Radeon 7850 vs 7870 - Which is better?

[dg1598]

Hello!

I need some help choosing a GPU, I was originally going to go with an EVGA GTX660ti, but thats a bit overkill for what I'm planning to do! All I'll be doing is playing a few games and I also do the odd render and use photoshop quite a bit!

I have narrowed it down to the 7850 and the 7870, when I was looking at benchmarks there isn't really that much difference in the two apart from a small fps drop in some games, but this doesn't bother me! I don't mind not playing at a full 60fps, all I want is over 40!

So onto my question, is it worth paying the extra amount for the 7870? I'll be playing games like League of Legends, WoW, Skyrim, Battlefield, CoD, Diablo, GTA..

I don't mind paying the extra, but if it isn't needed I can spend the extra money on a better mouse/keyboard!

Thanks a lot, Dylan!

 

[h2l]

Well, if you just want to be able to get over 40 FPS and you want to save as much money as you possibly can, I think the wise choice would be the 7850. Just make sure you get a board with 2GB of memory, not the 1GB reference cards.

I suggest this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127663 << I have the Twin Frozr cooler on my 660Ti and it runs very quiet and the GPU temps are always cool and stable.

Send in that rebate and you have a great card for $210. I think if you were going to buy the 7870, you might as well just buy the 660Ti because it's only $30-40 more.

You can check out some stats and compare other 7850 boards here: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/HD_7850_Power_Edition/

 

[gamerkila57]

a HD 7870 can oc to a HD 7950 level so i think you should go for that ?

 

[cletus_slackjawd]

I purchased the xfx 7850 (the one with the 2 fans) when it first came out. It works fantastic for all my games driving a 27" 1080p monitor. I my opinion, there is no reason to spend more cash on a card as by the time it is weak and outdated, it will be best to buy a newer midrange card anyway.

 

[dg1598]

Well, if you just want to be able to get over 40 FPS and you want to save as much money as you possibly can, I think the wise choice would be the 7850. Just make sure you get a board with 2GB of memory, not the 1GB reference cards.

I suggest this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127663 << I have the Twin Frozr cooler on my 660Ti and it runs very quiet and the GPU temps are always cool and stable.

Send in that rebate and you have a great card for $210. I think if you were going to buy the 7870, you might as well just buy the 660Ti because it's only $30-40 more.

You can check out some stats and compare other 7850 boards here: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/HD_7850_Power_Edition/

Thank you very much, all I want is decent FPS, I amn't one of those gamers who gets all worked up if they can't get a stable 60! Thank you for that but I can't use rebates as I'm in Ireland, but I can get it for €236, on this site!

http://komplett.ie/Komplett/product/ati__amd/20154414/msi_radeon_r7850_twin_frozr_2gd5_oc_2gb_pci_e/details.aspx

Thanks for your help, Brings the rig down to under €750! I'll upgrade over time of course!

 

[bigcyco1]

a 7850 is very over favored card and allot of hype going on with that card just ain't all that it's decent nothing more i mean let's keep it real a prehistoric powehog such as the gtx 480 mops the floor with it and it even gets worse if you don't heavy oc the 7850 do yourself a favor please... don't believe the hype and fanboys the card is not a beast far from it get yourself a 7950 or gtx 670 and you'll be happier in the long run

 

[dg1598]

I purchased the xfx 7850 (the one with the 2 fans) when it first came out. It works fantastic for all my games driving a 27" 1080p monitor. I my opinion, there is no reason to spend more cash on a card as by the time it is weak and outdated, it will be best to buy a newer midrange card anyway.

Thank you for your input! I'm going with this one http://komplett.ie/Komplett/product/ati__amd/20154414/msi_radeon_r7850_twin_frozr_2gd5_oc_2gb_pci_e/details.aspx

 

[SniperNoSnipeee]

The 7850 could also pretty easily OC to 7950 levels. I'd say the 7850 is your best bet. Even if you're not going to overclock, it is still a fine card and one of the best bang for your buck GPUs out there.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102998

The 660ti is a beasts of a card, though.

 

[dg1598]

a HD 7870 can oc to a HD 7950 level so i think you should go for that ?

I don't have a clue how to overclock GPU's though? I'm comfortable enough with a CPU but anything else I'm afraid I'll burn it out!

 

[cletus_slackjawd]

What I also like about the 7850 is it doesn't take much juice. Low power draw relative to a decent gaming card, low heat and noise.

 

[geekapproved]

Well, if you just want to be able to get over 40 FPS and you want to save as much money as you possibly can, I think the wise choice would be the 7850. Just make sure you get a board with 2GB of memory, not the 1GB reference cards.

I find it odd that you tell he needs a 2GB card when you don't even know what his monitor resolution is. Even if he has a 1920x1080 monitor he won't use over 1GB.

 

[gamerkila57]

I find it odd that you tell he needs a 2GB card when you don't even know what his monitor resolution is. Even if he has a 1920x1080 monitor he won't use over 1GB.

not true as Skyrim, MP3, Bf3 + more have used over 1GB of Vram at 1080p

 

[gamerkila57]

The 7850 could also pretty easily OC to 7950 levels. I'd say the 7850 is your best bet. Even if you're not going to overclock, it is still a fine card and one of the best bang for your buck GPUs out there.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102998

The 660ti is a beasts of a card, though.

unless your water cooling that won't be possible

 

[cletus_slackjawd]

The pcb on the xfx 7850 is the same they use on the 7900 series. Not sure about overclocking headroom but it does have 2 power connectors like the 7900 which may indicate overclocking headroom. The 7850 is not a beast but you could do worse for today's price of $USD200 card. Basically a reasonably priced card with decent power on an efficent design. This is my first shift back to the competion after being an Nvidia man for several generations of cards. At the time I was building an Ivy Bridge setup and 250 was my budget on my card. The best card performance wise for that price was the 7850. I considered a faster card used but didn't want a hot power hog card in my new build.

 

[h2l]

I find it odd that you tell he needs a 2GB card when you don't even know what his monitor resolution is. Even if he has a 1920x1080 monitor he won't use over 1GB.

You would buy a 1GB reference pcb 7850 for the same price as a 2GB custom pcb 7850?? Seems like a waste to me... He may decide down the road to use two monitors, or he may even decide to go with a monitor that has higher resolution then 1080p. Might as well be prepared for the future right?

 

[bigcyco1]

Get this card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127681 don't think twice about it or let others confuse you that's my suggestion enjoy!

 

[dg1598]

Thanks to everyone, I'll just go with the 7870 so I have some headroom Thanks to all!