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Question: Will I see a difference between 4870 vs. 5850?

U

UMASS

Gawd
Joined
Jan 17, 2008
Messages
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Hi All: I'm thinking about scoring a new video card. I have an Antec Sonata Plus case that can only fit a VC that's 10.5' or shorter, Do you think it's worth the upgrade from a HIS 4870 to a XFX 5850? I play mostly strategy games @ 1920x1200 with an LG 24" LCD monitor.

Also... Will prices be dropping because of the new crop of Nvidia cards that are hitting the streets? I have a Intel Duo-Core E8400 @ stock (3.0 GHz) Will this be a bottleneck scenario? Any & all insight would be appreciated!

Thanks!

Alex
 
While the processor won't allow the 5850 to completely stretch it's legs I think you'll still see an improvement. That being said if things are running ok for now maybe hold off for a price drop or a 5870 when they drop.
 
your e8400 will have the 5850s most potential out there. it may be a tad slower bc your processor, but your processor is still an amazing chip. so honestly i think you'd be able to handle it and you WILL see an improvement for sure.

i'd say do it!
 
Thanks guys! Maybe it's time for me to figure out how to o/c my CPU. Elox: Dude...I think the 5870 are too long for my case? So...The 5850 is in my cross-hairs! Anyway....Do you guys think we will see a price drop in the 5850 soon enough? Tanderson....You so right...The E8400 is still a decent chip! Some of my strategy games in high-res, I notice the scrolling is slowing down a tad! BTW....Does anyone know what I could get for my 4870? Maybe I'll check eBay!
 
~$130 give or take a Hamilton. If you do decide to get rid of it, consider hooking up a fellow [H] member...specifically me.
 
u can oc that 8400 pretty easily, mine is at 3.6 with no extra voltage and stock cooling (looks like you have nice cooling, why have that if your not oc'ing?)...i also have 4870 and most games should run pretty well with that combo still! try the oc and see how it runs after, then if you still need more, then upgrade gpu.
 
ELox said:
While the processor won't allow the 5850 to completely stretch it's legs
Click to expand...

On what basis are you saying that, 1280x1024 resolution or something? Do you have any source for that statement? I've seen charts at a website (can't remember now) that would say otherwise, at higher resolutions (definitely at 1920x1200, probably at 1680x1050). But at low resolutions the E8400 would be the bottleneck.
 
blastingcap said:
On what basis are you saying that, 1280x1024 resolution or something? Do you have any source for that statement? I've seen charts at a website (can't remember now) that would say otherwise, at higher resolutions (definitely at 1920x1200, probably at 1680x1050). But at low resolutions the E8400 would be the bottleneck.
Click to expand...

This. 8400 is a beastly dual core. Even at a stock 3ghz it will be plenty to let his video card do it work. Not to mention that most 8400s hit 4ghz without breaking a bead of sweat.
 
Strategy games? No, you will not see a difference in performance since those types of games are generally limited by the CPU rather than the GPU.
 
blastingcap said:
On what basis are you saying that, 1280x1024 resolution or something? Do you have any source for that statement? I've seen charts at a website (can't remember now) that would say otherwise, at higher resolutions (definitely at 1920x1200, probably at 1680x1050). But at low resolutions the E8400 would be the bottleneck.
Click to expand...

Here's a source for my statement.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/build-balanced-platform,2469-9.html

This shows that in Far Cry 2 for example using a GTX 295 at 1920x1200 with 4xAA the difference between using an E8400 and an i7 920 is almost a 100% increase in FPS. about 42fps to 78. Will a 5850 be held back as much? Probably not as much but still certainly to some degree.

GTA IV benchies from same link show that going from an E8400 to i7 920 significantly increases fps regardless of card tested even at resolutions 1920x1200 and above.

So on the basis of the above source it's safe to say the e8400 won't allow the 5850 to completely stretch its legs but it will still show an improvement.

Since you took the time to call me out I'd be curious to see on what basis you think the e8400 would allow the 5850 to run optimally (completely stretch it's legs).
 
only way to tell for sure would be to run those benchies in the same systems with a 5850 @ 1920 with both cpus and compare. Anything else is fodder. It lloks like it would do better with an i7 but how much is the deciding factor.
 
I really love these boards! Thanks guys! Oh SHAQFU...Yep...That Artic Freezer Pro 7 is a soild heatsink. I use to o/c a tad with my old AMD board using FSB. I'll do a google & see what it takes to o/c my E8400. Maybe I can get it up to 3.6-3.8? I'll see where I stand after the o/c'ing & then decide.

Thanks Everyone!
 
hossdaddy said:
only way to tell for sure would be to run those benchies in the same systems with a 5850 @ 1920 with both cpus and compare. Anything else is fodder. It lloks like it would do better with an i7 but how much is the deciding factor.
Click to expand...

Somebody else with an e8400 running at stock clocks with a 5850 running the same game as the OP would also give a reasonable indication of what kind of gains the OP would get. Even knowing what games the OP plays and at what resolution would be helpful as well.
 
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