..::THE COMMUNITY TECH THREAD No. 100!::..

Post » Sat Nov 06, 2010 1:33 pm

Hi all,

I've been thinking of upgrading my graphics card in preparation of the big games coming out this year (Skyrim, Deus Ex, etc), and the ATI Radeon HD 5870 has caught my eye. But I don't know whether it's worth upgrading from my current card, or if my computer can take it.

My specs:

- Windows 7
- Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 @ 3.00 GHz
- 4 GB RAM @ 800 MHz
- Gigabyte P43-ES3G Motherboard
- Enermax 600w power unit
- ATI Radeon HD 4670 (Sapphire) <-- Card to be replaced

Also my budget limit is £150.

This is the link to the card: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-xfx-hd-5870-pci-e-21-%28x16%29-4800mhz-gddr5-gpu-850mhz-1600-cores-dp-hdmi-2-x-dl-dvi-i

Thank you in advance!


Not a bad choice, but you'd be better off with this:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/244474

Overclock that processor to at least 3.4GHz to get the most out of the card because it is kind of a bottleneck at stock.
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clelia vega
 
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Post » Sat Nov 06, 2010 8:30 pm

Not a bad choice, but you'd be better off with this:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/244474

Overclock that processor to at least 3.4GHz to get the most out of the card because it is kind of a bottleneck at stock.


I was just about to post to ask if that card was any good! I noticed it being a bit cheaper than all the other 6870's out there so I was wondering if it had some major malfunction :shrug:

Guess I know what I'm buying next week.
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Andres Lechuga
 
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Post » Sun Nov 07, 2010 5:31 am

Not a bad choice, but you'd be better off with this:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/244474

Overclock that processor to at least 3.4GHz to get the most out of the card because it is kind of a bottleneck at stock.

Wow! Ok I think I'll order that next week.

Thank you for your help! :D
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Lindsay Dunn
 
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Post » Sat Nov 06, 2010 3:07 pm

Wow! Ok I think I'll order that next week.

Thank you for your help! :D


Please understand...the Radeon 5870 is actually slightly faster in games than the Radeon 6870 that is supposed to be the replacement model card. Yea, it doesn't make much sense in terms of GPU hierarchy, but it is what it is. However, the 6870 shines better in DX11 tessellation, power consumption, and driver support.

This chart might be useful to you:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/294?vs=290

Either card will be a darn good choice really.
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Nicole Mark
 
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Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2007 7:33 pm

Post » Sun Nov 07, 2010 2:42 am

Please understand...the Radeon 5870 is actually slightly faster in games than the Radeon 6870 that is supposed to be the replacement model card. Yea, it doesn't make much sense in terms of GPU hierarchy, but it is what it is. However, the 6870 shines better in DX11 tessellation, power consumption, and driver support.

This chart might be useful to you:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/294?vs=290

Either card will be a darn good choice really.

Again, thank you for your help.

Hmmm... This is actually a tough choice. What would you recommend and why?
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Jade
 
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Post » Sat Nov 06, 2010 10:07 pm

Again, thank you for your help.

Hmmm... This is actually a tough choice. What would you recommend and why?


I'd choose the 6870 for the benefits I stated above. The performance difference as I said is slight...both cards will max out most games at a 1080p resolution. DX11 will eventually find itself in more newer games and the 6870 will perform better in those games. Lower power consumption is always a good thing and drivers will continue to improve the performance of this more recent card.

...besides, that 5870 you linked is out of stock. ;)
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Cayal
 
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Post » Sat Nov 06, 2010 5:30 pm

Please understand...the Radeon 5870 is actually slightly faster in games than the Radeon 6870 that is supposed to be the replacement model card. Yea, it doesn't make much sense in terms of GPU hierarchy, but it is what it is. However, the 6870 shines better in DX11 tessellation, power consumption, and driver support.

This chart might be useful to you:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/294?vs=290

Either card will be a darn good choice really.


I thought the 6870 was the 5770's replacement since Ati/AMD changed their hierarchy model number :huh:. The 5870 became the 6970 and the 5970 became the 6990...
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SWagg KId
 
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Post » Sat Nov 06, 2010 8:40 pm

I thought the 6870 was the 5770's replacement since Ati/AMD changed their hierarchy model number :huh:. The 5870 became the 6970 and the 5970 became the 6990...


Like I said...it was supposed to be...at least that was trend that was going for years prior. And the Radeon 6870 is much faster than the Radeon 5770 and even the Radeon 5850. The 6950 is more of an improved replacement for the 5870 with the 6970 being a slightly faster than the 6950 (like 5-10%).

The thing is I would've expected something like the Radeon 6770 to be the replacement for the Radeon 5870...at least based on prior trends. However, AMD changed it up probably to continue selling the Radeon 5770 and lower cards since they were selling well back then when the Radeon 68xx series was released.
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Shirley BEltran
 
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Post » Sat Nov 06, 2010 2:26 pm

I'd choose the 6870 for the benefits I stated above. The performance difference as I said is slight...both cards will max out most games at a 1080p resolution. DX11 will eventually find itself in more newer games and the 6870 will perform better in those games. Lower power consumption is always a good thing and drivers will continue to improve the performance of this more recent card.

...besides, that 5870 you linked is out of stock. ;)

Good thinking, I shall order that card then.

I didn't notice it was out of stock...

Anyway, thank you again!
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Sierra Ritsuka
 
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