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So what's the consenus?

  • Thread starter Deleted member 109755
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Deleted member 109755

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I'm thinking of moving back to the Red side....

I used to have 2 5870's... but I'm curious to know if these new 6870's (which from what I've read, are closer to 5850's in the line of model #'s) are actually faster.

Should I just get 2 5870's again or ?
 
5870 > 6870 > 5850

If you have to have red absolutely right now go with single or multiple 5870s, the 6870 just isn't fast enough. I would wait though, buying high end ATI right now is just foolish.
 
Do you still have a GTX 480 in your rig? If so that should be enough to hold you over till then. I don't know why you just don't put another 480 in there. That setup will out do either of those ATI setups.
 
Yeah... my head is just spinning with choices... and adding another 480 wouldn't be worth it from a money stand point... it would be easier to sell the existing 480 and buy 2 GTX 580's...rather than pay almost as much as a 580 for a 480. I'm really digging ATI's lately though... they seem to be pretty awesome. I play @ 1920x1200. Nvidia drivers have broken 4 of my games... I'm wondering if ATI will be any better.
 
jimbean21 said:
Yeah... my head is just spinning with choices... and adding another 480 wouldn't be worth it from a money stand point... it would be easier to sell the existing 480 and buy 2 GTX 580's...rather than pay almost as much as a 580 for a 480. I'm really digging ATI's lately though... they seem to be pretty awesome. I play @ 1920x1200. Nvidia drivers have broken 4 of my games... I'm wondering if ATI will be any better.
Click to expand...

Nice to hear it the other way around lol. Anyway you can get a MSI GTX 480 for $365 after MIR http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127502&cm_re=GTX_480-_-14-127-502-_-Product . That is $135 less then a GTX 580.

Though you are best off waiting for the 6900 series IMO. The 5870 CF is about to become a dated once that hits the streets and it is overpriced currently. From what I have seen people are having nightmares with the 6870 CF, so you may not see your driver issues go away.
 
jimbean21 said:
Yeah... my head is just spinning with choices... and adding another 480 wouldn't be worth it from a money stand point... it would be easier to sell the existing 480 and buy 2 GTX 580's...rather than pay almost as much as a 580 for a 480. I'm really digging ATI's lately though... they seem to be pretty awesome. I play @ 1920x1200. Nvidia drivers have broken 4 of my games... I'm wondering if ATI will be any better.
Click to expand...

What games have broken with nVidia drivers? Honestly that's one of the things that I like about nVidia cards these days, just very few issues, even with 3x SLI stuff stuff tends to be be solid even if games don't support SLI.
 
The other plus from the nvidia side is the 1536 MB of video ram...that's nice and i run everything at max and come close to the 1 GB mark often
 
heatlesssun said:
What games have broken with nVidia drivers? Honestly that's one of the things that I like about nVidia cards these days, just very few issues, even with 3x SLI stuff stuff tends to be be solid even if games don't support SLI.
Click to expand...

Medal of Honor, Battlefield BC2 and COD 4 MW 1 other I can't think of the name of right flat out will NOT launch with the 2 newest drivers from nvidia...i haven't rolled 'em back yet but I know that they worked prior to the upgrade.
 
I have a hard enough time focusing on all 26" of my current monitor. It's sorta like... which quadrant of the screen do I want to look at first... heh, that of course has gotten better since I've had it for a few years.. I think a 30" would be pushing it.
 
jimbean21 said:
Medal of Honor, Battlefield BC2 and COD 4 MW 1 other I can't think of the name of right flat out will NOT launch with the 2 newest drivers from nvidia...i haven't rolled 'em back yet but I know that they worked prior to the upgrade.
Click to expand...



Thats odd.

I have played all those games with the latest GTX 480 driver from nvidia in Surround/SLi with absolutely no problems.
I sold my 5870s due to poor CF.

I'd buy the 580. I have one now and its way cooler and MUCH quieter than my 480s on their best day.
 
magoo said:
Thats odd.

I have played all those games with the latest GTX 480 driver from nvidia in Surround/SLi with absolutely no problems.
I sold my 5870s due to poor CF.

I'd buy the 580. I have one now and its way cooler and MUCH quieter than my 480s on their best day.
Click to expand...

Agreed, OP may need to clean install drivers or even Windows again. I remember having phantom issues like that several years back after I ran for a while with a memory overclock I didn't realize wasn't stable. The subtle errors ended up stored in windows files and instability ensued.
 
Did the regular clean install stuff... I'm fairly certain it's a nvidia sound driver issue still remaining, I'll probably get it worked out eventually.. i hate reinstalling windows, and since the majority of my games are steam, downloading 300 GB of games is not really appealing (yes i know i could back them up, but for science sake I'd rather have a clean install of them too)
 
jimbean21 said:
Did the regular clean install stuff... I'm fairly certain it's a nvidia sound driver issue still remaining, I'll probably get it worked out eventually.. i hate reinstalling windows, and since the majority of my games are steam, downloading 300 GB of games is not really appealing (yes i know i could back them up, but for science sake I'd rather have a clean install of them too)
Click to expand...

Backing them up is the same thing as a clean install.
 
