gfx opinions

[lokiguesty]

im looking to get a new system and the graphics options im looking at currently are either

GTX480

or 2x 5870

system will be used for gaming, and would also be good to be able to use duel screen like i currently do. i have never used ati cards or crossfire so dont know what they are like,

what is the better choice?

thanks

Loki

 

[bells]

2 x 5870 by miles or just buy a 5970

 

[arc@css]

2 x 5870.

 

[Freddie1980]

If you like dual screen you might as well go with ATI cards as you might want to try out 3 screen / Eyefinity gaming at some point. To be honest just 1 HD5870 is enough but if you do decide to go down the eyefinity route 2 crossfire would be beneficial due to the super high resolutions you can play at.

 

[Jethro Bodine]

im looking to get a new system and the graphics options im looking at currently are either

GTX480

or 2x 5870

system will be used for gaming, and would also be good to be able to use duel screen like i currently do. i have never used ati cards or crossfire so dont know what they are like,

what is the better choice?

thanks

Loki

Depends what you want to do. Two 5870s will give you the ability to run three monitors on one card on about 20 games (game has to support the resolution) and offers much higher performance than a single GTX480 on games that scale with CF.

You will give up PhysX, 3D Vision, 3D Vision Surround, the ability to force ambient occlusion, AA in some UE3 games, CUDA apps, and the generally more robust SLi drivers.

So, like anything, pros and cons to each. I've used both Eye Finity and 3D Vision Surround, and can tell you 3D Vision Surround takes multi panel to the next level of immersion. (I was at CES and PAX East for the GTX480 launch, 3D Surround drivers launch this month.) It impressed me enough to spend $600 on two more Samsung 2233RZs. Eye Finity is very nice as well.

 

[lokiguesty]

i have to be honest and say that my second screen is a crappy 15" which is generally only use to have team speak or xfire. or even somthing from the iplay (at the moment the world cup) running while im playing a game on the main screen.

so while i say i use duel screen im not really using it for any of this fancy stuff will this make a difference to the decision?

also as it stands i know its mega easy to set up 2 screen from a nividia card, just plug them both in, when using crossfire do u plug both screens into one card? one into each? is the ati software as easy to set up for 2 screens as nividia? while im not a novice user the easier the better (i dont really want to have to start changing millions of settings to get somthing to work)

thanks for all the advice so far

Loki

 

[iv-tecman]

I’m using a single 5870 vapor-x and been finding the performance blistering….. ATI have really got their hardware right up there. Shame the same can’t be said about their drivers…

Thankfully, it seems with each new release ATI are by some trial and error fixing the issues the 5870 issues I’ve had, so yes ATI really are the top dogs at the moment..

2 x 5870 would give you a massive performance increase and I’m sure you’ll not be too unhappy with it.

I must admit, I’ve been very impressed with ATI tech this year. I’ve even got a Laptop with a 1GB 5650 and even this at 1920 x 1080 can average up to 35fps with 2 xx and high details in quite a few games…

Very impressive, like I said. The only real let down with ATI at the moment is drivers. The lack of Cuda and pyhsx isn’t an issue. Its just not worthwhile IMO. Too few use it to make it a deal clincher over ATI tech..

Oh and dual screen control with ATI drivers is no more troublesome then Nvidia's control suite. I thought at the time it was less feature rich, but its not, you just need to work out how to use the ATI cat control centre and hypervision software correctly.

ATI still haven't got HDMI control as good as Nvidia I feel.... I know when I use my Panasonic 1080p plasma, I have to manually set the overscan, the auto overscan to fill the entire screen has never worked on either my 5870 or a 5650...!! Might be the TV signal but its most certainly not the card, as I've got two different types and neither work from both a Desktop or a Laptop..

 

[iv-tecman]

You will give up PhysX, 3D Vision, 3D Vision Surround, the ability to force ambient occlusion, AA in some UE3 games, CUDA apps, and the generally more robust SLi drivers.

Maybe, but AA in some UE3 games is down to the developer and the 'way its meant to be played' program... Batman Arkham was released with no AA support for ATI tech, however that's been patched, so UE3 can have ATI AA etc applied...

As for 3D vision and PhysX, I honestly can't see the whole point at the moment... Not to say in a few years we'll all be enjoying 3D gaming, but at the moment its very expensive, he'll need a 120Mhz screen to use 3D gaming, and as for PhysX..

Well metro 2033 and batman arkham used it, but the videos I've seen of what it added, not a lot really...

 

[Freddie1980]

Physics (PhysX or any other API) are massively oversold, it's not the new revolutionary gaming technology that the first 3D accelerators were, it gets talk about a lot but in reality it adds very little. Most developers prefer to use there own in-house physics engines anyway so there not tied to someone else’s limitations placed on a out sourced engine.

If you’re only using one screen I suggest you get just 1x HD5870 and get another down the line when there cheaper. It can be argued just having one HD5870 is overkill let alone two (unless you’re using eyefinity) and the performance gap between a HD5870 and GTX480 varies from game to game in the region of 10% to 15%. If you think that’s worth the extra premium then go for it but for most us the GTX480 is a bit of a rip off.

 

[arc@css]

Depends what you want to do. Two 5870s will give you the ability to run three monitors on one card on about 20 games (game has to support the resolution) and offers much higher performance than a single GTX480 on games that scale with CF.

You will give up PhysX, 3D Vision, 3D Vision Surround, the ability to force ambient occlusion, AA in some UE3 games, CUDA apps, and the generally more robust SLi drivers.

So, like anything, pros and cons to each. I've used both Eye Finity and 3D Vision Surround, and can tell you 3D Vision Surround takes multi panel to the next level of immersion. (I was at CES and PAX East for the GTX480 launch, 3D Surround drivers launch this month.) It impressed me enough to spend $600 on two more Samsung 2233RZs. Eye Finity is very nice as well.

+1 Good post. Informative and not emotional.