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4870x2 vs 5850?

P

pdinc

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 19, 2006
Messages
425
So based on a previous post I made in these forums, I bought a 5850 to play on a new 1080p monitor I'm getting. However, a friend recently gave me his 4870x2 as well.

I'm going to use both cards, but my question was which one I should place in my primary rig as opposed to my secondary - specs for both are in my sig. The secondary rig has a 520W PSU, while the primary is 620W. The secondary runs a 1080p HDTV.

Thanks in advance!
 
Sorry to bump already - but I'm really excited about these upgrades! Anyone?
 
You have both cards dude. WTF would you need to ask us for? Just test out both cards, see which one runs cooler and offers the most power and choose from there. Simple as that.

Also, it's pretty damn impatient of you to bump after ONE FUCKING HOUR. So calm down and wait at least 6 hours man. Jeez.
 
The 4870 x2 gives you better performance but at the cost of heat and wattage. I would use the 5850 in my rig that gets the majority of the use to save on power since it idles at a efficient 17 watts when non-gaming.

Good luck and don't sweat your enthusiasm to get going ASAP. I feel like it's Christmas morning when I get new hardware!
 
Last i checked the 4870x2 performed closer to a 5870.... and it doesnt have dx11, so those 2 together might mean itll be a bit better for your tv computer? Your 5850 would be way more power efficient to be running daily, and would for sure give high fps to your monitor assuming its not a super high res.

As far as power goes? I dont know much about that.. some PSU highly over state what they are rated for... others can do a bit more... Maybe someone who is familiar with the Corsair HX line can say if theyll handle the 4870x2
 
The 4870x2 will be faster than the 5850. While you will miss out on DirectX11 features in DirectX11 games, keep in mind that DirectX11 will run just fine on DirectX10.1 hardware (such as the 4870x2) just with a reduced feature-set.

I ran an overclocked 4870x2 with my Q9650 @ 4.4ghz from an Earthwatts650 at one point. The corsair620 would probably be just fine.

Though really I agree with the advice given above, that since you have both cards, try them and see what works best for you.
 
Danny Bui said:
You have both cards dude. WTF would you need to ask us for? Just test out both cards, see which one runs cooler and offers the most power and choose from there. Simple as that.

Also, it's pretty damn impatient of you to bump after ONE FUCKING HOUR. So calm down and wait at least 6 hours man. Jeez.
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This man needs a hug... Badly
 
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the 4870X2 sucks crazy amounts of power though, like 350W under full load. So I doubt the 520W can handle it.
 
4870x2 eats a lot more power and is a lot noisier. I'd prefer a 5850 even if it didn't give as many raw frames as the 4870x2.
 
dorky82 said:
It is really lame to bump after 1 hour.
Also you have both card in hand so I think its better to test it yourself.
http://www.google.com/images?comple...esult_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CGEQsAQwAw
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Yes, but look at the way you said it versus the way he did. Dropping two F-Bombs becuase someone asked a question and a premature bumb is hardly what I'd call tactful. It's downright bad manners in fact.

While the bump may have been premature, the question of "which card" is not, there is more to a card that raw performance, while I agree that he should test it out himself regardless, there is also info he can get by asking the question. Like power consumption, DX11, heat, noise, dual gpu scaling, the possible issue of micro studdering in certain games, etc etc.
 
I would use the 5850 in the main rig - a lot of games aren't utilizing both cards & it will be more power efficient. From what I read, it has a higher overclocking potential, should you need that.
 
Danny Bui said:
You have both cards dude. WTF would you need to ask us for? Just test out both cards, see which one runs cooler and offers the most power and choose from there. Simple as that.

Also, it's pretty damn impatient of you to bump after ONE FUCKING HOUR. So calm down and wait at least 6 hours man. Jeez.
Click to expand...


MrC4 said:
The 4870 x2 gives you better performance but at the cost of heat and wattage. I would use the 5850 in my rig that gets the majority of the use to save on power since it idles at a efficient 17 watts when non-gaming.

Good luck and don't sweat your enthusiasm to get going ASAP. I feel like it's Christmas morning when I get new hardware!
Click to expand...


