New Build - GPU Questions

J

JWD1989

Weaksauce
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Jul 24, 2010
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I am currently building my first computer and I have a few questions about which GPU to choose. Here are the specs of what I have already/will be buying.

Gigabyte GA-890FXA-UD5 motherboard
AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE 3.4GHz *planning on some moderate OC'ing
Antec 900 ATX mid-tower case
Kingston Hyper-X 4GB RAM
Antec 750W PSU
ASUS 27" LCD 1080P Monitor
Windows 7 Professional 64-bit

I am currently looking at a Radeon HD 5870 GPU to finish up this project. However, I have read in some areas that if I were to crossfire two 5770s I would come out with better results for less money. Something was also mentioned about crossfire becoming more useful when running at resolutions above 1900x1280. So i guess it boils down to 3 questions.
1) Which is better, a single 5870 or two 5770s?
2) If it is the 5870, what is the best card to choose? (with a $450 soft budget cap)
3) If it is the dual 5770s, what is the best choice? (same budget as above)

Thanks :)
 
personally, i had 2 xfx V2 reference 5770s and i got rid of them to get a 5850. idk if it depends on resolution or what, but i just was not getting the performance i was hoping for with the 5770s. it seemed like i was getting microstutter, but not sure if thats still a problem since driver updates. i would recommend a used 5870, either xfx or asus, from FS/FT. they are often $300 right now. if you want new, there are plenty of new 5870s on newegg for under $450. reference coolers are a plus, xfx and asus are a plus (for their warranties) and msi lightning and other overclocked cards are a plus.
 
I would say a single 5850 or a 5870 would be your best bet. Its a higher inital investment. However think of it this way. What do you do when your 5770s are capable of running a game the way you want it ? You'd have to sell them and get a faster card or two faster cards. The 5970 would be the single fastest card but at $600-$700 isn't an option most likely. So your looking at the $400 5870. Oh wait.... So its best to go with that now. Yes you'd most likely spend $50-$100 more. However when you reach a game that is unplayable you can simply buy a second one.

The other option is the 5850. I plan on getting one later this week. You can find them as low as $270ish after rebate. This is a good middle ground. The 5770s would be faster yes. But would also cost more and there will be no upgrade path with the 5770s unless you go tri fire.

Another option is the 5830. its not a great card at its price range. However newegg just wraped up a $150 deal with them through rebates and we might see more of them again in the future. crossfire 5830 will give better performance than a 5870 or crossfire 5770s.

I still think the best bet is a single 5850/70 and upgrade to dual cards in the future when needed.
 
I would save the cash and go with a 5850 actually. ( I went ahead and bought a 5870 for myself however)

so far I am happy with XFX for the warranty. My next choice would be Asus.
 
I say get the 5870. For a first time PC builder the Antec Nine Hundred isn't a very user friendly case... =p
 
Alright well looks like I'll either stick with a 5870 or check out some 5850s. Thanks for the replies everyone!
 
Ya dude, just get yourself a nice 5870. That sounds like it'll be perfect for what you want. I think there was a deal yesterday for $360 shipped from tigerdirect.com ??
 
5870 over 2x 5770 most definitely. Single card is always better than dual cards when performance is about the same, and you can upgrade with another 5870 in a year.

Also, if you can return that Antec Nine Hundred, I'd do that and get a Lian Li K62
 
Throw my hat in the 5870 camp too. Great performance and will max out any game at 1920x1080.
 
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