7850 1GB vs 7850 2GB vs 5850 CrossfireX

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mossi

mossi

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I currently have the following setup:
AMD FX-8320
Asus M5A97 R2.0
Sapphire 5850HD 1GB
4 GBs DDR3
20 inch Samsung Syncmaster (1050p)

I'm contemplating what would be a better choice. I recently got a 750HX PSU by Corsair as a warranty replacement and I'm considering selling it and also the 5850 and getting a 7850 and an XFX 650W PSU with the money. That's a long shot especially as I'll make less than £200 by selling them both. This means it'd cost me a bit as 7850s seem to be going around the £140 mark.

Now a question here is are the 1GB models worth it anymore for the 7850? they're a bit cheaper (about £20).

The other option would be to keep the PSU and then later on add a 2nd hand 5850 for a CrossfireX rig that would run 16x/4x. That's a cheaper option as I'd do this in 3-4 months time hoping to secure a cheaper 5850.

So my question ultimately is, is it worth getting another 5850 for CrossfireX or would I get better performance by switching to a 7850?

Many thanks to all :D
 
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Onus

Onus

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Crossfire is broken. AMD admits it, is working on a fix, but won't have it until at least July. Besides, x16,x4 Crossfire isn't what you want; x8,x8 or x16,x16 is more usual.
Another card to consider is the GTX650 Boost edition. It slightly outperforms the HD7850, and is cheaper.
 
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2mugo

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Apr 12, 2013
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Having more than one GPU will raise you power consumption vs a single card.

Guru3d: "A second card requires you to add another 170 Watts. You need a 650+ Watt power supply unit if you use it in a high-end system. That power supply needs to have (in total accumulated) at least 55~60 Amps available on the +12 volts rails. " 5850 review

vs "System Wattage with GPU in FULL Stress = 239W" 7850 review in which recommended a 500w PSU.

Yes Corsair HX750 is more than enough for Crossfire.

Plus 5850 crossfire vs a single 7850 is pretty much the same FPS wise. I say 7850 for power saving and more breathing space in your rig (temperature).
 
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mossi

mossi

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I thought about the 650 TI Boost but it costs here in the UK pretty much the same as the 7850 and I have read many reviews that show that the 7850 performs better. It also showed higher temps in general.

So basically unless I get a bigger monitor to play at 1080p I won't see a difference between the 1GB and the 2GB models?

Does anyone have a view on this model?
http://www.ebuyer.com/483272-his-7850-fan-1gb-gddr5-pci-e-dvi-hdmi-2xmini-dp-h785f1g2m

Is it a noisy card during idle? Ideally I'd like to get a Sapphire as my current Sapphire is dead silent during idle which I love. Dont mind if it spins up during gaming.
 
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Onus

Onus

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I liked HardOCP's review of the GTX650Ti Boost, which included:

"The rest of the games followed suit, offering a high level of gameplay experience out of the GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost. In all games, it matched the gameplay experience of the Radeon HD 7850..
The GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost allows you to play at high settings at 1080p in today's games, whereas the Radeon HD 7790 allows you to play at medium settings at 1080p in today's games.
...
Performance - On performance, the new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost offers the same gameplay experience as the Radeon HD 7850. We found that the gameplay experience was the same in every game, but the performance itself was actually slightly faster with the GTX 650 Ti Boost..."

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2013/03/26/nvidia_geforce_gtx_650_ti_boost_video_card_review/11
 
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17seconds

17seconds

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The GTX 650 Ti Boost is going to be better overall and allow you turn on those PhysX effects. You will absolutely need the extra VRam. 1GB is just not enough these days and certainly not for many of the upcoming game releases. Games like Skyrim, Crysis 3, Bioshock Infinite all regularly exceed 1 GB of memory usage. Metro Last Light and Battlefield 4 will most certainly fall into that category as well. The lower cost 650 Ti Boost card with 2GB of VRam is the best price-performance card you can buy.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/EVGA/GTX_650_Ti_Boost_SC/28.html

In today's review from TechPowerUp, one of the top review sites using 18 benchmarks, the Boost posted clear wins in 10, often by large margins. In the other games, it was basically a tie with only one game where the loss was by more than a few 2-4 FPS.

perfrel_1920.gif
 
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jessterman21

jessterman21

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Get a GTX 660 if you can afford it: http://www.ebuyer.com/396967-gigabyte-gv-n660oc-2gd-660-gv-n660oc-2gd It's faster than the HD 7850, and 2GB is the norm for HD gaming these days, unless you like lowering texture quality and not using any antialiasing. If you don't want to spend that much, get a GTX 650Ti Boost: http://www.ebuyer.com/491568-zotac-gtx-650-ti-boost-2gb-gddr5-dual-dvi-hdmi-displayport-pci-e-zt-61201-10m

Both of those cards are great, and have great coolers.

And your monitor is perfect for the $200 range of GPUs.
 
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Onus

Onus

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I use products from both companies. I agree that most of the nVidia cards ARE gimped; you'll find my comments to that effect in many of the Tom's review articles of them. No tune-changing here.
The GTX650Ti Boost is, however, IMHO what the vanilla GTX650Ti should have been, with appropriate and competitive features and performance for its price.
 
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Onus

Onus

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The HardOCP review, which I linked, included a LOT of games, and found the GTX650Ti Boost to be the better card. The margin wasn't so big that specific titles might not vary, but in general matto's chart also shows it to be the stronger card.
They do seem to be around the same price, starting at $170. I doubt either one is going to be a bad choice, if it offers the features you want. Note though, that the AMD cards are coming with Bioshock Infinite AND Tomb Raider, which is potentially a huge value-add if you're interested in either one.
 
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jessterman21

jessterman21

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Really? 1GB VRAM is enough for 2011 games?!? And before you say anything - Dirt Showdown and Sleeping Dogs aren't particularly VRAM intensive either.

Unfortunately these days, and for future games, you're going to want 2GB or more VRAM.
 
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Onus

Onus

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I'm going to tentatively agree with Duke about 1GB of VRAM being generally sufficient, IF you're willing to turn even a couple settings down from "UltraMaxOhWOW!" If the game is good, it will be enjoyable on settings that will run with 1GB of VRAM.
 
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17seconds

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That's a good argument if you already own the card. At the beginning when you have the option and the trend of increasing VRam usage is clear, you are much more wise to get a card with 2GB of memory.
 
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17seconds

17seconds

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Bioshock Infinite
index.php

"Overall the advise is simple enough, make sure you have a graphics card with 2 GB of graphics memory when using High to Ultra image quality modes."
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/bioshock_infinite_graphics_performance_review_benchmark,8.html


Crysis 3
index.php

"You'll notice that 2GB graphics card are sufficient and that's the number Crytek has been aiming on, so watch this. A graphics card with 2 GB of graphics memory minimum is really recommended."
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/crysis_3_graphics_performance_review_benchmark,8.html


Far Cry 3
index.php

"You'll notice that 2GB graphics card are sufficient and thus the generic rule of thumb here for maximum quality mode with complex MSAA levels at 2 AA samples. So a graphics card with 2 GB of graphics memory is really recommended."
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/far_cry_3_graphics_performance_review_benchmark,8.html


Hitman Absolution
index.php

"You'll quickly notice 2GB graphics card are sufficient and thus the generic rule of thumb here for maximum quality mode with complex MSAA levels at 2 AA samples. So a graphics card with 2 GB of graphics memory is really recommended."
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/hitman_absolution_graphics_vga_performance_review_benchmark,7.html


Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
index.php

"So 2GB graphics card are sufficient and thus recommended for maximum quality mode with complex AA levels"
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/call_of_duty_black_ops_ii_graphics_vga_performance_review,7.html


Medal of Honor: Warfighter
index.php

"So 2GB graphics card are sufficient for Ultra quality mode, at 2560x1600 you'd be really pushing it though. This is also the reason why at 2560x1600 on the previous pages you have seen some very poor results, as some cards have only 1 GB graphics memory."
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/medal_of_honor_warfighter_graphics_vga_performance_review,7.html
 
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Onus

Onus

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I think there are merits on both sides. If you can afford it, the 2GB version offers some future-resistance. If you can't though, you're not going to suffer for it, not now, nor for some time.
It seems to me this thread has pretty much run its course, and is only likely to degenerate into an argument at this point.
 
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