Best 5850 brand?

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Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 23, 2005
Messages
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So I currently have a 8800gt. I'm going to get a 5850. I've been doing some reading and it seems like the ASUS 5850 is the best card to get. However I can't find the card in stock anywhere. I placed a ordered from Amazon but its out of stock and I wont be charged unless it ships. I'm trying to get a card this week. Would there be any 5850 that you guys would recommend close to the Asus? Or should I just wait it out.
 
I would buy used if it was me. I'm in it for the reference cards as they are definitely of higher quality then non reference. Any reference card can be flashed to an Asus bios for full voltage control but newer cards have no voltage control and flashing them will most likely lead to bricking the card.
 
XFX has the best warranty.
Sapphire's RMA support for me has been pretty good.
I owned an HIS 5970 card before that worked pretty well too.
So you've got a bunch of viable options there as far as 5850s go.
 
Good info, how can I tell if its a reference card exactly? Would the HIS be a reference card?
 
don't buy diamond, I have had a support ticket with them has been close to 2 weeks and they haven't responded, I bought a hd 4650 for cheap 3 weeks ago and it didn't work and the reseller didn't except return on it becuase they were clearence item. Damn code 43 error on three different computers and after trying three different driver revisions.

Although I have an hd 5850 by them from 6 months ago, If I could go back I would have not purchased it. I got a good deal on hd 5850 too. I couldn't find a tech support phone number from their website either. The web chat feature is there just for a show, because it always says offline on it. lol.
 
Eh, not crazy about Biostar. Id stick to the major names like XFX, Saphire or Powercolor or HIS. You may pay $5-10 more but to me its worth it for the extra quality.
 
Biostar is moving up in the GPU market and they are actually a fine company to work with in turns of RMA and service.
 
XFX is using a custom cooler for its 5850 cards. How well does it compare with stock for heat and noise performance?
 
DanNeely said:
XFX is using a custom cooler for its 5850 cards. How well does it compare with stock for heat and noise performance?
Click to expand...

I would avoid it if you plan to OC, no volt mods work on their non reference cards. Reference heat and noise is actually very favorable, many of the aftermarket solutions are nor as good or on par.
 
Sorry for jumping in on your thread but I'm in the same boat as you.:confused:

The old 8800gt is just not cutting it in games now days.
I went with the XFX5850 due to the luck i have had with the old xfx8800gt I'm still using.


Thank you for the information on the brands.
 
I bought 2 Gigabyte 5850 reference cards, love them. However I don't see much mentioned about Gigabyte customer service, does anyone have any experience with them?
 
I have an ASUS 5850 and love it; rock solid and relatively quiet fan.
 
For what it's worth, I have an HIS reference card and it's been great. Runs very cool and quiet. :)
 
Now the big decision i have to make is what monitors to get.:confused:

I keep thinking i need to go with smaller one's like 19 or 22 inch for the lower res.
I just cant see pushing 3 - 24 inch monitors with this card and newer games.
Heat would also be a issue with the larger monitors.

Any one have any advice on what size monitors would work out nice in surround gaming?
 
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