5870 or 6870 ?

[Amnesia]

Now if the small difference in price did not matter which would be the better option ?
i'm guessing from what i have read that the 6870 uses less power and produces less heat, and that the 5870 maybe a touch faster in some games.
so which would be the better buy ? does the small performance outweigh less heat and power ?

ok before you suggest only i can answer that....i'm hoping for a few suggestions from you guys

does the 6870 have any extra features (gaming or watching videos) ?

and is the performance (haven't seen enough comparison charts myself) only a slight gain or is it 15% plus ? which would be pretty good in my eyes.


*EDIT* used for gaming

 

[straxusii]

It might be too close to call this one if price isnt an issue.

6870 is a little more efficient in terms of power and noise I think but the 5870 is ~7% faster. 6870 has slightly better tessellation than 5870 so a little more future proof maybe.

 

[ashmanuk67]

Also i keep reading how good the 6870 is for crossfiring my money would be the 6870.

 

[OCDStevo]

5870 is faster, no doubt...

6870 is cooler,quieter and more refined...

Drivers MAY improve 6870 performance going forward as it is still a new card.

I was planning on getting a 5870, got the 6870 and i'm more than happy with it. Although if I had seen a good deal on a 5870 at the time it would have been tempting.

It's down to yourself to be honest, not a lot in it.

 

[Richdog]

6870 with overclocking is a BEAST... and for a 40% cheaper price than a 5870 would be my selection 100% of the time in any system.

 

[Nexus18]

Pretty much what everyone so far has said, get the 6870.

 

[opethdisciple]

The common jist of what Iv read is that the 6870 is about 90% of the power of a 5870...

So price/performance is very good.

 

[Porcelina]

Unless the 5870s fall significantly in price, there are very limited reasons to buy one.

Even if the percentage of the power of the 6000 series card is closer to 80% it is such a better buy. I guess the only reason to get the older card over that is if you really want an ATI card, you do not care that much about the budget and you are looking to play a game where the 6870 would not do the job whereas a 5870 would. Which would be rare, but it is conceivable.