5970 or 5870...

[Martin 71]

I'm building a new rig and I want to have a card that will last a LONG time... (last time i bought the 7900 and kept it for 3-4 years... now, i'm looking to do the same with another card... I'm looking at the 5970 and the 5870... the 5970 is HOT, and I'm really wanting to get that, and I can see myself xfiring the 5870 which would cost me $800 instead of one $600 5970... (I'm assuming the 5970 has the equivalent power of 2 5870's?) anyway... I want to know your opinions...

 

[Haserath]

For now a 5870 is really good for 19X12 or lower resolutions. You could buy that and once it starts showing its age, get a 2nd one for Xfire . This would cost either the same or lower then a 5970(after the prices on the 5870s drop)and give better performance since the 5970=5850X2.
Just my opinion

 

[Martin 71]

wait... the 5970 is equal to dual 5850's? i thought it was equal to dual 5870's...

 

[Haserath]

I think due to the 5970 being downclocked it's closer to the 5850s in crossfire. 5870=850mhz core/5970=750mhz core/5850=750mhz core.
It actually depends on the game I think. Here's the review on the cards, just go through the benchmarks.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-5970,2474-7.html

 

[shadow187]

The HD5970 is 2x HD5870s with the core and memory downclocked to HD5850 levels. It is very easy to simply overclock it back, though you will want to make sure you have a sufficient PSU (A Good 650Watt will work, though 750W recommended).

You can also XFire another HD5870 to the 5970 in 2-3 years for a boost in performance as well.

 

[Martin 71]

hmm... so you're saying one 5870 now and another when they're cheaper? that seems like a possibility, but yet, i could get another 5970 and xfire that too... but not at a decent price. Oh... by the way, i play at 1280x1024... so the 5870 is a better bet?

 

[Haserath]

hmm... so you're saying one 5870 now and another when they're cheaper? that seems like a possibility, but yet, i could get another 5970 and xfire that too... but not at a decent price. Oh... by the way, i play at 1280x1024... so the 5870 is a better bet?

At 1280X1024 the 5870 would be overkill .

 

[Martin 71]

what do you mean by XFire another HD5870 to the 5970 in 2-3 years? are you saying xfire the two together? I'm thinking more 5970, but do you think my athlon x2 6400+ will bottleneck it?

 

[leon2006]

If you have the money a single card solution is a lot better than dual card. Its easier to manage and support.

 

[Haserath]

what do you mean by XFire another HD5870 to the 5970 in 2-3 years? are you saying xfire the two together? I'm thinking more 5970, but do you think my athlon x2 6400+ will bottleneck it?

At that resolution any processor would bottleneck a 5970.

 

[Martin 71]

should i raise the res then?

 

[Martin 71]

so.. the lower the reso is, the more work the cpu does?

 

[shadow187]

You have an athlon x2 6400+?

Lord...you need at least a phenom II 955.

 

[Martin 71]

Wow... i guess i could spend the cash on a new processor and a 5870...

 

[Haserath]

so.. the lower the reso is, the more work the cpu does?

Actually, the lower the res the less work the GPU has to do. This makes it able to pump out more fps then at a higher res. So the processor has to be able to keep up with the higher fps or it will bottleneck the GPU.
You should look into a Phenom X6 that just came out, maybe wait for benches. If they're better clock for clock compared to the old Phenom II X4s then you could get the lower end one for $200 and overclock it .

 

[Martin 71]

Ok... so a phenom 2 + 5870... or 5970 if I have the $... thanks guys

 

[spentshells]

if you are not changing res which I highly advise you do
5850 will be tons and leave you plenty for an upgrade on cpu

 

[reaper23]

i would say go 5870 and down the road get another one because you will save money unless you have $$$$$$ to blow around then go for a 5890 and over clock it .

 

[Martin 71]

I might be getting a 1440x900 monitor

 

[shadow187]

That's still quite small. Seeing as you seem to have a ~$1000 budget for the future..

Grab a Phenom II x4 for $150, a cpu cooler for $50, OC it to 3.8ghz/4ghz.
Grab a decent 23/24'' monitor (1920x1080) for $200.
~$400
Get new RAM, new hard drive, and mobo ($100/$60/$140)
~$700
Grab an HD5870.
~$1100
~~Months later~~
Grab an HD5970

 

[Martin 71]

I know... but I don't really care about resolution... It's not one of my big factors... besides i have 3 screens that i will use for eyefinity... I have a 500gb hdd at 7200rpm, and my ram will be upgraded soon enough... I'm running 4gb @ 667mhz. as far as i know... ram only affects loading time, so that is not at the top of my list. I'm getting the Phenom II x6 and a 5870... and the mobo is arriving today!

 

[reaper23]

Incorrect statement about ram . Ram transfers volotile data and if you don't have enough ram or slow ram then performance will be affected .

 

[jonpaul37]

Martin, the best bet here is to go with a Phenom II x4 955, it should work no problem with your current motherboard. Also get a 5870. (I prefer ASUS/Sapphire/MSI) And, if you have anough $$$, get a 23/24-inch monitor for 1920x1080 resolution. Should run you about $700.00 total with monitor, maybe a little more...

Later down the road, get another 5870 and x-fire it. if you do this, you will need a decent power supply of about 650-watts or better with a high amperage value on the 12v rail

 

[Martin 71]

wait... the ram speed will affect my fps? is is bottlenecking my cpu and gpu?

 

[jonnyboyC]

I know... but I don't really care about resolution... It's not one of my big factors... besides i have 3 screens that i will use for eyefinity... I have a 500gb hdd at 7200rpm, and my ram will be upgraded soon enough... I'm running 4gb @ 667mhz. as far as i know... ram only affects loading time, so that is not at the top of my list. I'm getting the Phenom II x6 and a 5870... and the mobo is arriving today!

No ram won't significantly affect performance in any way, unless of course it was something like 266mhz ram then you might be running into a problem. If you plan on upgrading your mobo to an AM3 then you'll pretty much be forced into ddr3, even with chipsets supporting it manufactures aren't putting the slots in. If your going to use 3 monitors for eyefinity then the new graphics card makes sense