Dual 5870 vs 5760x1200 resolution

[davidstrongarm]

Hi all,

I am looking at building a new computer, and I am curious to know how well 2 x 2Gb 5870s will handle the most recent games in 5760x1200 resolution.

Here are the main specs I'm thinking about:

Intel i7 980x
2 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD5870 2GB Eyefinity 6 Edition
3 x Samsung 2443BW+ 24 Inch Widescreen LCD Monitor
6Gb Ram
Windows 7 Professional 64bit
Antec Twelve Hundred Case

I can't find any benchmark tests specifically for 2 x 2Gb 5870s, and I'm a stickler for frame rates staying above 50fps.

Can anyone tell me how this setup will handle any of the following games in 5760x1200?
DiRT
DiRT 2 (DX11)
Crysis (DX10)
F1 2010
Assassins Creed
Assassins Creed 2
Modern Warfare 2

Am I correct in thinking that running a game in DX11 as oppose to DX10 or 9 makes a HUGE difference in terms of graphic cards and CPU demands?

The main reason I'm reluctant to go to 2 x 5970s is because it is too expensive, and as for 2 x 480GTXs I'm really worried about having heat issues. I'm in Australia and my room is not air conditioned so the temperature in the room can get as high as +30 celsius in the middle of summer. I don't want to have to resort to complex water cooling gadgets and gismos either.

I'm keen on getting an EyeFinity card so that I can run all three monitors of one card without any hassles.

Any advice or help would be much appreciated!

Cheers,
Dave.

 

[jryan388]

Can anyone tell me how this setup will handle any of the following games in 5760x1200?
>>>If I were you, I'd take the framerates from a single 5870 at 1080p and then multiply it by 2/3 (2 cards, 3x res) to get at least an approximation of the performance you will expect. But there are other factors like scaling and CPU bottlenecks that come into play.

Am I correct in thinking that running a game in DX11 as oppose to DX10 or 9 makes a HUGE difference in terms of graphic cards and CPU demands?
>>>It depends on the game... DX11 tessellation is definitely more demanding, so if they implemented it a lot then there will be a larger framerate drop. I've played Dirt 2 in DX11 and DX9, and from experience I can say there is a pretty significant drop around water and and banners. IDK about 1080p though, I play at 1024x1280 with a 5750.

I'm keen on getting an EyeFinity card so that I can run all three monitors of one card without any hassles.
>>>Nvidia has the same thing called surround, it works just as well you just need two cards.

 

[daniel123244]

You crossfired cards should work just fine with good fps. You can even run eyefinity with a single 5870 (just not as good)

 

[jryan388]

BTW Crysis isn't DX11 (Crysis 2 is tho, is that what you meant?)

 

[davidstrongarm]

BTW Crysis isn't DX11 (Crysis 2 is tho, is that what you meant?)

My bad, I thought Crysis 1 went up to DX11.

Thanks for the quick responses. The main problem regarding comparing benchmarks for just a single 5870 is that I can't find any tests run with a 2Gb card. All are done with a 1Gb 5870, and I assume that there is a small, but significant improvement with 2Gb. Add to that the scaling and CPU bottlenecks like you say, and it's hard to really know what I can expect.

Cheers.

 

[Guest]

Im running Eyefinity (5760x1080) with 5850CF and i can run Dirt 2 in 50-55 FPS stable on High and 2x MSAA.

So running dual 5870 should work pretty good if u dont NEED to run on highest settings. and u will also have double the memory i have if u get the 2gb ones.

 

[davidstrongarm]

Thanks for the info Snoogiloo. What level DX are you running DiRT 2 in?

...should work pretty good if u dont NEED to run on highest settings...

I basically don't care about AA or AF, I'm much more concerned about keeping the resolution to 5760x1200 and maintaining a good (~50+) frame rate. AA and AF is the first thing I turn off if I'm not happy with the performance of a game. I'm also not too worried if I have to turn the DX level down to 10 instead of 11 on games which support it.

Maybe I'm asking stupid questions heh, but this is the first time I've selected all the components of a new computer so I'm trying to get as much feedback as possible

 

[Guest]

Im running it in DX11.

