Which is better: GTX295 or 5870?

[Fahim]

I'd say its time for either 2 x 5770. or a 5850 or 5870 cards....GTX era is over for now....they are not the top anymore....I ran several benchmarks and 5850 tops BFG GTX 285 OC in every test, even a single 5770 runs better in some tests than 285...

 

[Tatty_Two]

I would go for the hd5870, it doesn't lag behind the gtx295 very much, if at all, in non nvidia related games, but also doesn't have to deal with multi gpu problems. It has dx11 and can overclock like crazy (currently running at 1010MHz core/1300MHz memory, and at those clocks, it easily beats the gtx 295 in everything i've played in terms of matching up the frame rates to the gtx 295 review scores)

that comment does not really stand up to the facts, especially if you look at the TPU review, for example, across all resolutions the GTX295 is 12% faster, that increases to 14 or 15% the higher the resolution you go. Additionally it's not really fair to compare an overclocked HD5870 against a stock GTX295 which is specifically why most reviews show stock performance, simply because the majority of owners dont overclock their cards, if we are going to discuss relative performance with overclocks, then both cards should be overclocked.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ATI/Radeon_HD_5870/30.html

Having said all that, I completely agree that for anyone upgrading today, IMO the HD5870 is the better bet, however as I said, the OP has two GTX295's already and to change them for HD5870's would be futile IMO unless as I said, there was a decent profit to be made, the OP's question is not really about which is the best card of the 2 to buy as an upgrade but whether it would be worth swapping out his existing two 295's for 5870's.

 

[t_ski]

Sorry - I didn't meant o start a fanboi/flamewar. Someone offered me a decent price on one of my cards, and I have not had a chance to even look at the numbers of the new ATI cards.

What do I need my GPU's for? Nothing much: I bench them from time to time trying to get sweet 3DMV scores, play a little NFS, Dirt, Crysis, etc. when I can, but not too often. Between work and life my rig sits idle most of the time. Most of the time it's just for e-penis and bragging rights

 

[Tatty_Two]

Sorry - I didn't meant o start a fanboi/flamewar. Someone offered me a decent price on one of my cards, and I have not had a chance to even look at the numbers of the new ATI cards.

What do I need my GPU's for? Nothing much: I bench them from time to time trying to get sweet 3DMV scores, play a little NFS, Dirt, Crysis, etc. when I can, but not too often. Between work and life my rig sits idle most of the time. Most of the time it's just for e-penis and bragging rights

No fanboing here..... just trying to keep things in perspective ...In that case, a single HD5870 will more than serve your purpose, if you still need a litle bit of that e peen, why not sell both your cards and get the HD5970 dual GPU card, you would probably make a little profit too and you would get reasonably close to the performance you have now.

 

[t_ski]

I've had the 2900XT, dual 3870x2's and dual 4870x2's and loved them all. I moved to the 295's when I went i7 I would gladly take dual 5970's if someone wants to trade

I think it may just be the right time to sell them, as long as I can get a decent price for both.

 

[bobzilla2009]

that comment does not really stand up to the facts, especially if you look at the TPU review, for example, across all resolutions the GTX295 is 12% faster, that increases to 14 or 15% the higher the resolution you go. Additionally it's not really fair to compare an overclocked HD5870 against a stock GTX295 which is specifically why most reviews show stock performance, simply because the majority of owners dont overclock their cards, if we are going to discuss relative performance with overclocks, then both cards should be overclocked.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ATI/Radeon_HD_5870/30.html

Having said all that, I completely agree that for anyone upgrading today, IMO the HD5870 is the better bet, however as I said, the OP has two GTX295's already and to change them for HD5870's would be futile IMO unless as I said, there was a decent profit to be made, the OP's question is not really about which is the best card of the 2 to buy as an upgrade but whether it would be worth swapping out his existing two 295's for 5870's.

My point is that in game that aren't nvidia related (a large number of the games in that review are, the only ati game being hawx, and even then the hd5870 doesn't seem to have the drivers sorted for that game, since it is beaten by the gtx285), the hd5870 is on much better footing with the gtx 295 however, since most games released ARE nvidia related, you will gain an overall performance boost from the gtx295. It does seem that real world performance crowns are in some part related to who has better developer contacts (not by a huge amount, obviously), still, that's not a bad thing as long as we the gamer gain better performance

It would be absurd to change from a gtx295 to the hd5870 though, dx11 just isn't worth it yet. However, It will be interesting to see how this generation will pan out, since ati seem far more behind dx11 this time, so they may generate a lot more support from devs compared to the last few generations of cards.

