Radeon 6850 or 2 x nVidia GTS 450 SLI ??

Status
Not open for further replies.

wasupmike

Distinguished
Oct 13, 2010
399
0
18,910
Hi, you guys helped me before with a PSU question... and it was great advice.. (and i took it..!)

Now i've got another dilemma i'm hoping you can help me with.. My next upgrade for my system is going to be the video card (currently a Radeon 4870 512mb)

budget: ~$200, res: 1920x1200

I'm contemplating between a single Radeon 6850 (and i would overclock it to about 6870 specs), or 2 x nVidia 450's in SLI (also both overclocked to about 850MHz on the cores)

The reason i'm not considering anymore (i was before) the Radeon 5750/5770's in CF.. is because that generation seems to be a tad behind now in the 'tessellation' and dx11 arena.. compared to now the Radeon 6xxx series and the current nVidia's...

After rebates i can get 2 x GTS 450's for practically the same price as a R6850... and also i'm attracted to the fact that nVidia has a 'hawx 2' coupon as well, as i'm planning on getting that game anyways :) so that's $50 worth right there... (Now having said that... 'hawx 2' is just 1 game... and if an alternative is ultimately a better choice overall... than i'd probably go with the better choice of course...

It seems that most review sites show that 2 x 450's SLI can be a pretty powerful setup... probably stronger overall than the 6850.. however... sometimes lower minimum frame-rates than a single card.. and also the slight complications sometimes of course with the 2 x video cards vs 1 powerful one, that's making it harder to decide. Another reason i'm attracted to 2 cards though.. is because it will be easier for me to "get rid of them" a couple years from now.. as my job is a 'mobile techie' if you will, and 2 x medium sized/powered cards are easier to put into client machines who need a used video card replaced... compared to a big monster card (like the one i'm stuck with now) that not only requires a big case (which most people don't have), but also a powerful PSU (which most people don't have too, haha)

So there's my dilemma... any advice and recommendations would be greatly appreciated..!

here's my setup for reference:
Core i5-750 @ 3.8GHz | A-DATA DDR3 2000 4x2GB @ 1.9GHz
ASUS P7P55D-E Pro | XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 | OCZ Vertex 2 60GB
Seagate Barracuda 2x80GB (RAID 0) | WD Caviar Black 640GB SATA3
Antec 900 Two | Corsair HX650W | Radeon HD 4870 512MB @ 800MHz/1GHz



Cheers,
 
Solution
GTS450 is a powerful setup. The problem is that you're limited in terms of performance. A single GTS450 is also weaker than your current card, and (especially because you mentioned it)SLI'd, ties a moderately OC'd HD6850.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gts-450-sli-review/1

The HD6850 can overclock to HD6870 performance (a bit better than the HD5850). If you took an HD6850 and OC'd it, you'd have performance equal to a stock GTS450 SLI. The better part of this is that you can later crossfire the 6850 with a partner, furthering your performance.
GTS450 is a powerful setup. The problem is that you're limited in terms of performance. A single GTS450 is also weaker than your current card, and (especially because you mentioned it)SLI'd, ties a moderately OC'd HD6850.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gts-450-sli-review/1

The HD6850 can overclock to HD6870 performance (a bit better than the HD5850). If you took an HD6850 and OC'd it, you'd have performance equal to a stock GTS450 SLI. The better part of this is that you can later crossfire the 6850 with a partner, furthering your performance.
 
Solution

wasupmike

Distinguished
Oct 13, 2010
399
0
18,910
thanx for the responses...

i'm not gonna add another 4870 for 3 reasons: first my system is already overclocked.. so my 650w PSU might be too low for 2 x 4870's in there i'm pretty sure... also my current 4870 is the 512mb version.. so i'm limited to that 512 in CF too.. which is not great (if i had known i would have shortly after purchased my 1920x1200 monitor - i would have splurged the extra $20 on the 1gb version at the time :) )... 3rd reason is that i want dx11 support as well...

2 x 6850's is above my 'video-card-budget' (as well as probably my PSU capability - as i'm intending to have the Corsair 650HW in my system for the long run...)

so it's back to a single powerful card vs 2 in SLI/CF for ~$200...

 

Good choice on not sticking with old tech.

2x 6850's is not a 'now' buy, but rather one to look forward to in a year. Remember that if you buy a GTS450 SLI NOW, you're stuck with it. But with an HD6850, you can add another one later when their prices drop.

