5850 vs 5770

[Marcus316]

Hi everyone,

I am hesitating between buying the Radeon HD 5850 or the Radeon HD 5770.
I want to play all games possible at Max settings but I'm wondering if the rest of my computer parts will limit me and if the 5850 is overkill.

Here is my rig:
My monitor's max resolution is 1680 X 1050.
Q6600 Quad core @ Stock speed : 2.4 Ghz
4GB Kingston RAM @ 800 Mhz
1 TB WD 7200 RPM
550W Fatal1ty Power supply
Gigabyte motherboard (i forget which one)

I'm planing on buying a card, and keeping it for a long time.
Is the 5850 worth it or is it overkill and i would be fine with the 5770?

Thanks everyone!

 

[wa1]

U said that u want to keep the card for a long time, then grab 5850, yes it overkill for your system, but it can be an asset for your next rig in the future...

 

[Marcus316]

U said that u want to keep the card for a long time, then grab 5850, yes it overkill for your system, but it can be an asset for your next rig in the future...

I plan on keeping the card I buy for about 5 years.
You really think the 5850 is overkill?

 

[JofaMang]

For a 5 year plan a 5870 would be a better purchase, but certainly, a 5850 is a good choice for any plan, as it is a potent card that will be potent for a long time to come (think 8800gts for example ) I wouldn't consider a single 5770 for anything longer than a year or two, but I may be more obsessive about this stuff.

Your resolution is low enough that a 5770 will definitely be enjoyable for a year or two, but if you get a higher resolution monitor, or games progress technically at a much higher rate than we expect, than it will probably leave you wanting more in less than 5 years.

 

[notty22]

5 years ? You can't future proof with technology, beyond 2 years. With a 5850 maybe 2.5. But what if Fermi is a game changer? And the industry goes in to a back and forth performance war ? Two years ago they were selling gaming cards with 256 mb of memory.

 

[envolva]

The ATI 5850 is an amazing card. You can even push the ATI 5870 bios on it and overclock it to become faster than the ATI 5870 at stock. Off course there's risks to it, but you can do it about year 2 or 3 if you ever feel getting behind.

Also in 2 or 3 years these cards will be a bargain. Crossfire with any of them and you will enable your 5 year cycle.

If you must go with a single card for 5 years, go with the ATI 5850 and overclock when needed.

5 years ? You can't future proof with technology, beyond 2 years. With a 5850 maybe 2.5. But what if Fermi is a game changer? And the industry goes in to a back and forth performance war ? Two years ago they were selling gaming cards with 256 mb of memory.

Thanks to consoles, games don't fuel "performance wars" anymore.

No matter how big or powerful Fermi is, consoles dictate how powerful a PC needs to be.

 

[OvrClkr]

At that resolution and CPU clock you are better off with a 5770, unless you plan on bumping up the CPU to at least 3.2Ghz and beyond.

 

[jyjjy]

I'd get the HD5770 and forget about 5 years. That's way too long to be trying to plan ahead in an industry where technology and prices change so rapidly. Three years ago the 8800 GTS 320mb launched for $300 and if you bought that then you would've wanted to replace it about a year ago if not sooner. Paying a premium for high end tech when it is overkill for your current setup(HD5850) simply makes no sense financially. Get a card that is good for your current needs(HD5770) for half the price then upgrade as necessary with newer and better cards when it is called for.

 

[jaguarskx]

If you want to keep the video card for as long as possible then buy the HD 5850.

It also gives you breathing room should you decide to upgrade to a 1920 x 1080/1200 monitor. Of course overall performance decreases as the resolution increases.

How long a video last will depend on your expectations. Do not expect to play games at max graphics quality during all 5 years. Eventually you will need to lower graphics quality to medium (maybe even low) to get the overall performance you would like to have.

 

[jay2tall]

I want to play all games possible at Max settings but I'm wondering if the rest of my computer parts will limit me and if the 5850 is overkill.

I'm planing on buying a card, and keeping it for a long time.
Is the 5850 worth it or is it overkill and i would be fine with the 5770?

Simply a 5850 is worth it. If you are in it for the long haul it is worth it more so. I have replaced my video card every year for the past few years. I sell it in eBay and get the next best thing. This time I went for the 5870 hoping I would get more than a year out of it. I also game at 1680x1050, and there are some games not even a 5870 will max. Crysis, Far Cry 2, and Dirt 2 are titles I have that I can not max. But honestly , you can crank them up so high that it doesn't even matter anymore.

Your PSU will handle a 5850 nicely. You have an older quad core, so that will hold you back a little, but honestly you will see a bottleneck in most any system, its just that way of computers. It is nothing I would worry to much about though. A 5850 will last you ALOT longer than a 5770 will. And honestly I don't think a 5850 will last you 5 years anyway. I don't even worry about crossfire either, I've been down that road and it was a pain. I tried to crossfire 2 4870s and has heat issues and ended up selling them on eBay and getting the 5870. Plus you would need a new PSU anyways so in reality I would just keep it until you want to upgrade, sell it, and buy a new card.

