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Upgrade from 5750 for ~$200

S

strekship

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
251
My birthday is coming up, and I am thinking about getting a new video card. Right now I have a 5750. What would be a worthwhile upgrade for about $200? I don't have any brand preference. Right now I game at 1920x1080, but at some point I would like to get a nice 16:10 monitor @ 1920x1200.

Also, a little off topic, but does anyone know when AM3+ motherboards are supposed to be appearing? I am holding off upgrading to a new motherboard since it seems like it would be pointless to get an AM3 board at this point.
 
So do you guys think the 5870 will be a viable gaming card for at least another 2 years or so? I want to be able to run BF3 at decent settings when it comes out, and it would be nice to get a good performance boost in BC2.
 
strekship said:
So do you guys think the 5870 will be a viable gaming card for at least another 2 years or so? I want to be able to run BF3 at decent settings when it comes out, and it would be nice to get a good performance boost in BC2.
Click to expand...

Unless the sequel to Metro 2033 comes out, yes. :p

You might notice a boost in BFBC2 with your 5870. However, another way to get a significant boost is to overclock your CPU.
 
I would overclock my 955, but I don't want to do it on this motherboard or with the stock cooler. I am already running this board at its limit (it doesn't officially support any AM3 quad). I was going to pick up a nice AM3 board and get a decent cooler, but with AM3+ so close I decided it wasn't worth it to throw money at an AM3 board.
 
jbz7890 said:
Unless the sequel to Metro 2033 comes out, yes. :p

You might notice a boost in BFBC2 with your 5870. However, another way to get a significant boost is to overclock your CPU.
Click to expand...

I have a 5870 and it done a good job on BFBC2, I think 5870 can live on for 1-2 years, and if you can go crossfire, it really help in long term.
The only problem you may run up to is Crysis 3 lol
 
I was not really into Crysis to begin with so I don't think I will have that problem. ;)
Depending on the costs of Crossfire compatible motherboards when AM3+ comes out, I might consider a Crossfire setup.
 
strekship said:
My birthday is coming up, and I am thinking about getting a new video card. Right now I have a 5750. What would be a worthwhile upgrade for about $200? I don't have any brand preference. Right now I game at 1920x1080, but at some point I would like to get a nice 16:10 monitor @ 1920x1200.

Also, a little off topic, but does anyone know when AM3+ motherboards are supposed to be appearing? I am holding off upgrading to a new motherboard since it seems like it would be pointless to get an AM3 board at this point.
Click to expand...

My response is more a question from the OP's question. It seems 16:10 is the new "it" size. Why? I hadnt really heard of 1920x1200 until reading posts since i started looking for a new GPU a few weeks ago. Whats the advantage/superiority? Do games support it natively? Thanks.
 
Nope, 16:10 was the old 'it' size.
16:9 is what is replacing it. 1920x1200 monitors used to be all you found at that res outside TVs. Nowadays, 1920x1200 monitors are basically confined to the exclusives.

I'd normally agree with the very cheap HD5870 sentiment, as while I'm not sure it's as much as 10%, it is faster than the 6870, just less efficient. However, I wouldn't recommend that card. Sapphire's non-reference stuff is appalling. Very much bottom-tier quality, there is no quality control on the cards whatsoever, if they made one that doesn't work, it's up to the consumer to find out.
In this price point, either go with a reference diamond:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814103084
or a non-reference XFX, but this is pushing it, as it's more than the HD6870 costs:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150476

Frankly though, with HD6870s as cheap as this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161349
This would be my recommendation. Spending $20 extra (more, considering MIRs) isn't really worth it for the extra few percent given the extra power, heat and probably also noise.
 
NathanP2007 said:
My response is more a question from the OP's question. It seems 16:10 is the new "it" size. Why? I hadnt really heard of 1920x1200 until reading posts since i started looking for a new GPU a few weeks ago. Whats the advantage/superiority? Do games support it natively? Thanks.
Click to expand...

