6850 V.S 6870 Video Card

[OhMGSean]

Hi, I need help picking a video card. I need some benchmarks and I need to know which is the best for the money. I will be playing Starcraft 2, BF3, and Modern Warfare.

Gigabyte 6850:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125353

XFX Double 6870:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150521

Please answer.
Thank you in advance.

 

[rolli59]

The HD6870! http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/HD_6870_HAWK/23.html

 

[gary1]

Hi, I need help picking a video card. I need some benchmarks and I need to know which is the best for the money. I will be playing Starcraft 2, BF3, and Modern Warfare.

Gigabyte 6850:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125353

XFX Double 6870:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150521

Please answer.
Thank you in advance.

6870 ofc.

 

[vmem]

First, here's a direct comparison of the two cards
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/539?vs=540

personally I'd go with the 6870 from XFX. it'll let you have a smooth gaming experience with the games you mentioned at standard settings, and XFX offers lifetime warranty if you sign up

 

[VGAmike]

HD 6870 is aroung 20% faster than the HD 6850. It's worthwhile to purchase the first. The only problem here, is that the 6870 needs two 6 pin conector from your PSU the other needs only one. I bought a 6850 3 weeks ago, and I was more or less in your position. The 6850 cost 99 euros and 6870 130. I chose the first because of the PSU problem and because the HD 6850 included Dirt 3 and Deus Ex. Nevertheless I have to say the HD 6850 is great. No regrets at least up to 1680x1050!

Good luck!

 

[ricardois]

if you have enough power, and the extra cash, of course the 6870 is best, fps wise it is cheaper than the 6850.

 

[Mobo Mojo]

I've been running that 6850 card, but wanted to boost things up to power two 23" monitors and keep max graphics settings, plus fps.

I added an 6870 in crossfire (both are AMD radeon xfx cards)

I compared my results to tests using 3dmark06 at 1920x1200 (one monitor, everything else turned off)

this link is test results for two 6850s in crossfire
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ATI/Radeon_HD_6850_CrossFire/21.html

My 6850 card alone scored slightly higher (17630 3Dmarks vs 17383), but when I
put it in crossfire with the 8670, I scored 19192 vs their result of 23681 for 2X 6850 in crossfire.

I assume the 6870, installed in the PCIe #1 slot, will be seen as the master, while the 8650 in the #2 will be the slave. That's where I started, and hence, the
above results.

One of the (other forum) guys told me the second card should be in the PCIe #5 slot. Really? I mean, why would that make sense? Anyway, I tried it without
any measurable change.

Also my Win Dex graphics dropped from 7.8 for the 8670 alone to 7.7 when in crossfire, which was where I started when I had the 6850 running alone.
(strictly a reference point)

I'm also looking at FRAPS during game play, and get consistent 60fps, and then 100fps when I turn off vertical refresh rate in my first test, depending on the game.

I had a decrease in performance when benchmarking the crossed and uncrossed configurations within the DiRT 3 benchmark.

Bottom line:
The 6850 did fine alone
The 8670 did better alone
The two cards in crossfire did not increase performance. They together preform at a lower fps than the 8670 alone.
And, in crossfire, they are not even close to results I've seen for 2X 8650 in crossfire, which is what I would've expected.

I have additional specs here:

http://speccy.piriform.com/results/pg0NyWfryscPfqrbLqqqH3w

I'm looking for a performance level that is at least twice that of the 8650 alone.