6850 1gb Crossfire or wait for 7850 2gb?

[coolhand_09]

Hi, i'm updating my pc after 3 years and i need help with deciding on a gpu upgrade.

Due to a really tight budget i cant upgrade from my Phenom II X4 940, Asus M3A78-T and corsair xms2 ddr2 800mhz ram.

However my 4870 has served him ridiculously well over the past three years but i wanna play battlefield at ultra in 1080p so i need to upgrade.

I can grab two 6850s for £176

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-scanfx-hd-6850-direct-cu-4000mhz-gddr5-gpu-790mhz-960-stream-processors-2x-dvi-hdmi-dp

or wait for the 7850 which is billed to be about £185.

If i could i'd wait for kepler and go for that or just get the 7850 at a reduced price but i can't really wait any longer, so i need to know between 6850 crossfire or 7850.

Thanks in advance.

PS. i have a 520w coolermaster psu with 2 6 pin connectors and i understand that 6850s only take one each, will 520w be enough though?

 

[unksol]

Coolermaster makes really bad PSUs on the low end. usually they can't deliver what they are rated or lie in the rating. What is the actual PSU model

 

[coolhand_09]

Coolermaster makes really bad PSUs on the low end. usually they can't deliver what they are rated or lie in the rating. What is the actual PSU model

I dont think they make it anymore but its a silent pro model. 80 plus bronze 520w etc.

 

[unksol]

I dont think they make it anymore but its a silent pro model. 80 plus bronze 520w etc.

Without a model number I can't loo for reviews but silent pro is their better line. I have a 1000W silent pro that's rated pretty well, so yours may be ok

 

[coolhand_09]

Sorry i got i wrong this is the psu: http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=2685

 

[joedjnpc]

The benchmarks for the 7850 look very promising, personally I would get a 7850 and invest in another down the road.

 

[lakshitharxx]

Agree with unksol. They make bad PSUs on the low end. I recently had a 400w psu with 2 x +12v rails and each rail had 16A. But there were so many problems with powering up my gtx 550 ti which require only 24A in +12v rail. As unksol they can't deliver what they are rated or lie in the rating.

 

[unksol]

Honestly, I can't find a review of that PSU, but i have been up pretty much all weekend... 48 hours at least... and i post on toms to avoid work boredom so my google skills are about worn out. Look around for somone who tears them down for a good reveiw. Jonny guru. Hardwaresecrets.... there are other but again my brain is about shot.

 

[nicedart180]

You are better off with the 7850 for a few reasons. One of which is that it will cost you less to use it (electricity costs money) Since you are on a budget look at things beyond the initial price tag.

The 7850 will leave more headroom for the future with 2g vram. Using 1 card over a xfire set up is more user friendly.

Without doing any of the research myself (I encourage you to do it) your current psu should be enough if you are not overclocking.

 

[coolhand_09]

Yh i researched the PSU and it would theoretically handle it, however i dont really wanna risk starving the cards of power and it would be a risk so i think i'll go with the 7850. As you say the savings on electricity and the headroom make the 7850 the right choice. I think i kinda new already, just wanted some reassurance . Thanks all for the help.

 

[ohyouknow]

I agree with all above stated. The 7850 would be the most logical choice since there is no definitive answer as to whether or not your PSU will cut the mustard, and the last thing you want is PSU problems to cause further financial investment.

 

[sarcasm]

My vote goes to the 7850. In reviews they easily average a 200mhz overclock to bring it to almost a 7870. And a 7870 is right behind a GTX 580

 

[tinnitus]

if you buy new buy 7000 series, 6850 cf needs 600w psu and consider 50 or 100w+ if you plan any oc.

 

[tinnitus]

6850 CF requires a 500 watt psu.

from http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-6850-6870-crossfirex-review/4

"Radeon HD 6850 x2

A second card requires you to add another ~130 Watts. You need a 650 Watt power supply unit."

 

[tinnitus]

LOL, take into account that there are bad and good psu's this is why they recommend 650watts.
a decent 500 watt can push 6850 CF rather easily.
Do a psu calculation here: http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine
Came to 457 watts with an overclocked i5 2500k at 4.5ghz 1.32v with 4 120mm fans 1 7200rpm hdd and a dvd drive.

LOL, and where is that "bad and good" thing written? there is so many psu calculators.. from newegg to thermaltake.

from http://forum-en.msi.com/faq/article/power-requirements-for-graphics-cards

"Radeon HD 6850 CrossfireX - 35A and a 600W PSU minimum"

oh, are they wrong too? omg.

 

[firerod1]

wrong