X-Fire 5770's or single 5850 ?

[HookeyStreet]

Im building a gaming rig for my bro-in-law, I had the HD5850 in mind, but Im wondering if I should go down the HD5770 CrossFire route?

I can pick up 2x 5770's cheaper than a single HD5850, but obviously, this would mean that a future GFX card upgrade would mean getting shot of 2 x cards instead of picking up another 5850.

Do I get him a single 5850 for sheer performance value (or do 2x 5770's beat a single 5850 in real life, not just on paper?) or go for the 'wow factor' of dual video cards

BTW: the system will be used on a 42" LCD TV @ 1920 x 1080 (I think)

 

[InTeL-iNsIdE]

Im building a gaming rig for my bro-in-law, I had the HD5850 in mind, but Im wondering if I should go down the HD5770 CrossFire route?

I can pick up 2x 5770's cheaper than a single HD5850, but obviously, this would mean that a future GFX card upgrade would mean getting shot of 2 x cards instead of picking up another 5850.

Do I get him a single 5850 for sheer performance value (or do 2x 5770's beat a single 5850 in real life, not just on paper?) or go for the 'wow factor' of dual video cards

There are tons of reviews that show crossfired 5770's being on par and in some cases beating a 5870, thats real life, all of the reviews cant be wrong.

For me, I practically got mine for free due to an old HD 4850 I rma'd and selling my 4890, that and there were no 5850's about, oh and this option was cheaper.

No issues with dual gpu's this is my 2nd time, 1st was 4850's

And I game at 2048x1152

 

[PaulieG]

5850. It will be cheaper than 2 5770's, lower power consumption and once overclocked will easily beat 2 5770's. You will also have the option to add an additional 5850 later. A single GPU will perform with more consistency. So, if I have to choose one or two cards with nearly the same performance I will always choose the single card.

 

[InTeL-iNsIdE]

5850. It will be cheaper than 2 5770's, lower power consumption and once overclocked will easily beat 2 5770's. A single GPU will perform with more consistency too.

5770's are actually cheaper the op stated, also they wont consume that much more power than a 5850, not too mention when you overclock the 5770's a 5850 cant touch them even if it is overclocked, imo

 

[PaulieG]

5770's are actually cheaper the op stated, also they wont consume that much more power than a 5850, not too mention when you overclock the 5770's a 5850 cant touch them even if it is overclocked, imo

Really? I'm not sure about any of this. 5770's run $160-180 each. You can get a 5850 for $300.

 

[InTeL-iNsIdE]

Really? I'm not sure about any of this. 5770's run $160-180 each. You can get a 5850 for $300.

You can pick 5770's up in the UK for £110 and 5850's are £245+ and yes everything else I stated above is also correct, the 5770's in crossfire are closer in perf to a 5870

 

[t_ski]

Could be price difference between US and UK.

I think the 5850 would be the better choice because of everythign Paulie said, plus using a single card will be easier to setup & troubleshoot and adding the second 5850 in the future would be an easier option than getting rid of two cards and getting something else.

 

[PaulieG]

You can pick 5770's up in the UK for £110 and 5850's are £245+ and yes everything else I stated above is also correct, the 5770's in crossfire are closer in perf to a 5870

Show me the benchies? If it is true, that is only when crossfire is utilized effectively. There are times when a 5770 crossfire will run like a single 5770. With a 5850, you'll always get consistent performance.

 

[InTeL-iNsIdE]

Could be price difference between US and UK.

I think the 5850 would be the better choice because of everythign Paulie said, plus using a single card will be easier to setup & troubleshoot and adding the second 5850 in the future would be an easier option than getting rid of two cards and getting something else.

Whats so hard to setup, plug both cards in, attach the connectors and install the drivers, theres no science behind it.

Show me the benchies? If it is true, that is only when crossfire is utilized effectively. There are times when a 5770 crossfire will run like a single 5770. With a 5850, you'll always get consistent performance.

Well your disagreeing with me, I have seen numerous benches and comparisons, google is your friend

 

[wolf]

even at a performance defecit stock for stock, I'd take the 5850 hands down, it's ATi's bread and butter, there is little-to-no reason to buy one over a 5870 IMO

I hope to the TPU gods you will OC a 5850 if you buy it tho.

 

[PaulieG]

Whats so hard to setup, plug both cards in, attach the connectors and install the drivers, theres no science behind it.



Well your disagreeing with me, I have seen numerous benches and comparisons, google is your friend

Google and I are good friends. I couldn't find anything that tells me that 5770 crossfire is better. That's why I was asking you to show me.

