GTX 470/480 looks like a fail so some help please?

[zoidy]

Hi Guys – I’ve been stalking the comments in this and other forums for a couple of days and need some help deciding on a preferable outcome without all the fanboy politics and stigma that seems to go with graphics card upgrades these dayz lol.
I have about £500 saved and I’ve been waiting patiently to upgrade my GeForce 8800GTS into my ASUS Crosshair III Phenom II X4 955 BE, AM3 rig.
I thought I might get a decent Nvidia upgrade when the 400 series cards came out so I could also use the existing 8800GTS for physX but looking at the 470/480 reviews of late I think they are not what I want and for the first time in several years I’m going for ATi – good choice?
I only want to get a decent DX11 card for gaming that maybe lasts a few years (yes believe it or not lads most of us can’t afford to chase the infinite rainbow of best cards that you lot seem to do and chuck em away periodically when the next comes out lol – we can’t afford it! hehe) but I also want to keep up with the current and near future games releases so I have to spend a few hundred.
I’ve decided to go for either a single 5970 or two 5850’s in Xfire as I have an AMD, with a Crossfire capable machine which is set up for ATi perfectly.
Do you think I should go for two cards or the one? Can I still use the old 8800 in the machine also for “something else?” I don’t know and it’s just a question – maybe a noobish one.
Thanks for reading and helping – I look forward to hearing your replies!
Thanks
ZB

 

[zoidy]

Thanks for the quick turn around!

So it seems 2X5850 is a good option - thanks
What about this hack? Any pointers for me to obtain this?

Cheers
Z

 

[zoidy]

Yeah - cost plays a part in in.
The 5850 looks the better option -
Forgive my ignorance but "5850cf" - what is CF? is it short for crossfire?
Thanks guys.

 

[zoidy]

Thanks Gents

I've just ordered 2 X 1GB XFX HD 5850, 4500MHz GDDR5, GPU 755MHz, 1440 Cores, cards.

I'm looking forward to telling you its all good - I'm nervous though - been with NV for sometime with no hassle and I'm hoping it all turns out as it should

Live long and prosper!

Z

 

[zoidy]

Update your motherboard bios if you see any issues

Thanks, will do - should find things ok though... CPU Phenom II X4 955 BE, AM3, 3.2GHz, [email protected] and the Asus Crosshair III Formula, AMD 790FX have been stable as those 480 temps lol.

Watch this space

 

[zoidy]

It is strange ... I'm using W7 and the thought of doing a fresh install horrifies me! Yes I have a ghost back up but that's no good with changing drivers from one manufacturer to another, the ghost version has the Nvidia drivers in it. I'll wing it and see what happens.
Normally I delete the drivers, go through the folders looking for nvidia left overs then into the registry and work my way down the list seeing if there's anything untoward, then reboot, reinstall... that should be enough?
Failing that then an install will have to happen.

 

[zoidy]

£ for £ the 2X5850 is my best option so I've ordered elsewhere these two cards

1GB XFX HD 5850 XXX, PCI-E 2.0(x16), 4500MHz GDDR5, GPU 755MHz, 1440 Cores

Hope I'm impressed

 

[zoidy]

Wanna thank you all for answering and helping me today without taking this thread into the "dark place" of NV Vs Ati.

Actually I'm 500 quid poorer grrrrrr lol

Give your selves a pat on the back - this is what the forums all about - helping each other. Thx Chaps!

 

[zoidy]

Yep!

 

[zoidy]

Cards came today - tried BFBC2 without any real issues.
Wondering if there's any tweaks I should now carry out in BIOS etc?
Thanks again lads - looks like the cards are a winner

 

[zoidy]

Well I uninstalled and just installed the 10-3 W7 64Bit pack and everything went fine...
Actually if I'm honest this unnerved me a bit because there was no issues I thought there was a problem lol - I went through the system menu looking for problems hehe

To all you NV fanboys - I understand your resentment to change... change is not nice, especially when you've been top of the Graphics card heap for so long. But trust this unbiased opinion of mine... I put my two 5850's into my rig, installed the drivers, played several games to test the system out and it works flawlessly, in fact I'd give the swap from NV to ATi 10 out of 10.

ATI HAVE GOT WHAT IT TAKES>>> I'M GLAD I TOOK THE GAMBLE and ALSO SAVED MYSELF SOME CASH. IF YOU ARE THINKING OF A NEW CARD(S) TRUST ME WHEN I SAY ATi NOW HAVE AN OPTION FOR YOU.

 

[zoidy]

Well I uninstalled and just installed the 10-3 W7 64Bit pack and everything went fine...
Actually if I'm honest this unnerved me a bit because there was no issues I thought there was a problem lol - I went through the system menu looking for problems hehe

To all you NV fanboys - I understand your resentment to change... change is not nice, especially when you've been top of the Graphics card heap for so long. But trust this unbiased opinion of mine... I put my two 5850's into my rig, installed the drivers, played several games to test the system out and it works flawlessly, in fact I'd give the swap from NV to ATi 10 out of 10.

ATI HAVE GOT WHAT IT TAKES>>> I'M GLAD I TOOK THE GAMBLE and ALSO SAVED MYSELF SOME CASH. IF YOU ARE THINKING OF A NEW CARD(S) TRUST ME WHEN I SAY ATi NOW HAVE AN OPTION FOR YOU.

What a difference a week makes lol.

Sent these cards back and had a full refund.
Battlefield 2; ARMA 2; both games run like a crock of ...
The graphics looked sweet to start with, then the stuttering and long load times kick in, then there's the drivers and the advice to tweak this, do that.

I'm sorry - but I never had this with the Nvidia cards, why should I buy something that I have to fiddle like hell with from week one to get to work?

Nope - looks like the 480 although hot and hungry for wattage is going to be my next buy... As least I'll have problem free gaming without the hang ups!

Last couple of weeks I've had more problems with the Ati Cards and Drivers then my Ex-Wife gave me during our divorce -

Sorry guys but if you can't play why pay? - back to my green hungry hot tempered whore

Zoid

 

[zoidy]

I got tired of the flickering in BC2 with my 4870X2. It did put me off playing it. On my 8800gtx is runs so much smoother even if the settings are a bit lower.

Yep - installed my old 800GTX and it loaded instantly
I had time for a pi$$ with the ATi cards - honestly to get Arma 2, BFBC2 to play was just awful, don't tell me its a EA issue because ATi just released a patch and its still there in some form or another.

Add to the issue:
V-Sync issues
Grey screen at map load
Stuttering on Arma2 and BFBC2 would be enough to give an epileptic fit
To be honest - not a happy chappy when told to install older drivers lol. Come on that's a poor excuse.

Z