My ATI Radeon 5850 review (Gigabyte 5850OC) (custom dual fan model)

[SilverSilence]

New update from gigabyte, i wonder if they actually mean it;

Also, i found my max stable clocks: 950Mhz core, anything higher and it artifacts.. 1230Mhz memory, anything higher and the system crashes.. So much for tier 1 components xD

 

[eidairaman1]

Nah sounds like a computer generated response, best to take the part back and get a Regular 5850

 

[brandonwh64]

heres some shots of my visiontek REV.1 5850.
1st picture is stock clock and the second is OCed

 

[erixx]

Zac you fooled the 'answer robot' because no way 'only a BIOS update' is required hahahaha NICE GOAL! Can't wait for the next episode!

1230 on memory??????????? Have you played a 'tier 1' lol game for some hours??? I also thought I achieved that but only when there's no 3D action! =8

 

[brandonwh64]

played BC2 for about 4 hours with no problems.

 

[SilverSilence]

Zac you fooled the 'answer robot' because no way 'only a BIOS update' is required hahahaha NICE GOAL! Can't wait for the next episode!

1230 on memory??????????? Have you played a 'tier 1' lol game for some hours??? I also thought I achieved that but only when there's no 3D action! =8

Haha, there responses make them sound like idiots lol.

I used the artifact scanner in ATI Tray Tools and made it find max stable GPU and memory clocks. I think it's pretty stable

 

[jakeface1]

My gigabyte 5870 is at 950/1300 stable. I tested in games like battlefield bad company 2 and OCCT and msi Kumbustor. my max temp in battlefield and in any game for that matter was 53C and I idle at 34C. In occt my temp gets up to 70C. If I remove the stock cooler and apply some better thermal paste does that void the warranty?

Also I sent a message to gigabyte about the 2d clocks on my card so ill update when they answer.

 

[OnBoard]

really never believed in Automatic fan control, reminds me of P4 and PWM, doesnt always work properly and can cause the fan to rev and slow every second there is a Spike in Temperature, best to have Manual Control that way when your gaming you can set the fan to a certain speed.

It works when it's done right. My GTX 280 raises it's fan speed 1% at a time when under stress.

For OP, nice looking card. I'm sort of looking into getting a 5850/5770 crossfire or something like that. Want a cooler card than this for summer, but the prices are just silly at the moment.

I get the 2D thing, for me it's using 2 displays that doesn't allow 2D clocks/voltages. And add to that just learned (with GTX 480 2 display test) that all graphics card use more power with 2 displays
The Radeon HD 5870 uses 41 Watts more power at idle for the second monitor, which is slightly more than the 33 Watt increase that I saw on the GeForce GTX 285 video card.
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1258/15/

That's just messed up, I used to have 8500GT card on the second PCI-E slot so that I can have 2D voltages and clocks, but figured it wasn't worth it as the 2Dvs3D idle wattage difference was just 30W. But with 2 displays that's another 30W on top of that. Currently I'm using 30-40W extra just to display a desktop image on my TV that isn't even on, got to love technology.

So it's always better to have 2 cards if you want to use less power..

Someone had crossfire here. Do you have to plug both displays to same card or they still work as two seperate graphics cards with 4xDVI output?

2x5770 would 1x5850, cost less and you'd actually use less power with 2 displays that way. Or 5850+5450 passive for second display, but with that money you can already get 5870

And do the 5770 egg cooler versions have 2D mode/voltage tuning either?

 

[erixx]

Many recent factory overclocked 58XX's have not the good voltage chip, not only Gigabyte's.

Look for reference designs (the classic square cover with fan to one end, not central or twin fans)

OR, get one like the Asus that advertises as Voltage Control (I did not check if it is only higher voltage or also lower voltage ...)

 

[brandonwh64]

It works when it's done right. My GTX 280 raises it's fan speed 1% at a time when under stress.

For OP, nice looking card. I'm sort of looking into getting a 5850/5770 crossfire or something like that. Want a cooler card than this for summer, but the prices are just silly at the moment.

I get the 2D thing, for me it's using 2 displays that doesn't allow 2D clocks/voltages. And add to that just learned (with GTX 480 2 display test) that all graphics card use more power with 2 displays
The Radeon HD 5870 uses 41 Watts more power at idle for the second monitor, which is slightly more than the 33 Watt increase that I saw on the GeForce GTX 285 video card.
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1258/15/

That's just messed up, I used to have 8500GT card on the second PCI-E slot so that I can have 2D voltages and clocks, but figured it wasn't worth it as the 2Dvs3D idle wattage difference was just 30W. But with 2 displays that's another 30W on top of that. Currently I'm using 30-40W extra just to display a desktop image on my TV that isn't even on, got to love technology.

