Hey guys, Im planning a new system build and had my mind set on an ATI 5870. I have always used nvidia however but ati seem to be leading the way in graphics cards. Today however ive been talking to a few people and they say stick with nvidia as ati always have problems. I have looked on the forums and see a few other people having issues with ati like GSOD, flash bios, new driver etc etc so now im really confused. I wanna play games at least 1680x1050 max out with good frame rates. I got about £350 to spend on a GPU what would you guys recommend. cheers
I have a 5850 and have had NO problems with it so far. It runs Crysis at Very High settings with 4xAA at 1920x1080 res with little to no stuttering
I'd go for the 5870. More specifically, this one: http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/1GB-...-GDDR5-GPU-875MHz-1600-Cores-2x-DVI-I-DP-HDMI
I have currently HD5850 and GTX470 and neither has had issues so far. That said, I think Ati offers a bit better bang for buck and draws FAR less power, so that's a good choice. The Nvidia seems to out perform ati at high AA/AF settings. Either way you'll gonna be playing happily with that resolution.
Buy the HD5870 as both Nvidia cards don't have much going for them - the GTX 470 is slower than the 5870 and sometimes the 5850, while costing the same. The GTX 480 is way too expensive to justify a small advantage in some games and lower performance in others. As far as problems, the ATI drivers are actually far less prone to crashing compared with my Nvidia cards like the GTX 285s in SLI, the GTX 275 etc. Another factor is the low power consumption and temperatures compared with the Nvidia cards - I'm probably saving 100W compared to my GTX 285 SLI setup. Currently, its the most sensible choice for a single GPU.
If you are going to be adding multi gpu at any point 2x gtx470 is cheaper and just as fast or faster in sli than 2x HD5870 xfire...and that's a beast.
But if 1680x1050 is the resolution games are going to be played at, is there any point to a multi-GPU set up?
Not really no... a single card will be more than enough. You wont really notice any difference from a HD5870 to a GTX 470 at that res too. But you know how it is, the want for a 30" or multiple screens could happen anytime lol.
Most definitely. I suppose a dual GTX470 setup does offer extra futureproofing...but then you'd have the extra heat and power consumption to contend with.
£30 for a better cooler...I personally think it's worth it because of the overclocking headroom it gives you.
My suggestion, which is more long term benefit is that: 1- The ATi Radeon 5000 series is now old, the 6000 should be out soon. 2- Nvidia will eventually release a re-worked Fermi. This give you 2 benefits: 1- If Nvidia new re-worked (and not be to confused with second revision of the same Fermi chip that is out now, which was rumored to be out soon. That is unless they miracly fixed all it's down side, which I doubt it), might be more powerful than the ATi Radeon 6000 series, and you get to stick with Nvidia, as you seem to be comfortable with them. 2- If Nvidia fails to make an interesting GPU (too much heat or low power or both), than who cares, you got the new ATi 6000 GPU. In result, I would get a GPU that can run all or maybe almost all your games at max max settings now (at 1920x1200), like a Geforce GTX 260 or 275. In addition, they are inexpensive now. If you already have a decent GPU, you can keep it as well until the new en comes out (maybe year end or early next year?!). For me, the long term approach provided to be very beneficial for me. I saved money, I am always very satisfied with my purchase, allows me to grow my budget and get the even better model in the end. The downside is that you have to be patient.
The problem with gpu cards is that the next revision/generation is probably never more than six months away. So why not wait? Well, the most recent lesson in why not to wait is Fermi. For months, November 2009 til March 2010 any discussion regarding gpu would have contributions summarised as "I'm gonna wait for Fermi". Only problem is Fermi has been a bit of fail... heat, noise, cost. Ati's 5800 series has been better performing and better value at every price point. With your budget, the 5870 is a no brainer... if I had the funds, I'd have one yesterday. Ati's 6000 series could be the gpu series to end all gpu series... it wont because give it less than twelve months and the seven series will come along. lol! Nvidia, on the other hand, have real issues. Their current architecture, Fermi, has been a missfire from the get go. The revisions, 104 and 106 are an improvement but are still lagging their Ati equivalents. It is to be hoped Nvidia have switched their RnD to Fermi's replacement but given they're six months out of sinque with Ati, that new generation wont be with us this side of Jan. 2011 at the earliest. 5870 now or wait for the next gen. But then the next gen is only ever six months away, right?
Even as an Nvidia fan, I still recommend the OP buy a 5870. Of course, I'm a fan of multi-GPU set ups and would also urge the OP to look at dual 5770 (or even 5830) Crossfire.
yeah definitely a 5870 as it's the best you can get without spending £500 on a 5970. I wish i had the money for a sapphire 5970 4GB toxic. Super high frame rates on everything, even crysis
ATI 5870 definitely. Had no problems with ATI but I have done with Nvidia before. Also Eyefinity with ATI
