Graphics Card Advice

GeXeH · 8 May 2010 at 19:49

Hey guys.

I'm in need of a graphics card for my new rig since it's the last piece of hardware to be replaced from my old rig (I'm currently using an EVGA 8800GTX).

The problem is I've been out of the game for a while so I'm quite unsure as to which graphics cards to buy, so I'm asking for some advice.

I currently have a budget of £400 at a push.

I've got my eye on this as it seems to be the best bang for the buck from my understanding.

Any help would be appreciated.

Edit (TL;DR):

I thought I would revive this thread and ask if it's worth getting this or paying a little extra and getting one of these. What's your thoughts?

d_brennen · 8 May 2010 at 19:53

What motherboard do you have out of interest? With that kind of budget Crossfired 5850s aren't far off. Would be faster than a 5970 when overclocked... Personally I think the 5870s are a bit too expensive for the performance increase over a 5850 but I own none of the above so I am sure others with first hand expreiance will offer some advice

GeXeH · 8 May 2010 at 19:56

I have a gigabyte GA-H55M-UD2H.

Thanks.

d_brennen · 8 May 2010 at 20:01

My vote would be 5850 for now, then maybe another when you need it. It will also give you a chance to see what plays out with ATI and nVidia's refreshes

Unless of course you need a lot of power right now? It is worth noting that all the 58** series cards are cooler and quiter than the previous gen anyway, so you're paying a premium for a nice looking cooler with the Vapor X models as far as I can see. Could be wrong though?? :/

Phage · 8 May 2010 at 20:29

The vapor-x is a great card. You won't be disappointed.
New gen is out at the end of 2010 though, so it may make sense to get a single reference 5870 now and wait for the 6xxx series

GeXeH · 8 May 2010 at 20:35

I don't upgrade my hardware often.. maybe once a year, so I won't be looking to replace the card I buy now till June 2011.

I mean it's only £40 more for the Vapor-X model of the 5870 which is what I have my mind on due to the higher clock speed, then again I just spotted this for an extra £10.

Decisions decisions..

kerrgreg · 8 May 2010 at 20:52

Depending on how savy you are you can buy a standard 5870 and put the PCs++ bios on it and get that performance for less money.

I have had 2x5870's and now have a 5970 (cant comment too much only just got the 5970) but i would recomend to anyone to buy a 5870 its a great card with great clocking power sounds perfect for you.

GeXeH · 8 May 2010 at 21:02

Well, I've never flashed a bios for a GPU before but from what I've read here, it seems pretty straight forward. So I would just need to find the PCs++ bios from somewhere then flash?

Firenze · 8 May 2010 at 21:16

I'd suggest you get a 5870 mate, I've tried throwing all sorts at mine, and haven't yet been let down (though I got a dodgy one and had to RMA, but neither here nor there...). I'd suggest from personal experience to get the PCs++.
The gamble of good silicon is not one you want to roll the dice on, save the risk and get factory over-clocked...

GeXeH · 8 May 2010 at 21:26

I think it's definitely going to be a choice of a 5870. The ones I have in mind are the Sapphire Vapor-X and the PowerColour PCs++.

On paper the PCs++ comes with a higher factory OC than the Vapor-X for £10 more (plus COD:MW2 or Dirt 2 depending on availability), I think it would be stupid not to go with the PCs++.

Thoughts?

wozzizname · 8 May 2010 at 22:00

I've got a Powercolor PCS+ and it's a very nice card - only a small OC over the normal designs, but it runs really quietly and keeps the temps down which is more important to me than massive overclocking (I'll just buy another and Xfire it if I need more performance).

GeXeH · 8 May 2010 at 22:05

Exactly what I'm aiming for wozziname.

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 8 May 2010 at 22:37

The GA-H55M-UD2H does asymmetrical Crossfire so it is better to go for a single card setup.

GeXeH · 8 May 2010 at 22:50

CAT-THE-FIFTH said:
The GA-H55M-UD2H does asymmetrical Crossfire so it is better to go for a single card setup.

Thanks for clearing that up, appreciate it.

Cookeh · 9 May 2010 at 14:07

Another vote for the PCS++!

Easier, and less chances of something going wrong as you won't need to overclock it yourself

GeXeH · 9 May 2010 at 14:12

-snip-

GeXeH · 14 May 2010 at 17:39

I thought I would revive this thread and ask if it's worth getting this or paying a little extra and getting one of these. What's your thoughts?

Marine-RX179 · 14 May 2010 at 18:28

CAT-THE-FIFTH said:
The GA-H55M-UD2H does asymmetrical Crossfire so it is better to go for a single card setup.

To add to the point, the i3 [email protected] would pretty much be used fully to keep up with a 5870/GTX480. Getting faster card like 5970 or upgrading to faster card in the future would require upgrading the CPU as well.

By the way, anyone know how i5 750 would perform on a GA-H55M-UD2H in terms of overclocking and speed?

GeXeH · 14 May 2010 at 18:49

Marine-RX179 said:
To add to the point, the i3 [email protected] would pretty much be used fully to keep up with a 5870/GTX480. Getting faster card like 5970 or upgrading to faster card in the future would require upgrading the CPU as well.

By the way, anyone know how i5 750 would perform on a GA-H55M-UD2H in terms of overclocking and speed?

I know, I intend on upgrading my whole system next year again anyhow for next generation GPU's.

So now I'm stuck in a dilemma of which to go for, the ATI or the nVidia, I'm still quite sure that an OC'd 5870 is better off for price, temperature and noise?