Older cards more expensive

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fish_86

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Hi all,

I've put an ATI 5870 in my new computer awhile back and with the promotions and rebates I think i spent $200 on it. I chose this card because of its raw power and hoping later I could buy another for crossfire. As I have watched the prices of them they seem to be disappearing, going up in price, and being replaced by the 6000 series.

does anyone know why they aren't hardly around and why the newer 6870s are cheaper than the older 5870s? Or are they the same just the switch from ATI to AMD?
 
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Good point. 6850s or 6870s in crossfire are both solid values. At $230-240 after rebates, the 6950 2GB is a great deal right now as for a single card. The 1GB models are even lower.

If you aren't unhappy with your 5870, you could always tough it out until the next generation of cards come out and upgrade then- either a single or multi-card setup. Performance per dollar is always increasing.

beltzy

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The 6870 is not really the true successor to 5870- the numbering scheme got watered down. The 6870 (as a single card) is more comparable to a 5850. Not the whole story, but that's a factor. The 69XX series was introduced for the very high end, which is where the 5870 sat.

Buy one now, another later is just fine as an upgrade strategy but it only works if you don't wait forever. If you wait until 6 months into the next generation of graphics hardware of course they will be hard to fine. If you select older hardware with this strategy it's also not very wise if your intent is to buy another down the road. If you're picking up a shiny new card, sure- pick up another 3-9 months later.
 

fish_86

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I was hoping to to see the 5870 get to $100-$150 after the new gen cards came, and now they are like 400+. There is no way i'm going to buy another 5870 card. If I really needed the graphics, which I feel my 5870 is performing great, I think it would be better to buy a couple 6850's and crossfire.
 

beltzy

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Good point. 6850s or 6870s in crossfire are both solid values. At $230-240 after rebates, the 6950 2GB is a great deal right now as for a single card. The 1GB models are even lower.

If you aren't unhappy with your 5870, you could always tough it out until the next generation of cards come out and upgrade then- either a single or multi-card setup. Performance per dollar is always increasing.
 
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