I knew I would get this response - but this is Christmas for me since it's been a while since I had any upgrades, and by some stroke of luck I'm getting top tier upgrades incoming :)

I do intend to test out both, and I will share my results as well once I'm done testing, but I was more concerned about things like power consumption (as I couldnt find information about the 4870x2), as well as bottlenecking the E6400. I already know that I'll need to OC my Q6600 to overcome this, but I didn't know how the E6400 wouldperform, and whather I'd need to OC it (If I do, I have to buy an aftermarket cooler for it).

Danny Bui, apologies. I am definitely overenthusiastic at the moment and want to get up and running ASAP, which is why I wanted to know this information so that I'd know if I needed to buy any new hardware to support these upgrades.
 
no reason to waste power if you don't have to.

more and more my purchases and usage are directly related to how much it costs me every month in electricity.

so I vote 5850 and to put the power hungry card in a closet for a rainy day and you need a card. Doesn't sound like the secondary rig needs a new card anyways if you were happy until you got the new card.

whatever, I am a tree hugger when it gets down to brass tacks.

*drives off in a prius*
 
The 4870x2 should outperform the 5850. It competes on the level of a 5870. The 4870x2 will be noisier and consume more energy.

What is the second PC used for? A home theater? If so, you might want the 5850 on that since it will be quieter while watching movies. Also, you said the second rig uses a 1080p monitor but didn't say what your primary monitor is. If it's high resolution, then you may find the extra power of the 4870x2 is needed. I have a 2560x1600 monitor on my main and would definitely prefer the 4870x2 for it.
 
Meleniumshane90 said:
a lot of games aren't utilizing both cards
Click to expand...

It's not 2006 anymore. Games these days typically have excellent crossfire support. The games that don't are likely going to be old and/or niche games that you wouldn't need both GPUs for anyway. Consider that we're on the 3rd generation of cards from ATI where their top-dog card has been a dual-GPU solution, and we now have separate crossfirex profile updates that can be installed independently of the underlying driver to insure best crossfire support.
 
Like others have said, 4870x2 for your primary rig, 5850 for your secondary. This assumes that your primary rig has the best display setup as well, and is going to be utilizing the graphics card the most. If noise in your primary rig bothers you a lot, you could swap them. The 5850 still does great work on its own.
 
brownkc said:
The 4870x2 should outperform the 5850. It competes on the level of a 5870. The 4870x2 will be noisier and consume more energy.

What is the second PC used for? A home theater? If so, you might want the 5850 on that since it will be quieter while watching movies. Also, you said the second rig uses a 1080p monitor but didn't say what your primary monitor is. If it's high resolution, then you may find the extra power of the 4870x2 is needed. I have a 2560x1600 monitor on my main and would definitely prefer the 4870x2 for it.
Click to expand...

The second PC is going to be used as a home theater as well as for games. We have a PS3 and X360 already, but with the great sales on steam my roommate and I felt like it would sense to hook our extra rig up to play those.

Also, the primary rig will be running a Dell ST2410 and a Dell Ultrasharp 1907fp. I think I may put the 4870x2 in my primary rig and possibly get the Accelero aftermarket cooler for it.

Thanks for all the help, everyone!
 
Isnt there graphs somewhere showing the 5850 having an odd bottle neck at resolutions from 1680, and 1920? so the 4870x2 would power way past it those resolutions?
 
pdinc said:
The second PC is going to be used as a home theater as well as for games. We have a PS3 and X360 already, but with the great sales on steam my roommate and I felt like it would sense to hook our extra rig up to play those.

Also, the primary rig will be running a Dell ST2410 and a Dell Ultrasharp 1907fp. I think I may put the 4870x2 in my primary rig and possibly get the Accelero aftermarket cooler for it.

Thanks for all the help, everyone!
Click to expand...

Based on this response, I would put the 4870x2 in the main rig. The only issue I can think of is you mention more than one monitor. If you are hoping for an Eyefinity setup, I don't think the 4870x2 supports it. If you just want 2 monitors connected then it should run fine.

As for the aftermarket cooler, I am mixed on that. I bought a 4870x2 with the aftermarket cooler already installed (I think it may be the Accelero) and it still makes a fair amount of noise. I don't know if I would want to spend the time and extra money for what may be a small upgrade. Also, I have noticed AC getting some bad press for recent aftermarket coolers here on the forums.
 
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