If u get 5870 CF i think u will be able to run Dirt2 with 5760x1200 on ultra.

since im only playing dirt 2 and WoW atm i cant really give feedback on any other games

but i can say that it will work good sounds like ur like me and mostly care about good FPS and the computer u have picked out is alot better than mine

you should check out this test, they test 480 SLI, 5870 2gb CF and 5870 1gb CF in 5870x1200
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/07/20/nvidia_surround_technology_performance_review/1

 

[jjb8675309]

480 sli is definatley better than 5870 crossfire, it just scales better according to the above article

 

[davidstrongarm]

Thanks again for the link Snoogiloo, that is exactly what I was looking for.

480 sli is definatley better than 5870 crossfire, it just scales better according to the above article

Yes you're right, but I'm too worried about the high temps the 2x480s will give out. If I lived in a cooler country in an air conditioned room, I would definitely be going with the 480s.

 

[bystander]

Thanks again for the link Snoogiloo, that is exactly what I was looking for.



Yes you're right, but I'm too worried about the high temps the 2x480s will give out. If I lived in a cooler country in an air conditioned room, I would definitely be going with the 480s.

While the 480's give off more heat, the truth of the matter is, the 5870's have poorer cooling for the VRM's. You see a lot of Driver failure and BSOD complaints with these cards. Those problems are almost always because the VRM's are overheating. I'd be just as concerned with heating issues with the ATI cards too. If you underclock the memory, it usually helps.

You might have problems with either setup. You might try going with 5850's or 470's instead. I would also make sure you buy a motherboard that lets you leave an extra space between the cards. Without the space, heating issues will be magnified.

 

[davidstrongarm]

I would also make sure you buy a motherboard that lets you leave an extra space between the cards. Without the space, heating issues will be magnified.

Yes, I'm actually considering getting an MB that supports 4-way graphics cards just to to increase space.

Could you possibly point me to any info/tests regarding the heating issues that you're talking about?

My last card, an nVidia 8800GTX died after 2 years, and I'm sure heat contributed to its death, as it typically idled at around 80 degrees on a cool day (but it was a crappy stock Dell build complete with an underpowered PSU - don't but Dell). My current 9800GT doesn't run quite as fast, but idles at an ice cold 40 degrees.

I really want to keep those temps down without cooling gadgets.

 

[notty22]

Since cost is a consideration, I have yet to see any game benchmarks that 2gb over 1gb in the 5870's is worth the cost.
You can probably save 150 dollars total sticking to 1gb cards.

 

[bystander]

There isn't a lot of noise about the VRM issue, but I can tell you that both my 5870's heated up the thermal tape until it fried into a shrivel and I've been using them underclocked to help keep temps down.

There is one artical I found that was testing the 5970 and found the same issues I had with the 5870. They couldn't OC the card much, because the 5970 VRM's were going over 120C while the GPU was fine.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3590

People keep pointing fingers at the drivers, but most people who has those stripes and BSOD issues with the card have been able to eliminate them by underclocking the memory (which is controled by the VRM's). Meanwhile, no driver has ever fixed the issue.

 

[Guest]

Since cost is a consideration, I have yet to see any game benchmarks that 2gb over 1gb in the 5870's is worth the cost.
You can probably save 150 dollars total sticking to 1gb cards.

Nah i was shocked when i actually looked at the numbers in that test i linked. like 2~ FPS difference on same settings on every game :O

 

[davidstrongarm]

I won't be overclocking the cards at all, but I certainly don't want to have to underclock them to keep the VRM's cool.

As for the 2Gb not giving any extra performance over 1Gb, fact is in Australia you can't really buy 1Gb 5870s anymore. In fact the cheapest 5870s I can find are all 2Gb, so that's not really an issue. Choice is somewhat limited over here, and prices are high

Also, any input as to Gigabyte versus XFX??? I get the impression both brands are good, and it's much of a muchness as to which to buy.

 

[davidstrongarm]

Best answer selected by davidstrongarm.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey