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Radeon 6670 or 6850 with AMD A8-3870k

vipergrm

vipergrm

vipergrm

Associate
Joined
12 Mar 2007
Posts
282
Location
UK
Hi folks,

I'm in a but of a dilemma here. I just purchased the AMD A8-3870k CPU. I had this in a mini ITX case but due to poor cooling in the case I've decided that I am going to up-size to micro ATX. In fact, I just bought a Fractal Design Define R3 case to house it all in :D

Here's the options I am considering...
1)I can buy a Radeon 6670 for around £70 and crossfire it with the on-board GPU of the A8-3870k. Look as though this will give me around a 60 to 70% performance boost.
2) throw in a Radeon 6850 and OC the A8-3870k (I know I can't crossfire with this model)
3) return the A8-3870k and buy a stand alone CPU - FX-6200 maybe???

Note that I haven't purchased the micro ATX board yet so I could still jump ship to Intel if the money is right. If I can get the motherboard and CPU under £150 I'd be reasonably happy.

Thanks for the suggestions in advance!
 
Thanks. I don't understand that comparison though. Is this two 6670 cards v one 6850 card???

I'm now leaning towards the AMD FX-8120 which seems unbelievable value. Just need to get a motherboard for around 50 quid then...
 
vipergrm said:
Thanks. I don't understand that comparison though. Is this two 6670 cards v one 6850 card???

I'm now leaning towards the AMD FX-8120 which seems unbelievable value. Just need to get a motherboard for around 50 quid then...
Click to expand...

Yeah, only shows one card though...it's only a guide.
If a 6670 was that much better than a 6850 i'd buy one lol.
 
LOL me too ;)

I've completely changed my mind on the chip. I've now gone for the following:

Fractal Design Define R3 Black Pearl case
Intel i5 Core 2500k CPU
Scythe Samurai ZZ SCSMZ-2000 - Processor cooler
AsRock Z68 Pro3 Gen3 Motherboard
Zalman ZM500-GS 500W ATX Power Supply
VTX3D ATI Radeon HD 6850 X-Edition Graphics Card
Komputerbay 8GB 1866MHZ DDR3 RAM or
Corsair Vengeance 8GB 1600MHZ DDR3 RAM

I need to decide which memory to keep. I can either go for the higher 1866 RAM with 9 10 9 29 timings or the Corsair RAM with 9 9 9 24 timings. I don't know if the 1866MHZ will make much of a difference if the timings are higher? I'm no expert on memory to be honest...
 
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Go for an asus 6770, ive heard they overclock like a beast for the price, and are very cheap if your on a budget, myself, i have a sapphire hd 6870, and the 6770 beats mine in every situation.
 
s4mmy007 said:
Go for an asus 6770, ive heard they overclock like a beast for the price, and are very cheap if your on a budget, myself, i have a sapphire hd 6870, and the 6770 beats mine in every situation.
Click to expand...

You're joking right? I moved from a 5770 (same as a 6770) to a 6850 and there was a good difference in performance. No way a 6770 beats a 6870.
 
s4mmy007 said:
The card is far slower, yet it can overclock from say 500-950, where as i could only get my 6870 from 900-950, higher %, depending on some games you play, providing more power.
Click to expand...

You need to do your research. Speed alone does not tell if a card is better. The 6870 has 1120 shaders while the 6770 has 800. Because of the extra shaders the 6870 performs much better than the 6770, regardless of speed.

The 6870 also has a 256-bit memory bandwidth compared to the 6770's 128. There are a lot of differences between the two, because of this even if they're on the same speed, the 6870 will still perform better.

From your recent posts, you really need to do your research first before you post, maybe even getting some evidence to back up your words.
 
For the extra £20 or so I've already opted for the 6850

Regarding the PSU, its a bit of blind faith really. I got a great price on it and I trust the Zalman brand so we'll see. I'm already well over my initial budget. If someone can recommend me a decent PSU under £50 that's low noise be my guest!
 
A 6850 is a lot faster than a 6770 yes, but he was originally talking about cross firing the 6670 with the onboard gpu, and in which case I believe the 6670 cfx would be faster. Its a moot point now as he is decided on a 2500k.
 
psychodil said:
A 6850 is a lot faster than a 6770 yes, but he was originally talking about cross firing the 6670 with the onboard gpu, and in which case I believe the 6670 cfx would be faster. Its a moot point now as he is decided on a 2500k.
Click to expand...

He mentioned a 6770 (not 6670) which isn't crossfire compatible with the on-board GPU. You're right though, I am confusing everyone because of my complete turnaround on the build. The thread title now has absolutely no relevance whatsoever thanks to my inability to make a decision!
 
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Orcvader said:
See how the Zalman copes, if you don't get any problems, then £50 saved ;).

If you start getting PSU related problems, such as the PC crashing when the GPU is on high load, then go for this: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-055-OC

As for memory, go for the 1600mhz. Past that there's hardly any performance gain with the i5.
Click to expand...

oh jaizuz I hope not! Really like the look of that OCZ PSU link you sent me. The Zalman should be here tomorrow so maybe too late to change.

Thanks for the memory tip. I've heard that Komputer Bay use branded Samsung RAM which is why I got them but them I've heard others say they use generic ****. I looked at the RAM and of course the heatsink covers the RAM brand info so I think I'll stick with the Corsair. Thanks!
 
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Got my system up and running today. I stuck with the Corsair RAM as Orcvader suggested. I also agree with you regarding the Zalman PSU. It was niggling me that I couldn't find any reviews anywhere on it so I decided on this http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-171-AN. Nearly went for 750w Antec but then thought I don't need that much plus it was near £100.

I chose the Antec because according to reviews it produces a lot less noise than the OCZ model - not that the OCZ is loud; just the Antec is quieter supposedly. The PC is built in my living room so I would prefer it to be as quiet as possible.

On first boot - nothing. After reseating absolutely everything and reinstalling the CPU etc etc, turns out the internal Akasa USB card reader was at fault. As soon as I unplugged it from the motherboard it worked flawless. Its amazing how many times I've seen USB peripherals cause a PC not to boot.

It's early days yet but the one thing that concerns me is the PC is too noisy. I haven't installed the manual fan controller that comes with the board yet as I though I could control the fans via the BIOS however, it would appear not - possibly because they're 3 pin.

Airflow through the case is excellent and temps are very good at idle (34c CPU and 31c board). This is even with the Scythe Samurai ZZ set at low RPM. I's a magnificent cooler. I'm going to look more into the two Fractal Design case fans to see what kind of noise they produce from reviews etc. Might be worth replacing them if I can't control the noise a bit better. Any tips on reducing the decibels? Cheers!
 
Thanks a lot Orcvader. I'll definitely give that a try. I put my ear close to the 6850 and I can barely hear it. Most of the noise I've noticed and sort of expected is coming from the top of the case because the CPU fan and rear 120mm case fan are barely milimeters apart. I couldn't mount the heatsink the other way because it takes out three of the 4 RAM slots.

I'm seriously considering this http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-017-SA and then turning the heatsink round the other way. Probably creates a lot of turbulence being so close together the way it is now...

HNjHpMQvSSFHbHNAynYkgB-SsmrVbwXu0EuTDzx3DVmkpuKfijSEgnJ91jkOVxP89H_Z25XUEiQ
 
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