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** Official omg I just got my 5870 thread **

Perfect_Chaos said:
:rolleyes:

Anybody reckon there will be any difference in FPS between 1 gig and 2 gig versions?

already got a 1gb sapphire on the way but i'm wondering if the 2gb makes any difference? or is it for more than 3 screens or something?
Click to expand...

Assuming all clocks are the same, which is likely, then there will be zero difference in framerate unless a game uses more than 1GB.

Sounds bleedin obvious I know but hey :D

It will still have the 256bit memory bus so ram bandwidth will be the same.
 
how is it the 1gb 5870 is so much faster than a 2gb 4870 in stalker clear sky ? looking at benches that game gobbles up a lot of card memory and the 4870 1gb is a bit behind the 2gb version on even 1680 x 1050 with AA and stuff, i dont really get it but i hope the 1gb is enough.
 
Ive had pretty much every high end card, and coming from a GTX 295, heres my thoughts on my crossfire 5870 setup...

With just one 5870 running, even at 2560x1600 res, the 5870 performs better half the time, and feels smoother most of the time. Because....

SLI has micro stuttering and odd framerate outputs, but with crossfire theres just about no noticeable difference from a single GPU. Going from a 295 to crossfire is instantly noticeable without needing software to measure this.

ATI drivers are still poorer than NV's, with lots of little bugs i'm finding, but they have improved since my 4870 and 4870X2 days which also had BSOD's constantly.

My GTX 295 is half a inch shorter than these cards. I dont see why they need to be so long.

I like how the cards are now properly fully incased like with NV cards, makes ATI cards no longer feel so cheap.

A single 5870 is just as noisey as my 295, even at idle with the 5870 using way less power, the fan is about the same.


Anyway, is the X2 definitely out on the 22nd Oct? more importantly, will there also be a 4GB version??
Because i'm going to sell these 5870's for a X2 even though i'm happy with them, as i should hardly lose any money. And crossfire is a little noisey.
 
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Perfect_Chaos said:
how is it the 1gb 5870 is so much faster than a 2gb 4870 in stalker clear sky ? looking at benches that game gobbles up a lot of card memory and the 4870 1gb is a bit behind the 2gb version on even 1680 x 1050 with AA and stuff, i dont really get it but i hope the 1gb is enough.
Click to expand...

The nature of the card? It's just a better card. The VRAM only accounts for AA and resolution most of the time. And most games never usually fully utilise it. Apart from GTAIV.
 
Perfect_Chaos said:
how is it the 1gb 5870 is so much faster than a 2gb 4870 in stalker clear sky ? looking at benches that game gobbles up a lot of card memory and the 4870 1gb is a bit behind the 2gb version on even 1680 x 1050 with AA and stuff, i dont really get it but i hope the 1gb is enough.
Click to expand...

Extra ram only results in extra performance IF the ram is used and very few games, if any, will use more than 1GB. Very few will use more than 512MB!

1GB and 2GB cards typically share the same memory bus so have identical memory bandwidth speed.
 
Perfect_Chaos said:
bah i dont want to have to sell my 1gb for a 2gb when they come out.. ill just see if theres much difference when it does come out.
Click to expand...

So you've just spent £300 on the latest and greatest single GPU graphics card available on the market, and you're already thinking about selling up and upgrading?

I really don't think you need to worry about your new 5870 struggling to play games until 2010 at least, even at the highest resolutions....
 
MR.B said:
Ive had pretty much every high end card, and coming from a GTX 295, heres my thoughts on my crossfire 5870 setup...

With just one 5870 running, even at 2560x1600 res, the 5870 performs better half the time, and feels smoother most of the time. Because....

SLI has micro stuttering and odd framerate outputs, but with crossfire theres just about no noticeable difference from a single GPU. Going from a 295 to crossfire is instantly noticeable without needing software to measure this.

ATI drivers are still poorer than NV's, with lots of little bugs i'm finding, but they have improved since my 4870 and 4870X2 days which also had BSOD's constantly.

My GTX 295 is half a inch shorter than these cards. I dont see why they need to be so long.

I like how the cards are now properly fully incased like with NV cards, makes ATI cards no longer feel so cheap.

A single 5870 is just as noisey as my 295, even at idle with the 5870 using way less power, the fan is about the same.


Anyway, is the X2 definitely out on the 22nd Oct? more importantly, will there also be a 4GB version??
Because i'm going to sell these 5870's for a X2 even though i'm happy with them, as i should hardly lose any money. And crossfire is a little noisey.
Click to expand...

Its good to see you now having a good experience with ati cards but on the bug side am sure you know its a new card and the driver team will sort out most of them in time as well as unlocking some more performance.

The length of the card does seem a little long though not sure why that is.

To miker i think noise is all down to different peoples perception as i read in a few reviews that they were quiet cards at load and others said the opposite.
 
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Perfect_Chaos said:
bah i dont want to have to sell my 1gb for a 2gb when they come out.. ill just see if theres much difference when it does come out.
Click to expand...

If you dont have a 2560x1600 monitor then dont do it, you will see no difference.
The only games that run out of memory on my crossfired 5870's @ 2560x1200 are Crysis, and Mass Effect - with Crysis i need to go over 2xAA + 16xAF for this to happen.
Mass Effect will also do it at this res too but i need 8xAA + 16xAF and higher.

More memory dont equal better framerates - only if the game eats up all a cards memory, and when it does, you hit single digit FPS.
 
antipacker said:
£300 on something that gets thrashed by a 4870x2 which you can pick up for less then £200 barmy barmy
Click to expand...

Thrashed who are you trying to kid. There are certain games where the 4870x2 seems to pull a nice lead but there are also games where the 5870 has the advantage. I think people should bear in mind that this is a new release and things will improve as they always do.
 
yeah a bit odd lol, saying that the X2 is a daul card so it don't fare too badly from the benchis I seen

even the GTX295 is not safe from it, its seems like company of heros :O
 
TheRealDeal said:
Its good to see you now having a good experience with ati cards but on the bug side am sure you know its a new card and the driver team will sort out most of them in time as well as unlocking some more performance.

The length of the card does seem a little long though not sure why that is.
Click to expand...

Well the thing is i dont have this many bugs when i buy any new gen NV card. Theres sometimes a few, but not on this level.
With the 4xxx series cards i had, i also waited 3 - 4 months, and things didn't really go anywhere. With ATI when they do actually fix something, they usually break something else...
So i'm not holding my breath for 5xxx drivers. The drivers are definitely atleast usable now though, certainly no show stoppers, so i can live with that.
 
I think you are forgetting the 4870x2 is end of life and you will be hard pressed to find one new. Also i have never seen an x2 at £200 so i don't know where this £100 comes from.
 
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