Actually, 16:10 is dying. The advantage of 16:10 is that it gives you more vertical space and is more aesthetically pleasing than other screen sizes (it's closer to the golden ratio).

However, monitor manufacturers have almost stopped making 16:10 monitors, making 16:9 instead.
 
NathanP2007 said:
My response is more a question from the OP's question. It seems 16:10 is the new "it" size. Why? I hadnt really heard of 1920x1200 until reading posts since i started looking for a new GPU a few weeks ago. Whats the advantage/superiority? Do games support it natively? Thanks.
Click to expand...

It's always been the "it" size for 24 inch screens. It is more of a recent phenomena that LCD manufacturers are going to the 16:9 aspect ratio for being cheaper to manufacture and since average people don't care they continue with it even though it is a disservice to all computer users. The difference is obviously more pixels. Yes all games support this ratio.
 
A reduction in DPI as a step forward is a real disappointment. However, since it is hand-in-hand with considerable drops in monitor prices (my old 24" Ultrasharp was £640, you can get 4 24" 1080p monitors for that nowadays), I'm not as angry as I otherwise might be ;)
 
samuelmorris said:
Nope, 16:10 was the old 'it' size.
16:9 is what is replacing it. 1920x1200 monitors used to be all you found at that res outside TVs. Nowadays, 1920x1200 monitors are basically confined to the exclusives.

I'd normally agree with the very cheap HD5870 sentiment, as while I'm not sure it's as much as 10%, it is faster than the 6870, just less efficient. However, I wouldn't recommend that card. Sapphire's non-reference stuff is appalling. Very much bottom-tier quality, there is no quality control on the cards whatsoever, if they made one that doesn't work, it's up to the consumer to find out.
In this price point, either go with a reference diamond:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814103084
or a non-reference XFX, but this is pushing it, as it's more than the HD6870 costs:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150476

Frankly though, with HD6870s as cheap as this one:

This would be my recommendation. Spending $20 extra (more, considering MIRs) isn't really worth it for the extra few percent given the extra power, heat and probably also noise.
Click to expand...

Actually, I completely agree that the XFX 5870 is far superior to the Sapphire 5870 (not just because of its better components). OP, if you can, you should cancel your order for the Sapphire 5870 and go with the XFX.

I still believe the 5870 is a better deal than the 6870. In the end, performance is what matters, and the 5870 is 10% faster. Even in tessellation performance -- the 6870's strong point -- the cards are neck and neck.
 
samuelmorris said:
That's not true in all cases. On average, I make the difference to be around 5%. Not much to shout about.
Click to expand...

perfrel_1920.gif


It's actually about 12% at the OP's resolution.
 
samuelmorris said:
It's less than 5% in every test in this suite except Bad Company 2.
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2010/10/22/ati-radeon-hd-6870-review/1

TPU's test suite contains a lot of oddball games that don't follow typical trends. Pretty much all my performance comparisons are derived from HardOCP test data, whom I trust above the other sites.
Click to expand...

That test is using old drivers. The techpowerup benchmark is using the latest drivers for ATI (11.1) and Nvidia (266.58).
 
That's true actually, and other tests written with more recent drivers also show the improvements, at least at 1920x1200. In that case, I shall amend that standing :p

badb0y: Yes, if you find one at $200. The only viable 5870s at newegg are $240.
 
samuelmorris said:
That's true actually, and other tests written with more recent drivers also show the improvements, at least at 1920x1200. In that case, I shall amend that standing :p

badb0y: Yes, if you find one at $200. The only viable 5870s at newegg are $240.
Click to expand...

Are we factoring in rebates?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102883&cm_re=5870-_-14-102-883-_-Product
Newegg has one for 200$ AR.

It's 220$ before rebate too, all around still a good deal even if you don't like playing with rebates.
 
anthrex said:
It's always been the "it" size for 24 inch screens. It is more of a recent phenomena that LCD manufacturers are going to the 16:9 aspect ratio for being cheaper to manufacture and since average people don't care they continue with it even though it is a disservice to all computer users. The difference is obviously more pixels. Yes all games support this ratio.
Click to expand...

jbz7890 said:
Actually, 16:10 is dying. The advantage of 16:10 is that it gives you more vertical space and is more aesthetically pleasing than other screen sizes (it's closer to the golden ratio).

