4870 512MB CF (£70) 5770 CF 1GB (£160) or EAH5850 (£160)

[MatTheCat]

I am in a position where I am not entirely happy with my grphics performance at the moment and would like a little bit more oomph. However, I dont have a lot of funds to spare (totally skint actually but NEED more GFX).

My potential options are as follows:

Sell 4870 512MB on ebay (£70) + purchase:

ASUS 5850 1GB EAH @ £220
or
2*HIS ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB (Crossfired) @ £230

Or the most cheap option is to persevere on Ebay and the other used PC parts sites waiting on someone who is actually willing to part with their 2nd hand 4870 512MB at a reasonable rate (imo this is £70 and not a penny more).

So:

Buy Used 4870 512MB and Crossfire with existing card.

My view on DX11 for the time being is that alhtough it would be nice to have, I don't really see it as becoming all big a deal for the forseeable future with PC games developments being tied down by consoles. For example, DX11 Bad Company 2 does look nicer than DX10...but not by much at all. Also, my tower is just some Coolermaster thing that resembles a fridge (looks, not temps) which I picked up for £50 in local computer store before I really grew wise to the merits of top quality PC goods.

 

[warup89]

I would just get another 4870 for the cheap at the moment, Yeah ATI's 5 series are all the rage now, but they are the first gen dx11 cards, which is nice but they give "alright" FPS on DX11, so might as well wait for the 6 series which they would have performance + dx11 which would be a good buy.

A rule i run by:
"never get the first generation....of anything!"

 

[1Kurgan1]

I would just get another 4870 for the cheap at the moment, Yeah ATI's 5 series are all the rage now, but they are the first gen dx11 cards, which is nice but they give "alright" FPS on DX11, so might as well wait for the 6 series which they would have performance + dx11 which would be a good buy.

I rule i run by:
"never get the first generation....of anything!"

By alright FPS do you mean that all of the 5800's can play every DX11 game maxed out with great FPS?

 

[warup89]

Yeah, but The 6 series are right around the corner, which would have even better performance Plus Nvidia's new 4 series are also coming. which would give the 5 series a good performance:cost ratio. I'm not against the 5 series, but with a little bit of patience, you can save money and get a great card.

 

[Fourstaff]

sell 4870 while you still can and get 5850. Your psu and electricity bill will thank you.

 

[LifeOnMars]

Well I'm actually downgrading to the 4 series from my GTX 275. Reason being, I'm going to be at this resolution for a little while until I can afford a bigger monitor and I've got loads of older titles that I need to play through first so it will play them fine. Then, when I get the monitor I shall buy a DX11 card that performs to the required level for that resolution.

Mat the Cat - i reckon you should embrace DX11 with a HD5850 and then at a later date crossfire it if needed.

 

[1Kurgan1]

Yeah, but The 6 series are right around the corner, which would have even better performance Plus Nvidia's new 4 series are also coming. which would give the 5 series a good performance:cost ratio. I'm not against the 5 series, but with a little bit of patience, you can save money and get a great card.

And right after the 6 series will be NV's 5 series, then right after that will be ATI 7 series, then right after that will be....

If you keep telling yourself something is real close, you will never upgrade. The 5800's and even the 5700's are amazing cards, my friends play Bad Company 2 at 1920x1080 on a 5770 maxed out, I mean thats a mid range card, thats very good.

 

[warup89]

Yeah I know what you mean, but i was really aiming at the the first generation of the ATI dx11 selection [or any other dx]. I Really want to get me a 5 series myself, but the timing couldn't had been worse, since there's all this hyped news about nvidas new competitor. which means [like i said before] cheaper cards, on ATI's side anyways.

 

[MatTheCat]

I would just get another 4870 for the cheap at the moment, Yeah ATI's 5 series are all the rage now, but they are the first gen dx11 cards, which is nice but they give "alright" FPS on DX11, so might as well wait for the 6 series which they would have performance + dx11 which would be a good buy.

A rule i run by:
"never get the first generation....of anything!"

This was my original thinking. DX11 right means nothing fantastic and by the time it does the 5xxx series will be low-end and not up to task (thinking 2011/12 BF3 DX11 madness).

You have not a crossfired HD4870, but a dual GPU. What sort of problems do you have to contend with that might not be a problem with a dingle GPU solution...and...would have 2*4870 be pretty much the same experience once they were installed into the tower?

If you keep telling yourself something is real close, you will never upgrade. The 5800's and even the 5700's are amazing cards, my friends play Bad Company 2 at 1920x1080 on a 5770 maxed out, I mean thats a mid range card, thats very good.

My mate just splashed out on £1200 worth of PC equipment, amongst which was a £200 DFI Lanparty board, an I7 920 Oclocked to 4GHZ, water cooling....and a single 5770. I have seen him play Bad Company 2 on 1650*1080 on both DX11 and DX10. Although he loses pracxtically no frames between the two, he was getting less FPS than I do on my rig. We both run everything on high (shadows medium) and I don't run HBAO whilst he does (HBAO = at least a 10FPS hit. Furthermore, he is unable to force V-sync...so he got to play the game with tearing.

