5850 crossfire or single card for 260 quid

[Gashman]

sorry but i think so many of these power draw numbers are absolute rubbish, heres my reasoning, a while ago when i got this 4870X2 (just after the death of my old PSU). wanted to still use PC until i got a replacement, the PSU i used was a 450W OCZ Modstream, not a very good PSU right? well let me mention it handled my Q6600 (stock speed), four RAM modules, two hard disks and a 4870X2 (stock speed) for ~three weeks with no noticably difficultly. playing crysis, etc. and my PSU didn't spontaneously explode or nothing, according to these so called 'reviews' i have read you absolutely cannot run a 4870X2 on a 450W PSU, though i did it for quite a period of time with no ill effects. all im saying is take those figures with a huge grain of salt!

 

[6644kp]

Get two 5850's they beat even a GTX 580.

 

[Gashman]

A load of tosh, so long as you have a decent case with good airflow there's absolutely no need for water. How can you "personally" warn someone against something you've obviously never tried?
I really wish people would stop talking out of their arses in this forum, what are you basing your opinions on? hearsay? some random rumours?

I have a 480 and a 260 in my system, and suffer none of these horrendous heat issues that people who haven't actually owned a 480 keep banging on about.
It's just downright ridiculous that you're basing your opinions on something some anti-Nvidia zealot has posted in the past.
Please get your facts right before posting such utter BS again!

know a person as well who has GTX 480, doesn't get overly hot except in benchmarks that unrealistically stress the GPU anyways. here is +1 for NVIDIA, i have a 4870X2 and its the hottest running thing known to exist!

 

[[TW]Fox]

Never understand this logic. If you can afford £260, surely you can find another £15!? Money can't be that tight?

And if it is then performance graphics cards are something that should go on hold for the time being

 

[coupe69]

know a person as well who has GTX 480, doesn't get overly hot except in benchmarks that unrealistically stress the GPU anyways. here is +1 for NVIDIA, i have a 4870X2 and its the hottest running thing known to exist!

Exactly, people seem to forget we've had hot running gpus in the past, and use heat as a BS excuse to slam the original fermi. I seem to remember the 8800GT ran pretty damn hot, and that's classed as one of the best mid-range cards ever! Even the new reference AMD 6970 cards are hardly what you would call cool running. If you want a top end GPU then you've got to be prepared for a little bit of heat.

 

[kylew]

Exactly, people seem to forget we've had hot running gpus in the past, and use heat as a BS excuse to slam the original fermi. I seem to remember the 8800GT ran pretty damn hot, and that's classed as one of the best mid-range cards ever! Even the new reference AMD 6970 cards are hardly what you would call cool running. If you want a top end GPU then you've got to be prepared for a little bit of heat.

That's a common flaw in thinking about GPU heat that people get confused over. The GPU running at the same temperature doesn't equate to the same heat output. That's why Fermi gets stick for running so hot, it's not the GPU's running temperate itself that's the problem, it's how much heat is being put out total by it.

The GPU on the 8800GT does run hot, yes, but it puts out a lot less heat than a GTX480, even if they're running at supposedly the same temperature. They have completely different cooling set ups, different GPU surface area, different heatsink surface areas, and the 8800GT draws significantly less power than it.

So you can't really compare the GPU running temperatures as you have so simply done, because it doesn't work like that. Take a 6950 and a GTX480, they can be both running at the same GPU temp, but the 480's heatsink will be a lot hotter as it's having to dissipate a lot more heat to get the GPU down to 80 degrees (for example) than the 6950's heatsink, which would be comparatively cool.

You may as well say all the same forces are involved between a smart car going 50mph on the motorway, and a fully loaded HGV also going 50mph, simply because they're moving from "A" to "B" at the same speed.

I don't understand why you get so upset when people talk negatively about Fermi, it's not like they make you like your cards less is it? Does your 480 become crap to you because some one else says it's crap?

 

[jigger]

Exactly, people seem to forget we've had hot running gpus in the past, and use heat as a BS excuse to slam the original fermi. I seem to remember the 8800GT ran pretty damn hot, and that's classed as one of the best mid-range cards ever! Even the new reference AMD 6970 cards are hardly what you would call cool running. If you want a top end GPU then you've got to be prepared for a little bit of heat.

Your kind of missing the point. The Fermi heat and noise issues wouldn't be a problem if it was reflected in the performance. Its just doesn't add up how it should.