 

[InTeL-iNsIdE]

even at a performance defecit stock for stock, I'd take the 5850 hands down, it's ATi's bread and butter, there is little-to-no reason to buy one over a 5870 IMO

I hope to the TPU gods you will OC a 5850 if you buy it tho.

Well there is no logic in that, unless your just being loyal to ATI? 5700's vs 5850 price = cheaper, performance = better only downside, uses slightly more power, which is neither here nor there as the power savings on the 5 series are quite considerable over the last gen.

 

[wolf]

Well there is no logic in that, unless your just being loyal to ATI? 5700's vs 5850 price = cheaper, performance = better only downside, uses slightly more power, which is neither here nor there as the power savings on the 5 series are quite considerable over the last gen.

No logic? I've had many dual card setups, 8600GT's, GTX260's, a GTX295 and 4870's and I can tell you without a doubt, if a single card can practically equal a particular dual card setup, that single card is what you want hands down.

higher minimum fps is a big factor that springs to mind, not to mention being able to double up on the 5850 later down the track, occupying one slot instead of two for roughly the same performance...

price seems to be the only convincing factor for the 5770's in this case, and in the OP's shoes, I'd buy the 5850, and OC it anywhere past 850/1100 for a good ole' time.

 

[InTeL-iNsIdE]

No logic? I've had many dual card setups, 8600GT's, GTX260's, a GTX295 and 4870's and I can tell you without a doubt, if a single card can practically equal a particular dual card setup, that single card is what you want hands down.

higher minimum fps is a big factor that springs to mind, not to mention being able to double up on the 5850 later down the track, occupying one slot instead of two for roughly the same performance...

price seems to be the only convincing factor for the 5770's in this case, and in the OP's shoes, I'd buy the 5850, and OC it anywhere past 850/1100 for a good ole' time.

Well I will agree with you on doubling up on the 5850, if he wants to go that route down the line then I would say stick with the single 5850, other than that price perf wise the dual 5770's do win, I would be more than happy to participate in some benches if anyone has a i7 and a 5850 just for arguments sake, would be good too look at if anything

 

[wolf]

Maybe compare your scores to some that already exist from the Unigine results thread and the new Vantage results thread, I bet there are a lot of ~4ghz i7's in there.

 

[InTeL-iNsIdE]

Maybe compare your scores to some that already exist from the Unigine results thread and the new Vantage results thread, I bet there are a lot of ~4ghz i7's in there.

well I am already topspot in the new 3d06 results for ATI dual setups and beat all single results too including 5850/5870 results, will download vantage later, in work atm

 

[t_ski]

Whats so hard to setup, plug both cards in, attach the connectors and install the drivers, theres no science behind it.

I personally have never had any issues configuring any of the Crossfire setups I've had (dual 2900XT's, dual 3870x2's and dual 4870x2's), but I know that sometimes others have had issues with Crossfire not being enabled. They had to go through several steps to get it working right (there was a thread devoted to this in the ATI forum).

Now, granted, maybe I am assuming that the OP is not as technical as I am, but mostly I am assuming that the brother-in-law is less technical than the OP (or else he could build the PC himself). If I were to build a system for someone else, I would prefer to have a more simple solution so I had to spend far less of my free-time over at his house trying to fix something he messed up. If the OP feels differently about it, then that's up to him. He asked for our opinion, so I gave mine.

 

[assaulter_99]

I'd rather take a single powerful card instead of 2 cards, but thats just me. Anyways if the 5770 crossfire costs less than a 5850 then maybe you have a deal. But like many others have stated before, its just too random, sometimes better frames, somtimes it doesn't work out well, so...

 

[cadaveca]

5770 has basically half of 5870's meme bandwidth, so only certain situations will the 5770 excel. Add in Crossfire and high res, and th signle card will perform better.

I've run Crossfire since it started. X800, X850, X1800, X1900, X1950, 2900XT 512MB and 1GB, 3870, 3870x2, 4850, 4870, 4890, and am currently building a 5870 Crossfire rig.

Since X1950, I have bought cards in pairs. I never knew how well one card performed until going back to 2900XT after 3870x2s!

I personally find the actual "usage experience" of 2 cards far worse than just one. Over the past 3 weeks I've done that same compare iwth 4890's..Crossfired VS Single...

You know what? I prefer single. There's a couple of games that need the second card, but I get far better gameplay lowering in-game details before adding the second card.

Get a 5850.

