Upgrade to 5870 Crossfire?

[GoogalyMoogaly]

Hi,

I'll get right to it. I was thinking of buying another 5870 graphics card to combine with the one I have to get a 5870 Crossfire setup.

Is it worth it?
Should I wait until the 6000 series cards are released? Will the prices drop much?
Will there be a 6000 series card better than 5870 Crossfire?

Secondly, how closely do the cards have to match? Will any 2 5870 Crossfire? Is there a benefit to using 2 of the same cards?

I think I currently have a Sapphire 5870 (I decided to try a pre-built PC and it only specified a Radeon 5870).

I was considering:
this one
or
the HD-587X-ZNDC shown here (from a competitor)

If the 2 Radeons being Crossfired have different memory and clock speeds how does it work when they're crossfired? Do they both run at the slowest clocks or do they run at their own clocks?

What are the temperatures like with 2 5870 cards? Would I need to get 3rd party coolers for them (such as the "Arctic Cooling Accelero Xtreme 5870")? Would that be enough?

 

[stulid]

is your current 5870 struggling?

 

[GoogalyMoogaly]

Only in Crysis really, which I don't play anymore these days. So I guess mostly that's a "no".

OK, let's ignore the "Is it worth it?" question.

 

[Exsurgo]

TBH I don't really think Crossfire Scales enough with the 5870 and the drivers. There just dosn't seem much point looking at benchmarks etc. Heat and noise are considerations aswell. If your card is a good clocker, a 3rd party cooler might be a better investment. If you want a sizeable and better value upgrade, I would sell the card and go for a 6970/6950 or maybe a GTX480 with aftermarket cooling. Even for value, selling the 5870 and getting two watercooled GTX470s might be a viable alternative.

 

[cainer]

i had CF 5870's for 6 months and found the scaling good (~80-85%)
the thing that put me off was the heat, top card was getting into the high 80's C when gaming so i sold 1 and im going back to single card solution for that reason alone. il upgrade my remaining 5870 to a 6970 when they are out

 

[{SAS}TB]

I found a good performance increase going from a single to CF - I suppose the question is do you spend money on another now or wait for the new offering(s)?

You can get them reasonably priced second had or sell yours while it's still got some decent value and take s chance on the next releases ?

 

[Jibber55]

If you're just doing it because you feel like something new and shiney and not because you need to, I would wait an see what the 6970 performance looks like. If it's as good as some are suggesting, sell your 5870 and grab a 6970.

 

[GoogalyMoogaly]

If you're just doing it because you feel like something new and shiney and not because you need to, I would wait an see what the 6970 performance looks like. If it's as good as some are suggesting, sell your 5870 and grab a 6970.

Yeah, I think it's largely that reason.
It's been almost a month since I bought my last PC so I'm getting the itch again.
Not sure I'd sell my 5870, I'd probably just move it 'down' to another PC. I was just thinking that a second 5870 would be cheaper than the 6970 and surely 5870 Crossfire would be better performance.
But I suppose if I sold the 5870 I could put that money toward a 6970.
Still who's gonna by a 5870 when the 6970s are out and how much would I be able to get for it?

 

[cainer]

Still who's gonna by a 5870 when the 6970s are out and how much would I be able to get for it?

at a guess... probly ~£130 by then, ~£160 when the 6870 becomes available in a few weeks and ~£190-£200 if you sell now

EDIT: just read its a reference sapphire youve got, knock £10 off each price they are harder to sell :/