However, monitor manufacturers have almost stopped making 16:10 monitors, making 16:9 instead.
Click to expand...

Oh interesting, and sad. I must have had the two backwards, 16:10 is the norm and 16:9 is the cheap replacement companies are starting to sell. Disapointing but not suprising.

jbz7890 said:
perfrel_1920.gif


It's actually about 12% at the OP's resolution.
Click to expand...

I was just curious if in a graph test like that, the HD6950, HD6950 (Flashed to 6970) and actual 6970 have ever been compared? Is the flashed 6950 identical to the real 6970 in the tests?

EDIT: Another thing im curious about regarding eyefinitiy. I hadnt really heard of "display port" or "mini display port" until they started popping up on GPU's i wanted to buy, except on Macbooks. I was curious if the video they output to the monitors is the same quality as the 1 HDMI port on most eyefinity cards? And same question applies to the 2 DVI's, im just curious if i ever used eyefinity, would i basically want to buy adapters for all of those so they went into HDMI?
 
Last edited:
NathanP2007 said:
I was just curious if in a graph test like that, the HD6950, HD6950 (Flashed to 6970) and actual 6970 have ever been compared? Is the flashed 6950 identical to the real 6970 in the tests?
Click to expand...

TechPowerUp did one benchmark:

perf.gif


A flashed 6950 is a 6970, so there should be no performance difference.
 
badb0y said:
Are we factoring in rebates?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102883&cm_re=5870-_-14-102-883-_-Product
Newegg has one for 200$ AR.

It's 220$ before rebate too, all around still a good deal even if you don't like playing with rebates.
Click to expand...

Read what we said earlier about Sapphire's non-reference cards being crap.
There's a reason why I added the word 'viable' to my earlier statement.

jbz7890 said:
A flashed 6950 is a 6970, so there should be no performance difference.
Click to expand...
Not actually true in a few titles, but the difference is agreeably so slight (typically 1-2%) it may as well not be there.
 
samuelmorris said:
Read what we said earlier about Sapphire's non-reference cards being crap.
There's a reason why I added the word 'viable' to my earlier statement.


Not actually true in a few titles, but the difference is agreeably so slight (typically 1-2%) it may as well not be there.
Click to expand...

Why the Sapphire hate? Is it because it lacks voltage control? You can pencil mod that if it's that important.
 
No, it's just Sapphire make bad products. I was very much in favour of Sapphire until it occurred to me that all their products I'd had success with were just ATI reference designs with Sapphire stickers. With the exception of the low profile, X1600 Pro I have, not one of the sapphire products me, or anyone else I know, has owned, has worked reliably. They didn't even QC the 4GB HD5970s they charged $1000 for. I tried two of them, both DOA, one seriously [burning out PCIe slot]. Their Vapor-X cards have terrible reviews from them failing prematurely, and they're pretty cheaply made if you look at them. Sapphire just have no idea how to make graphics cards, only print stickers to slap on ATI/AMD's hard work. Stickers which then peel off under the heat I might add...
 
samuelmorris said:
No, it's just Sapphire make bad products. I was very much in favour of Sapphire until it occurred to me that all their products I'd had success with were just ATI reference designs with Sapphire stickers. With the exception of the low profile, X1600 Pro I have, not one of the sapphire products me, or anyone else I know, has owned, has worked reliably. They didn't even QC the 4GB HD5970s they charged $1000 for. I tried two of them, both DOA, one seriously [burning out PCIe slot]. Their Vapor-X cards have terrible reviews from them failing prematurely, and they're pretty cheaply made if you look at them. Sapphire just have no idea how to make graphics cards, only print stickers to slap on ATI/AMD's hard work. Stickers which then peel off under the heat I might add...
Click to expand...

