5770 crossfire or single 5850

Thanks heatlesssun!
Performance-wise, aren't 5770 CF better than 5850 though and even close to 5870?
 
I went with 5770 crossfire and im loving it!

benchmarks put it anywhere from 5850 to faster than 5870. All depends on the game.

I love them, i really do. I upgraded from a GTX 275, and everything is faster/smoother.
 
All depends on what price you can get the cards for IMO. Dual 5770s is a very solid setup that will give you 5870 level performance and sometimes more, but a single 5850 gives you the option to add a 2nd later. Are you planning to upgrade later or stick with what you build for a long time?
 
GotNoRice said:
All depends on what price you can get the cards for IMO. Dual 5770s is a very solid setup that will give you 5870 level performance and sometimes more, but a single 5850 gives you the option to add a 2nd later. Are you planning to upgrade later or stick with what you build for a long time?
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Well, I'm not really that person that upgrades all the time. I only upgrade if my video card is no longer capable to the game I want to play. I already have a XFX 5770 and could get another for cheap. In my case, 2 5770's will still be cheaper than 1 5850 right now. My only problem is my PSU which is an Antec Basiq 550W.. I don't think it will be able to handle crossfired cards.. advice?
 
dahkillah said:
Well, I'm not really that person that upgrades all the time. I only upgrade if my video card is no longer capable to the game I want to play. I already have a XFX 5770 and could get another for cheap. In my case, 2 5770's will still be cheaper than 1 5850 right now. My only problem is my PSU which is an Antec Basiq 550W.. I don't think it will be able to handle crossfired cards.. advice?
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Those powersupples are among the worst antecs so that would make me a hair nervous. Does it even have the 2nd PCIe cable necessary to add another card? I think you might be okay assuming that you don't have an aggressive overclock on your CPU that is also sucking up a lot of juice.
 
GotNoRice said:
Those powersupples are among the worst antecs so that would make me a hair nervous. Does it even have the 2nd PCIe cable necessary to add another card? I think you might be okay assuming that you don't have an aggressive overclock on your CPU that is also sucking up a lot of juice.
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LOL, yeah I agree on the quality of the PSU. It was a replacement for my Antec PSU that failed (RMA). It does have a 2nd PCIe cable so it is SLI/CF capable but probably not with these newer cards. I don't OC my CPU but I'm planning to in the future..
 
I was in the same boat two days ago...
5770 CF or Single 5850?

A 5850 is now on it's way to my house. :)
 
The thing is that single card performance is FAR more bullet proof. I think multi-GPU is great but to use it to get the performance of an EXISTING single card isn't really the point of this technology. Yes it can in some cases scale and get you benefit but from time to time its going to be problematic. You have to weigh this into the decision.
 
If you're considering two 5770's then you might as well as pick up a single 5870 for just a few bucks more. Get the fastest single card you can afford, definitely. I would sooner save up for a 5970 rather than get a pair of 5850's or even 5870's.
 
Jalidi said:
If you're considering two 5770's then you might as well as pick up a single 5870 for just a few bucks more. Get the fastest single card you can afford, definitely. I would sooner save up for a 5970 rather than get a pair of 5850's or even 5870's.
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a 5870 costs about 100 bucks more than 5770 crossfire so that is hardly a "few bucks more". also a 5970 is just 2 gpus on one card and is slower than a 5870 crossfire setup and about even with the cheaper 5850 crossfire setup. since a 5870 crossfire costs more than a 5970 you would be saving up for it longer than a 5970 anyway. in other words your comments are basically illogical.
 
It all depends on how much an addition 5770 will tack onto your gaming. What res are you playing at, and what games do you play. Adding another 5770 to the one you have now seems like it would be a great price/performance investment. The whole CF debate seems to go completely 50/50 with people complaining about it and others loving it.
 
PnkPwrRngr said:
It all depends on how much an addition 5770 will tack onto your gaming. What res are you playing at, and what games do you play. Adding another 5770 to the one you have now seems like it would be a great price/performance investment. The whole CF debate seems to go completely 50/50 with people complaining about it and others loving it.
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Yeah, it seems like there is no definite answer to my query. It will always going to be 50/50 with people having different opinions. FWIW, I play with 1920x1080 resolution and games such as CS:Source, COD:MW2, BFBC2, L4D2, GTA4,etc.
 
dahkillah said:
Yeah, it seems like there is no definite answer to my query. It will always going to be 50/50 with people having different opinions. FWIW, I play with 1920x1080 resolution and games such as CS:Source, COD:MW2, BFBC2, L4D2, GTA4,etc.
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well since you already have one 5770 I would say go for the second one. Bad Company 2 is about the only game you listed that would really need it but some other games you may want to play could use it too.


EDIT: you might be pushing your luck with that psu though.
 
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If you already have the 5770 then just get another, but I would say the best strat for buying cards when you don't have one already is to buy single. I consider crossfire to be something you do down the line when you feel like your single card isn't good enough, that way the card will last much longer.
 
cannondale06 said:
a 5870 costs about 100 bucks more than 5770 crossfire so that is hardly a "few bucks more". also a 5970 is just 2 gpus on one card and is slower than a 5870 crossfire setup and about even with the cheaper 5850 crossfire setup. since a 5870 crossfire costs more than a 5970 you would be saving up for it longer than a 5970 anyway. in other words your comments are basically illogical.
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Look, I just prefer single cards, that's all. Less power demand, less heat, less noise. Crossfire is fantastic when it works but that isn't always the case. But you're right, I didn't realize what the 5770's had dropped to... I thought they were closer to $200 a card rather than the $150 that I see them on Newegg for... so yes, a single 5850 would've been a better suggestion. Still, I stand by my statement that, if you can save up for it, get a 5870, or a 5970... whatever best single card can be afforded.
 
Jalidi said:
Look, I just prefer single cards, that's all. Less power demand, less heat, less noise. Crossfire is fantastic when it works but that isn't always the case. But you're right, I didn't realize what the 5770's had dropped to... I thought they were closer to $200 a card rather than the $150 that I see them on Newegg for... so yes, a single 5850 would've been a better suggestion. Still, I stand by my statement that, if you can save up for it, get a 5870, or a 5970... whatever best single card can be afforded.
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I too prefer single cards and really single gpus but it was just the way you worded things that didnt make sense. ;)
 
Jalidi said:
Look, I just prefer single cards, that's all. Less power demand, less heat, less noise. Crossfire is fantastic when it works but that isn't always the case. But you're right, I didn't realize what the 5770's had dropped to... I thought they were closer to $200 a card rather than the $150 that I see them on Newegg for... so yes, a single 5850 would've been a better suggestion. Still, I stand by my statement that, if you can save up for it, get a 5870, or a 5970... whatever best single card can be afforded.
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+1. If you have the existing card that's one thing but buying two when one would do the job is the better route even if it is more money. But two 5770s can offer compelling performance at the price point, but it won't always work were a single card will.

That's the KEY to this descision. If you know the games you want to play will work then cool.
 
Another very satisfied 5770 CrossfireX adopter here. The only problem I had was your typical Bad Company 2 slow map loading until that 10.4a driver and the latest game patch were released. Now even that is fixed.

Clock-wise, most people can hit 960/1400 with stock voltages, and there have been plenty of overvolted 5770s reaching 1100/1400 and higher. I haven't overvolted mine, but I have hit 960/1400 stable for hours playing Bad Company 2.
 
Thanks for the input guys.. I'll go the crossfire route since it'll be cheaper to get another 5770. Hopefully I don't run into any problems..
 
I dont think you will run into problems. Mine was literally plug in, activates crossfire in CCC and go play games.

BFBC2 and Metro2033 (with DOF turned off) run great. Metro is anywhere from 30-100 fps. and BFBC2 stays above 55. its great.
 
heatlesssun said:
Always go with the SINGLE most expensive card you can afford. No exceptions.
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that doesn't really hold true anymore, a 5850 CF setup is great, so is a GTX 470 sli setup, it seems the difference between high end and mainstream is not so big anymore, at least not like it used to be. 5770CF I can't agree with though =p
 
After considering this for my build, I spent my money on 1 single 5870. It will pretty much run anything
 
heatlesssun said:
Always go with the SINGLE most expensive card you can afford. No exceptions.
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^^^^^

Edit: One Exception: you're rich (or just like spending all your money). Then Xfire 2 top end cards and fill the forums with your annoying bragging.

Good decision to get the second 5770. High-end performance for a little $$$.
 
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Running two 5770's in xfire using a 720BE @ 3.7ghz on DFI's FX board... I pull a little over 20k 3dMark06. Very glad I went xfire, but if you get a voltage moddable 5850 I can see the argument for a single 5850.
 
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