Sorry about the general confusion of it all

 

[allen337]

On the I7 the 295 is faster at this point about 15%. When amd matures it drivers a little more it will close the gap. The 5870 would be the smart choice as for its potential.

 

[patheticcockroach]

The 5870 would be the smart choice as for its potential.

And as for its power consumption

 

[subhendu]

grab gtx 295....u can play all games w/o any driver issues

 

[Wrigleyvillain]

^ Same poop, different scoop (longtime ATI user who presently owns an NV card, btw)

 

[shevanel]

dual 5970's do not scale well. and that statement only means anything if money is an issue.

 

[patheticcockroach]

dual 5970's do not scale well.

Depends on the game, but yes, it seriously looks like the drivers aren't quite ready for good crossfiring...

 

[Easo]

5870, no reason to stay with old generation, when new is as fast, but with more features, and such a little power draw.

 

[TheMailMan78]

Why oh why does this thread exist? Its just begging for conflict.

 

[yogurt_21]

well ignoring the debate if you think it's a good time to sell the 295's then that's good and all except that it's a really bad time to be buying 5870's or 5970's their prices are high due to lack of gt300 presence.

personally I'd rather lose the few dollars difference by holding onto the 295's and waiting for the gt300 release, once those are out prices will drop and you'll have more selection to choose from. right now you're pretty much going with ati at it's peak pricing.

 

[TheMailMan78]

well ignoring the debate if you think it's a good time to sell the 295's then that's good and all except that it's a really bad time to be buying 5870's or 5970's their prices are high due to lack of gt300 presence.

personally I'd rather lose the few dollars difference by holding onto the 295's and waiting for the gt300 release, once those are out prices will drop and you'll have more selection to choose from. right now you're pretty much going with ati at it's peak pricing.

Hes 100% correct. Unless you "need" bleeding edge......like me

 

[Kantastic]

well ignoring the debate if you think it's a good time to sell the 295's then that's good and all except that it's a really bad time to be buying 5870's or 5970's their prices are high due to lack of gt300 presence.

personally I'd rather lose the few dollars difference by holding onto the 295's and waiting for the gt300 release, once those are out prices will drop and you'll have more selection to choose from. right now you're pretty much going with ati at it's peak pricing.

Pay more for 5870 and sell the 295 for more or wait until prices settle and pay less for a 5870 later, but at the same time selling your 295 for less. It's all the same to me, I'd rather get new tech now rather than later if the end result will be the same.

 

[t_ski]

Not rich, just lucky.

I am going to sell one of them now, and then try to sell the other and look into either a 5970 or maybe dual 5850's...

 

[erocker]

Not rich, just lucky.

I am going to sell one of them now, and then try to sell the other and look into either a 5970 or maybe dual 5850's...

I'm running dual 5850's and am not dissapointed in any way. I would just go for whatever you can get cheaper.

 

[Lionheart]

Not rich, just lucky.

I am going to sell one of them now, and then try to sell the other and look into either a 5970 or maybe dual 5850's...

Sweet as 2 HD5850's would be a cheaper route than a HD5970 but it seems like ur a PC enthusiast and you would go for Quadfire HD5970's hmmm am I right, that would be sweet but drivers are always a problem, check this guy out and see what you think, hes got good video reviews, anyways goodluck

http://www.youtube.com/user/efaco5

 

[t_ski]

I forsee no quadfire 5970's in my future, unless I win the lottery before then

 

[Lionheart]

I forsee no quadfire 5970's in my future, unless I win the lottery before then

Lol no worries, wasnt sure if you were interested so I just blurded it out but anyways goodluck with wateva u choose!

 

[driver66]

And as for its power consumption

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that as an enthusiast ..........Most dont give a Fack

 

[TheMailMan78]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that as an enthusiast ..........Most dont give a Fack

You care if your running a folding or crunching farm

 

[patheticcockroach]

I suppose it depends whether or not you need an extra heating device