 

[Farooq]

not really getting closer to a answer just want to prelong my life of rig but thanx for the info. In regard to heat really not a issue at all I have a modded coolamaster stacker with excellent airflow and a large water loop going into a 3x 120 black ice radiator. currently only using it for cpu and northbridge. dont have my gfx card on it as i find it fiddly with gpu waterblocks not worth it inmo.
so far looks like 6950 modded (could be risky if it is lasercut) or early fermi 480gtx not to many keen on x fire 5850's. ?

 

[jigger]

The HD6950 unlocked to a HD6970 offers the best performance by a long way IMO.

Its risk free as the card has a dual BIOS and you can switch between the two.

Its a shame overclockers have just put the GTX470 back up to £190

 

[kylew]

The HD6950 unlocked to a HD6970 offers the best performance by a long way IMO.

Its risk free as the card has a dual BIOS and you can switch between the two.

I really don't understand how anyone can buy anything else considering. A GTX570 will perform the same as an unlocked 6950, for around £80. I know there's a select few on these forums that have to have nVidia and all their gimmicks, but for everyone else, it makes no sense.

 

[MikeHiow]

Personally, if I was offered a 570 for the same money at the time I bought my 6950, I'd have taken it. I prefer Nvidia mostly, as PhysX and CUDA would be nice, but I'm not really going to miss them, therefore I won't spend more money on an NV card.

 

[kylew]

Personally, if I was offered a 570 for the same money at the time I bought my 6950, I'd have taken it. I prefer Nvidia mostly, as PhysX and CUDA would be nice, but I'm not really going to miss them, therefore I won't spend more money on an NV card.

CUDA Has its uses, though it's 99% nothing to do with games, PhysX is unfortunately a joke, which is a shame as it could have been good. nVidia need to stop spending so much money on marketing to tell people how good they are, and instead show it by putting that money in to making them a better company.

 

[[TW]Fox]

I really don't understand how anyone can buy anything else considering. A GTX570 will perform the same as an unlocked 6950, for around £80. I know there's a select few on these forums that have to have nVidia and all their gimmicks, but for everyone else, it makes no sense.

I demonstrated today why people choose the 570. There are a number of games including BFBC2 where the 570 is just plain faster.

That said, the price performance ratio of the unlocked 6950 is tempting.

 

[coupe69]

some stuff

LOL, what a surprise, Kylew and his sidekick Jigger, any excuse for a dig at a Nvidia product huh? It's a shame that most people nowadays can see straight through your BS and incessant NV bashing.

Like I said in one of my previous posts, if you have a half decent case with reasonable cooling there simply isn't a problem, a fact that you constantly choose to ignore.

 

[[TW]Fox]

Like I said in one of my previous posts, if you have a half decent case with reasonable cooling there simply isn't a problem, a fact that you constantly choose to ignore.

This isn't quite true. I've found it a big enough problem to not want to use the card in my PC.

 

[coupe69]

This isn't quite true. I've found it a big enough problem to not want to use the card in my PC.

I honestly think you've got a faulty one Fox, I can't hear mine over the other fans in my case at idle.

 

[kylew]

LOL, what a surprise, Kylew and his sidekick Jigger, any excuse for a dig at a Nvidia product huh? It's a shame that most people nowadays can see straight through your BS and incessant NV bashing.

Like I said in one of my previous posts, if you have a half decent case with reasonable cooling there simply isn't a problem, a fact that you constantly choose to ignore.

Oh look, Coupe being a diva yet again. Your response isn't even a reaction to my post at all. You clearly don't understand how heat works with GPUs, yet it's wrong and "anti-nVidia" for me to point that out? You must be utterly deluded because "most people" are just going to see you whingeing and moaning when people don't agree with you.

The very fact that you've compared a GTX480 to an 8800GT shows this, as it seems you think they produce nearly the same amount of heat.

 

[kylew]

I honesetly think you've got a faulty one Fox, I can't hear mine over the other fans in my case at idle.

Seriously, as I asked before, why does it matter so much to you? Do you feel the need to seek approval from people that your beloved nVidia cards were the right choice? Do they suddenly become crap when you don't get the approval you seek? Regardless of what you say, you reaction and attitude show what you really mean.

How can you be so blindly in love with nVidia that you claim Fermi isn't hot and loud, and those that think it is, must have broken cards?

 

[[TW]Fox]

I honestly think you've got a faulty one Fox, I can't hear mine over the other fans in my case at idle.

It would be a pretty odd fault though?

 

[kylew]

It would be a pretty odd fault though?

I honestly wouldn't expect him to say anything else, even if his neighbours could hear it and were constantly complaining, he'd definitely say it was silent and that they were hearing things.

Look at how many websites reported Fermi to be hot and loud. I'd have some respect for Coupe if he just said "Yeah whatever, but I don't care" than pretending they're not, or the ones that are, are "faulty".