Crossfire ATI 5850

[father-ted]

Was thinking of upgrading my ATI 5850, whats my best option?

New card (6970 maybe?), or shall I go for another 5850 and put it in crossfire?

Or wait a couple of months for the next gen ATI card?

I don't want to spend a fortune though, so what would be the price difference?

Thanks

 

[Marine-RX179]

The biggest performance for the least cost is indeed grabbing a 2nd 5850 to crossfire. However do bare in mind that 1GB vram might struggle to be able to run 4xAA smoothly in a few demanding games, so you must be prepared to use lower than 4xAA (i.e. 2xAA or 0xAA).

Also, there's the good old issues of crossfire with the possible driver and possible micro-shuttering.

If you want to upgrading to a faster single GPU card, wait for next gen (should be out within the next few months); while 6950/6970 2GB have the benefit of more VRAM, they are not a major step up from the 5850 GPU wise.

 

[Warbie]

I'd wait for the new cards. I recently borrowed my brothers 5850 for crossfire and while the boost in some games is nice it seems pretty hit and miss. Crossfire isn't working in Skyrim either - which is the main reason I bothered giving it a go! Maybe if you can get one cheap.

 

[father-ted]

Any idea as to the price range of the next gen ati cards?

 

[Mattuk69]

Dont do it.

 

[Brumboy]

I'd wait until the new generation cards come out. Then you can either buy a new card if they suit your needs or buy another 5850 and crossfire. The older generation cards will also be cheaper so it's a win-win situation.