5870 OC

[cythx]

I've been looking into getting a new GPU recently and one that has caught my eye is the vapor x 5870. The card is listed shown here http://overclockers.co.uk/showprod [...] =GX-230-SP

It looks appealing to me, especially since it keeps so cool, but I'm wondering, will I be able to OC it with some downloadable OC utilities? I've read that the ATi tweak tool doesn't allow you to stretch far, and I'd like to do some stretching since it's been known to stay about 15-20 C cooler then the reference card.

If there are some OC utilities I can use, what are some good ones? What performance gains can I expect from OCing it?

 

[RazberyBandit]

Corrected link:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-230-SP

You can OC within CCC, of course. Tools becoming more popular for OC'ing because they allow adjustments to voltages and permit clocks beyond ATI recommended limits are also available.

AMD GPU Clock Tool, MSI Afterburner, and Radeon BIOS Editor are available. Typically, you'll need to use two of the tools in combination, then use Furmark and/or Unigine Heaven to test stability. As far as performance gains, that all depends on the card's ability to function with a really aggressive or beyond spec OC. It also depends on the game titles in question. Basically, it's an age-old question - do the ends justify the means?

AMD GPU Clock Tool + MSI Afterburner guide:
http://tech.icrontic.com/articles/overclocking-the-radeon-hd-5850/

Here's a nice guide on how to mod MSI Afterburner, allowing it to do all the overclocking by itself:
http://www.overclock.net/ati/641299-guide-enabling-unofficial-overclocking-msi-afterburner.html

And man... 350 pounds for that thing? That's roughly $520 USD. That card sells for $450-ish here, which is equal to your price before the VAT. A 15% VAT charge seems a little excessive...

 

[cythx]

Thanks, your post was really useful.

Nothing is final about what I'm purchasing, it's just something that has caught my eye.

Do you happen to know when MSI's R5870 Lightning edition is comming out?

 

[RazberyBandit]

No idea. It's listed on the USA website as "NEW!" like it's available, but I've not seen any e-tailer or retailer listing it, yet. I'm aware of it's specs, though. I honestly can't believe they're using a 15-phase design. I thought 5+2 was a lot, but 15?! Wow...

http://us.msi.com/index.php?func=proddesc&maincat_no=130&cat2_no=137&prod_no=1962

I'm hopeful ATI releases the 2GB versions soon. A 2GB version of the 5850 wouldn't really hurt, either.

 

[sabot00]

Google Shopping FTW:
http://www.howardcomputers.com/accessories/detail.cfm?source=googlebase&id=S7693982
There's you lightning.

 

[cythx]

Unfortunately I don't live in the US

It's probably not out here yet

I've decided just to get the cheapest 3 year warranty 5870 I can get and crossfire them later.

 

[Guest]

The 5870 lightnintg is the best ocing card, especially for people with water, though I cant justify its 500$ Price, add 100$ and you get a 5970.

 

[cythx]

Wow everything's so much cheaper in the US :/