ATI HD5970

[gwalec]

Hey,

Building my own gaming rig for the first time and can't decide on a graphics card.

The choice is between a HD5970 or HD5870. I will want to upgrade and run two cards in the future so I am thinking getting the 5970. I figure i will buy another one in 1.5 years when it is hopefully a lot cheaper. Is this a good idea or should I just stick with a 5870?

Also, do both graphics cards have to be the same?

And what is the difference between a XFX 5970 and a gigabyte 5970 graphic card? which is better

I will be using:
i7 930 CPU
Gigabyte X58A-UD3R mobo

 

[king game]

brands don't matter they both will give the same performance depending on there clock speed and dedicated memory

Gaming depends mainly on Res pls state yours too.

the 5970 is priced at 700$
and gives great performance for its price.it cannot be Crossfired

a single 5870 costs around 500$
and gives great performance too

yes for crossfireing two cards must be the same

the 5870 will give you great performance at 1080P
the 5970 is a monster requires no explaination

get 5870 crossfire when possible

 

[shadow187]

~sigh~

King, the 5870 is not $500...

Anyways, gwalec.

All of the 5970s are reference boards, so it doesn't matter which one you buy. AMD released a GPU Tool which you can use to increase voltage.
If you want to wait, a Sapphire TOXIC 4GB version should come out, but if you want one now, XFX is not a bad choice.

As for crossfiring options, 2xHD5970 won't scale well. You should probably just do an HD5970 + HD5870 TriFire.

 

[abhishekk89]

yes of course... a 5970 or 5870 would be ridiculous if u game at 1650 X 1050 for which the 5850 or even the 5770 is adequate...

 

[gwalec]

My bad. I am new to this.

I have 3 Dell U2410 monitors. I believe each one runs at 1900x1200 resolution

As for games, FPS and RPG's

 

[shadow187]

Then yes, an HD5970 will be good for you.

 

[abhishekk89]

+3 5970... and you have a nice setup...