Add another HD5850 for x2HD5850 vs 6970

[Guest]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: this week
BUDGET RANGE: $160, or $300 if I sell my current HD5850

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming: Mainly Skyrim at Ultra Settings, Dirt 3, Modern Warfare Black Ops and 3, Call of Juarez

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: XFX HD5850, PC Power and Cooling Silencer 760w

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS:
Case: HAF 932
Mobo: MSI 890FXA-GD65
CPU: AMD Phenom II x2 955 unlocked to a to Phenom II x4 955 and overclocked @ 3.6Ghz
Ram: Corsair 8gb

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg, Ebay
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: Prefer XFX (I like lifetime warrenties )

OVERCLOCKING: Yes / No / Maybe SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Yes / No / Maybe

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1680x1050 now, want to be at 1920x1200 eventually

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Basically I am wondering if I am reading the graphics card hierarchy chart correctly. Since 2x5850's overclocked = 5970, buying another 5850 to crossfire with my current 5850 would result in more performance than selling my 5850, and buying a 6970 correct?

Also, according to the graphics card hierarchy chart, a 5970~GTX 580. So since a tier down, a GTX 570 can run Ultra Detail, 16xAF, 4xAA, 4xMSAA in Skyrim well, I should be able to run these settings with 2xHD5850's right?

 

[clutchc]

Since both your PCIe slots run @ x16, you can take advantage of the full bandwidth of any card. Actually, you could with x8, x8 slots too. I have 2 HD 6850s and they perform outstanding @ 1920x1080. And my HD 6850 is a tier below your HD 5850. But a lot of folks prefer the stability of a single card. A single HD 6970 won't produce the framerate that the 2 HD 5850s will, but I guess you could always plan on a 2nd HD 6970 later when prices fall and have an even faster combo. Tough call. Everyone will have a different opinion, but I would go the 2 HD 5850s for now. They will be overkill for 1680x1050, but if you plan on a new 1920x1080 display in the future, they will pay off. Besides, you might as well take advantage of your dual slots. And, you can always sell both HD 5850s later when you want to upgrade again.

Keep in mind that a your unlocked PhII X4 @ 3.6GHZ (like my 980) is going to offer a bit of a bottleneck with the faster cards. Nothing to really worry about, but the CPU will begin to become the weaker link as you provide more GPU power.

Another thing to consider, there is the iffy situation of microstutter with mid-range AMD cards in CF. I don't know if the HD 5850 falls into that class, but...
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/radeon-geforce-stutter-crossfire,review-32256.html
I have noticed micro stutter in only 2 of my many games, but I know it exists. Micro stutter hasn't been a game killer for me.. yet.

 

[Guest]

After reading through the article about microstutter, I have decided I do not want to deal with the possibility and annoyance of having it. Thanks for pointing that out.

I am going to sell my 5850, and buy a 6970 instead.

 

[Guest]

Best answer selected by escialsped.