XFX 5850 Black Edition vs. 6870

[adreen]

So I'm looking for a new video card, which is a better upgrade from a gtx 275?
They're virtually the same price.
It's between a XFX 5850 Black Edition, and a reference 6870.
HIS or Sapphire.
A priority is cooling. Does the black edition do a better job with cooling?
Thanks!

 

[_orbital_]

i am not sure about that but sure that a bit 6870 is faster.. not much but it is.. i would go for 6870 cheaper as well

 

[rolli59]

Both cards are power efficient therefore cooling is not a big issue. I would go with the HD6870.

 

[EXT64]

How quickly do you need the card? I think the non-reference 6870's should start popping up soon, which would give you the best performance, features, and cooling.

 

[adreen]

i guess i'm not in a hurry. is there a timeline on the 6950/6970?

 

[EXT64]

Late November if all goes according to plan.

 

[jyjjy]

End of November is when the HD6950/70 are supposedly due.
If you don't want to wait I would just go for the DirectCU HD6850 and give it an overclock. It has the best cooling around and should get up to 1ghz. The HD5850 or HD6870 are slightly better but nothing near worth the extra $60+ imo.

 

[guskline]

the XFX 5850BE is clocked 765/1125 vs stock 5850 of 725/1000. Not sure the referewnce 6870 is faster than the 5850BE

 

[rolli59]

About 5.5% overclock on the HD5850. HD6870 is on average about 9% faster than a std HD5850. I would say the HD6870 is going to be faster.

 

[aus10]

I am looking at the Xfx 6870 black edition. I currently have a Xfx 4890. Do you think it would be worth the upgrade?

 

[plznote]

aus10,
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