Funny thread when he says he can't even launch games that millions are playing without any issues. Please OP, ditch your 480 for an ATI setup of some kind, preferably crossfire. Many happy returns.
 
Spelled out since you may not pick it up from my previous: the problem is you, not the drivers. NV drivers have a few problems, but those games not launching at all due to nvidia drivers isn't reality. It's you. But if you want to believe its the drivers and switch to ATI then please, be my guest. I've just spent a month with a 6870.
 
Well since you ninja edited... you don't have to be a smart ass.

Obviously I've put more thought behind ditching my 480 for ATI than just a few games not working, even though I may not have indicated that here.

I owned a pair of 5870's previously and am thinking of going back, and was more curious to know if the 6xxx series was worth it or not.

I enjoy how little power the 5870's used and how very very quiet they were, plus I mean.. though I don't have it now, eyefinity is a pretty cool feature.
 
requiem99 said:
If you have to have red absolutely right now go with single or multiple 5870s, the 6870 just isn't fast enough. I would wait though, buying high end ATI right now is just foolish.
Click to expand...
With the 5870 at $215, it's not really a high-end part anymore.
Just mid-range, which is pretty much where it's going to belong after the the rest of the 6000 series launches.

If you're aiming for a high-end rig, it's not a good choice anymore... Unfortunately some people might think they're getting a high-end part for $215 (a great deal) when in reality, they're getting a mid-range part for $215 (not really a deal at all).

I enjoy how little power the 5870's used and how very very quiet they were, plus I mean.. though I don't have it now, eyefinity is a pretty cool feature.
Click to expand...
Be careful with requiem, he's been spilling anti-ATI stuff all over H the past few weeks.
He spent $390 to upgrade from his brand new 6870 to a GTX 480, and now insists on telling the world about it.
 
UtopiA said:
Be careful with requiem, he's been spilling anti-ATI stuff all over H the past few weeks.
He spent $390 to upgrade from his brand new 6870 to a GTX 480, and now insists on telling the world about it.
Click to expand...

I'll try and remember that... thanks for the heads up. DB's like that are why I tend to avoid most forums now. I'd hate to not be around this one anymore.
 
UtopiA, I slightly disagree with your view on the 5870. Since nothing truly demanding except for Metro 2033 has come out lately, the 5870 hasn't yet ceased to be high end. It's just that now there are even faster cards out, which I would consider more like a supercalifragilistic high end. The 5870 may not be as fast as a 480 or 580, but it isn't that far away. I would consider a great deal to get one for $215, that's for sure.

jimbean, I would say it depends on whether or not you like your 480, meaning sound and heat wise. Through either a clean install or intense levels of driver sweeping, you could probably iron out your issues, since not many people seem to be having it. I wouldn't go back to 5870's, as you obviously felt a need for more performance when you moved up to the 480. That said, if you're running 1920x1200, I think just about any card would suit you. I've been running 1920x1080 on my gtx 285 and have yet to see a need to upgrade.
 
Asacolips said:
UtopiA, I slightly disagree with your view on the 5870. Since nothing truly demanding except for Metro 2033 has come out lately, the 5870 hasn't yet ceased to be high end. It's just that now there are even faster cards out, which I would consider more like a supercalifragilistic high end. The 5870 may not be as fast as a 480 or 580, but it isn't that far away. I would consider a great deal to get one for $215, that's for sure.
Click to expand...
When the 6900's come out, the 5870 will be replaced as their high-end solution.
It's technically a mid-range part for now, as long as they still manufacture it (Is it EoL yet?). As of today, it's still high-end of course, even though there are faster cards out, it's still the fastest single GPU on the market from ATI.

But the sales you see on the 5870 these days are just clearance sales for the new cards.
 
Asacolips said:
UtopiA, I slightly disagree with your view on the 5870. Since nothing truly demanding except for Metro 2033 has come out lately, the 5870 hasn't yet ceased to be high end. It's just that now there are even faster cards out, which I would consider more like a supercalifragilistic high end. The 5870 may not be as fast as a 480 or 580, but it isn't that far away. I would consider a great deal to get one for $215, that's for sure.

jimbean, I would say it depends on whether or not you like your 480, meaning sound and heat wise. Through either a clean install or intense levels of driver sweeping, you could probably iron out your issues, since not many people seem to be having it. I wouldn't go back to 5870's, as you obviously felt a need for more performance when you moved up to the 480. That said, if you're running 1920x1200, I think just about any card would suit you. I've been running 1920x1080 on my gtx 285 and have yet to see a need to upgrade.
Click to expand...


Hey Requiem... see this quote above? This is what is called a sensible, intelligent, and legitimate reply to the topic at hand. Not carte blanche egotistical blanket statements (aka FANBOY).

Asacolips,

Thank you very much for your reply. I enjoy the 480's performance but the heat/noise is on the edge of being unbearable. I've had all kinds of configurations, 3x GTX 280, 2x GTX 280, 2x 5870, 1x 5870., 1x GTX 480... and I just can't decide in this regard.

