RMA 5770, help me find another card pls!

[willmalcom]

Hello everyone,

I had to RMA my sapphire 5770. Like many others, I had a lot of problems with this card and tried every possible solution. Read this [url=http://www.tomshardware.com/fo...anually-setting-timing-clock-voltage#t1880483]thread[/url] if you think I missed something, but I promise I didn't.

Here are my system specs:

AMD phenom ii X4 955 (3.2 ghz)
Gigabyte 790XT4-UDA MOBO
2x2gb of Gskill DDR3 1600 RAM
Running windows 7 64bit

If I went with another 5770, I was thinking of getting Gigabyte's version since its the same as my MOBO, or getting the XFX HD 5770 XXX since there seem to be a lower percentage of people getting bad cards with this model (I know it's a little more expensive).

I understand that there isn't a nVidia card that can really compete with the 5770 at that price range, but I don't mind spending up to about 250-260$, it is not set in stone.

So, someone please help advise me as to what card to get. Is there something from nVidia that I could get?

Thanks!

 

[Truhls]

Well you COULD spend the extra money on a GTX 260, performs pretty close to a 5770 most of the time, but i dont personally recommend it. Id just suggest spending the 300ish on a 5850 if your willing to go up to 260. If not just stick with another 5770.

 

[willmalcom]

Ok, thanks much! Would you not even bother recommending a 5830? If I stuck with a 5770, do you have any recommendation as to manufacturer? Thanks!

 

[willmalcom]

Sorry, what bothers me about the 5770 is the idea that maybe I didn't get a bad card, but maybe that it is clashing with my system in some way. Like there is a problem with my BIOS and that card or something, because it worked fine sometimes in 2d, sometimes it didn't. It would perform 3d benchmark tests sometimes (though never without the driver failing). I don't know if any of this helps.

Given my bad luck with the 5770, I am almost inclined to go with a 5850 ... any thoughts?

 

[digvijaysingh]

How much you paid for this card.

 

[Truhls]

Well did you do a full driversweep with driversweep before installing the card, then going to and downloading the latest drivers from ATI?

And no i dont recommend the 5830 unless you want to OC it. The price premium you are paying for it huge compared to the small increase in performance to a 5770.

 

[Onus]

The HD5830 performs too close to the HD5770 to be priced so close to the HD5850. Pass.

 

[capt_taco]

Given my bad luck with the 5770, I am almost inclined to go with a 5850 ... any thoughts?

Regardless of what's going on with your 5770, I would get the 5850 if you have the money. That's about the best card out there that's not going to completely break your bank.

 

[willmalcom]

The HD5830 performs too close to the HD5770 to be priced so close to the HD5850. Pass.

Yep, after posting this and doing some more research, that is what I found. Thanks for your responses though!

I decided to go ahead and give the 5770 another shot, except this time I went with the one from Power Color, because out of all the 5770's available it was the only one that had 5 eggs from NewEgg. Out of 42 reviews, only one person seemed to have problems with it.

And I installed my first one on a clean HDD 2 different times. It was the card, not a driver issue.

Thanks!

 

[capt_taco]

Powercolor? Everything I've heard about them is that they're as made-in-China as you can get.

I mean, odds are 95% you shouldn't have a problem anyway, because that's what you should expect from any manufacturer. But if you do have problems, god help you.