5870 Vs 4870X2

[Justin Cider]

I have the chance to pick up a used 5870 for about $150 and I was wondering what, if any performance differances I would see from my 4870X2.From what I've read probably nothing spectacular.I would like some opinons from somebody who made a recent switch to a 5870 from 4870X2 or if I should bite the bullet and go to a 6970

 

[TheBlueChanell]

Sort of sidegrade but the overall smoothness and responsiveness would probably please those single card zealots. You'll also get additional Oc'ing heardroom, better thermals and better power management. That's still a good deal on a 5870 but coming from a 4870x2 kind of tarnishes the deal.

If you want a noticeable increase go with a 6950 or a 6970 or even a 560 Ti/570.

 

[samuelmorris]

A 5870 isn't really any faster than a 4870X2. More efficient (190W vs 290W) and more compatible, but most of the time you aren't going to notice a difference.

 

[UtopiA]

If you want a noticeable increase go with a 6950 or a 6970 or even a 560 Ti/570.

Hmm, the 6950 and GTX 560 are both slower than the 4870X2, and the GTX 570 is about the same speed (maybe slightly faster).

If you want to upgrade, buy the 5870, then sell both the 5870 (~$200?) and your 4870X2 (~$200+?) for a profit (Somewhere around $400 in the end) and buy a 6950 2GB (Flash it), 6970, 570, etc.

 

[samuelmorris]

Hmm, the 6950 and GTX 560 are both slower than the 4870X2, and the GTX 570 is about the same speed (maybe slightly faster)

Lolwut? Links?

 

[UtopiA]

Lolwut? Links?

Yeah you're right, I'm a little off, "slightly" is an understatement, the 570 is probably closer to 10% (at the very least 6%) faster.

edit;
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
The 4870X2 is at least 10% faster (average, 1920x1200) than the GTX 560. Not sure about driver quality differences.

 

[samuelmorris]

In the tests I've seen:

HD5870 = HD4870X2.
Since
HD5870 = GTX560Ti
HD6870 = 0.95x HD5870
HD6950 = 1.05x HD5870
that means the 560 is equal to the 4870X2, not slower, and the HD6950 is slightly ahead of it. Scaling is very rarely more than 80% with the 4870s, which is how much of a lead the 5870 has over its predecessor.

 

[UtopiA]

In the tests I've seen:

HD5870 = HD4870X2.
Since
HD5870 = GTX560Ti
HD6870 = 0.95x HD5870
HD6950 = 1.05x HD5870
that means the 560 is equal to the 4870X2, not slower, and the HD6950 is slightly ahead of it. Scaling is very rarely more than 80% with the 4870s, which is how much of a lead the 5870 has over its predecessor.

The 560 is about 5% slower than the 5870, and the 4870X2 is about 5% faster.
The 6950 is some value less than 5% faster, which makes it slower than the 4870X2.

I'm making generic sweeping statements about the cards, which includes specific data on the 4870X2 only going back to March 2010, and ignores driver updates since then, as well as the obvious things like DX11 stuff.

I'm using TPU as always, since they're the only (?) site that covers a wide variety of games with a comprehensive average. If you want specific benchmarks on more recent games, then it's difficult to say especially since the 4870X2 hasn't been tested for... a year (or sense March 2010 I guess).
You can bring up all the benchmarks yourself and start cross referencing, but the numbers don't lie. That brings me to my next point...

Personally, I think any single GPU from the 5870/6950/560 or higher will show some improvement, at the very least from changing 2x GPU's to one GPU even though the numbers might show their "performance" being equal, or the 4870X2 being faster.

 

[spaceman]

For $150 get the 5870 and enjoy. That is a good deal.

 

[Digital Viper-X-]

there are about 15 threads about this in the AMD sub forum, a search would have saved everyone some time

but to answer your question, the 5870 is an upgrade, less power, better performance average(specially when xfire does NOT scale) and dx11 features, no contest in my opinion, sell the 4870x2 get the 5870 and call it a day.

 

[GotNoRice]

The 560 is about 5% slower than the 5870, and the 4870X2 is about 5% faster.
The 6950 is some value less than 5% faster, which makes it slower than the 4870X2

That corresponds with the data I've seen on numerous sites as well.

 

[UtopiA]

That corresponds with the data I've seen on numerous sites as well.

The numbers for the 5870, and, then relative to the 560, are probably higher since driver optimizations for the 5870 have no doubt come a long way over the past 6+ months. Even though the 4870X2 was initially faster, no doubt the 5870 is at least as fast these days and probably faster. This means the 560's performance is also faster.

The 4870X2 hasn't been tested since summer 2010. The 6950 and 560 obviously didn't exist then, so stretching the benchmarks across the cards is only possible when you look at a card that was benched against BOTH the 4870X2 and all the new cards (5870 works), but then you have driver changes and possibly test system changes (new CPUs etc) so really extrapolating any kind of "useful" data from all of that is... sketchy.

But, we do what we can with what we have.

 

[darkpark]

to the original poster, i was on the hd4870x2 (really it was two 4870s in xfire) and i passed on the 5xxx series and the 68xx cards. $150 is still an awesome deal for the 5870, but not a huge upgrade. i'd spring for the 6970 if money isn't a huge issue. i did!