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5830 crossfire?

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19 Jan 2009
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34
I have the option of buying two "open box" 5830 cards for £135 all in. Currently in the process of building a PC, which I do every 3 years. Is this preferable to buying a single 6870, which was my original choice?

I know they will perform better, but on balance, will it be worth the extra power used and heat generated?

Rest of my system is a fairly typical 2600k build with a Gigabyte Z68 MB and XFX Core 650w PSU.

Point too consider is that once I've built a system, I keep it for three years, and generally speaking, I don't add anything to the build (save for storage).
 
Well from what I understand, 5830's in xfire out pace a 5870, not sure by how much. But obviously they do this at the mercy of heat, power and sometimes xfire issues.

The 6870 is slightly slower than a 5870....

The price is good on the 5830's.....

Difficult one.

If you went withthe 6870 you could always crossfire in the future...
 
Yup, I could. . . . but I probably never will.

By the time I'm having to make serious compromises on IQ settings, I'm not that far off a new build.

I'm still using a 4870 at the mo , which is still doing an admirable job.

Edit: Or I could buy two open box 6850 cards for £190.
 
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Well from what I gather the 6000 series do xfire better than the 5000 series.

I personally like single card configurations.

But at £190-£200 price bracket 6850xfire vs 6950 it's hard to argue withthe xfire set up.

Benchies here.
 
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If money is the main variable here for consideration, then for the amount you have been offered it looks to be quite an attractive option.

The 5830 draws more power than a 5850 (5870 pcb similarities iirc), but on the plus side you will be looking at higher maximum frame rates than a 295gtx (as a guide) in quite a few games. However, if budget isn't that much of a concern, for not that much more you could look at a 6800 series card which, although it will have lower 'top end' frame rates (single card), it will be smoother and have less power consumption.

It all depends on what you want to prioritise.
 
Well from what I gather the 6000 series do xfire better than the 5000 series.

I personally like single card configurations.

But at £190-£200 price bracket 6850xfire vs 6950 it's hard to argue withthe xfire set up.

Benchies here.

Looking at the link you gave me, it would appear that crossfired 6850s out perform a 580, are quieter and use less power. Am I misinterpreting the data ?

Edit- The 6850s are warmer and use more power when idle.
 
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