Ahh thanks for the clarification, I never bought a Sapphire card myself, I have recently started going XFX for AMD, ever since XFX jumped ship. Before that I was always a ASUS guy I suppose.

For nVidia I am religiously EVGA buyer.
 
My experiences with Asus products are if anything, worse than the are than with Sapphire, and that's also mirrored by a few (but unlike sapphire, not all) of my friends. If I had to describe Asus in a word, it'd be 'inconsistent'.
The only modern non-reference card I have, the XFX HD4830 has been faultlessly reliable, and runs very cool and quiet when you adjust the fan speeds.
I can't bring any personal experiences with EVGA to the table, but their way of dealing with returns appears to leave a lot to be desired. Buying graphics cards and motherboards is a bit of minefield, with very few companies actually concerned with producing quality products. For this reason I like to stick to reference products most of the time. AMD's reference products are universally pretty good, and apart from a few cockups with the HD5 series, are typically very reliable, and actually quite quiet, excluding the dual-GPU cards. nvidia's reference cards have had ups and downs, mostly my concerns lie with their long-term durability, as the shelf-life of 90%+ of the geforce 8 and 9 series (both G80 and G92) was typically 2-3 years maximum.
 
innermoon said:
I have a 5870 and it done a good job on BFBC2, I think 5870 can live on for 1-2 years, and if you can go crossfire, it really help in long term.
The only problem you may run up to is Crysis 3 lol
Click to expand...

Yeah the 5870 is an amazing card. The funny thing is that it came out 1.5 years ago.
 
strekship said:
I was not really into Crysis to begin with so I don't think I will have that problem. ;)
Depending on the costs of Crossfire compatible motherboards when AM3+ comes out, I might consider a Crossfire setup.
Click to expand...

If you're considering Crossfire then get a 6870 instead. It has better tessellation and CF scaling over the 5870.
 
In reading all the posts, I was not able to keep up with the OP's current situation, whether he has ordered a card or not. OP, I see you expressed an interest in keeping your future card for ~2 years, and at the price range you are considering, I think you would have a hard time enjoying your games as you get close to the end of that time period with a $200 card. In any case, the 5870 and 6870 are the best values you will find in that price range. For the sake of Crossfire, thermals, and the modernity of the 6000 architecture I think a 6870 will be more attractive in the long tern as tessellation becomes more common. Here are some good cards I found which you should consider. I would personally recommend the 6870 Black Edition, it gives you special benefits for the BE club and has a lifetime warranty, which I suspect together will result in good resale prices. You can also use aftermarket cooling and otherwise modify it without hurting the warranty.

EDIT: To be clear, all XFX cards have the transferable warranty and let you use aftermarket cooling. I feel that it has one of the best warranties available, and highly recommend it for that reason.

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1583664

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150506

http://www.amazon.com/XFX-Radeon-68...GE/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1297001202&sr=8-16
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
I have not ordered anything, and probably won't do anything until my birthday which is still about 3 weeks away. I just wanted to test the waters and see what my options were. I probably wouldn't get a Crossfire setup right off the bat, I would get a single card and a year or so down the road when I needed more performance I would drop in the second card.

As for the 16:9 vs 16:10 discussion, my old screen was a 16:10 at 1680*1050. When I moved up to this monitor, everything sort of felt vertically cramped, despite the larger resolution.
 
You guys who have seen a 5870 in action, how loud is the reference design? Believe it or not I've never owned or seen a GPU that uses a squirrel cage fan in person.

+1 about the 5870. Bridging the gap between the 560 and 570 for $200 is win.
 
It's not that noisy. Far from perfect, but generally in my experience non-reference cards are louder than their reference radial-cooler counterparts.
It's worth pointing out that you can't buy reference 5870s that cheap though. Cheapest is the Diamond for $235. Still excellent value though for a card that's just as fast as the GTX560Ti and uses the same amount of power.
 
For anyone interested, I jumped on one of those XFX 6870s that are going for $180. It got here today and I am impressed with the performance boost I have gotten in pretty much all of my games.
 
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