Ati 5770 vs ati 4890 vs gtx 260

[arithon]

I am putting together a system (having been using a laptop for the last few months) and want people's advice on the graphics card. My price range is aproximately 150 to 195 dollars.

The current specs of the system are the following:
CPU: AMD64 X2 6000 (Windsor)
MBoard: Gigabyte MA77O-UD3
RAM: 8GB G.Skill DDR2 1000
PSU: Thermaltake W0093RU 500W
Primay HD: 75GB WD Raptor
Secondary HD's: 2 320GB Seagate SATA
The Old Video card was a EVGA 512-P2-N635-AR GeForce 7950GT 512MB, which was awesome for its time.

I don't always play the newest games on this, but I do play games and hope to be able to play them in the near future. The types of games I want the video card to do well with include any of these: mass effect 1, mass effect 2, diablo 3, borderlands, The Last Remnant, possibly Bioshock 2, and others.

Please give me your opinions on which would be the best choice. I've looked at all 3, and read the comparisons both on this site and others, but the biggest problem is that it is hard for me to judge how good the 5770 would be on games that are older and may not be able to have dx11 used on them. Also, I don't expect to have the money to get another card for at least a year, and I'm not sure how that really should affect the choice....

One final note...I'm not sure if this matters in the decision making, but I'll be running Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit.

I look forward to reading everyone's opinions

 

[Annisman]

The 5770 will not suffer at all in old games, because it is brand new, almost no graphics cards suffer that affect.


I guess I would have to say go for the 5770, espescially because you are going to be running Win 7.

As long as a retailer doesn't overcharge you because of stocking issues.

 

[Bluescreendeath]

A 5770 performs equal to 4870, which performs equal to a GTX260.

The 4890 performs equal to a GTX275. If you care about dx11 and power efficiency, get the 5770. If you want raw power, get the 4890.

Don't get the GTX260 because it's overpriced.

Also, overlock your CPU if you can.

 

[deadlockedworld]

I cant seem to find your motherboard--is that the right number? If its crossfire capable I think the 5770 would be a great choice because it would give you the option to boost your power in a year or so if you want. Both of the other two cards are aging and would not be available by then. The 5770 is also more power efficient, cooler, etc--because its newer. I dont really think you need to worry about backward compatibility with direct x.

However... in terms of brute power the 4890 is the more powerful card...

 

[hell_storm2004]

Out of the lot HD4890 is defintely the best in performance. But it would soon be old. So better get the HD5770 or the HD5850 if that's in your budget.

 

[arithon]

thanks for the quick replies

this is the mboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128376

I unfortunately didn't have a lot of choice, since that is the only part that broke on the last one, and I made sure to get one that had enough space to use the pci slots and still have room for the thick new graphics card

 

[Onus]

Given that your Thermaltake PSU is an overrated, inefficient older design (voltage switch is a giveaway), very likely only the HD5770 would safely run on it.

 

[jyjjy]

HD5770.
A good idea is to ugrade your CPU as well. Your motherboard can handle any AMD cpu it seems and upgrading to an Athlon II x4 would be a huge upgrade and not too expensive($100-120.)

 

[deadlockedworld]

I agree.

1st priority is the 5770 graphics card

2nd priority is to start saving up for whatever processor you want as a replacement to your dual core. A quad core would probably utilize all that ram a little better than your current system.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

4890 > 260 > 5770

If the price on the 5770 keeps dropping it will create a niche....a month ago, the three cards cost the same....now.....

the GTX is up to $185, 4870 at $175 and 5770 is down to $150 on some "off brands). At $170 for an XFX it's just not worth buying compared to the 260 and 4870.

 

[jyjjy]

HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890 HD 4890

Sigh, please cut this stuff out. The card is 15% faster but uses a ton more power, is more expensive and is lacking in features in comparison. Just state your opinion and stop with this stupid crap.

 

[arithon]

I acknowledge that some of you state that the 4890 is the best bet right now, but is that still true and worth getting instead of the 5770 if i don't expect to have money to get a new generation card in the next year or so?

I notice that deadlockedworld, jtt283, jyjjy and a few others are sure that the 5770 is worth getting. Am I correct in understanding that the 5770 should be able to play any game that is already out smoothly? i don't need all the bells and whistles turned on, but usually try and get a blend of smooth playing and decent quality.

Also as jtt283 has noted about my setup, I run a 500W PSU. It has worked fine for a while, but I honestly don't know how much it can take with the new cards. Is the 5770 the only one that will work with it?

 

[deadlockedworld]

^^Nice aggregating

The thing we have been missing here is the resolution of your monitor. If its huge the power difference might matter-- if its not the 5770 is more than capable of running 90% of the bells and whistles.

