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Dual vs single bigger card

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DarkCyber

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
May 14, 2003
Messages
1,273
I am building a new AMD Phenom X6 1090T system and wondered what would be the better video performance option. Would it be better to run two Radeon cards or one bigger single video card?

Dollar wise, a good Radeon card like the HD 5750 is $145.00 each or the HD 5770 is $180.00 each versus a single big card like the HD 5850 is $325.00 or the HD 5870 is $410.00.

Just wondering if there is that much of a performance difference in two cards versus one single card. If not, then thinking about going with whatever is the most cost efficient.

Thanks for any input!

NOTE: I ordered a single EVGA 512-P3-N871-AR GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB 256-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card with the system. Trying to figure out if its worth just keeping that card or going with a bigger Radeon card or two cards.
 
What does your budget look like? If you are going all out with an X6, I would grab a 5870 for the build if you had the money.
 
First of all what resolution are you gaming at? If it's 1920x1080p or above I'd recommend at least the $300 5850. As for the 9800 GTX+ can you return it for a full refund? If not maybe you can use it for a dedicated physX card.
 
Well, I would like to go no higher than the $300ish range. Would there be that much of a performance difference going from the 9800GTX to say a 5850 or 5870? Would it warrant spending to extra $200 - $300?

Gaming resolution...lol! Well, I have a Hanns-G 28.5 LCD monitor and when I do any gaming I usually use 1920 x 1600. I use to game a lot, but now about the only time I do is when my 5 year old wants me to play Star Wars Battlefront II with him :eek:

But figured I might as well resolve this video card issue now, while I can return it for a full refund. Already checked on that and will be no problem to get a full refund, haven't even opened the box yet.

PassMark rates the 9800GTX at 1,151, the 5850 at 2,391, and the 5870 at 2,599. So, almost double the performance on the 58xx series cards over the 9800GTX.

Price wise comparison:

9800 GTX = $129.99
GTX 275 = $250.00
GTX 470 = $360.00
5850 = $315.00 (free s/h)
5870 = $410.00

Don't know if the 5870 would justify the extra $100.00. Not that much of a difference in performance from 2,391 to 2,599.
 
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dual 5750 can equal or better a single 5850. Dual 5770 can equal or better a single 5870. So it depends alot on budgets and what games you are playing. Power consumption is about the same as well.
I run Dual 5750's but i only game at 1650x1080.
 
What would be the minimum power supply size to pull either one of these bigger cards or two of the moderate cards?

For the money, the GTX 250 seems to be at a really good price and rates really high on Passmarks. It rates at 10th place with a 1,897 score. Not bad performance for the price.
 
If you almost never game just stick with the 9800 and call it a day. If you want a little more juice sell it and get a used 280 from someone.
 
5850 is much more than double the performance of a 9800GT. Passmark isn't what you should be judging it by, I would take into consideration in game performance. I would buy nothing less than a 500w power supply, the video card itself won't need much, even if you did game alot, but those 1095T's can overclock like mad, so you may as well give it room :)

This is assuming you game in the future.
 
LeninGHOLA said:
5850 is much more than double the performance of a 9800GT. Passmark isn't what you should be judging it by, I would take into consideration in game performance. I would buy nothing less than a 500w power supply, the video card itself won't need much, even if you did game alot, but those 1095T's can overclock like mad, so you may as well give it room :)

This is assuming you game in the future.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the information. The card I was comparing is the 9800 GTX, not the GT, there is a difference...right? The 9800 GT is much weaker than the GTX.

I might, at some point, work back into some gaming, thus why I thought I would try to resolve this now than later.
 
DarkCyber said:
Thanks for the information. The card I was comparing is the 9800 GTX, not the GT, there is a difference...right? The 9800 GT is much weaker than the GTX.

I might, at some point, work back into some gaming, thus why I thought I would try to resolve this now than later.
Click to expand...

The GT and GTX 9800's are separated by 16 shader cores, usually a bit of clockspeed and cooling options. They are close'ish in performance, but the GTX does win in all situations vs. the GT. I meant to type 9800GTX in my quoted comment, though.

Look around a bit for cashback deals, fairly often a HD5850 can be found for ~$280 after cashback, shipped. That would hold you over for a long time.
 
I went from a 9800GTX+ to a HD5850 (and then to dual HD5850s) and the difference was pretty substantial. For as little as you play games, and not being an Eyefinity user, I'd think a 5850 would be a good choice. You'd have power if you needed it, with DX11, plus the option for future expansion to 3+ monitors, and you could add another 5850 later for a big boost if you needed it. Going with an older card or two cards now will limit your future choices.
 
No problem on the GT and GTX. Thought that might be a typo.

Are there any difference in the different brands? Newegg has an Sapphire HD 5850 for $314.00 and free shipping. That is where I got my 9800 GTX and they said there would be no penalty if I returned the 9800 GTX and got another card. They might penalize me if I return it and don't buy another one from them...so I will probably go with Newegg.
 
kirbster said:
dual 5750 can equal or better a single 5850. Dual 5770 can equal or better a single 5870. So it depends alot on budgets and what games you are playing. Power consumption is about the same as well.
I run Dual 5750's but i only game at 1650x1080.
Click to expand...

It can but what happens when it doesn't? What happens when you see negative scaling? CF isn't worth the headaches imo.
 
I just purchased the Radeon 5850 and going to just keep the 9800GTX as well and put it in another system.

Thanks all for your input and help! :cool:
 
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