Help me choose a 5870

[Mussels]

My choices (and prices) are below: help me pick one. do not reccomend other sellers, i want to know whats the best choice out of THESE cards.

THe giga is the cheapest, but i've heard it doesnt have voltage control, and has a higher failure rate than the others.

I DO want reference, mostly for voltage control - the asus V2 has my eye due to voltage control + bigger (quieter?) fan on the cooler.

[erocker]

I'd go with the reference Sapphire card. The Asus V2 looks nice and has a nice copper cooler, but they for some reason run hot.

[Mussels]

sapphire + asus V2 are my two picks atm.


edit: asus V2 is also SHORTER than reference, which is actually a massive plus, making me lean that way. (9.5" vs 11", and my housemates powercolor fit in my case with about half a cm to spare)

Asus website says 10.25" on the V2 vs 11.5" on their reference card. thats still going to make it a ton easier to fit in my case.


Asus V2 is also missing one DVI port, leaving HDMI, DVI, and DP as its connections. since you can only use three at a time anyway (and one must be DP for eyefinity), it doesnt concern me.

[-1nf1n1ty-]

I would personally go with sapphire, cause I've always heard great things about that brand, I have a Diamond ATI 5870 its also pretty damn good

[claylomax]

Originally Posted by Mussels

My choices (and prices) are below: help me pick one. do not reccomend other sellers, i want to know whats the best choice out of THESE cards.

THe giga is the cheapest, but i've heard it doesnt have voltage control, and has a higher failure rate than the others.

I DO want reference, mostly for voltage control - the asus V2 has my eye due to voltage control + bigger (quieter?) fan on the cooler.

http://img.techpowerup.org/100508/Capture650.jpg

The 5870 I would recommend is not there but then again you highlighted "out of THESE cards".

[Mussels]

its the only ones i can get.

[Aleksander]

What about the MSI lightning series???
MSI R5870 Lightning Radeon HD 5870 1GB 256-bit GDD...
I strongly recommend it!

[EvolvA]

Originally Posted by Aleksander Dishnica

What about the MSI lightning series???
MSI R5870 Lightning Radeon HD 5870 1GB 256-bit GDD...
I strongly recommend it!

+1 the MSI is the one that I would buy

[Lionheart]

Nice, this site rings a bell. I was gonna say the Asus V2 card but erocker said they run hot for some reason so my second choice would most definitely be the reference Sapphire, I just got my second HIS HD5870 and luvin it, I hope this helps bru

[Mussels]

alexander, evolva... please try reading in the future.

the very first line tells you to NOT reccomend other models, or other sellers... so you linked me to newegg and told me to get one not in the list? brilliant.


right now its down to the sapphire reference vs the asus V2.

V2 has smaller size going for it, reference is just reference - more likely to support third party coolers and so on.

[Lionheart]

Originally Posted by Mussels

alexander, evolva... please try reading in the future.

the very first line tells you to NOT reccomend other models, or other sellers... so you linked me to newegg and told me to get one not in the list? brilliant.


right now its down to the sapphire reference vs the asus V2.

V2 has smaller size going for it, reference is just reference - more likely to support third party coolers and so on.

I was gonna go for that HD5870 V2 card mussels now that you showed me that site but I didn't wanna mix up my cards even though you can but Im a neat freak plus I bought my new HIS HD5870 for $480 brand new so I went with that, and I think that V2 card requires 2 8pin PCI E connectors

[Mussels]

i have 2x8 pin so thats ok by me, actually.

i avoided the HIS because my housemate got one, and i think it has no voltage control. He said it doesnt, but then again, he's a noob :P

[claylomax]

Originally Posted by Aleksander Dishnica

What about the MSI lightning series???
MSI R5870 Lightning Radeon HD 5870 1GB 256-bit GDD...
I strongly recommend it!

Originally Posted by EvolvA

+1 the MSI is the one that I would buy

He said "out of THESE", that's why I didn't bother to suggest the card I had in mind. Don't forget he lives down under.

[Lionheart]

Originally Posted by Mussels

i have 2x8 pin so thats ok by me, actually.

i avoided the HIS because my housemate got one, and i think it has no voltage control. He said it doesnt, but then again, he's a noob :P

Ok cool.

Lol hahahaha it should work but then again I havent tried it, Im not a big overclocker when it comes to GPU's, just mild overclocks

[Mussels]

my reasoning is that since a stock 5870 is about equal to my two cards, i want to OC it and actually get better performance than what i have. That means voltage control.



Erocker: can you find me a review or link to where you found out the V2 runs hotter? asus say it runs colder, and i cant find any reviews on it

[erocker]

Originally Posted by Mussels

my reasoning is that since a stock 5870 is about equal to my two cards, i want to OC it and actually get better performance than what i have. That means voltage control.



Erocker: can you find me a review or link to where you found out the V2 runs hotter? asus say it runs colder, and i cant find any reviews on it

Actually, I heard it from DOM here at TPU who has one. It should run cooler with the better cooler on it, but the GPU's on those cards I have a feeling, are high leakage for serious overclocking. Lots of heat, but lots of headroom under d-ice and stuff.

[Mussels]

regarding the deleted posts (that i can still see) i'll say this.

Keep going off topic, and i'll give infractions. If you cant read the first line in my first post of this thread, i dont want to hear your advice... because why would i listen to someone who cant read?

secondly: those are the only ones i can afford. i am not paying $200 more for the stupid MSI card.

[Cold Storm]

I have the two 5870's Asus 'Normal ones' and there sweet. they run hot, if together.. If you gotta sandwich the cards, the first one will be hot as can be. well 77c is the hottest I saw them on the Gigabyte ud7.. Now, right now. I'm seeing the top card read 38c on 25% fan speed.. But, I have replaced the tim..

Me personally Mussels, Asus. The Normal one..

[WhiteLotus]

Personally I would go with the Gigabyte, because it's the cheapest. But if 30 dollar ain't too much trouble for you then why not get the sapphire.

Also do you care about noise levels? For me that is the number one factor I go by, but for you it may not matter. I would spend the more money to get the quieter one, but's that could just be me and not apply to you.

[Fourstaff]

Originally Posted by Mussels

i avoided the HIS because my housemate got one, and i think it has no voltage control. He said it doesnt, but then again, he's a noob :P

It doesn't, if the HIS is the same as W1z's

I think the V2 card owners encountered problems with overvolting:
ASUS EAH5870/2DIS/1GD5/V2 Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress ...

[DTV DRAGON]

I have the ref sapphire and only have good things to say about it!

[Mussels]

so far then, its down to sapphire reference, or asus V2.


I want to hear more about the V2, because it really is a big boon for it to be shorter than the others. Are there any third party coolers for 58x0 cards out yet? is the V2 incompatible with them?

[random]

Why not go for the Asus reference card? its got voltage tweak and has the reference cooler with the nice logo

[Mussels]

Originally Posted by randomflip

Why not go for the Asus reference card? its got voltage tweak and has the reference cooler with the nice logo

its 1.25" longer, which makes it a very tight fit in my case.

[Cold Storm]

Originally Posted by Mussels

its 1.25" longer, which makes it a very tight fit in my case.

Watercool it and you might be better


Nah, I don't know man.. I've never been a Sapphire person.. I've all ways was a Asus, PowerColor person.. for ATI at lease.. XfX is gaining my trust