Can't pick between 2 GPUs

[kire]

My build list basically became a GPU question so I figured I would post here and hopefully get more answers.

Super short version: which one do you guys recommend, Sapphire 6850 for $155 or XFX 5850 for $140? I will be gaming at 1920x1080, single GPU for at least now. In the future (depending on price) I will either upgrade to a new card to go crossfire.

Longer Version:

I can either get this GPU/PSU combo where the XFX 5850 becomes $140 if you apply the combo discount to only the GPU

OR

Get get different parts (non-combo) in which case I could get Sapphire 6850 for $155 after all the discounts ($15 more than the 5850)


As I stated in my other thread "The part im confused about is I thought the 6850 was more of a replacement for the 5770/5830, not the 5850. This was the impression I got from Tom's while guru3D made it seem like the 6850 and 5850 are equals... "

So is the 6850 enough graphical processing power for all games at 1080 and have a better "upgrade path" than the now last-gen 5850 or does will the slight extra power from the 5850 really show through and I should jump at the $140 price?

 

[shadow187]

If you're going crossfire, the HD6850 is your card. The scaling is much better than the HD5850, and it's only going to get better.

 

[kire]

What about in single card setup? I wouldn't be doing dual for a while...

 

[plznote]

Then the the 5850 is a wiser choice it has more horsepower but weaker scaling.

 

[kire]

So basically it comes down to if i will crossfire or not... But what about cost-wise? The combo kit I think over all is $15 more than the non-combo kit. Is the 5850 worth $15 more or go 6850 at $15 less?

 

[geofelt]

Don't beat youself up about this. Performance is close enough.
On principle, I would get the newer card.

Why not stretch for a 6870 and not have to worry about upgrading for 1920 x ... gaming.

 

[kire]

Don't beat youself up about this. Performance is close enough.
On principle, I would get the newer card.

Why not stretch for a 6870 and not have to worry about upgrading for 1920 x ... gaming.

The reason I'm obsessing over this is because I want to have this ordered before Monday. I originally wanted to get the 6870 but with the 5850 and 6850 at at $50 less then the 6870, I just don't know.

Is the 6870 really worth a $50 upgrade?

 

[builderbobftw]

6870 isnt realy worth it, when you look at the price of the 5870s sitting within 10$ of it (YOu have to look for these deals, try diffrent websites)

 

[plznote]

Just get the 5850 combo and be done with it.
That card can max out full HD.

 

[builderbobftw]

^ The 5850 maxes out 16x10.

Doesnt even come close to touching 1080p or 1200p.

Im using my friends build, It has a 5870 and Its on my 1080p miniter, Im gettign like 25 frames/ sec playing metro 2033, and im not even at full settings.

 

[bystander]

^ The 5850 maxes out 16x10.

Doesnt even come close to touching 1080p or 1200p.

Im using my friends build, It has a 5870 and Its on my 1080p miniter, Im gettign like 25 frames/ sec playing metro 2033, and im not even at full settings.

For a lot of people, like myself, 25 frames/sec is not good. I get bad simulator sickness at 25 FPS. It's kind of choppy as well.

I'd probably go with a 6950/70 if it were me at 1080p.

 

[builderbobftw]

I know its not good. Thats the damn point.

The GTX 570 maxes out at 1080p (Almost, Some things in Metro dont)

 

[shadow187]

The HD6850 and 5850 perform similarly enough to not justify anything over another based on performance. Because you've mentioned CF'ing just get the 6850.

 

[mrjericho1991]

no hd 5850 xfire will be better.

 

[shadow187]

No, it isn't.

 

[bystander]

I know that people have talked about how great the 6000 cards crossfire, but the truth is, crossfire was great with the 5000 cards too.

The 5850/70 are very close in performance to the 6850/70, and they remain very close in crossfire: http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-6850-6870-crossfirex-review/8

The best I can tell, DX11 favors the 6000 cards, and non DX11 favors the 5000 cards.

 

[bystander]

I know its not good. Thats the damn point.

The GTX 570 maxes out at 1080p (Almost, Some things in Metro dont)

What you wrote was a little conflicting, or I missunderstood what you meant by "^ The 5850 maxes out 16x10."

As 16x10 is usually used to refer to a 1920x1200 monitor. It is also a 16:10 aspect ratio.

 

[shadow187]

I know that people have talked about how great the 6000 cards crossfire, but the truth is, crossfire was great with the 5000 cards too.

The 5850/70 are very close in performance to the 6850/70, and they remain very close in crossfire: http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-6850-6870-crossfirex-review/8

The best I can tell, DX11 favors the 6000 cards, and non DX11 favors the 5000 cards.

[ATI] did, however, incorporate driver-based enhancements that augment CrossFire performance in the 6900 series. This seems to be reflected in the results here.

Now AMD says that the 6800s will get the CrossFire-oriented improvements in a future driver update...

 

[mrjericho1991]

then get single hd 5970 and solve this problem.it will do everything fine

 

[builderbobftw]

What you wrote was a little conflicting, or I missunderstood what you meant by "^ The 5850 maxes out 16x10."

As 16x10 is usually used to refer to a 1920x1200 monitor. It is also a 16:10 aspect ratio.

No, 16x10 refers to 1680x1050 resoultion.

 

[bystander]

No, 16x10 refers to 1680x1050 resoultion.

When I choose resolutions, like the Heaven Benchmark. They break it down by aspect ratio. There is a catagory for 16:9, and another for 16:10 aspect ratios. My 1920x1200 is under the 16:10 catagory. 1080 is under 16:9. And it's also true that 1680x1050 is 16x10. and 1600x900 is 16x9.

I can understand the confusion though.

 

[kire]

I appreciate the help folks, but I feel like this is starting to get side tracked. So I checked out the 6870 and by rearranging some of my parts list I can add it for an additional $40 over the 5850. (Build with 6870 is $40 more than the build with the 5850). I did a quick search and didn't find a 5870 to be within $10 as someone mentioned.

I think i may just do that instead. Good choice?

 

[bystander]

I'd recommend the 6870 over the 5850. The 6870 compares more closely to the 5870.

For the extra $40, you get extra performance, you gain Morph AA for those games without an AA option, and it handles DX11 quite a bit better.

 

[builderbobftw]

Go for the 6870 if you can swong it, BUt the 6850 seems liek a much better value.

 

[kire]

So apparently I messed up on my calculations:

Sapphire 6850 - $155 (base line)
XFX 5850 kit - $170* (+$15)
XFX 6870 - $220 (+$65 or +$50 vs XFX 5850)
XFX 6870 BE - $230 (+$75 or +$60 vs XFX 5850)

So the general conclusion is, get the 6850 over the 5850 if I want to save money but if i can spend the extra $65 or $75 go 6870? Also, is the Black Edition worth the extra $10 over the non-Black Edition? I was reading the review on newegg and it seem the BE has a higher "stock" clock speed, more OC-headroom and better warranty... true?


* - Use the combo discount to bring the packaged PSU down to the Antec's cost and then used the remaining discount on the GPU.