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GTX 480 or ATI's 5870?

krisab

krisab

krisab

Associate
Joined
14 Dec 2009
Posts
342
Location
Troedyrhiw, Wales
Hi all,

I had been delaying my first build for ages now waiting for the info of Fermi cards. Tbh i was rather gobsmacked as to how much they are over the 5870. I'm going to do a build primarily for use of Cinema 4D, Zbrush and After Effects with some gaming.

My question is should i still splash out and get the GTX 480 card, and make use of Cuda Tech. Or should i save money and get the 5870? If i get the 5870 card is there any known problems for using this with 3D applications?

Many thanks :)
 
I would get the 5870..the gtx is hot,power hungry and expensive.....well the 5870 doesnt have cuda etc but still a great card and you wont have any problems with 3d applications.
 
if you look in the graphics section of the forum this is probably being asked every 5 minutes.

get the 480 if:

  • You dont pay the electrical bill
  • You live in the artic
  • You can justify paying the extra

If you dont meet any of those I would go for the 5870.
 
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If i get the 5870 card is there any known problems for using this with 3D applications?
Click to expand...

No, you should not see any problems. ATI did a lot to improve their OpenGL specification compliance and their drivers in general. CUDA and Nvidia's raw OpenGL performance is an advantage on a Fermi card, but it is not significant enough to warrant the price jump from one to the other.
 
I use Cinema 4D lots, an ATI is just as good as NVidia for that program, it doesn't use any CUDA features. In fact, both of those cards is overkill for Cinema 4D any mid range Radeon or Geforce will do. Don't think it makes a big difference for ZBrush either.
The adobe apps I hear will be adding Cuda support, how much it will help which version of after effects is something you'd have to look into.
You'll mostly be buying the high end cards for gaming, mid range cards do pretty well for most 3d apps.
 
I was very stubborn and was going to get the nvidia 480 but after some looking about I think i will switch to my first eevr ATI card the 5870 with a water block and overclock it :)
 
5850 clock it passed 5870 speeds, save yourself around £100 for 5% less performance if both a 5870/5850 are clocked to their max.

You would need the Asus ATI Radeon HD 5850 (£224.99 inc VAT) or MSI version as you can tweak the voltage on those cards.
555BUK said:
  1. For anyone that does not overclock there is a large difference between both cards performance. The 5870 is >20% faster.
  2. At the same clock speeds the 5870 is about 5% faster overall. In shader intensive tests this increases to ~10%, which is to be expected because the 5850 has 10% less shader cores.
  3. When both cards are overclcoked to the max there remains a ~5% advantage to the 5870.
  4. For anyone who overclocks, the 5850 offers much better value. 5% more performance currently costs 50% more money, and unless you are either a hardcore bencher, or have money to throw away it is really not worth it.
  5. Core clocks on both cards reached similar levels although the 5850 required slightlly less volts. This may be due to the 5850 having 10% less shaders.
  6. The memory on the 5870 overclocked to 1300 vs 1200 for the 5850. This may be pure luck, but it may also be that ATI supply lower voltage to memory IC's, regulation is poorer, or the IC's themselves are not as good.
  7. An overclocked 5850 can easily beat a stock 5870
  8. Some cards will overclock different than others so mileage may vary.
Source
Click to expand...
 
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Leezy said:
if you look in the graphics section of the forum this is probably being asked every 5 minutes.

get the 480 if:

  • You dont pay the electrical bill
  • You live in the artic
  • You can justify paying the extra

If you dont meet any of those I would go for the 5870.
Click to expand...



Nice way to put it ;)

5870 all the way!!!
 
Well if you read what Nelly then there really isnt a need for either i think. A 5850 is just fine and overclocked it will easily max out all games for a good awhile I believe. You make a nice saving compared to the 480 and if you need more performace you can just get another.

Good luck with what ever card you pick :)
 
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