5970 or 5870 for new gaming rig

S

stevecamp09

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 27, 2009
Messages
172
My new planned build (next couple of weeks) is as follows:

i7 920
ASUS P6X58D
XFX 5970 or 5870
3x 2GB Corsair Dominators DDR3 1600
Intel X25-M 160GB + WD Caviar Black 1.5TB
CM HAF 932
1000w Corsair PSU
CM V8
Windows 7 Pro x64
24" NEC LCD2490WUXi

I am going to be gaming on the NEC at 1920x1200 and obviously want to push all of the newest games as high as I can. I was just about settled on the 5970 but reading a pile of reviews recently point to the 5870 being a much better value, as well as the extra heat, power and noise factoring in too. Also I have no immediate plans to move to Eyefinity though that could conceivably change. So, assuming availability at purchase time...is it worth going with the 5970 to be as "future proof" as possible and for the possibility of Eyefinity at some point...or should I go with the 5870 and be able to play whatever I want anyway for the forseeable future? The dollar difference is the least important factor though saving $200 is always welcome, I just want my new build to be as stable, quiet and cool as possible while being able to throw pretty much anything at it.

I realize nobody can make my decision for me, but any reasonable guidance, particularly from those with hands-on experience of either/both cards, would be massively appreciated!

Thanks
 
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Hopefully next month we'll see the new Eyefinity6 HD 5870's thats what i'm waiting for before i build my new system,

also on cases, check out coisair 800D
 
Since you mentioned your not using Eyefinity at this time, a 5870 will be more than enough power for 1 monitor at 1920x1200 with pretty much settings maxed out in every game with some AA. The only exception might be Crysis but who cares about that '1' game.
 
actually they got crysis on a 24inch 1920x1200 at gamer setting, and get stable playable framerate, think avg was 42fps
 
Upgrade after March and see what gf100 has to offer. but if you must I'd get the xfx 5870.
 
Thanks...so nobody thinks the extra performance of the 5970 over the 5870 is worth the heat/power/noise trade-off?
 
I run a 5970 with 1920 X 1200. I like to run everything maxed with full AA. If you have the money, why not.
 
5970 for sure if its an option, and watch craigslist for getting a couple extra of those NEC's for eyefinity, you wont be sorry :)
 
I went with a 5970 myself but I'm gaming at 2560x1600 right now and will be stepping up to an Eyefinity setup soon. For the original poster's purposes I think a 5870 would do just as well. I doubt he'd see much of a different at that resolution. If you intend to setup Eyefinity at any time you might want to spend the extra cash.
 
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