Sapphire 5870 1GB.. Or 2GB?

[Kofoed]

Hello . So i've been looking at those 5870 cards, And I can't decide which one to get. Im playing at 1920x1080, with a second monitor at 1280x1024, Just to surf the net and other stuff meanwhile.
However, im not sure if getting the 2 GB version will be any different from the 1GB on this resolution?

 

[Black Panther]

If budget is not restricting you go for the 2GB.

 

[Kofoed]

Money is a problem, because then I will have to wait longer
But I in games like Battlefield on DX11. How big will the FPS difference be? like.. 20fps? 70fps?..

 

[Black Panther]

I don't think there'd be any significant difference today, though I can't say for sure since I don't own a 2GB card.

If you can get the 2GB version though you'd be getting a more future-proof card i.e. the way things are going it will last you longer and giving you better performance than a 1GB card would be within 6 months time.

 

[Kofoed]

What I want it to run the latest games with max settings. If/when I get into problems like that I suppose I would throw a second 5870 in there? or mabye a newer one by then.

 

[DanishDevil]

2GB won't be worth the money. I would say buy a single 1GB card now, and down the line, evaluate whether you want a second one or you want a totally new card.

 

[Kofoed]

I found another topic about this, On google search site 30 or so, Which said the 2GB versions is for those who wants to use the eyefinity, otherwise no difference with gaming at 1 display and surfing with another screen as it won' be using much of the memory. Is that so?

 

[fredkruge]

Based on some reviews ive seen, id say stick with the 1GB version. If your not going 2560x1600 (or w/e it is) I dont think its worth it.

 

[Kofoed]

Alright then, I think im going with the 1GB and mabye in a year or so, Im not sure when there going to be a need for a second one or a new card, But whenever that is I might just do that.

Thanks all.

 

[Jamrock]

Depends on what games you want to play really. I wish I had gotten a 2GB card. I was fooled by the advertising on the "HD5970 2GB" heh.

Do you use mods in games a lot?

There are games that would benefit from a 2GB card that would otherwise not be able to surpass the VRAM limit.

GTAIV
Oblivion
Fallout 3

Some of the ones I have played that I wish I had more VRAM for. GTAIV has the VRAM restrictions on settings and being able to truly MAX everything out in that game would be fun.. stuck at the 1GB limit you won't be able to push your view distance too high or risk sacrificing your other settings.

Oblivion/Fallout 3... would be great to have more than 1GB for these ones. Add all the mods you like to your hearts content and not worry about VRAM limits, I would imagine it would be quite tough to get to the 2GB mark.

 

[REALIN]

Id say if you had the money, go for the 2GB. Costs around a extra 50€ for dubble memory here in Sweden

 

[fausto412]

it's all about what resolution you play at. 24" screen or smaller the 2gb model won't do anything.

 

[Kofoed]

Hello again, been a while since I last looked up this post.
However, I got the HIS 1GB 5870, and im running 22'5 screen I belive. I also noticed that in GTAIV I had the memory problem. But before I even reach the limit Im around 20FPS, Which is not what I want.
Oblivion, I used to play that, but even with a improved grapich mod and alot, well about 10 other mods my old ati 3870 in crossfire did just fine. They had about 1 GB together.
I mostly play FPS games, and in those i've seen that the 1 GB do about as good as the 2GB.

Also, I tried fallout 3 without problem on my old 3870. No mods tho. But it was alright I remember.

 

[REALIN]

Hello again, been a while since I last looked up this post.
However, I got the HIS 1GB 5870, and im running 22'5 screen I belive. I also noticed that in GTAIV I had the memory problem. But before I even reach the limit Im around 20FPS, Which is not what I want.
Oblivion, I used to play that, but even with a improved grapich mod and alot, well about 10 other mods my old ati 3870 in crossfire did just fine. They had about 1 GB together.
I mostly play FPS games, and in those i've seen that the 1 GB do about as good as the 2GB.

Also, I tried fallout 3 without problem on my old 3870. No mods tho. But it was alright I remember.

What drivers are you useing? And what settings you have in Catalyst?

 

[Kofoed]

Im using the most current one 10.6, I really don't remember what driver version it was when I ran the different games

 

[fausto412]

GTA 4 is taxing your 5870 that much? i didn't think that game was that demanding. do you have a Quad core? if you don't then that's probably your problem.
a 5870 should be able to run just about everything out there on the highest settings.

 

[Kofoed]

I do have amd phenom II 965 BE. stock as 3.4GHz and yes it's a quard. I might aswell want to run some test on GTAIV, As I myself got very suprised aswell.

 

[BraveSoul]

good card choice, should overclock well.
GTAIV is demanding, overclocking ur cpu would improve things, try playing around with ingame graphics settings, some of them will increase fps with little eyecandy loss
_____________________________

Antec1200 filter project

 

[Sasqui]

Even at this insane resolution, the extra GB doesn't seem to make much difference. Perhaps some new game titles might come out to change the difference. But for now it mostly sounds good on paper, and marketing:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/HD_5870_Matrix/29.html

Edit: Oh, and the 1GB is clocked at 850 core, while the 2Gb 895 core (which would account for the difference in the first place!)

 

[Kofoed]

Yes, I know. But im not playing GTA everyday. Most likely when im at a LAN. But the fact that I can't get the highest settings is not that much of a problem as long I can see the road and other cars
However I might try Oblivion soon. I really don't recall having any problem with that game on my old 3870, and my dual core CPU (old one).

EDIT: I don't want to OC my CPU yet, it's still running stock cooling and I can't get any program to really monitor it's temperture.

 

[Kofoed]

Even at this insane resolution, the extra GB doesn't seem to make much difference. Perhaps some new game titles might come out to change the difference. But for now it mostly sounds good on paper, and marketing:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/HD_5870_Matrix/29.html

Edit: Oh, and the 1GB is clocked at 850 core, while the 2Gb 895 core (which would account for the difference in the first place!)

http://tpucdn.com/reviews/ASUS/HD_5870_Matrix/images/perfrel_2560.gif

What game is that? GTAIV?

 

[REALIN]

What game is that? GTAIV?

No, performance across several games.

 

[Sasqui]

What game is that? GTAIV?

No, that's overall performance, based on all the games tested.

W1zz didn't include GTA in the tests, but you can start here and walk through all the games he did test: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/HD_5870_Matrix/6.html

... not much difference in any games, and that difference can be attributed to the higher stock clock on that 2GB card.

 

[Kofoed]

Alright. Im suprised to see 4870x2 actually doing better, I though the 5870 was faster.
However, As I said I might test GTAIV soon, along with oblivion.

 

[Sasqui]

Alright. Im suprised to see 4870x2 actually doing better, I though the 5870 was faster.
However, As I said I might test GTAIV soon, along with oblivion.

Yes, you do see correctly, but don't forget that the 4870x2 is TWO Cores and eats a LOT of power, not to mention some driver issues prone to cross-fire.