5870 vs. 6870 vs. 470

[Thrall]

Hello everyone, I'm looking to upgrade my current rig to one of these gpus, however, I'm running into some obstacles that make this decision not just about performance but size and power requirements as well. My first problem is that I only have 10.5" of space for the card in my case, without sacrificing a hard drive day or two to dremeling. I know that the 470 and 6870 should fit, but I've heard varying numbers on the length of a 5870. I've read that most of the cards are 11", but I've heard that there are shorter 10.5" versions like Sapphire's VaporX ones that may fit. Has anyone had any luck finding shorter 5870s?

Also my biggest concern, is my power supply. I currently use around 350-400 watts while gaming including my LCD (measured via a Kill-a-watt) but when I run cpu-burn in and furmark the total goes up to 470w and I'm worried that an upgrade will kill my nearly 5 year old psu. Using TPU's power usage it looks like during normal gaming the 6870 and 5870 will actually use less power than my 4870, but the 470 will use 20w more. Should I rely on these numbers to say that the 6870 and 5870 are safe psu upgrades and the 470 may be pushing it?

Thank for your input!

Core i5 750 @ 3.5ghz (stock voltage)
G.Skill 2x2gb 1866 DDR3 Ram
AMD 4870 512mb
Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty
Thermaltake 500w TR2
2 x 1gb Seagate 7200.12
Samsung DVD burner and Lite-on Blu-ray drive
Linksys PCI Wireless Card
3 x Cold Cathodes

[gumpty]

You could also consider a GTX460 1GB. These can (apparently) quite easily be overclocked to stock 6870/5870/470 territory, and should use less power (I think). They are also quite short.

As far as length is concerned, my 6870 is about as long as my motherboard, i.e. it doesn't overhang. And having the power connectors on top reduces a chance of a clash.

[CrackerJack]

+1 on the GTX460 1GB

I just got one last week, and love it! Upgraded from a HD4870 1GB. The EVGA 460 is the exact same length as my motherboard... So works out really well


Note, but reason why i choose the 460 over the 6870, was price and stock. Newegg couldn't keep them in stock long enough for me to get. But the games and apps I use, Nvidia was my best bet

[bpgt64]

I would consider going the GTX 470 route only if you A) Don't care about heat generation and have ample cooling in place, and B) If you don't mind running the fan at 70% which in my case is inaudible over case fans.

That being said, if you meet those criteria, the GTX 470 is generally the most powerful of the bunch, as well as the biggest power consumer. I have been able to push mine from stock 607 to 700, and when I have all fans running, 800+ core clock. But I have a HAF 932 and 4 250CFM Delta's blowing on the cards.

The HD 6870 and GTX 460 are generally alot cooler than the 470/480 bunch so if heat is at all an issue, I would recommend either one.

[Thrall]

The GTX 460 is a good idea, but will it be enough of a performance boost for the money? It seems to be only 20% faster stock clocked than the 4870...although going off of the TPU's CoD4 Benchmark it would be 56% faster if overclocked to their levels. Maybe I'll wait until the next generation of gpus to come out as right now the 4870 does pretty well with anything but Metro 2033. Thanks for the help!

[assaulter_99]

Coming from a 4870, I'd go for higher. If you aren't sure your PSU can power the 470 then get the 6870, since it'll also fit your case easily (by your own words)

[trt740]

I just saw your power requirements and I think a 6870 would be best.

[jrdn]

I was in your place about two weeks ago minus the psu restriction. I bought the 470 just because of the price and the availability of waterblocks, if I were you I would go for the 6870, I think it's the most sensible choice.

[assaulter_99]

Originally Posted by Thrall

The GTX 460 is a good idea, but will it be enough of a performance boost for the money? It seems to be only 20% faster stock clocked than the 4870...although going off of the TPU's CoD4 Benchmark it would be 56% faster if overclocked to their levels. Maybe I'll wait until the next generation of gpus to come out as right now the 4870 does pretty well with anything but Metro 2033. Thanks for the help!

I didn't realise it was you posting, I thought it was someone else saying you that. Well its the most sensible thing to do really. You won't gain much by getting a 460 tbh. To my POV, the most sensible decision would be to either :

1. Like you decided, wait.
or
2. Get a card in the 470/6870 range or higher. Its only then that you will see a massive improvement.

[boise49ers]

Originally Posted by assaulter_99

Coming from a 4870, I'd go for higher. If you aren't sure your PSU can power the 470 then get the 6870, since it'll also fit your case easily (by your own words)

There is a huge boost from 4870 to 6870. I just made the leap and I can say the 6870 is everything I hoped for. The games that the 4870 struggled with at 1920x1080 now run smooth and that is with all settings on high. I am Pleased. I have spent a lot more for a lot less of an upgrade in the past. I usually average $300 on a new card when I get one and this was $230.
The only con is that I get articfacts with the Blu-ray, but the 10.12 drivers are suppose to be all about fixes for the 6000 series.