5850 vs 5870

[tserich]

Is the 5870 worth the extra money?

 

[4745454b]

In some cases yes.

 

[tserich]

I meant from a price/performance ratio

 

[4745454b]

Sure, why not?

You haven't given us ANY info, so I'm trying to keep my answers vague. If you'd like to give us a resolution you play at, a CPU powering the thing, perhaps your ram amount and PSU, etc I could probably be more help.

 

[tserich]

2048 x 1152
I5
corsair 650hx
4 gb

 

[JackNaylorPE]

I meant from a price/performance ratio

As the answer depends on your personal value of increased performance, versus your personal value for the cash, it's hard for anyone to provide value advice. Here's THG's "best cards for the money" summary. neither 'won" their category so I guess, to the author at least, puts them about even as "honorable mentions".


http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-310-5970,2491.html

Here's the "winners" from THG's latest (December) GFX Roundup
Best Graphics Cards For The Money: December '09


$50 - HD 4650
$65 - HD 4670 / 9600 GSO
$85 - 9600 GT
$95 - 9600 GT / HD 4830
$110 - GTS 250 512 MB
$120 - GTS 250 1 GB
$155 - HD 5770 / GTX 260
$200 - HD 4890
$240 - 2 x GTS 250
$310 - No winner (HD 5850 Honorable Mention)
$330 - 2 x GTX 260 / 2 x HD 5770
$400 - 2 x HD 4890
$410 - No winner (HD 5870 Honorable Mention)
$465 - No winner (GTX 295 Honorable Mention)
$625 - No winner (HD 5970 Honorable Mention)

 

[woozyM]

40% in price for 15% more performance.

In short, I don't think 5870 is worth it. Get 5850 and OC it... w/out increasing the voltage u can get about 830 mhz, now that's pretty close a default 5870 of 850mhz. If you choose to up voltage then your OC 5850 specs are higher than a stock 5870 !!! Of course one can say OC the 5870 and you'll leave the 5850 behind.

The point is, you can save lots of money by going 5850 and OC it to match a stock 5870 by upping the voltage. Therefore similar performance with a cheaper price tag.


http://www.overclock.net/ati/598392-hd58-series-1ghz-core-thread-10.html

read the post by mclaren f1, you'll get all u need to OC ati 58xx