 

[OvrClkr]

Simply a 5850 is worth it. If you are in it for the long haul it is worth it more so. I have replaced my video card every year for the past few years. I sell it in eBay and get the next best thing. This time I went for the 5870 hoping I would get more than a year out of it. I also game at 1680x1050, and there are some games not even a 5870 will max. Crysis, Far Cry 2, and Dirt 2 are titles I have that I can not max. But honestly , you can crank them up so high that it doesn't even matter anymore.

Your PSU will handle a 5850 nicely. You have an older quad core, so that will hold you back a little, but honestly you will see a bottleneck in most any system, its just that way of computers. It is nothing I would worry to much about though. A 5850 will last you ALOT longer than a 5770 will. And honestly I don't think a 5850 will last you 5 years anyway. I don't even worry about crossfire either, I've been down that road and it was a pain. I tried to crossfire 2 4870s and has heat issues and ended up selling them on eBay and getting the 5870. Plus you would need a new PSU anyways so in reality I would just keep it until you want to upgrade, sell it, and buy a new card.

Dirt2 is like L4D, it will play on max settings with a mediocre GPU... I play Dirt2 @ 1680x 1050 with all settings maxxed out including x16AA and still manage to get between 60-80FPS with a GTX 260, you sould be able to get more than 100FPS or at least a constant 60FPS with v-sync enabled...

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[bystander]

Dirt2 is like L4D, it will play on max settings with a mediocre GPU... I play Dirt2 @ 1680x 1050 with all settings maxxed out including x16AA and still manage to get between 60-80FPS with a GTX 260, you sould be able to get more than 100FPS or at least a constant 60FPS with v-sync enabled...

You aren't running maxed settings because you can't turn on directX 11. You play at maxed for your card, but not for a directX 11 card. Granted, most are saying they can't tell a big difference, so that's probably good enough.

 

[bystander]

So you are telling me that once I swap my 260 for dual 5770's or a single 5850 I will not be able to max out the game becuase of DX11?

If DX11 decreases my min and max FPS then I will not upgrade because there is no point. I have tested the game in DX10 and DX11 with different setups and i do not see any difference at all other than the water splashing "effect"...

The general concensus is that Dirt 2 did a poor job of using DX11. It added a few effects that are barely noticable, except perhaps in replay mode.

Some other games using DX11 are showing performance increases, so this may be just a poorly thought out added on.

 

[OvrClkr]

You aren't running maxed settings because you can't turn on directX 11. You play at maxed for your card, but not for a directX 11 card. Granted, most are saying they can't tell a big difference, so that's probably good enough.

So you are telling me that once I swap my 260 for dual 5770's or a single 5850 I will not be able to max out the game becuase of DX11?

If DX11 decreases my min and max FPS then I will not upgrade because there is no point. I have tested the game in DX10 and DX11 with different setups and i do not see any difference at all other than the water splashing "effect"...

 

[bystander]

Now how did the order of our posts get swapped? Anyways, you can disable DX11 for the game (it's in some config file).

 

[OvrClkr]

Well I should have benched the game while I was playing in DX11 (dual 5770's), and of course I would have found this out on my own. I just wanted to see if there was any difference when it comes to visuals. Oh well, guess I will put the cards on hold for now....

 

[notty22]

FOUND A GOOD DEAL, when checking prices
5770 ..512mb free shipping 130.00 use code
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131328

 

[bystander]

Well I should have benched the game while I was playing in DX11 (dual 5770's), and of course I would have found this out on my own. I just wanted to see if there was any difference when it comes to visuals. Oh well, guess I will put the cards on hold for now....

If the reason for the dual 5770's was for this game specifically, then ya, cancel, but there are other games out and coming out that are gaining FPS when using DX11 instead of DX10.

 

[deadlockedworld]

The 5830 is supposed to launch the first week of Feb. It will be about $200 and fall between the 5770/5850.

 

[OvrClkr]

If the reason for the dual 5770's was for this game specifically, then ya, cancel, but there are other games out and coming out that are gaining FPS when using DX11 instead of DX10.

No, the cards are not specifically for Dirt2...

I play CoD2 thru 6, BF2, Dirt 1 and 2, UT, L4D-L4D2, Crysis/Warhead, Fallout 3 and a few others....

My concern is that I do not want to lose FPS, on the contrary... That is the whole point of upgrading

 

[bystander]

No, the cards are not specifically for Dirt2...

I play CoD2 thru 6, BF2, Dirt 1 and 2, UT, L4D-L4D2, Crysis/Warhead, Fallout 3 and a few others....

My concern is that I do not want to lose FPS, on the contrary... That is the whole point of upgrading

You won't, but Dirt 2 does push a bunch of extras on their DX11 implementation, but you can disable DX 11 in that game. There is a setting in a config file, or ini file for the game that can be changed to DX10.

 

[OvrClkr]

You won't, but Dirt 2 does push a bunch of extras on their DX11 implementation, but you can disable DX 11 in that game. There is a setting in a config file, or ini file for the game that can be changed to DX10.

Sweet news... thx man

 

[Marcus316]

Best answer selected by Marcus316.

 

[Marcus316]

Thanks everyone for your opinions!

I decided to go with the Powercolor 5850, hopefully I won't be getting those grey line problems they're talking about!

 

[vexun11]

Thanks for the info, I am trying to decide if I should go with the 5770 or the 5850 but my cpu is a 5600+ so I think it would be pushing it, but if it is it will be okay because I will eventually be upgrading to a quad core