 

[HookeyStreet]

I personally have never had any issues configuring any of the Crossfire setups I've had (dual 2900XT's, dual 3870x2's and dual 4870x2's), but I know that sometimes others have had issues with Crossfire not being enabled. They had to go through several steps to get it working right (there was a thread devoted to this in the ATI forum).

Now, granted, maybe I am assuming that the OP is not as technical as I am, but mostly I am assuming that the brother-in-law is less technical than the OP (or else he could build the PC himself). If I were to build a system for someone else, I would prefer to have a more simple solution so I had to spend far less of my free-time over at his house trying to fix something he messed up. If the OP feels differently about it, then that's up to him. He asked for our opinion, so I gave mine.

LOL, dont worry, I know what Im doing....Ive run SLi/X-Fire setups before (check the casemod gallery for my 'RUBY, RUBY, RUBY, RUBY' that was one of my favourite custom PC's)......Ive just been out of the PC 'loop' for a while now (went to console gaming ) hence why Im asking advice

But, yes, for my bro-in-law, simple is best as he knows NOTHING about PC gaming.....yet

 

[musek]

As a previous Crossfire user (4870X2) i must say, that I'd get 5850. As others said - It's always better to have one powerful card than 2 cards in SLI/CrossFire. Even if it would mean a little less performance. Easier to handle, easier to diagnose, easier to upgrade and constant performance.

And about the 'Wow factor' - IMO the look of ATIs 58xx Batmobile inside the case is real good as well.

 

[HookeyStreet]

As a previous Crossfire user (4870X2) i must say, that I'd get 5850. As others said - It's always better to have one powerful card than 2 cards in SLI/CrossFire. Even if it would mean a little less performance. Easier to handle, easier to diagnose, easier to upgrade and constant performance.

And about the 'Wow factor' - IMO the look of ATIs 58xx Batmobile inside the case is real good as well.

LOL point taken

Ive just purchased a 'Sapphire HD5850' for £222.48 inc next day delivery from CCL Which is actually cheaper than 2x HD5770's anyway lmao (by about £25)

And, like many have said, I can always upgrade him to dual 5850's in a year or so when the price of them plummet

 

[Tatty_Two]

Guys, Crossfired HD5770's are way quicker than a single HD5850, even in high res in high detail the memory bandwidth on the smaller brother is not a limitation........

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/2983/his_radeon_hd_5770_1gb_video_card_in_crossfire/index12.html

Check out the conclusion page also.

I would even go as far as to say that if you had to pay MORE for 2 of them than the HD5850 they are worth it, in many things they manage to match a 5870 and I can only speak for the UK but in many case two of them are cheaper than the 5850.

It's also no coinscidense that to date on the reviews I have read, noone has come acrosse any crossfire compatibility issues with any of the more modern games around. Power consumption is higher, but not hugely.

 

[HookeyStreet]

Guys, Crossfired HD5770's are way quicker than a single HD5850, even in high res in high detail the memory bandwidth on the smaller brother is not a limitation........

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/2983/his_radeon_hd_5770_1gb_video_card_in_crossfire/index12.html

Check out the conclusion page also.

I would even go as far as to say that if you had to pay MORE for 2 of them than the HD5850 they are worth it, in many things they manage to match a 5870 and I can only speak for the UK but in many case two of them are cheaper than the 5850.

It's also no coinscidense that to date on the reviews I have read, noone has come acrosse any crossfire compatibility issues with any of the more modern games around. Power consumption is higher, but not hugely.

Thanks for the info TPU old timer If I hadnt have dived in and grabbed the HD5850 already I may have been swayed to go X-Fire by your comments

But an HD5850 @ £222.48 (and the last one in stock for god knows how long) I couldnt pass it up

 

[AddSub]

It's also no coinscidense that to date on the reviews I have read, noone has come acrosse any crossfire compatibility issues with any of the more modern games around.

I seriously doubt that. I've been almost religiously following/reading 5xxx reviews since the series hit the retail. In fact, I think "compatibility" as you put is a bit dishonest when talking about Crossfire issues, since that implies that some games would refuse to run under Crossfire, which undoubtedly is true as well to an extent. More honestly, the main issue that remains in regards with crossfire (sadly) is scaling. Crossfire scaling, aside from few choice titles, is still anywhere from spotty to atrociously bad, depending on the title in question. Heck, some games will run slower under Crossfire than relevant single GPU setups. This is also true for SLI, but under Crossfire it is a way, WAY more common occurrence.

HookeyStreet, when going AMD for your GPU needs, single-GPU is the way to go. Hopefully, by the time Radeon 6xxx series rolls around, these scaling issues (aka "compatibility" issues) will get taken care of.