4890 -> 6850 (f.ex.) - Any sense?

[olkka]

Hi!

I have the following PC that I assembled one year ago:

Corsair TX850W
MSI P55-GD65
Intel Core i5 @ 3.8ghz
4GB DDR3 OCZ Platinum
Club3D Radeon HD 4890 Superclocked Edition
1TB Seagate 7200.12
ASUS Xonar D2
24" BenQ (1920x1080)

I haven't done any reasearch at the moment, but is there any sense to change my GPU for a newer one now, for example HD 6850? 4890 runs all the games quite smoothly, but a bit bigger and smoother fps wouldn't be bad . My 4890 is really noisy, even at 50% and runs extremely hot >100c (good airflow and three fans in my case) and has DirectX 10.

I could still get quite a good money from my 4890, but is there any sense? If there is, I would like to have a"bang for buck", future proof and not noisy GPU. And would there be any bottleneck(s) in my system?!

Thanks!

 

[jyjjy]

The HD6850 wouldn't be much of an upgrade in terms of performance(+20% vs a reference speed HD4890.) You'll have to spend more for something along the lines of an HD6950($300) for a truly worthwhile upgrade. That card can also unlock into an HD6970 so it is a nice deal for the money if you can afford it.

 

[maneil99]

get a 6870 now, it will give you about 40% better performance then yours now, then get another next year when the new video cards come out because the 6870 will probrably drop to about 150$, and 2 6870's=30% better then a 580gtx

 

[jaguarmatt]

The 4890 is still a great card, I would keep it for a while.
You can always get a non-reference cooler for it. (drops temps and fan noise)
http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=576&name=VGA-Cooling&Order=PRICED

Most of those coolers can be transfered to newer cards as well, so you transfer it over when you feel it's time to switch cards.

 

[maneil99]

Just looked at some benchmarks, why dont you crossfire them for now? they look amazing

 

[olkka]

Thanks for the answers!

What I have searched, an used 5870 would be a good option - it even seems to outrun 6870 in different reviews' benchmarks!

So, an used 5870 or a new 6870? The price is quite same...

 

[bystander]

Benchmarks I've seen have the two close. Currently, only the 6000 series as morphological AA, so I'd go that route. It's not something you'll use all the time, but it's great when the game has no other AA option.

The 5000 series also had more technical problems, such as the vertical bar crash. It's possible that's been resolved with the non reference designs, but I'd rather not take the chance.

 

[mrjericho1991]

hd 5870 is way to go,if you can find one,but i would suggest gtx 470 used.its also really good in price/performance ratio.

 

[jyjjy]

Currently, only the 6000 series as morphological AA, so I'd go that route.

The HD5000 cards can use it as well actually.

 

[bystander]

The HD5000 cards can use it as well actually.

When did they add it? I did hear they plan to add it eventually, but as of 10.11 drivers, they still didn't have it.

Edit: I did find there is a hacked driver version of one of the patched drivers. It apparently only works with those drivers currently.

 

[olkka]

Based on bunch of reviews, I bought an used 5870 (not a new 6870). It sould give a nice performance increase. Hopefully, I did a right choice. Now, just have to get rid of my 4890.

 

[jyjjy]

It should be about a 50% boost over an HD4890. How much did it cost you?