So it's always better to have 2 cards if you want to use less power..

Someone had crossfire here. Do you have to plug both displays to same card or they still work as two seperate graphics cards with 4xDVI output?

2x5770 would 1x5850, cost less and you'd actually use less power with 2 displays that way. Or 5850+5450 passive for second display, but with that money you can already get 5870

And do the 5770 egg cooler versions have 2D mode/voltage tuning either?

This is not entirely true. those cards might get alittle over a single 5850 but not blow it out of the water. as you can see below those two 5770s make about 1k more on 3dmark06 than my single 5850. with some more tweaking i might could match it or go alittle over so there almost in the same category.

Dons 2x5770

My 5850

 

[OnBoard]

This is not entirely true. those cards might get alittle over a single 5850 but not blow it out of the water. as you can see below those two 5770s make about 1k more on 3dmark06 than my single 5850. with some more tweaking i might could match it or go alittle over so there almost in the same category.

I was talking about games, look here for example:
http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-5770-review-test/14

Warhead is same performance, but other than that 2x5770 beats even 5870 many times.

Many recent factory overclocked 58XX's have not the good voltage chip, not only Gigabyte's.

Look for reference designs (the classic square cover with fan to one end, not central or twin fans)

OR, get one like the Asus that advertises as Voltage Control (I did not check if it is only higher voltage or also lower voltage ...)

Yep, that would be a good plan. 5850 just needs to come down in price, under 250€ and I'd go for it. Have to wait and see what happens on april 12th, but NVIDIA might have so little stock that there is no need for ATI to lower their prices.

Might even do a downgrade to 1x5770 and use it untill 5850 is cheaper or GTS 450 comes out.

Best scenario would be now that eyefinity6 is out, that would compeate with GTX 480. 5870 would drop in price to compeate with GTX 470 and 5850+5830 down in price too.

 

[SK-1]

Warhead and 06'

They wimp out on anything intensive. 5870 FTW.

 

[erixx]

ATI TRAY TOOLS (I just installed it) gives a 2nd voltage option of 0,9 or so apart from the 1,08 stock voltage... I am an absolute noob* with ATT but just wonder... holy cow!!!!

If anyone is experienced with ATT, check it and tell us, thank you!

* It's home-forum at guru3d is at least chaotic and I will need to spend some time getting the right info about low level driver with w7-64, overclock, etc., etc...

 

[erixx]

Just tested again the card with Kombustor and it runs happily at 100 ºC !!! WOWOWOWOW

 

[erixx]

I GOT IT SORT OF WORKING: 1,08 V FOR 3D AND 0,9 FOR 2D !!!!!!!

Using Ati TRAY Tools.

I will start a new specific thread just to spread the news.

 

[ZCommander]

Still waiting for a fix !

 

[erixx]

Like the song!!!

 

[erixx]

Here you can see my Idle or 2D mode, at 500/500, and the Voltage options....

 

[btarunr]

Thanks. Gotta avoid Gigabyte for HD 5000 series.

 

[erixx]

Namastē btrarunr, yes and no. Not everybody cares about clocks and volts, and the upcoming superoverclocked (SOC) version looks like a killer for.... fiddlers, er... hardcore benchmarkers hehe

 

[SK-1]

Thanks. Gotta avoid Gigabyte for HD 5000 series.

Just sold mine. Kind of sad, but I made $50.00 on it! Time to look for another XFX.

I spent well over an hour Googling for bad issues with this card. OMG lol. I did the normal "Tech assistance email string" AND, I have also sent a scathing, insulting and demeaning letter to Gigabyte. Yes... LETTER. The old fashioned way. I bet the person who opens it has a bad day...


All in all an educational and profitable (if not madding) experience.

Gigabyte must learn from this and make a high end graphics card that is as good at their MB's.

 

[ZCommander]

Gigabyte listed the SOC edition today!

I should start searching for that Firmware !

 

[SK-1]

My gosh the stock 5870 cooler is sooo much louder than the Gigabyte. I just manually adjusted the XFX to 100% *holds ears and cringes* Like a leaf blower.

 

[eidairaman1]

IDK about all the issues with the 3rd party designed parts, but wouldnt it be worthy just to get the Standard 5870/5850 and Just put a different cooler on it to include memory, Volt Controls etc. Then ramp the clocks?

 

[SK-1]

That seems like the best route for most people.^ The card still has its merits.