 

[TRIPTEX_CAN]

I voted for the 5850. It will run any game you throw at it maxed out with DX11 @ 1680x1050. I sold my 4850s for $170 CAD and picked up an ASUS 5850 for $320 later that same day. No regrets here.

Your estimate of 70 for a 4870 seems a little steep. I'd imagine you could find one for less if you keep looking. 4850/70 crossfire is amazing performance:$$$ but at the end of the day you're still using 512mb framebuffer and that will start to show as games like Metro 2033 arrive.

 

[MatTheCat]

I voted for the 5850. It will run any game you throw at it maxed out with DX11 @ 1680x1050. I sold my 4850s for $170 CAD and picked up an ASUS 5850 for $320 later that same day. No regrets here.

Your estimate of 70 for a 4870 seems a little steep. I'd imagine you could find one for less if you keep looking. 4850/70 crossfire is amazing performance:$$$ but at the end of the day you're still using 512mb framebuffer and that will start to show as games like Metro 2033 arrive.

If you think £70 for a HD4870 is a little steep:

this
and this
and that
and you may as well also check out this

Just as I would happily pay £70 for an HD4870 512MB (and not a penny more), I would happily list it on Ebay at £70. And considering that sopme of these money grubbers are actually punting thier USED cards at NEW retail prices....I think £70 for an HD4870 would be snapped up by someone like myself looking for a CF fix until better times come again.

 

[TRIPTEX_CAN]

Ouch!

Those prices are retarded. I guess I expected the market to similar to what it is here. :/

 

[MatTheCat]

Ouch!

Those prices are retarded. I guess I expected the market to similar to what it is here. :/

These prices seem to be what most people are asking for their outdated gfx cards. I could have quadrupled the length of that list with HD4870's being sold both on Ebay and local classifieds sites for around £100.

The problem with buying from abroad, is that British customs and excises are liable to stamp a 17.5% VAT increase on it.

 

[warup89]

This was my original thinking. DX11 right means nothing fantastic and by the time it does the 5xxx series will be low-end and not up to task (thinking 2011/12 BF3 DX11 madness).

You have not a crossfired HD4870, but a dual GPU. What sort of problems do you have to contend with that might not be a problem with a dingle GPU solution...and...would have 2*4870 be pretty much the same experience once they were installed into the tower?

As far as I can tell, a x2 4870 behave the same as x1 4870x2, well thats the experience I had back when i used to have x3 3870's which were buggier cards, but i almost had no problems running Xfire with them, and so far I've never had a problem with my 4870 x2.

EDIT:
Ps
Ill be getting BFBC2 today, and ill let you know how well it runs on my 4870x2.

 

[MatTheCat]

EDIT:
Ps
Ill be getting BFBC2 today, and ill let you know how well it runs on my 4870x2.

Had a chance to see how the BF game is running yet?

 

[TRIPTEX_CAN]

Had a chance to see how the BF game is running yet?

Hit up the BC2 Clubhouse thread if you want an FPS report on a specific GPU. Among us we have almost every possible combination in use.

I can say that @ your resolution my 5850 averages 80fps Maxed out 4xAA/4xAF HBAO on and only 60fps min.

 

[Gzero]

Ouch!

Those prices are retarded. I guess I expected the market to similar to what it is here. :/

Why what's wrong with the hd4870 512mb?

It's holding it's price as it should since it's a good card that isn't beaten by today's mid range hd5770 512mb.

 

[warup89]

Had a chance to see how the BF game is running yet?

well mail dropped the game off, but im still at work , ill give that baby a go in 2 hours ^_^.

-Like TRIPTEX_MTL said, go look around the BFBC2 clubhouse for more info on the time being.

 

[JATownes]

I voted for another 4870...I am DYING for a 5850, but my 4850 Crossfire rig slices through anything - like butter. I could upgrade just for giggles, but the warden (wife) asks me why...and I don't have a good reason to tell her. Go with another 4870, then grab a 5xxx series card in a few months when they are a little more affordable. <---My 2 cents.

 

[TRIPTEX_CAN]

Why what's wrong with the hd4870 512mb?

It's holding it's price as it should since it's a good card that isn't beaten by today's mid range hd5770 512mb.

As a used GPU those links show people looking to get more than it's current value. IMO.

 

[erocker]

I think even at 1680x1050 you will benefit from more than 512mb of ram. I would also take a single GPU solution over two of them so the 5850 is my choice.

 

[Gzero]

I agree that the OP should get something like the hd5850. Not sure why the rush though?
I'm holding out a little longer to see if the Nvidia cards make a dent or impact.
But for now, enjoying BFBC2 at 1080p on high without hbao (I couldn't see a big difference).

 

[Polarman]

Get a 5850 with a good & quiet cooler.

 

[Loosenut]

I chose to CF 5750's because of financial obligations elsewhere but now? 5850 for sure and a little later, another one in CF

 

[MatTheCat]

I think even at 1680x1050 you will benefit from more than 512mb of ram. I would also take a single GPU solution over two of them so the 5850 is my choice.

Having searched around this site for info on Crossfire configurations I have spotted a few posts of your where you seem to have really positive things to say. I also spotted a post where you stated that in future you would choose (more powerful) single GPU over dual GPU solution everytime.

In a knutshell, why the change of heart?