5770 or 6850 or 6950 or 560? upgrading from 4870
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
Hey guys,
Here's my current rig
Win 7 64-bit
920 D0 2.8ghz
1TB caviar black
6GB RAM
850HX Corsair
P6T v2
Antec 902
My 1GB vapor-x 4870 just crapped out. I run dual monitors as I do some photo editting and a little CAD work. I frequently play BC2 and SC2 on a 1920x1080 monitor.
My main concern was that my PG&E bill spiked up around $25/mon since I've had my rig since I keep it running at least 8-14 hours daily.
Since my power hungry 4870 expired, I was considering the 5770 but I would be lacking in performance. Or should i go with the 6850. The 6950's pricing is pretty steep imo, unless if someone can convince me that it is far superior than the 6850.
I'm looking for mainly low idling power
Ultra [no AA] performance (somewhat flexible)
I would like to spend less than $200 but my budget permits $450 [SSD soon =)]
Here's my current rig
Win 7 64-bit
920 D0 2.8ghz
1TB caviar black
6GB RAM
850HX Corsair
P6T v2
Antec 902
My 1GB vapor-x 4870 just crapped out. I run dual monitors as I do some photo editting and a little CAD work. I frequently play BC2 and SC2 on a 1920x1080 monitor.
My main concern was that my PG&E bill spiked up around $25/mon since I've had my rig since I keep it running at least 8-14 hours daily.
Since my power hungry 4870 expired, I was considering the 5770 but I would be lacking in performance. Or should i go with the 6850. The 6950's pricing is pretty steep imo, unless if someone can convince me that it is far superior than the 6850.
I'm looking for mainly low idling power
Ultra [no AA] performance (somewhat flexible)
I would like to spend less than $200 but my budget permits $450 [SSD soon =)]
More about : 5770 6850 6950 560 upgrading 4870
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-graphics-card-...
you should only upgrade your card to a new one if the new one is at least 2 tiers higher.The 4870 is faster than the 5770 actually and once it is highly overclocked the difference between it and the 6850 will be hardly noticeable so to see a noticeable difference in all games you should at least get a 6870.In case you are considering nvidia nothing less than a gtx 560 ti
you should only upgrade your card to a new one if the new one is at least 2 tiers higher.The 4870 is faster than the 5770 actually and once it is highly overclocked the difference between it and the 6850 will be hardly noticeable so to see a noticeable difference in all games you should at least get a 6870.In case you are considering nvidia nothing less than a gtx 560 ti
I would say to invest a little more and buy a 6950 2Gb model. You will have the option of unlocking a big chunk of the 6970 potential after some time if you feel that you do not have enough graphic power. The 1Gb model can not be unlocked. It is easy to do it, it's a bios flash and almost all of the 6950 can be flashed. This also voids your warranty but i would prefer to have the option.
Keep the SSD option for a little later.
And buy a card that has good cooling.
The 5770 is not an upgrade since it has the same performance as the 4870.
As another option from nvidia a gtx570 or 560ti would be the way to go. SC2 favors nvidia cards.
EDIT: now days the cards consume less power at idle, nvidia consumes more at load, at idle they're almost the same.
Keep the SSD option for a little later.
And buy a card that has good cooling.
The 5770 is not an upgrade since it has the same performance as the 4870.
As another option from nvidia a gtx570 or 560ti would be the way to go. SC2 favors nvidia cards.
EDIT: now days the cards consume less power at idle, nvidia consumes more at load, at idle they're almost the same.
This HD5850 is about 50% faster than the HD4870. It's extremely power efficient for it's performance and uses less than 20w at idle.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
It's both faster and cheaper than the HD6850 and a very nice deal.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
It's both faster and cheaper than the HD6850 and a very nice deal.
Related ressources
- Upgrading from 4870 CF. Need help choosing: 6850 CF, 6970, GTX570 - Forum
- Planning to upgrade from 5770 - Forum
- Help to upgrade HD 4870 please. - Forum
- Upgrading from amd 5770 need help...gtx 465 vs 6850 vs gtx 560 ...?? - Forum
- Radeon 4870 x2 versus dual Radeon 5770 in crossfire - Forum
http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/electronics/284822...
Sapphire 5770 $100 AR
Sapphire 5850 $149
Sapphire 6850 $155 AR
Sapphire 6870 $180 AR
5xxx came out 10/2009 [ 18 months old ]
6xxx came out 10/2010 [ 6 months old ]
5850 uses 19w idle
6850 uses 17w idle
the 68xx are a revised and slightly dumb down version of the 58xx
The 5850 was the same price when i got my 4870 vapor x, and is definitely a bargain deal.
Sapphire 5770 $100 AR
Sapphire 5850 $149
Sapphire 6850 $155 AR
Sapphire 6870 $180 AR
5xxx came out 10/2009 [ 18 months old ]
6xxx came out 10/2010 [ 6 months old ]
5850 uses 19w idle
6850 uses 17w idle
the 68xx are a revised and slightly dumb down version of the 58xx
The 5850 was the same price when i got my 4870 vapor x, and is definitely a bargain deal.
@itsgrandpa, 68xx series were meant to replace 57xx not 58xx, also they have improved CF scaling and tesselation. Probably you can find 6950 2GB for around 230-240$ also, not only 250+. Also usually nVidia cards run better than AMD on Blizzard games, but SC2 is an exception. HD 6870 runs head to head with GTX 560Ti and 6950 is not far from 570. My vote goes for 6950 2GB, OP said he uses 2 monitors, and that's the place where 2GB will be useful. Also GTX 560Ti would also be great choice, but it's a bit out of your price range. CUDA might be useful for you.
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