Graphics 1 5970 or 2 5870's? (and power to drive them)

1gb vram will be gone the way of the dodo in the next 12 months for 1900x1200 gaming, let alone 2560x1600. Its curious to see people say its not worth getting 2gb 5870s because it doesnt make any difference and if it does its only at very high resolutions and AA levels. Thats true now but it will very likely be incorrect 12 months from now, and theres precedent for such an opinion.

The gts 250 is based on some pretty ancient hardware and it can make very good use of 1gb vram on its own, and its a pretty timid bit of kit now. When full g92 chips came out there were a handfull of 1gb models and they looked over the top in their day but they would have matured all the better for having that bit more ram behind them. Check out this old xbitlabs review:

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/gainward-bliss8800gts-1024_17.html#sect0

and a comment thread at hardocp of a fudzilla 1gb gts review:

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1278345

In my eyes it all looks spookily familiar to the arguements going on today. Get 2 x 2gb 5870s, as bog standard as you can get all 5870s oc to around the same point, and a 750watt top tier psu. You'll appreciate the extra ram if you plan on holding onto the setup for longer than 9 months from now.

 

Mmmmmm ...i like that site and all but I can never shake the feeling that something is a little bit up with their benchmarking practice/results/game settings tested. Pinch of salt and all that....

 

I don't think there is much precedence. Large amounts of vRam only make a big difference on either high resolutions or with tremendously detailed games where there are many textures. Nowadays, most PC games are identically graphically to their less able console brethren, so we're getting less of a boost. The amount of memory required is increasing, but the number of 2GB cards around is not sufficiently high to warrant requiring it. Here's my view:
Back then, there were plenty of 1gb cards, which warranted companies making their games 1gb ready.

Now, the only powerful graphics cards with 2gb framebuffer + are the 2gb 5870s and the 4gb 5970s.
There are 1.5gb cards, and 1.7s from nVidia, but still, the majority of people have less than 1GB. According to the steam hardware survey, 94.92% of people have video memory of 1GB or lower. Sure, there are Macs and laptops padding the numbers, but any time soon I don't see the amount of memory needed going up to 2GB, especially since many 512mb cards can still blaze through most games.

Furthermore, the excessive cost of the 2GB version of the 5870 makes it not worth buying.

I have exactly the same feeling. I don't know what it is, it just doesn't feel right, if you know what I mean? I can't put my finger on anything, it's a little weird.

 

most review sites have done 470 and 480 in sli vs 5850 and 5870 in crossfire

both win there respective areas but theres a big cost gap

if you have that level of money for duel 480s its a much quicker setup but its alot of money

as for 2gb of vram the diffrence at the min is 1-2fps at silly tri moniter screen resolutions. eyeinfinity stuff

you will never see 1920 x 1080 requiring more than 1gb of vram for a good few years

id guess it will be next console gen that we will see this

 

I don't want to sound like a tree-hugger, but the power consumption of the 4-series is just appalling. I'd go for the dual 5870's.

 

I'd say go for 2 5870's, 2GB Vram will help at 2560.

 

Definitely getting the 2 5870's, sapphire vapor x's. I am getting the 2gb cards because I am at 2560 x 1440 where it can make more of a difference, and they are about $40 more. Don't want to put up with the heat and power of the nvidia cards, and its worth a little more money to me. I will be overclocking them as well, and the vapor x cooler should give me some more headroom. Thanks for the help.

 

Without reading any of the other posts, I have to say that you DO NOT need any more serious graphics power for your 27" than a single 5870. I'm using a single 5870 1GB on my 30" @ 2560 x 1600 with zero framerate issues. I've been tempted to pick up a second card, though I really can't justify the cost as the single 5870 plays EVERY game I own at good framerates with at least decent quality settings.

Oh, and as for 2GB cards vs 1GB cards, zero real-world difference, even with AA on. You'd need two or more monitors in Eyefinity to make use of it.

 

I really think 1gb will run out of steam alot sooner than you might think. If g92 class hardware could make a good practical use out of having MORE THAN 512mb in its lifetime than im certain rv870 can make use of more than 1gb in its. Price is a whopping great issue for 2gb cards though.
It all depends on how long you plan on holding onto those cards for, 18 months? might as well go with 1gb. 2 years or longer? I'd look at 2gb models and swallow the extra cost.

 

who owns a pc for 2 years in this day and age

most people on here upgrade every 6months lol

 

People who can't afford such luxuries as the i7 980x