5850 Or 6850

[simbady]

Hi guys, got a friend looking to buy either a 5850 or a 6850, although the preorder price is great on the 5850 i cant help thinking that the 6850 may become better than the 5850 as games start to use tessilation more. What would you choose?

 

[BigRazer93]

5850 without a doubt.

 

[simbady]

5850 without a doubt.

Any reasons why?

 

[simbady]

Just to let you know he would want to have the card for a while and probably not overclock.

 

[Marine-RX179]

Just to let you know he would want to have the card for a while and probably not overclock.

On stock speed the 5850 is around 10% faster than the 6850.

 

[easyrider]

6850 due to the improved tessilation.

The 5xxx is dead tech

 

[Marine-RX179]

6850 due to the improved tessilation.

The better tesselation doesn't really make up for the lesser raw power though; 6850 is 1fps higher than 5850 in Heaven Bench and 0.3fps higher than 5850 in Metro2033 according to techpowerup, so basically 6850 only match 5850 performance when the game uses reasonable level of tessellation, and for games that have low level of or dx9 games with no tessellation the 6850 would quite a bit slower.

 

[easyrider]

The better tesselation doesn't really make up for the lesser raw power though; 6850 is 1fps higher than 5850 and 0.3fps higher than 5850 in Metro2033 according to techpowerup, so basically 6850 only match 5850 performance when the game uses reasonable level of tessellation, and for games that have low level of or dx9 games with no tessellation the 6850 would quite a bit slower.

Future games and the 6850

He wants to keep the card a while.

Bonkers getting a 5850

 

[Helios1234]

6850 due to the improved tessilation.

The 5xxx is dead tech

I don't understand... why is it dead tech exactly? The HD5850 is better in pretty much all games.

I don't think people play Unigine all day. Tessellation performance is only slightly ahead because as Marine says, the HD5850 has more raw power.

 

[d_brennen]

Bonkers getting a 5850

Wouldn't say its bonkers, not at £124.98 delivered

Cheapest 6850 is a tenner more. I don't see tessellation being a major issue until newer consoles support it :/

 

[easyrider]

I don't understand... why is it dead tech exactly? The HD5850 is better in pretty much all games.

I don't think people play Unigine all day. Tessellation performance is only slightly ahead because as Marine says, the HD5850 has more raw power.

its all the other features you get. New drivers will only add to the performance.

The gap isn't big enough to warrant being left in the past.

 

[Helios1234]

its all the other features you get. New drivers will only add to the performance.

The gap isn't big enough to warrant being left in the past.

What features exactly?

The HD5850 is around 6870 performance which is a good 20% better than the HD6850. If I could get the HD5850 for cheaper than a reference HD6850, I know which I'd choose. Drivers will NOT improve its performance by 20%

 

[Martini1991]

5850 all the way.
Ignore "New tech/old tech" stuff.

 

[easyrider]

What features exactly?

The HD5850 is around 6870 performance which is a good 20% better than the HD6850. If I could get the HD5850 for cheaper than a reference HD6850, I know which I'd choose. Drivers will NOT improve its performance by 20%

3D
DP 1.2
Better tessellation
Better Xfire scaling

For starters the 5850 is not around 6870 performance.

The 6870 was around 5870 performance in many games and Benchies.

I have owned a 6870 and my mate had a 5850 we benched both.

20% faster is BS

 

[RavenXXX2]

lol we're not talking 69** tessellation performance for the 6850, it's marginally faster than a 5850 with tessellation, in games the 5850 is faster and that MSI at £125 is a bargain and I would take it over the 6850 for the excellent cooler alone. Who cares if it's EOL, does it effect your gaming performance because of it? it's great value with great performance, that's all that matters.

 

[easyrider]

5850 all the way.
Ignore "New tech/old tech" stuff.

Why would anyone in their right mind do that?

 

[Martini1991]

Why would anyone in their right mind do that?

Because it's an absolutely pathetic excuse to get an inferior card.
That 5850 is brilliant, and the price is stellar, the cooler etc.
It's just superior to the 6850....

 

[easyrider]

Because it's an absolutely pathetic excuse to get an inferior card.

Its not though.

The 6850 is a great clocker and its not that much slower than a 5850@ stock

Anyone would think the gap was massive.

The truth is its not.

Give me a 6850 @1ghz core over a 5850 any day of the week.

Plop in another and you take on 580GTX territory

 

[Helios1234]

The only thing the 6850 can do well is tessellation and even then it only wins by 1-2 FPS

http://www.vortez.co.uk/articles_pages/asus_eah6850_directcu_review,20.html

Look at those results, a 1GHz clocked HD6850 and an overclocked HD5850...

Overclocking is a moot point because the 5850 can be easily overclocked as well.

Sure it might scale well but we are talking single card here.

 

[Martini1991]

Its not though.

The 6850 is a great clocker and its not that much slower than a 5850@ stock

Anyone would think the gap was massive.

The truth is its not.

Give me a 6850 @1ghz core over a 5850 any day of the week.

Plop in another and you take on 580GTX territory

Well you're obviously being biased.
The 6850 is clocked higher than a 5850.
5850's also clock to about the same clock speed.
If the 5850 at a lower clock speed is faster, then at the same, or higher clock speed, it's going to be even faster than it.

I'd argue the 5850 was just below 6870 performance, and the 6850 was in-between a 5830-5850.