5870 worth it?

[jcarrey42]

Hey all, I have the following:

Self-built: MSI790gx-g65
AMD Phenom II X3 720 BE unlocked 4th core and overclocked to 3.44 GHz
4 GB 1600MHz Corsair RAM (XM3)
700W OCZ XSX PSU
CM HAF922 box
CM212 Hyper+ cooler
Arctic Alumina
Intel G2 80GB SSD
my old EVGA GeForce 9800GT 512MB
and my recently purchased Dell 3007wfp-HC 30" screen

I was wondering if this was worth it to properly ustilize my new screen:

Trade a guy in craigslist my 9800GT and $225 for his ASUS ATI HD 5870 (The one that you can adjust voltage to OC)

Is this a fair price? Normally I like to wait until gfx cards are $150 or lower and then upgrade, but with the new screen, I was considering doing this now, then crossfiring once the 5870s go down to $100 or so.

What do you think?

 

[nrnx]

In my opinion the 5870/5890 aren't worth it. This generation seems to be about multiple GPUs and if you can crossfire you should just get 2x5770s and OC them which equal to the power of a single 5870 for ~$100 less. Otherwise the deal you say sounds pretty fair if you are good with a single card.

 

[jyjjy]

A used 9800GT + $225 is definitely a good deal for an HD5870. For a 30" screen it was definitely necessary as well.

 

[paperfox]

YA Id say its worth it. New 9800 GT's cost ~$100 on newegg and used ones for $75 on Ebay. That comes to about $325 for a 5870 when they cost $400 on newegg.

Make sure the guy on craigslist is not trying to scam you, demand to have the 5870 tested, (bring over your computer?) or have him run some games to test stability. Run GPUZ to ensure you are getting a 5870 and not something else, do everything in your power to check you are not getting scammed as this is a great deal from what I can tell.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews.php?reviewid=902&pageid=4

Dirt2 performance at 2560 x 1600 4AA

5770
Min - 10
Avg - 18
Max - 45

5770[ CF/b]
Min - 27
Avg - 35
Max - 67

5850
Min - 21
Avg - 30
Max - 62

5850 CF
Min - 41
Avg - 55
Max - 80

5870
Min - 29
Avg - 41
Max - 80

5870 CF
Min - 50
Avg - 69
Max - 92

5970
Min - 35
Avg - 53
Max - 90

5970 CF
Min - 52
Avg - 80
Max - 129

At your resolution, if you want to maintain a minimum of 30 fps, looks like you will need twin 5850's. A single 5870 comes up just short at 29 fps....but hey, the 41 fps average should keep you happy except for the occasional slow spots. As DX11 games start to incorporate DX11 more heavily, you can always add a 2nd one in Xfire.

 

[beauchee]

I would say go for it ! (if that 5870 is working of course) Let us know how it goes.

 

[jyjjy]

Don't even think of basing your expected DX11 performance on one game and Jack should really stop suggesting that people do so.

 

[bystander]

At that resolution, I still might suggest at least a 5870 as well. Even if 30 FPS is playable, I think most of us would definately be a lot happier with 45+ FPS. That native resolution is going to require some serious GPU power to keep the FPS up in most games.

 

[sosofm]

+1 5870

 

[notty22]

HD 5770 crossfire is a much smarter deal!

Another 1 ignoring the ops's post. He has a chance to get a 5870 for 225 and the trade of his card(9800gt), where the hell does the 5770 come in to this ?

 

[outlw6669]

For the price it is a great deal.
Just be sure it is legit before you buy...

 

[Derbixrace]

yeah for that price its unbeatable, GO FOR IT!!

 

[jcarrey42]

Hey, thanks for the insight, all!

Now, all things considered, if, in the future, I do decide to go with the crossfired 5870s, would I need a new PSU? I mean, my SSD is low power, but I'm overclocking my unlocked 720 BE... If I have 2 5870s, isn't that going to strain things? Right now, I'm confident in the single card with my current setup, but I'm just trying to look to the future. Thanks!

 

[paperfox]

The manufacturer recommends you have a 650w PSU with crossfire 5870s, But you could get away with a good quality 600watter. So your 700w OCZ should be fine.

 

[sabot00]

Jack, really?
Your telling him to get 5850 CF because the 5870 falls 1 FRAME short? In 1 GAME.
Talk about academic ***.
Go play CoD/Crysis/STALKER/DiRT/Anything, I doubt you will notice 29 FPS -> 30 FPS.

Besides, OC the core 20MHz about you'll probably gain that 1 FPS.

 

[paperfox]

Or you could turn off x4 AA to gain back that 1 if not more FPS...

 

[sabot00]

Yeah, AA isn't really needed at 2560x1600.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Jack, really?
Your telling him to get 5850 CF because the 5870 falls 1 FRAME short? In 1 GAME.
Talk about academic

That's the opposite of what I said.

"At your resolution, if you want to maintain a minimum of 30 fps, looks like you will need twin 5850's. A single 5870 comes up just short at 29 fps....but hey, the 41 fps average should keep you happy except for the occasional slow spots."

If someone is a stickler for 30 fps, they might nix it but to my mind, I think the 41 fps average should keep one happy enough except for the occasional slow spot.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Don't even think of basing your expected DX11 performance on one game and Jack should really stop suggesting that people do so.

By all means....let's use all the other Dx11 games quoted in the article....ya gotta go w/ what ya got.

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews.php?reviewid=921&pageid=5

 

[jyjjy]

Perhaps you should look elsewhere for other data to be gotten.