HD4870 1GB X2, HD4870 512MB X2, or GTX 275?

If I'm buying in the next 2 months, what's the best BFMB?

  • 4870 512MB / 4870 1GB

    Votes: 2 4.0%
  • 4870 512MB / 4870 1GB CF

    Votes: 4 8.0%
  • GTX 275 896MB SLI

    Votes: 4 8.0%
  • 5850 1GB

    Votes: 45 90.0%

  • Total voters
    50

stateofjermaine

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jul 22, 2009
Messages
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Sorry, the title should read: HD4870 1GB CF, HD5850 1GB, or GTX 275 SLI?

Background Info

So, I'm on the cusp of building the rig in my sig, but I just can't settle on my video card(s). I would consider myself a "casual enthusiast". I love reading about this stuff, and I am really excited to build it, but I will probably play seriously only 3 or 4 times a week. When I do play, it will most likely be:

Crysis, Warhead, Crysis 2
COD: MW, MW2
Arkham Asylum
Far Cry 2

It probably doesn't matter much, but I also do graphic design and hip-hop production, so I will be using Adobe CS4, Digital Performer 6 and things like that. Also, I sorta have OCD when it comes to AA, so I will probably be playing at 8X AA most of the time. 1920x1200. Probably on a 24" monitor.

The Decision

So, should I go CF with the 4870's, go single with the GTX 275 (and upgrade later), or wait and get a 5850?

Keep in mind, I'm not truly an enthusiast, so I am not pressed to have the newest card. And I will not likely be going CF with a 5850 for $600+. I'm just looking to get the most bang for my buck.

Current landscape:
4870 512MB = $150 CF = $300
4870 1GB = $175 CF = $350
GTX 275 896MB = $220 SLI = $440
5850 1GB = $299

Speculative 2-month landscape:
4870 512MB = $90 CF = $180
4870 1GB = $100 CF = $200
GTX 275 896MB = $150 SLI = $300
5850 1GB = $279

So, there it is. Feel free to hurl insults, quote me better prices, or make better suggestions. I have done my research, though, so there's no need to write any encyclopedias. I just want the best BFMB.
 
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If I were you, I'd get the 5850 when it releases next week. It has better performance than any of those other cards and supports DX11 and Eyefinity. From what I've seen release price will vary from $259 to $299. So you're getting 285GTX or better performance for under $300. The ATI 5000 series also has superior filtering performance and tessellation. So if you're crazy about image quality, all the more reason to wait.

Tesselation:
http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-5870-review-test/7

Video Transcoding Speed:
http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-5870-review-test/25

Filtering and AA Image Quality:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2009/09/22/amds_ati_radeon_hd_5870_video_card_review/6
 
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If I were you, I'd get the 5850 when it releases next week. It has better performance than any of those other cards and supports DX11 and Eyefinity. From what I've seen release price will vary from $259 to $299. So you're getting 285GTX or better performance for under $300.
Thanks for the feedback. Yeah, it is tempting to go with the newest tech, but for $300 I could very possibly go SLI in a month or so. So that would be similar to GTX 295 performance for under $300, right? Speculation, of course.
 
If you had a 4870 1G or GTX275 and a supporting CF/SLi motherboard then the choice would be more difficult, but for a new build I would definitely go for a 5850. The 5850 should use less power than either of those cards and be a good deal faster. Early reports are that the core and memory will hit similar speeds to a 5870 (by which I mean overclocking both cards), in which case you should get anywhere from 90-100% of the performance (same bandwidth but 10% fewer FLOPS).
 
Sorry, the title should read: HD4870 1GB CF, HD5850 1GB, or GTX 275 SLI?

Background Info

So, I'm on the cusp of building the rig in my sig, but I just can't settle on my video card(s). I am pretty new to this whole deal, but I'm interested in joining the PC gaming society. I would consider myself a "casual enthusiast". I love reading about this stuff, and I am really excited to build it, but I will probably play seriously only 3 or 4 times a week. When I do play, it will most likely be:

Crysis, Warhead, Crysis 2
COD: MW, MW2
Arkham Asylum
Far Cry 2

It probably doesn't matter much, but I also do graphic design and hip-hop production, so I will be using Adobe CS4, Digital Performer 6 and things like that. Also, I sorta have OCD when it comes to AA, so I will probably be playing at 8X AA most of the time. 1920x1200. Probably on a 24" monitor.

The Decision

So, should I go CF with the 4870's, go single with the GTX 275 (and upgrade later), or wait and get a 5850?

Keep in mind, I'm not truly an enthusiast, so I am not pressed to have the newest card. And I will not likely be going CF with a 5850 for $600+. I'm just looking to get the most bang for my buck.

Current landscape:
4870 512MB = $150 CF = $300
4870 1GB = $175 CF = $350
GTX 275 896MB = $220 SLI = $440
5850 1GB = $299

Speculative 2-month landscape:
4870 512MB = $90 CF = $180
4870 1GB = $100 CF = $200
GTX 275 896MB = $150 SLI = $300
5850 1GB = $279

So, there it is. Feel free to hurl insults, quote me better prices, or make better suggestions. I have done my research, though, so there's no need to write any encyclopedias. I just want the best BFMB.

What is your current Video card? If its Nvidia based and Supports CUDA, you may concider going GTX275 SLI and using you old card as a physx card as you do have Batman:AA in your games list. But if the extra eye candy isn't that big a deal for you, then go with the 5850.
 
If you had a 4870 1G or GTX275 and a supporting CF/SLi motherboard then the choice would be more difficult, but for a new build I would definitely go for a 5850. The 5850 should use less power than either of those cards and be a good deal faster. Early reports are that the core and memory will hit similar speeds to a 5870 (by which I mean overclocking both cards), in which case you should get anywhere from 90-100% of the performance (same bandwidth but 10% fewer FLOPS).

Well, yes it would be a good deal faster than 1 HD4870 or GTX 275. But not two cards in SLI or CF, right? The conundrum is figuring out first whether two HD4870's (or GTX 275's) would outperform a 5850. If so, I have to figure out at what cost they do so.

I know that the ideal solution has traditionally been a single GPU, but it seems like technology/driver support has come a long way.
 
What is your current Video card? If its Nvidia based and Supports CUDA, you may concider going GTX275 SLI and using you old card as a physx card as you do have Batman:AA in your games list. But if the extra eye candy isn't that big a deal for you, then go with the 5850.
This will be my first build. :eek:
 

Yup. The 5870 has superior filtering. It was included in the link. But since some people don't like to read, I'll post the pic directly. Which one looks rounder and more realistic, hint its the one rendered by the 5870. But judge with your own eyes. It's all in the HardOCP article.

1253589355YCmpekvJfn_6_2_l.png


And here's an even more dramatic example of how that affects image quality with a graphic that you'd see in a game.

dx11renderingcomparison.jpg


Notice the difference in shape and realism of those gasmasks. The octagon of the Nvidia gpu vs the smooth circle of the 5870 rendering. Corresponds almost exactly to the filtering example above but fleshed out, doesn't it?
 
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Yup. The 5870 has superior filtering. It was included in the link. But since some people don't like to read, I'll post the pic directly. Which one looks rounder and more realistic, hint its the one rendered by the 5870. But judge with your own eyes. It's all in the HardOCP article.

1253589355YCmpekvJfn_6_2_l.png


And here's an even more dramatic example of how that affects image quality with a graphic that you'd see in a game.

dx11renderingcomparison.jpg


Notice the difference in shape and realism of those gasmasks. The octagon of the Nvidia gpu vs the smooth circle of the 5870 rendering. Corresponds almost exactly to the filtering example above but fleshed out, doesn't it?
Yeah, I have seen that comparison somewhere before. Wasn't that supposed to demonstrate the effects of tessellation?
 
Yup. The 5870 has superior filtering. It was included in the link. But since some people don't like to read, I'll post the pic directly. Which one looks rounder and more realistic, hint its the one rendered by the 5870. But judge with your own eyes. It's all in the HardOCP article.

1253589355YCmpekvJfn_6_2_l.png


And here's an even more dramatic example of how that affects image quality with a graphic that you'd see in a game.

dx11renderingcomparison.jpg


Notice the difference in shape and realism of those gasmasks. The octagon of the Nvidia gpu vs the smooth circle of the 5870 rendering. Corresponds almost exactly to the filtering example above but fleshed out, doesn't it?

1. Filtering on the 5870 and GT2XX cards is almost identicle, so close in fact that most people couldn't tell the difference unless you zoomed in to like 50x of one area of a scene.
2. Your in game/redering demo shots is not Filtering but that of Tesselation.
 
Wow, an overwhelming vote for 5850. I guess it's not that surprising. No advocates for going older tech to get faster performance at a lower price?
 
No advocates for going older tech to get faster performance at a lower price?

Out of those choices only the GTX275 SLI would've been faster and it would be a lot more expensive than a single HD5850.

Seriously, why bother with SLI/Crossfire when you can get a single card that will be faster, cheaper, cooler, non dependant on game profiles for SLI/Crossfire to work and consume less power?
 
Out of those choices only the GTX275 SLI would've been faster and it would be a lot more expensive than a single HD5850.

Seriously, why bother with SLI/Crossfire when you can get a single card that will be faster, cheaper, cooler, non dependant on game profiles for SLI/Crossfire to work and consume less power?

Thanks for your input. With all due respect, I don't agree that the decision is quite so trivial as you paint it to be.

First of all, the 5850 seems to be aimed at the GTX 285, performance-wise, and routinely outperforms it. Not so with 4870 X2, which seems to at least match it, and often outperform it (albeit at great cost, money- and power-wise). So your argument is a bit oversimplified, in my view. Yes, the 5850 is a powerful card, but it is not the 5870. 4870's in CF and 275's in SLI should both be faster options, as far as I can tell.

