5850

[edifice]

Hey Guys,

I currently have a 9800GX2 and seroiusly want to upgrade to a current gen card, would there be a BIG improvement if I chose a 5850? It's a really frustrating process, as I have been told that the current Nvidia cards are simply not as good, and they run VERY hot, and as I have no plans to overclock only to run at stock speeds I am at a loss!!

Any help would be most appreciated!!!

Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R (Rev 1)

Intel Core i7 930

6gb OCZ DDR3 1333mhz

Thermaltake 750w PSU

9800GX2

I mostly play FPS all the usual titles, and my native resolution is 1650 x 1080,

I am not looking to buy 2 cards, I just want the best bang for buck for upto £280 in a single card,

Thanks in advance

 

[jyjjy]

The GTX 470 is better than the HD5850 for a similar price and although it does use a lot of power and give off a lot of heat it is still significantly more power efficient than your current card, especially at idle.
Your current card should still be quite good for that resolution. You may want to wait a few months for the rest of the Fermi cards and the HD6000 series.

 

[RazberyBandit]

All factors considered (single-card solution, no OC'ing, heat worries, performance upgrade) I would go with a 5870. I'm not certain what they sell for in the UK, but £280 is about $430 USD, and 5870's fall well within that price range here in "The States."

Either that or do as jyjjy suggested and tough it out a while longer for the HD6000 cards to be released in a few months. The rest of the Fermi-based cards on the horizon are likely going to fall within the lower-end of the performance scale. That is, unless nVidia decides to perform complete refresh of the GF100-based 470 and 480 within that time frame. (Unlikely)

 

[hella-d]

The GTX 470 is better than the HD5850 for a similar price and although it does use a lot of power and give off a lot of heat it is still significantly more power efficient than your current card, especially at idle.
Your current card should still be quite good for that resolution. You may want to wait a few months for the rest of the Fermi cards and the HD6000 series.

AGREED

 

[jyjjy]

I would go with a 5870.

The HD5870 isn't much better than an HD5850 when overclocking is taken into account and probably about the equal to the GTX 470. Not nearly worth the extra $100 compared to either imo.

 

[RazberyBandit]

He said he's not going to overclock, though.

 

[jyjjy]

Yeah, I missed that.
Well, he should change his mind

 

[jyjjy]

Actually he also says he is using a 1650 x 1080 monitor. Assuming he meant 1680x1050 an HD5850 or GTX 470 even at stock should already be fantastic.

 

[RazberyBandit]

I tend to agree with you that a little OC can go a long way. A mildly OC'd 5850 can approach stock 5870 performance in most titles. But, a mildly OC'd 5870 would offer even more performance, and should still land within his price range.

The tough issues here are:
Timing - The HD6000 family is coming soon.
Current performance vs performance gained - The 9800GX2 is still a very solid performer in most titles, and a GTX470/480 or HD5850/5870 may not yield as significant a performance boost as what he's seeking, especially from a price/performance perspective.

LOL. Not that I want to cloud the issue any further!

I know the 5870 is a hard sell considering how close the 5850 comes to it in terms of price/performance, but it might just be the best solution in terms of future use. But I agree, current bang-for-buck wisdom falls to the 5850.