5850 or 5770Xfire?

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erf

[H]ard|Gawd
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I'm currently gaming on a 19" lcd @ 1280x1024 which sucks I know so before I pull the trigger on a display/video card update I'd like to get some opinions.


When I bought the parts for my new rig I didn't really consider the idea of Crossfire and ended up getting the PSU in my sig knowing it would be plenty for any single high end card. From the beginning I've planned on purchasing an xfx 5850 but after reading some reviews I'm considering Xfiring a couple of 5770's.

From an enthusiasts standpoint I've always been kind of enthralled with the idea of a dual gpu setup but just never really had the funds to invest in one that was practical. It seems this may be different with the 5770's in xfire. From what I've read they use a relatively low amount of power, run quite cool, and out perform a single 5850 by a decent margin.

The only drawback I've taken note of is the 128bit memory interface on the 5770. How much does this affect performance???

I'm only gaming at 1280x1024 right now so I'd be able to enjoy a nice performance boost NOW with a single 5770 and when I invest in a 1080p monitor it'll just be a matter of doubling up on the card for an extra 170 bones. It just seems like the best path for my current and future upgrades. What do you guys think?

tia,

erf
 
i would wait until you see what the 5830's are going to pull off. release date is Feb 5th unless they get pushed back. supossed to be 200 per card hopefully. i wouldn ever go with crossfire 5770's. i would grab a single 5850 and buy another later in that case. thats what im waiting for right now is the 5830's to see if i want to crossfire them or not.

just remember as ew games come out. you will always want better performance. i dont see 5770's being a good investment.
 
Hmm, the amount of time that you intend to keep your 19" monitor should probably play a big factor into the choice. I would personally just buy a single 5770 right now; that should provide ample power for anything on your 19".

If you keep that monitor for more than a couple months, you will have the GF100 cards to choose from (and maybe influence AMD pricing) and ATI 6000 series cards will be around too after awhile..
 
4LC4PON3 said:
i would wait until you see what the 5830's are going to pull off. release date is Feb 5th unless they get pushed back. supossed to be 200 per card hopefully. i wouldn ever go with crossfire 5770's. i would grab a single 5850 and buy another later in that case. thats what im waiting for right now is the 5830's to see if i want to crossfire them or not.

just remember as ew games come out. you will always want better performance. i dont see 5770's being a good investment.
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In order to xfire 2 58xx's I'd have to also upgrade my PSU as mine only has 2-6 pin connectors(1x6+2,1x6) That's where I'm kind of torn. Gaming on a budget suuuuucckksss....
 
huddy said:
Hmm, the amount of time that you intend to keep your 19" monitor should probably play a big factor into the choice. I would personally just buy a single 5770 right now; that should provide ample power for anything on your 19".

If you keep that monitor for more than a couple months, you will have the GF100 cards to choose from (and maybe influence AMD pricing) and ATI 6000 series cards will be around too after awhile..
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It'll probably be about a month before I even order my vid card. Then another month or 2 before I get to upgrade my display. Sooo, I'd be stuck with a 5770 and 19" for about 3 months I'd say.
 
in that case go for the 5770. dont get me wrong its a good card just noy my flavor. at your res it will rock tho
 
When looking at 5770s for Crossfire, pass on the cheaper 512MB versions - for your later upgrade, you'll want the 1GB models. 512MB sucks for higher resolution Crossfire setups, and is intended for lower resolution gaming like you're doing now.

5770 1GB in Crossfire was very appealing for a while because at $165-$170 each, two 5770 1GBs cost $340, while a single 5850 used to cost about the same. I see that the 5850 has now dropped to $290-$300, reducing the appeal of 5770 1GB Crossfire. Over the next month until you buy your new video card, the price of the 5850 will probably drop a lot more than the price of the 5770 does, because the 5850's price was inflated a lot more by the supply problem than the 5770 was.
 
One 5770 handles every game I throw at it in 1680x1050. Your monitor will have zero issues with just one. Put that cash towards a bigger LCD. :)
 
I got my 5850's for $511 total shipped, this might be the only launch ever where it paid to be an early adopter of video cards.
 
