MSI ATI Radeon HD 5850 Twin FrozR II 1024MB GDDR5 - Opinions

H@mmer · 18 Dec 2010 at 00:02

Ok I only play BFBC2 @1680 x 1050 on my I7 920@4 g. Currently I have am ATI 4890. I can play BCBF2 with medium settings ok, but If I go high I drop 30fps. This is 80fps down to 50fps average. The game looks good but if the gfx get busy (in the middle of smoke)I drop sub 30fps.

I'm more interested in the minimum fps rather than the max. So I was looking at the ATI 6850 but have seen the MSI ATI Radeon HD 5850 Twin FrozR II 1024MB GDDR5 for £125 pre order. I'm now thinking about getting a pair of these to run in crossfire on my Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 X58 motherboard as this has 2 x PCIE 16 slots. Just checking that these will run in this as the cards say PCIE 2.1 and as far as I know the board is only v2.

I have a Cooler Master 1250w PSU so that should power them ok. I just need to know that the cards and motherboard are compatible.

Anybody running a pair of 5850 in CF playing BF2 1680 x 1050 can you post your minimum fps please.

Anybody else any opinions before I pre order the above cards.

MissChief · 18 Dec 2010 at 00:23

Sounds like an ideal card, even running singly for 1680x1050.

BigBruiserAl · 18 Dec 2010 at 00:26

H@mmer said:
GA-EX58-UD5 X58 .

Worst mobo in the world for xfire (i have 2) more so for cards that blow into the case, gfx that blow out the back at a pinch maybe FrozR is asking for trouble

H@mmer · 18 Dec 2010 at 00:26

MissChief said:
Sounds like an ideal card, even running singly for 1680x1050.

But @ that price should give me a good lifespan before next upgrade.

danewesley · 18 Dec 2010 at 00:26

i have a 5850 direct cu and its cracking in bfbc2 i just turn hbao and is it ambient thing off, then its sweeet.

muon · 18 Dec 2010 at 00:26

I went from 4890 to 5850 and it is a big jump. But I do game at 1920x. Is there a need for CF?

H@mmer · 18 Dec 2010 at 00:29

BigBruiserAl said:
Worst mobo in the world for xfire (i have 2) more so for cards that blow into the case, gfx that blow out the back at a pinch maybe FrozR is asking for trouble

My case is a HAF 932 , big fan on the side blowing over cards and exhaust fan at rear and top.

Point noted, thanks.

danewesley · 18 Dec 2010 at 00:30

i will do a fraps bench at max settings and ur res if u want? will be like 10 mins or so though

H@mmer · 18 Dec 2010 at 00:33

danewesley said:
i will do a fraps bench at max settings and ur res if u want? will be like 10 mins or so though

Thanks, 4xAA 16AF.

danewesley · 18 Dec 2010 at 00:51

here you go, 5 minutes of intense play at all max settings and ur res but with hbao on so frames could be better.

Frames, Time (ms), Min, Max, Avg
16470, 300000, 32, 87, 54.900

i have no lag in smoke and i usually game at 1920

H@mmer · 18 Dec 2010 at 01:52

danewesley said:
here you go, 5 minutes of intense play at all max settings and ur res but with hbao on so frames could be better.

Frames, Time (ms), Min, Max, Avg
16470, 300000, 32, 87, 54.900

i have no lag in smoke and i usually game at 1920

Thanks.

pingu666 · 18 Dec 2010 at 04:18

i looked at that 5850 and thought it wasnt faster enough than my 4870 to bother with, but im looking for 2x+ the performance really

danceforfreedom · 18 Dec 2010 at 05:26

Gave me and the guy up there ^ quite the bump from a 4890, so you will notice a considerable difference in games. I play at 1920x1080. You will also get Direct X 11 which in a lot of games is some nice added eye candy!

I bought mine just over a month ago, the 6850's we quite more expensive then, now only £135.

Its my intention to go xfire later next year, if the 6850's were cheaper a month ago I would have bought one of them. If the intention is xfire I would say the 6850's.

Although in a single card setup the 5850 is a more powerful card, in xfire due to a lot better scalling the 6850's out perform the 5850's in most games. There also cooler and less power hungry, only need 1 6pin connector as opposed to 2 with the 5850.

H@mmer · 18 Dec 2010 at 10:48

I keep looking at these bench marks.

The more I think about it, the more I change my mind.

2 x 5850 give me a min fps 61.5 cost pre order £250 but probably not the best choice for my motherboard.

2 x 6850 give me a min fps 55 cost £270 run cooler better choice for my motherboard.

Then there's single card choice, 5870 & 5850.

I think for £125 probably best to get a single card and overclock it. Put my 4890 on auction site and it should be a cheap upgrade,

Mr Krugga · 18 Dec 2010 at 10:51

H@mmer said:
I keep looking at these bench marks.

The more I think about it, the more I change my mind.

2 x 5850 give me a min fps 61.5 cost pre order £250 but probably not the best choice for my motherboard.

2 x 6850 give me a min fps 55 cost £270 run cooler better choice for my motherboard.

Then there's single card choice, 5870 & 5850.

I think for £125 probably best to get a single card and overclock it. Put my 4890 on auction site and it should be a cheap upgrade,

What do you mean by "better choice for my motherboard"? :confused:

RavenXXX2 · 18 Dec 2010 at 11:05

H@mmer said:
I keep looking at these bench marks.

The more I think about it, the more I change my mind.

2 x 5850 give me a min fps 61.5 cost pre order £250 but probably not the best choice for my motherboard.

2 x 6850 give me a min fps 55 cost £270 run cooler better choice for my motherboard.

Then there's single card choice, 5870 & 5850.

I think for £125 probably best to get a single card and overclock it. Put my 4890 on auction site and it should be a cheap upgrade,

Yeah don't base overall performance on that chart, them performance figures are taken from the single player mode, online performance is at a different level. IMO you should go 5850 xfire for £250, we all know the 5850's generally run cool so I wouldn't expect too much hassle even with the Frozr's style cooler when run in xfire. BF3 hits next year, with xfire 5850 you're well prepared for it.

H@mmer · 18 Dec 2010 at 11:21

Mr Krugga said:
What do you mean by "better choice for my motherboard"?

There will be no space between the GFX cards. The FrozR II cards draw air under them as opposed to pulling air from outside the case, or pushing air outside the case.
The top card could be toasted

blackninja · 18 Dec 2010 at 11:27

Just a thought ....

I ran a vapor-x 5870 in the slot above my 5970 on a Gigabyte X58 UD5 board (slots very close) ... no major issues with temps as I put a small spacer in between the cards so they splayed a bit to help airflow - worked fine for the 2xGTX260 before that too.

Mr Krugga · 18 Dec 2010 at 11:28

H@mmer said:
There will be no space between the GFX cards. The FrozR II cards draw air under them as opposed to pulling air from outside the case, or pushing air outside the case.
The top card could be toasted

Ok, I get it now

A side case-fan would certainly help improving the temps.

Triggaaar · 18 Dec 2010 at 11:37

H@mmer said:
I'm more interested in the minimum fps rather than the max.
MSI ATI Radeon HD 5850 Twin FrozR II 1024MB GDDR5 for £125 pre order. I'm now thinking about getting a pair of these to run in crossfire

That 5850 is just the best value card - but they're not so great in crossfire (don't scale as well as nvidia or the new 6xxx series) and minimum FPS don't tend to improve as much when you crossfire as the average and max.