5750 crossfire vs. single 6870

[puntacana1]

Currently use x2 sapphire 5750, have an offer to sell both for 150. Wondering if paying an extra $75 to get a Sapphire 6870 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102913 is a viable purchase. I mainly play Fallen Earth and afaik crossfire isn't supported.... i think.

But in general, I guess I'm asking.. does a single 6870 beat out 2 5750's. I'm just thinking about open world games that eat up memory being the only downside to a single 6870.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

 

[firedrake125]

I would lay odds a single 6870 would be faster the the two 5750s because of the newer and higher clocked core along with the increase in shader processors. Also the 256-bit memory would be a plus in he res texture games over the 128-bit the 5750 has. Also along with that the newer features would be a bonus with the 6870. Id recommend the 6870 especially if your not really using anything that will be too intensive on it. Fallen Earth doesnt appear to stressful, although ive never played it so i could be wrong but id say yeah the 6870 wouldnt be a bad upgrade

 

[Timop]

Not really, you get about the same performance. Just that you don't have to worry about crossfire optimization and slightly better performance at higher texture details.

IMO not worth the $75.

 

[dalauder]

You won't really get better performance, but a single card with similar performance is usually preferred. What's your CPU? Can it handle two 6870's?

If so, I'd definitely take the offer for $150 for both. I'd get a 5870 though if it the crossfire awesome scaling trickled down like they said it would. That or spend the $244 for a 6950 2GB.

I figure, why spend $180 when I can spend $245 for 2/3 more performance (that requires an unlock to a 6970). I'm more into value than actual price though.

 

[nforce4max]

This isn't the best move unless you can get a more powerful card to replace what you already have. I have done the same thing my self but for you a 6870 isn't the best card to chose. I would aim higher like a 6950.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

id say if your happy with 5750 xfire and not having any xfire issues then its not worth it.

 

[dalauder]

You have a point iam2thecrowe. However, he can get $150 for them now and replace them with a card that's comparable with that money. If he doesn't sell the 5750's now, they'll only be worth $80 together by the end of the year.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

true and he can always xfire the 6870 later, but he will probably be in the same position again and want a better single card, seems to be the way it goes always. The last 3 computers i have had have been sli capable but i have never bought a second card because a single faster card was always the better option come upgrade time. and he is playing a game that doesnt support crossfire, apparently so....

 

[jyjjy]

At least try to get him to up his offer a bit. $75 for an HD5750, even used, is pretty cheap.
What you should be looking at for a decent upgrade is an HD6950 however, not the HD6870.

 

[puntacana1]

You won't really get better performance, but a single card with similar performance is usually preferred. What's your CPU? Can it handle two 6870's?

If so, I'd definitely take the offer for $150 for both. I'd get a 5870 though if it the crossfire awesome scaling trickled down like they said it would. That or spend the $244 for a 6950 2GB.

I figure, why spend $180 when I can spend $245 for 2/3 more performance (that requires an unlock to a 6970). I'm more into value than actual price though.

CPU is not an issue really I dont think. I've got a 550BE quad unlocked with a moderate OC. I pulled out one 5750 and I didnt see any difference with the main game I play, (Fallen Earth) . So based on that, statistically, a single 6870 (MSI Twin Frozr) should perform marginally better.

I hear what you guys area saying, a 6950 for a few dollar more. but unfortunately im at the max for pirce here, and even a Trwin Frozr took a lot of pleading and beggin to the wife lol. I don't want to settle for the cheapest of the 6970's either. Experience has tought me, you get what you pay for.

A 6870 has to be better than what I have, because a friend in the game says he's using a GTX 550 Ti with similar CPU and mobo and is getting almost twice the FPS as me, and thats a way cheaper card,in fact the same price I paid for my 5750 a year ago, if not less.

There are the odd game I do play that take advantage of crossfire, so maybe getting a second 6870 down the road when they are even cheaper will be viable.

 

[dalauder]

Fallen Earth isn't like the Source games where you can turn multi-core (CPU) rendering on and off, is it? Because that can cause a large framerate bump.

Now that I reconsider it, crossfired 5750's should outperform a 6870 in most games by a hefty margin. You may as well keep them until you can get a card that's definitely an upgrade.

 

[jyjjy]

Yeah, I would just forget about it until you can afford an upgrade that is worth it.

 

[puntacana1]

Fallen Earth isn't like the Source games where you can turn multi-core (CPU) rendering on and off, is it? Because that can cause a large framerate bump.

Now that I reconsider it, crossfired 5750's should outperform a 6870 in most games by a hefty margin. You may as well keep them until you can get a card that's definitely an upgrade.

I think I'm going to stick with the two 5750's because on the whole, I agree they are way better for games that take advantage of xfire. I'll just wait and save up for a single card one day thats better than 2 5750's.

I really appreciate everyone's help here

just one mroe question maybe. Can anyone name just a few popular titles that are confirms to be crossfire/sli compatable? I find that some lits I come across on other forums and google searches in general to be people s best guesses or otherwise speculative.

Thanks!