I would say, as its already been said...get a 5850...granted its not as fast as 2 x 5770's...but its still a damn fast card, and as you already know, until you get a 1080p monitor you wont be getting max performance anyways. Plus a single 5850 also gives you that upgrade path to add a second later on...granted you only have 2 6-pin connectors, but by the time you would NEED to upgrade to a second 5850 (in terms of how performance is) 4 x 6 pin powersupplies should be more than cheap enough...heck, have you considered getting one here on the forums used from the FS/FT forum?

Hope this helps!
 
i want crossfire but i still read about driver problems and such. that is the only reason i haven't bought another 5770 to crossfire. i would buy the 5850 but its just not the right time to buy it because of prices.
 
phiquach said:
i want crossfire but i still read about driver problems and such. that is the only reason i haven't bought another 5770 to crossfire. i would buy the 5850 but its just not the right time to buy it because of prices.
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My fascination with Crossfire(dual gpu's in general) is the one of the main reasons I want to go with the 5770. There are just too many pros and cons to consider. I think I'm going to end up going for it and just hope I don't regret it in the future.

Concerning the 128bit memory interface, the Hard review helped alleviate my worries. It's not as big of a deal as what some people have made it out to be.
 
Def the 5850. 5770 will be faster by a bit, but you will have a higher framerate threshold for smoothness due to larger microstutter frequency. In addition, you will have the option of going for 5850 or 5850/5870 crossfire in 6 months when the 5850 costs 220 or so. I don't see the point of gong 5770 at all.
 
akotlar said:
Def the 5850. 5770 will be faster by a bit, but you will have a higher framerate threshold for smoothness due to larger microstutter frequency. In addition, you will have the option of going for 5850 or 5850/5870 crossfire in 6 months when the 5850 costs 220 or so. I don't see the point of gong 5770 at all.
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can't xfire 5800's, my psu will not allow it.
 
If you're going to be gaming at 1280x1024 for 3 months, I'd say pick up a used 4870 or something to hold you out until Fermi launches, and 5770/5850 prices drop. Heck... at 1280x1024 you'd be more CPU limited than GPU anyway. Even at that resolution, a 5670 does really, really, well. I'd suggest you buy a new monitor first, before any GPU upgrade.
 
erf said:
can't xfire 5800's, my psu will not allow it.
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Ok, sorry, just skimmed your first post.

The PSU is a much cheaper upgrade, and is a necessity moving forward anyways. If you go 5770 * 2, you'll have somewhat better performance, but the cost of that gpu setup will become a sunk cost as soon as you wish to upgrade performance. With a 5850, if you want that extra performance the cost of the 5850 isn't sunk, since it gives you an upgrade path worth pursuing (by purchasing a 2nd card). If your PSU can't handle 2 5850's, it will definitely need to be upgraded for the next tick generation of CPU's (Bulldozer and Sandy Bridge) as well as for the next generation of GPU's. Heck even by March: 1 Fermi will most likely be outside of your current power envelope.
 
akotlar said:
Ok, sorry, just skimmed your first post.

The PSU is a much cheaper upgrade, and is a necessity moving forward anyways. If you go 5770 * 2, you'll have somewhat better performance, but the cost of that gpu setup will become a sunk cost as soon as you wish to upgrade performance. With a 5850, if you want that extra performance the cost of the 5850 isn't sunk, since it gives you an upgrade path worth pursuing (by purchasing a 2nd card). If your PSU can't handle 2 5850's, it will definitely need to be upgraded for the next tick generation of CPU's (Bulldozer and Sandy Bridge) as well as for the next generation of GPU's. Heck even by March: 1 Fermi will most likely be outside of your current power envelope.
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I agree I'd have to upgrade my PSU to run 2 high end cards but I'm not so sure what you mean about the next generation of cpus...as far as what I've read both AMD and Intel are trying to lower power consumption on their future chips...seems to be the trend anyway.
 
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