing a major death

 

[bilko100]

What resolution do you play at?

 

[jorzeh]

What resolution do you play at?

The most inteligent post in this thread so far.

 

[PakJai]

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2009/09/30/amds_ati_radeon_hd_5850_video_card_review/1

 

[Soylent Red]

What resolution do you play at?

1920x1200

 

[AgedIdiot]

Gaming at 1920x1200.

Decided to buy a 5870. Big improvement over 260 I had.(Mainly because now I can run everything on High detail etc which the 260 could not cope with)
Also much quieter

Have not used a 5850 so impossible for me to compare - it does look to be the better 'bang for buck' card; definately if your into clocking.

Although I'm happy to clock my cpu not too keen on clocking the gpu - the 5870 was therefore a better card for me & apart from cost would have no hesitation in recomending.

 

[Soylent Red]

Gaming at 1920x1200.

Decided to buy a 5870. Big improvement over 260 I had.(Mainly because now I can run everything on High detail etc which the 260 could not cope with)
Also much quieter

Have not used a 5850 so impossible for me to compare - it does look to be the better 'bang for buck' card; definately if your into clocking.

Although I'm happy to clock my cpu not too keen on clocking the gpu - the 5870 was therefore a better card for me & apart from cost would have no hesitation in recomending.

I think that's pretty much my logic at the moment.

Also, i got in the queue when the 5870s were £310. So it's only a 25% increase in cost, or thereabouts, over a 5850..

Hmmm...

 

[JeffyB]

What mobo do you have? I ask as crossfire 5770's could be ideal for you, outperforming a 5870 in most games for 5850 money.

 

[AgedIdiot]

outperforming a 5870 in most games .

They do ? - Reviews I read said xfire 5770's were better than a 5850 and sometimes comparable with a 5870 but did not say that they outperformed in most games.

I did consider xfire but in the end decided not to bother because :-

1. Very dependent on drivers - then again one could argue that this is just the same for all cards ; just that good drivers for xfire are often a little slower to be produced.
2. Heat and power usage of 2 cards. (def did not like what I read about the top card running a fair bit hotter than the lower one due to lack of room to breath)
3 (and the clincher for me - more important than anything else!) I'd have problems in fitting my existing TV(terratec) & sound (asus) cards in my board (P5Q-E).if I ran xfire. (2 cards taking up 2 slots each ). Would have def. considered it further if they had used 0ne slot each - more room generally and to breath.
4. Have tried Sli twice and was dissapointed upon both occasions - too noisy and hot for intermittent performance boost.

Overall came down on side of 5870 BUT can see the attraction of xfiring 5770's

 

[Soylent Red]

What mobo do you have? I ask as crossfire 5770's could be ideal for you, outperforming a 5870 in most games for 5850 money.

i5 with an Asus Maximus 3 Formula

You sure about the outperfoming 5870s bit? I thought that was only in optimum circumstances with an 1366 board?