Also, this thread is based on the hypothesis that prices are going down on DX10 cards after the release of the 5850 in quanitity. Price drops of $50+ are not out of the question, I don't think. I noted this in the OP, and this would affect the overall cost of CF and SLI. I had hoped that responses would address my entire post, and not belittle the value of the question.
 
Your upgrading "landscape" is flawed.

If you go with a faster card now ( HD 5850 ) then you won't have to crossfire or sli anything in 2 months because they are much faster than the older single cards you are looking at. That means not spending $600.

Buying old tech and crossfiring / SLIing them down the line doesn't make any sense when the new cards are out.

You can always drop in another HD5850 when you actually need it.... and by then the card would be dirt cheap like the HD4850 are now.
 
Your upgrading "landscape" is flawed.

If you go with a faster card now ( HD 5850 ) then you won't have to crossfire or sli anything in 2 months because they are much faster than the older single cards you are looking at. That means not spending $600.

I appreciate your response, aZn_plyR, but my landscape is not flawed. Or, it may be, but not in the way you say it is. I did mention CF 5850's in passing, only to state that it would not be an option for me right now. So, yes, that means not spending $600, but if you read carefully, you would see that figure is nowhere in my actual calculations. To be honest, I was hoping you might be criticizing my price points, as they may very well overly optimistic.

Buying old tech and crossfiring / SLIing them down the line doesn't make any sense when the new cards are out.
This is a statement, not an argument. The value in your post would have been in mentioning why this is so. I don't mean to get cranky, but it kinda bugs me when ideas are simply parroted from one person to another without proper evidence or personal thought. That said, in the interest of dialogue (or monologue!), I will present my own critiques. :)

DX10 prices are still too high. The prices should go down very soon.
Two cards will increase power consumption. While a legitimate issue, not a dealbreaker for me by any means.
Performance will be inferior. As I have stated, both the CF and SLI solutions presented should almost certainly yield greater minimum and average FPS, with more eye candy.
Heat and noise might be a concern. True, but probably only slightly more than after "dropping in another HD5850", when the time comes.
New features will be absent. Yes, this is actually a big one, for me. Tessellation does look promising.

At the end of the day, I think the HD5850 looks like a great option, don't get me wrong. I'm not an idiot, and I may very well end up going that route. I was just hoping for a few well thought out positions for and against my proposed solutions, instead of a rote, "Duh, get the new one."
 
Out of the choices listed above I'd say go with the 5850. Don't bother with the old technology. The 5850 will give you probably the best performance and bang for your buck anyway. The only faster solution you really listed was the Geforce GTX 275 SLI configuration and hell if you are going to spend $440 on SLI you might as well get a 5870 and call it a day. Sure you can buy one card now and then add another later but your speculating on the price points these cards will be available at weeks if not months away.
 
I appreciate your response"

You're right, I guess my argument is flawed haha and I agree with those points you listed.

But I'll go ahead and agree with Dan and just going straight for the HD 5870 and not looking back. You're getting top-notch performance with all the eye-candy and features without the power/heat/space/ crossfire/sli issues for around the same price as the GTX 275 in SLI. I'd say spend the extra $80 more from your GTX 275 configuration and call it a day.

Of course you also have twice the rate of one videocard somehow failing if you run crossfire or sli!!!! :)
 
Out of the choices listed above I'd say go with the 5850. Don't bother with the old technology. The 5850 will give you probably the best performance and bang for your buck anyway. The only faster solution you really listed was the Geforce GTX 275 SLI configuration and hell if you are going to spend $440 on SLI you might as well get a 5870 and call it a day. Sure you can buy one card now and then add another later but your speculating on the price points these cards will be available at weeks if not months away.
Heh, well the Dan_D has spoken. :)

I really feel fortunate to be building my first rig right now, with so much great technology becoming available at low price points. Heck, who was I kidding? The power of 5850-hood is just too strong.
 
You're right, I guess my argument is flawed haha and I agree with those points you listed.

But I'll go ahead and agree with Dan and just going straight for the HD 5870 and not looking back. You're getting top-notch performance with all the eye-candy and features without the power/heat/space/ crossfire/sli issues for around the same price as the GTX 275 in SLI. I'd say spend the extra $80 more from your GTX 275 configuration and call it a day.

Of course you also have twice the rate of one videocard somehow failing if you run crossfire or sli!!!! :)
Heh, flawed might be a bit strong a term. I'd say your argument was "incomplete". :D

And thanks for following up, I do appreciate your perspective. You know, I never thought I would be considering a mega-high-end video card, but the 5870 is just an awesome option. Add to that the fact that Newegg was bundling them with Antec TruePower 750 PSU's for $430 today, and I've got myself a real conundrum.
 
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