Ultimately I'd go with an HD6850. A GTS450 SLI is great, but a single OC'd HD6850 will be able to match it. And like I said, you can crossfire later.
 

wasupmike

Distinguished
Oct 13, 2010
399
0
18,910
I'm with 'digvijaysingh' - cause i won't be able to crossfire 2 x 6850's later with my current PSU (which i'll be keeping for a while).. and also i won't be adding more money into graphics after this for a couple of years... and by then i'd want whatever is latest generation tech then...

i was thinking of also throwing a GTX460 in the mix... So we're looking at:
1 x R6850 (i'll overclock it to about 6870 specs)
or
1 x GTX460 (also will overclock it)
or
2 x GTS450's SLI (both mildly overclocked)

thanx again..!



core i5-750 @ 3.8ghz | a-data ddr3 2000 4x2GB @ 1.9ghz
asus p7p55d-e pro | xigmatek hdt-s1283 | ocz vertex 2 60GB
seagate barracuda 2x80gb (raid 0) | wd caviar black 640gb sata3
antec 900 two | corsair hx650w | radeon hd 4870 512mb @ 800mhz/1ghz
 
The Corsair HX650W is a solid power supply. Good buy there. :) Also, your i5-750 @ 3.8Ghz is going to handle any GPU you throw at it. So your options are completely open from that aspect.

Ultimately, a GTS 450 SLI setup is going to be faster than a single GTX 460. Here's a direct review/benchmark of the GTS 450 SLI setup, where you can compare to the GTX 460 (and assume it's similar to 6850).
http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gts-450-sli-review/1

The GTX 460 1 GB and ATI 6850 are fairly comparable performance wise. The two take turns beating one another depending on what game you actually benchmark them with. So you may want to look at benchmark reviews for both cards and relate this to what games you intend to play. Or look at other specific features (heat, power use, etc).

It would appear, according to this review, that the ATI 6850 uses less power at load.
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2010/11/06/xfx-radeon-hd-6850-review/7

I would personally, rather have a single ATI 6850 or GTX 460 1GB. This will allow you to add a secondary video card at a later time to improve overall performance. Two GTX 460 1GBs will beat out a GTX 480 fairly handily, so that's a pretty deadly performance combination.

Now, all that aside, to be entirely honest, @ 1920x1200 I'd want more power (personally). An ATI 5850 or GTX 470 were always my recommendations for that resolution. Both of which are pretty cheap right now. For example:

EVGA GTX 470 Superclocked is $249.99 @ NewEgg.com and has a $20 MIR making it $229.99.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130549&cm_re=gtx_470-_-14-130-549-_-Product

You can also get the ATI 6870 for $240 @ NewEgg.com
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150506&cm_re=ati_6870-_-14-150-506-_-Product

Just something to consider. :) I know your budget was approx $200.
 

jedi940

Distinguished
Mar 11, 2007
762
0
19,010
Depending on how often you upgrade, you may want to avoid "you can always SLI later" logic. I know I always thought that for a while but Last Christmas I bought a GTS 250 for $100. Here we are a year later and still the price is $100. In order to make it worth my while, I would need to purchase a used card on ebay for ~$50. Sometimes its better to just save up another $50 and get a better single card. Just something to think about. If you are only purchasing upgrades once a year, SLI might be the better option now. While a 6850 might come down in price a little, by next Christmas, there will most likely be something better in a single card anyway.
 

wasupmike

Distinguished
Oct 13, 2010
399
0
18,910
i think i'll try the 2 x GTS 450's... like 'jerreece' said - one R6850 is gonna be pushed to its max i'm sure @ 1920x1200 /w everything at high settings during the next 2 years (and i won't be CF-ing two of them in the future cause of my PSU)... and yeah - all hardware review sites are showing 2 x 450's SLI get almost double the performance than one 450... which puts it around R5850-5870 performance... great for long term @ 1920...

i had made the decision to get an SLI/CF motherboard when i bought it... may as well give it a try..! i can get 2 x 450's @ ~$200 after rebates... so it seems to look like my most powerful option at that budget and current setup options... thanx guys..!




core i5-750 @ 3.8ghz | a-data ddr3 2000 4x2GB @ 1.9ghz
asus p7p55d-e pro | xigmatek hdt-s1283 | ocz vertex 2 60GB
seagate barracuda 2x80gb (raid 0) | wd caviar black 640gb sata3
antec 900 two | corsair hx650w | radeon hd 4870 512mb @ 800mhz/1ghz
 
A corsair 650W will easily power an HD6850 crossfire. I am telling you that an OC'd HD6850 will be equal to your GTS450 SLI. If you OC the GTS450's then sure, they'll win. But then again, if you ever come across another $180 to spend on a graphics card, you'll instantly have some pretty insane performance.

Read this review: http://www.techspot.com/review/315-nvidia-palit-geforce-gts-450/page5.html
Now read this one: http://www.anandtech.com/show/4002/amd-radeon-hd-6850-overclocking-roundup-asus-xfx-msi/8

As you can see, the GTS450 SLI is slightly faster than the HD5850 as indicated be review #1. As you can see from review #2, an OC'd HD6850 puts it slightly faster than the HD5850.

The bottom line is that it's not smart to grab a GTS450 SLI right now. You have another option that not only gives you about the same performance, but uses less power, will be easier to deal with, and offers a choice in the future.
 