 

[arithon]

I have an old monitor i'm not going to use lol. I'm borrowing one that supports up to 2560x1600. Currently I'm using a laptop that I use at 1920x1200 whenever possible.

I tend to prefer resolutions that are 1280x1024 or higher, but am willing to run at the 1280 one if that is what it takes to get a smooth game

I would add that when i get enough money, my first purchase isn't going to be a cpu, but instead is going to be a monitor that supports a minimum of a 1080 res.

 

[Onus]

If there were no power considerations, I would probably prefer the 4890; something about a 128-bit data path just bugs me in this day and age. Unfortunately, there ARE power considerations. I do not believe an old "500W" Thermaltake, particularly with capacitor aging taking it down further so it is likely actually good for 400W-425W, is enough for a 4890.

 

[arithon]

thanks for all the advice. I ended up ordering this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102858

all the responses were relevent and my 'best answer' choice was based on the answer that pointed out what everyone else agreed on in the end.

 

[pt6998]

thanks for all the advice. I ended up ordering this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102858

all the responses were relevent and my 'best answer' choice was based on the answer that pointed out what everyone else agreed on in the end.

Hello I am also interested in the SAPPHIRE 100283L Radeon HD 5770 that you bought back in January. How is it working for you? I played Battle Field Bad Company 2 today and feel it is about time to update my aging 8800GT. What is your experience playing games with the 5770? Have you had any issues that have been reported for the 5700 and 5800 series cards? These issues are brown screen, crashes, colored lines running down the screen.

Thanks any reply would be very welcome!

 

[arithon]

I bought the Sapphire one you listed and a friend of mine bought a XFX 5770 that he uses. Mine is being used on a system that has windows 7 Ultimate 64bit and his is on a windows 7 Ultimate 32bit system. He has the brown screens and odd graphical problems. Mine does NOT have them. From what he has been able to find out, it only applies to 32bit versions. If you plan on using the card on a 64bit OS than you should be fine.

As to how it is working. Perfectly
I think the most graphically intense game I've played is The Last Remnant. I don't have everything turned on, but most of it is. On the other hand i'm not sure if the reason i get a very small amount of lag with everything is because the rest of the system isn't brand new.
My current system:
Athlon X2 6000 (dual 3.0Ghz)
8GB DDR2 1066 RAM
75GB WD Raptor HD (1st generation of Raptor Drives)

If you are going to be running a 64bit OS and you don't have the money to get a 5800 or 5900 series card it is definitely worth it. I should also add that I have a UPS connected so I can check how much power the system is using and the MOST power the system has used even when i was benchmarking the 5770 was 300watts, so if power is also an issue to you, the 5770 is amazingly power efficient.

 

[pt6998]

I bought the Sapphire one you listed and a friend of mine bought a XFX 5770 that he uses. Mine is being used on a system that has windows 7 Ultimate 64bit and his is on a windows 7 Ultimate 32bit system. He has the brown screens and odd graphical problems. Mine does NOT have them. From what he has been able to find out, it only applies to 32bit versions. If you plan on using the card on a 64bit OS than you should be fine.

As to how it is working. Perfectly
I think the most graphically intense game I've played is The Last Remnant. I don't have everything turned on, but most of it is. On the other hand i'm not sure if the reason i get a very small amount of lag with everything is because the rest of the system isn't brand new.
My current system:
Athlon X2 6000 (dual 3.0Ghz)
8GB DDR2 1066 RAM
75GB WD Raptor HD (1st generation of Raptor Drives)

If you are going to be running a 64bit OS and you don't have the money to get a 5800 or 5900 series card it is definitely worth it. I should also add that I have a UPS connected so I can check how much power the system is using and the MOST power the system has used even when i was benchmarking the 5770 was 300watts, so if power is also an issue to you, the 5770 is amazingly power efficient.

Thanks for the fast reply! I also have Win 7 Ultimate 64bit. So now I think I might be putting in the order for the card.

 

[arithon]

good luck and enjoy using it.
As I've said, it is heaven using it, even more so when i use my laptop with its 3650 512MB and then use the 5770
If you buy it, I hope you love it as much as I do

 

[chaitanya_mkin]

4890>5770~=260

 

[batch16]

If it was me i would get somthing like the 4870/5750 and use the rest to upgrade your cpu if you buy a 5770 or a 4890 bottleneck will be an issue you would be better getting a slightly cheaper graphics card and then get a decent gaming cpu such as the phenom 550 x2 which will fit in your board.

 

[rolli59]

Back from the dead check the dates before replying.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey