ati 4890 vs ati 5870

airrunner · 13 Oct 2010 at 23:01

Is the 5870 really worth the upgrade over the 4890?

Marine-RX179 · 13 Oct 2010 at 23:06

Wait for 6000 series since they will be out soon. No point going 5000 series now unless you are getting it cheap 2nd hand.

95thrifles · 13 Oct 2010 at 23:07

IMO no, I run 4890s in X fire and whilst I'm tempted to upgrade I know there's no need, save your cash

airrunner · 13 Oct 2010 at 23:08

95thrifles said:
IMO no, I run 4890s in X fire and whilst I'm tempted to upgrade I know there's no need, save your cash

can i ask then mate do you think it's really worth crossfiring 2 4890's? Did you get a dramtic improvement having the two? One last thing what cooling did you resort to using? THanks man

airrunner · 13 Oct 2010 at 23:09

Marine-RX179 said:
Wait for 6000 series since they will be out soon. No point going 5000 series now unless you are getting it cheap 2nd hand.

ok cheers

95thrifles · 13 Oct 2010 at 23:16

airrunner said:
can i ask then mate do you think it's really worth crossfiring 2 4890's? Did you get a dramtic improvement having the two? One last thing what cooling did you resort to using? THanks man

I bought em both at same time iirc, when I had more money than sense (got less money now not more sense

) if your system runs the games you play fine then there's no point, I game at 1920x1200 with all settings on max (not sure bout AA/AF, just leave them on whatever) and all games run fine, that's on a rampage formula with a Q9550 backing them up
Are you having to lower settings to get decent fps? Or have you just got upgrade itch?

airrunner · 13 Oct 2010 at 23:20

95thrifles said:
I bought em both at same time iirc, when I had more money than sense (got less money now not more sense ) if your system runs the games you play fine then there's no point, I game at 1920x1200 with all settings on max (not sure bout AA/AF, just leave them on whatever) and all games run fine, that's on a rampage formula with a Q9550 backing them up
Are you having to lower settings to get decent fps? Or have you just got upgrade itch?

To be frank i've just got the upgrade itch, i don't really have any problems with my current card. Other than the fact that it makes a ridiculous amount of noise im happy lol. I suppose the best option is wait for the 6000 series.

95thrifles · 13 Oct 2010 at 23:35

Yeah they ain't the quietest when they spin up are they? Lol, yes mate, save your cash n wait

1Day · 14 Oct 2010 at 09:27

The difference is noticeable BUT not worth it. The 6000 series will be here on the 22 October and let us hope there will be a huge jump in performance between the 5 series it replaces.

Admiral Huddy · 14 Oct 2010 at 09:32

1Day said:
The difference is noticeable BUT not worth it. The 6000 series will be here on the 22 October and let us hope there will be a huge jump in performance between the 5 series it replaces.

In what games would it be noticable?

Despite better benchmarks, I've noticed no real in-game differences from upgrading from an 8800GTX to 5870. And same would go for the 6* series rerplacing the 5* series.

MooMoo444 · 14 Oct 2010 at 09:36

1Day said:
The difference is noticeable BUT not worth it. The 6000 series will be here on the 22 October and let us hope there will be a huge jump in performance between the 5 series it replaces.

Whats saying they release all cards then? The enthusiast/mid-high range cards may not be included.

Arthalen · 14 Oct 2010 at 14:35

One significant improvement from the 4* series to the 5* series is idle power consumption - much, much lower on the 5* series.

This means when your not gaming and web browsing/email/office, your PC is quieter and sucking less of the earth's life blood out of it

However, at this point I would personally wait on the 6* series - I picked up a cheap 2nd hand 4850 to tide me over in my new build until the high end 6* series turn up, instead of buying a 5870.

1Day · 14 Oct 2010 at 14:57

MooMoo444 said:
Whats saying they release all cards then? The enthusiast/mid-high range cards may not be included.

That is a very valid point - I do hope that it is the 69** series of cards as well.

Admiral Huddy said:
In what games would it be noticable?

Despite better benchmarks, I've noticed no real in-game differences from upgrading from an 8800GTX to 5870. And same would go for the 6* series rerplacing the 5* series.

I am surprised by your claim that your 5870 provided no improvement on your gaming over that with the 8800GTX, I wonder if screen size has much to do with that, or the resolution you play at. Did you increase the size of your screen perhaps?

Certainly size of the visual real estate will impact on the game experience between the two cards and it was there that the 5870 gave me a improvement hit over the 4890.

BigBruiserAl · 14 Oct 2010 at 15:14

Marine-RX179 said:
Wait for 6000 series since they will be out soon. No point going 5000 series now unless you are getting it cheap 2nd hand.

Hes far far to tight to buy a 6 series so no point in waiting , he will be going 2nd hand 5870 if it comes to it

Porcelina · 14 Oct 2010 at 18:19

BigBruiserAl said:
Hes far far to tight to buy a 6 series so no point in waiting , he will be going 2nd hand 5870 if it comes to it

But that is a huge reason to wait for 6000 series. Because whereas it is not certain at all that prices will drop from retailers, it is pretty much a given that the second hand market will see an influx of new people wanting to get rid of their 5850 or 5870s and thus driving prices down.

At release of the 6000s and for some time after you will find that being in the market for a second hand 5000 series card will be terrific.

BigBruiserAl · 14 Oct 2010 at 18:32

There only a certain point where a product will devalue in the second hand market, and the 5*** pretty much has hit that already give or take £££. If people think they will be seeing a decent 5870 for aprrox £180 i would think again, there going for £200-250 now i cant any one being stupid enough to sell sub 200 unless they are desperate

Admiral Huddy · 18 Oct 2010 at 09:41

1Day said:
I am surprised by your claim that your 5870 provided no improvement on your gaming over that with the 8800GTX, I wonder if screen size has much to do with that, or the resolution you play at. Did you increase the size of your screen perhaps?
.

Why are you suprised? If the frame rate is over 24fps then it makes little difference in visaul presentation if the game runs (for example) at 34fps on an 8800gtx and 54fps on a 5870.. The 5870 yields faster fps but both are visually the same and playable. Al that the extra headroom allows is the increase other settings that affect the frame rate.. such as AA and AF etc.. but if these are high anyway, it makes no odds..

I've played both on 1920x1200.

The only difference I noticed was in Fallout 3 BS DLC.. some of the firefighting sent the frame rate to around 15fps,. this wasn't a problem for the ati card.

1Day · 18 Oct 2010 at 10:18

Admiral Huddy said:
Why are you suprised? If the frame rate is over 24fps then it makes little difference in visaul presentation if the game runs (for example) at 34fps on an 8800gtx and 54fps on a 5870.. The 5870 yields faster fps but both are visually the same and playable. Al that the extra headroom allows is the increase other settings that affect the frame rate.. such as AA and AF etc.. but if these are high anyway, it makes no odds..

I've played both on 1920x1200.

The only difference I noticed was in Fallout 3 BS DLC.. some of the firefighting sent the frame rate to around 15fps,. this wasn't a problem for the ati card.

Thanks mate - makes sense now really appreciate you taking the time to amplify.