Considering 5870 upgrade, not sure

[goodl]

Has anyone switched camp from a GTX280 SLi rig to a single 5870? I'd be real interested in hearing your thoughts. I'm mulling over a 5970 too since im running a 30" display. Check my sig for system specs if you have anything to add

 

[vjcsmoke]

Driving a 30" display, either 5870 in CF or a 5970 would be fastest for you. And you actually have a resolution that would challenge those cards. It's all up to you though, it's your money.

 

[cnk]

I switched and haven't had any issues. I don't think I'll ever go back to a SLI or Crossfire setup as I just had too many issues getting SLI to work correctly. A single 5870 can drive 3 monitors in Eyefinity at a higher resolution than a single 30" at 2560x1600 so I wouldn't think it would be an issue.

 

[goodl]

@vcjmoke hows that physx with a 5970 working out for you, I thought that didnt work

 

[Mr. K6]

I'm on a 30" display as well and I switched from a GTX295 (similar enough to GTX280 SLI?) to a 5870, and have absolutely no regrets. I found the 5870 to be quieter, use much less power (~40% less, but probably even more for you), and is much faster once your throw overclocking into the mix. I haven't run into a single game I couldn't max out at 2560x1600, even Crysis.

 

[goodl]

Faster once you throw overclocking into the mix? I'm always a little wary aboutr overclocking videocards, Ive had to RMA one of my 280s early on just after running furmark and it wasnt even overclocked!

 

[PS3]

I'm on a 30" display as well and I switched from a GTX295 (similar enough to GTX280 SLI?) to a 5870, and have absolutely no regrets. I found the 5870 to be quieter, use much less power (~40% less, but probably even more for you), and is much faster once your throw overclocking into the mix. I haven't run into a single game I couldn't max out at 2560x1600, even Crysis.

............... You sure you don't have four 5870s....because even four 5870s struggle and dip down in the 20 fps range in crysis at that resolution. I doubt you are running Enthusiast settings, but I would definitely like to see a bench.

 

[PS3]

I wonder what game the op could be struggling to play though. I'd say yes on the 5870 if you plan to use three monitors/eyeinfinity. No on the 5870 if you stay with a single monitor.

 

[PrincessFrosty]

............... You sure you don't have four 5870s....because even four 5870s struggle and dip down in the 20 fps range in crysis at that resolution. I doubt you are running Enthusiast settings, but I would definitely like to see a bench.

Yeah well the 5970 is being boasted as more or less the first single card to run Crysis at 2560x1600 with enthusiast settings across the board, evne then it's just 30fps and with no AA enabled.

You'd have to have some UBER clocks on a 5870 to push playable frames in that game at max settings and 2560x1600 and even then 2x or 4xAA might be desireable so I dont really consider it completely beaten yet.

 

[Mr. K6]

............... You sure you don't have four 5870s....because even four 5870s struggle and dip down in the 20 fps range in crysis at that resolution. I doubt you are running Enthusiast settings, but I would definitely like to see a bench.

I actually like playing the original much more than Warhead, so I'll report on that, but yeah, it runs fine. FPS are generally in the 25-35FPS range, everything Very High with 2x Edge AA. The Crysis series are funny games, as they don't always have a significant response to substantial increases in computing power, and they definitely don't play nicely with dual GPU set-ups. Warhead hated my GTX295 @ 2560x1600 and I can't imagine CF is any better.

 

[x3sphere]

Crysis/Warhead is certainly playable at 2560x1600 on a single 5870. It's not completely smooth like 1920x1200 is, though, usually hovering around the 25FPS mark. There's some dips down to 15FPS which usually occur in the Ice levels and when using weapons that have a zoom in scope. I'd guess a 5970 or 5850/70 CF would get rid of those dips, but for a game that's two years old now you have to wonder if it's even worth it. To me it isn't.

 

[vjcsmoke]

@vcjmoke hows that physx with a 5970 working out for you, I thought that didnt work

I previously had 5870 + PhysX. It worked just fine and I have the Vantagemarks to prove it. =)
It won't work out of the box that way because of Nvidia's anti-ATI code. But there's a hack available that gets around that.
Meaning, there's absolutely no reason that ATI+Nvidia hardware won't work together.
Nvidia intentionally cripples the Physx to spite its rival regardless of what that means for the consumer.

My 5970 hasn't arrived yet. But I promise to do some benching once it gets here.

 

[PS3]

It's worth it just to see where your system is at. Crysis has to be the best benchmark game out.