Is it worth getting the HD5600/5700 series?

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Nielo TM

Gawd
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I'm in the market for a new GPU and I can't decide whether to transfer the HD4650 from my old PC or get the HD5670/5750.

Apart from the full HDMI 1.3a support, does the HD5000 series offer anything more (e.g. better Win 7 support/performance, improved video etc.)? From the specs, the HD5000 series seem to have the same video engine as the HD4000 series.

Also, the new CCC now include an option for "Enforce Smooth Video Playback". Some seem to think it is an feature limited to HD5000 series. Is it true, if so, what does it do? I mean, is it some form of video smoothing technique (e.g MCFI) or just a fool-proof option?


PS: What are your opinions of the following XFX cards? Any known issue at all?

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/1GB-...DR2-GPU-650-MHz-320Cores-DVI-I-plus-FarCry-II

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/512M...GPU-650MHz-320-Cores-DVI-I-D-Sub-plus-FarCry2
 
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Now, in terms of non-gaming features, other than the better audio and the eyefinity support, there's little differnce between a 4xxx and 5xxx. But in terms of gaming the 5670 is roughly as fast as an 8800GT/9800GT, which is pretty good. I'd recommend the 5750 for just little more, especially with eyefinity, it's real nice for productive reasons.
 
5750 is very nice for htpc/ cheep multi monitor rigs, but otherwise go with the 5670. less power useage/ more GFX power then the 4670, unless you can get a 4670 for ~35 or less
 
If the HD4650 is fast enough for you at the moment, stick with it until it's not. If it's not fast enough, I'd recommend getting an HD5750 unless you want the reduced power usage/heat of the HD5670.

The HD5670 will be somewhere on the order of 2x the performance of your HD4650 (I'm assuming DDR2 on the 4650) and the HD5750 will be around 1.5x the performance again.
 
Don't get a 5670 if your card is a 4650, get a 5750. Much bigger increase and is well worth the 30 extra bucks.
 
All depends on what you plan to use the card for? BTW what are the specs of your PC that may also help in you buying decision?
If its Gaming then it’s fairly simple get the fastest card you can afford.. Which would be the 5750 out of your list...
I have the 5770 and I am VERY pleased with its Gaming performance..
IF this is for a Media Extender then I would read over [H] review of the 56xx, from what I remember it will play back any HD smoothly..
 
I won't be using it play games (that what my second PC and X360 are for:D). So it'll be just for video and general use.

Since the new HD5000 range support DX11, I though it may improve the video quality, but I don't see how that is possible since it has the same UVD 2.2 engine as HD4000 series.

Also, HD4000 has been out for some time, so the drivers are likely to be better than HD5670/5750.

Not to mention, I can get the XFX HD4650 for £35 as where the cheapest HD5670 costs double that. But I'm not too sure about the quality of XFX cards.

This is why I'm finding it hard to choose. If NVIDIA fixed the bloody 2D issue with my 9500GT, I can easily wait a few months.



PS: My sys spec

CPU: E8200
RAM: 2GB
Mainboard: DP35DP
SC: Creative X-Fi XtremeMusic (2005/6 version)
Current GPU: 9500GT
Previous GPU: HD3650
 
Almost forgot to ask


Has ATI fixed 16-235 / 0-255 problem with the new range? Or does it still display 16-235 when using full-range displays?


NVIDIA has the option to choose between 16-235 (video levels) and 0-255 (computer level), which was one of the reasons I moved from HD3650 to 9500GT.
 
The 5750 (not sure about other lower specced new cards) has a Protected Audio Path (PAP), the HD4650 apparently does not even though it is in the specs.
A PAP allows you to play back High Definition audio from copy protected Bu Ray disks.

You can rip the movie to your hard drive using AnyDVD but it still doesnt remove the need for a PAP unless you also re-encode the movie to another format and movie sound to FLAC or similar.
(Some "encoding tools" can read PAP protected audio on a non PAP compliant system, no Blu Ray/Video players can do this)
So its a pain in the arse to play protected High Definition Blu Ray audio unless you have a PAP.

edit:
my 5770's support 0-255 colour levels.
 
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I'll be using my ATH-AD700 with X-Fi XM. So it'll be decoded internally, but thanks for the info. It's very useful indeed.


PS: The HD3000+ cards do support both black levels via HDM (along with YCbCr)I, but the problem lies with the video content. For an example, if I output 0-255, the card maps the video's btw range (16-235) on to the 0-255 instead of extending 16-235 to 0-255, which produces washed out image. It does sometime correctly identify the content and apply the correct levels, but not always. Apparently ATI has a problem with manual option, which they removed some time ago. I am hoping they would have fixed it by now. If not, I'll have to install the latest DX9 and enable shader option on MPC-HC.
 
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Note that your X-Fi XM cannot play the Hi Def tracks on Blu Ray movies regardless of output method.
 
I forgotten about that, sorry


Looks like its better to get a PS3 and HDMI receiver ^-^
 
How would you rank XFX cards in terms of reliability and stability? Is it better to stick with other brands such as Sapphire, MSI, ASUS etc.?
 
Nielo TM said:
How would you rank XFX cards in terms of reliability and stability? Is it better to stick with other brands such as Sapphire, MSI, ASUS etc.?
Click to expand...

XFX has the longest warranty (either lifetime or double lifetime) of any AMD AIB. No other AMD AIB has even a lifetime warranty. Further, the XFX warranties are OC-friendly (again, unlike any other AIB, either for AMD or nV, other than EVGA).

XFX also has the widest variety of cards of any AMD AIB (especially in terms of 1 GB cards) except for Sapphire (and Sapphire doesn't have as many 1 GB cards as XFX). XFX also has a large lead in terms of brick-and-mortar availability (even compared to Visiontek, which has actually pared back B&M availability; Visiontek has pretty much vanished from Best Buy, replaced by....XFX).
 
You can also change the heatsink without voiding an XFX warranty.
EVGA is the same but no other card maker honors this.
 
Get the 5670, this is really the ideal HTPC card with casual gaming ability since it will consume less power at load 60 something watts. this means there's no external power connecter and will get enough power just from the PCIE slot itself.
 
I am so getting HD5700 for my second PC. But for my main PC, I just got the 4650 as it was only £35 (inc VAT and Del). ATM, it seems perfect, but may up-grade again this fall to HD5650.

PS: The quality of scaling and de-interlacing of the HD4650 is superior compared to the 9500GT. On a large panel, the difference can be quite obvious.


http://cid-9c09d09ec80b78d1.skydriv...x/Public/Temp File Hosting/ATI vs NVIDIA?uc=4

I am happy to add the entire comparison collection if anyone is interested
 
This is a little odd

According to the XFX's website, the HD-465X-YAD2 has 128-bit memory interface. But according to GPU-Z, it only has 64-bit interface.

A user of the techpowerup also described the exact problem with his HD-465X-YAD2.


Since I won't be using it to play any games whatsoever, it is going to have any noticeable impact on Aero performance and video playback? I don't believe it will. but its best ask.
 
You are not likely to notice any improvement in video playback whatsoever. Unless you really, really need bitstream audio, I would simply hold on to the HD 4650.

If bitstream audio is something nice to have then just wait for the price to drop a bit.
 
^^^

I was referring to your initial post. For simply playing video 64-bit / 128-bit shouldn't make much difference, but that's just a guess.
 
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