Ultimately my suggestion was to get ONE better video card, as opposed to two lesser ones. A single 6850 being similar in performance to two GTS 450's would be the better buy. It's going to use less power, produce less heat (versus two cards) and leaves room to add a second card later on if need be. If we assume that the GTS 450's perform the same as an ATI 6850, then both would be pushed @ 1920x1200.

The cheapest GTS 450 is $110 @ NewEgg.com right now. The cheapest ATI 6850 is $185.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102908&cm_re=ati_6850-_-14-102-908-_-Product

Looking at Shadow187's links, it appears the GTS 450 will best an ATI 5850. The other review indicates that the ATI 6850 is close to, but slightly less than, the ATI 5850 (based on that review). The review also suggests a GTS 450 SLI setup will beat a GTX 470 by a little bit. The big question here, ultimately, is whether to spend a similar amount of money on two cards, or one card. Generally speaking, it's best to go with ONE card. Less power use, less heat produced, and room to upgrade later on. Not to mention, SLI or Crossfire do NOT always yield a fantastic rate of return on every game title. So having one powerful graphics card is usually the best.
 
for a start that psu is plenty for 2 x 6850's or 2 x gtx460's if you wanted to go down that road in the future. the 2 gts450's will be faster in many cases than a single 6850, but will also use more power, and if one game you play doesnt work with sli, your limited to 1 card performance. get the 6850.
 

wasupmike

Distinguished
Oct 13, 2010
399
0
18,910
alright guys.. i hear ya on the R6850.. although i'm hesitant on "i can also CF them later"... cause i thought the same with my current GPU.. and here i am wanting dx11 and better power consumption.. (so 2 x 4870's will never happen)... but i guess 2 x 6850's could happen... it would juuuuust fit under my PSU capabilities... maybe... (i've got a lot of hd's in there + and the CPU is overclocked too)

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007708&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&ActiveSearchResult=True&CompareItemList=48|14-161-348^14-161-348-TS%2C14-102-908^14-102-908-TS%2C14-125-348^14-125-348-TS

suggestions from any of those 3? (i'm liking the Gigabyte one /w the 'Windforce' cooler



core i5-750 @ 3.8ghz | a-data ddr3 2000 4x2GB @ 1.9ghz
asus p7p55d-e pro | xigmatek hdt-s1283 | ocz vertex 2 60GB
seagate barracuda 2x80gb (raid 0) | wd caviar black 640gb sata3
antec 900 two | corsair hx650w | radeon hd 4870 512mb @ 800mhz/1ghz
 

ionut19

Distinguished
Oct 31, 2008
961
0
19,060
You could buy the gigabyte one that is here http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125353 .

It is the ultra durable version and also has a slight overclock of 45Mhz gpu and 50Mhz RAM. All that for just 10$ more. You will have to check ans see if the gigabyte can be overvolted too if you plan to overclock. The asus it can.

I do not know about overvolting the video card since i never did it, my 5770 can reach from 860 to 960Mhz with no problems(no overvolting).

 

Tamz_msc

Distinguished
@wasupmike
If you can, try increasing your budget by 30 $ and then you can get a 6870 which is very good for playing games at 1920x1200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150506

perfrel_1920.gif
 

wasupmike

Distinguished
Oct 13, 2010
399
0
18,910
appreciate the R6870 recommendation... but it'll come out to ~$50 more ($190 vs $240).. and the R6850 has proven to have a lot more overclocking headroom than its big brother... so i'll be taking the R6850 to R6870 speeds anyways...


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
core i5-750 @ 3.8ghz | a-data ddr3 2000 4x2GB @ 1.9ghz
asus p7p55d-e pro | xigmatek hdt-s1283 | ocz vertex 2 60GB
seagate barracuda 2x80gb (raid 0) | wd caviar black 640gb sata3
antec 900 two | corsair hx650w | radeon hd 4870 512mb @ 800mhz/1ghz
 

wasupmike

Distinguished
Oct 13, 2010
399
0
18,910
to -> 'digvijaysingh': i hear ya on the 450 SLI... i too think it's possibly the best performer in most cases out of the options... however they (2 x 450's) are coming up to be more $$$ now than the 1 card at current prices... and they're now in the ~$250 range... plus there's the other obvious drawbacks of SLI... and if it doesn't work in a certain title... as 'iam2thecrowe' said... then i would be down to a single card that performs beneath the one i have now (R4870)

originally i wasn't going to go for the Gigabyte overclocked version of the R6850... cause i was going to overclock the $10 cheaper anyways... but for some reason, today on newegg, that OC'ed version is the only 6850 that has free shipping... which makes it the lowest 6850 out of the bunch...

so here are my last 2 options narrowed down:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007708%20600030348%20600007323%20600062521%20600007779&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&CompareItemList=48|14-125-353^14-125-353-TS%2C14-130-568^14-130-568-TS

with the rebate (and also free shipping) the EGVA will come to about the same cost
 
Status
Not open for further replies.