If GTX 580's are really much better on the noise/heat level than the 480 then that may be the way to go.. and yeah you're right, I can probably sort out the problems I'm having.. it's just a matter of wanting to find the easy way out ;)

I'll keep mulling it over and let ya know what I finally settle on.. thank you very much.
 
@jimbean21
I'm still trying to figure out why you went from 5870(s) -> GTX 480
The only thing I can think of is vram, what am I missing?
 
erikaxe..

vram was a huge selling point given the settings I prefer to run at.. absolutely.. i just didn't know it was going to be like sticking my head in a blow dryer while playing on it :)
 
I'm currently waiting on the 69XX series, the leaked specs look promising so far.
 
If vram was the issue, a 2gb 5870 might work, but their on the upper end of the 5870 price spectrum. I would say try to bear with the heat until the 69xx series comes out and go with that. You could sell your 480 and probably pick up a 6970 or 6950 for about as much as you sell the 480 for. The 6970 would probably be a boost over the 480, and the 6950 would probably be about the same. Granted, I haven't looked into amd's cards lately so I'm not sure, but I do believe seeing the positioning around that much on one of the charts.

I would say that would be your best bet. Minimal financial losses, and not losing any real performance. For the time being, you'll just have to put a box fan by your feet. :p
 
I've run a 5870 (reference model) at 1920x1080 for over 1 year and never had an issue. But I'm waiting for them to price drop to possibly get a 2nd one and I'd suggest the same to anyone thinking of getting one also at this point.. or wait for the newer models. For Vram, I've also used a 2gig model, it makes a difference.

Coming from a sli setup, I really appreciate the quiet. Especially because I also work with the thing.

Sometimes I blast the fan up to 100% to reminisce my old setup, but that doesn't last long... :p

Y.
 
Whenever I have a negative opinion about something I'm a fanboy of the competitor's product.
 
Bottom line is that both nVidia and AMD have compelling GPUs currently, while AMD did have the early lead with the 5000s and the 480 had its heat and power problems I think the playing field has just about evened out now. We'll see what the 6970 brings to the table in a bit

nVidia seems to have clean up the GF100s power and heat issues for the most part, the 6000s thus far seemed to be a less impactful refinement unless the 6970 is just a screamer and while I think it will be impressive in many ways one Achilies heel could be CF/Eyefinity scaling and while 3D is very niche it's definitely something I wouldn't give up for small performance gains.

I love functionality and features and right now nVidia simply has more goodies than AMD right now in that department. Eyefinity has a big ace in the hole that AMD and still does with single cards. I'd like to see some more tricks pulled out of their hat.
 
jimbean21 said:
Did the regular clean install stuff... I'm fairly certain it's a nvidia sound driver issue still remaining, I'll probably get it worked out eventually.. i hate reinstalling windows, and since the majority of my games are steam, downloading 300 GB of games is not really appealing (yes i know i could back them up, but for science sake I'd rather have a clean install of them too)
Click to expand...

capable heart said:
Backing them up is the same thing as a clean install.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily.

I'd hate to do a format and a clean re-install of windows, then restore my games etc, only to finally determine that I had a corrupt game config or cache file with everything solved by the simple modify/delete of a file.

Yes, I've personally experienced this. TDU comes to mind, as it's a multiple-time offender the past two years. When you play the game, don't sneeze, or you'll risk corrupting your game saves (easy fix, although I just keep back-ups after every game play now, so I can go back and find some save that works), or some unknown game cache that takes digging through forums for an hour to find out that someone else someone finally figured it out...

TDU is so bad that even though it keeps your last two game saves (instead of fixing the save game corruption issue, they just keep the last two game saves now, hoping one still works), I've still run into both being corrupt once or twice.


Even if you can't determine where the game's corrupted, don't assume a clean install of a game can't fix a problem.
 
Tolyngee said:
Not necessarily.

I'd hate to do a format and a clean re-install of windows, then restore my games etc, only to finally determine that I had a corrupt game config or cache file with everything solved by the simple modify/delete of a file.

Yes, I've personally experienced this. TDU comes to mind, as it's a multiple-time offender the past two years. When you play the game, don't sneeze, or you'll risk corrupting your game saves (easy fix, although I just keep back-ups after every game play now, so I can go back and find some save that works), or some unknown game cache that takes digging through forums for an hour to find out that someone else someone finally figured it out...

TDU is so bad that even though it keeps your last two game saves (instead of fixing the save game corruption issue, they just keep the last two game saves now, hoping one still works), I've still run into both being corrupt once or twice.


Even if you can't determine where the game's corrupted, don't assume a clean install of a game can't fix a problem.
Click to expand...

Clean install?

Before a clean install, at LEAST take 3 minutes & run "sfc /scannow" on Windows to see if it's corrupted Windows System files which can be fixed automatically by Windows.

Anything else can be fixed more or less easily, Windows itself... not so much.


Y.
 
go green :D. its a more polished platform. sure ATI has nice hardware but they have crap drivers. it can get pretty convoluted and confusing with all the hotfixes and different releases. not trying to start a flamewar because i am right. PSH PZZT FFTP ZPPP END OF DISCUSSION.

- (EX!) 5870 THEN 5970 owner. :D
 
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