5870 Crossfire upgrade path

[clok1966]

been using a pair of ATI 5870 1 GB in crossfire for a few years.. I generally don't jump on the $400+ cards for awhile. Right not I'm not seeing any huge need to upgrade (only run 1920X1200) but starting to look. Any $200 each cards i can SLI or crossfire that will be a noticeable upgrade? Im (as i say) at least 2 years out of the loop.

 

[ruhtraeel]

been using a pair of ATI 5870 1 GB in crossfire for a few years.. I generally don't jump on the $400+ cards for awhile. Right not I'm not seeing any huge need to upgrade (only run 1920X1200) but starting to look. Any $200 each cards i can SLI or crossfire that will be a noticeable upgrade? Im (as i say) at least 2 years out of the loop.

IMO either 2 GTX 760's or a Radeon 7970.

The next generation of AMD cards should be coming out in October, so if you can wait that long, you will have more/cheaper cards to choose from.

 

[Jaydip]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127699
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127699
Either one of this X2 will be good upgrade for you.

 

[KingFatty]

The AMD 7950s have started to hit lower prices of $220 (after rebate). If you can hold off a bit, you may be able to wait for their prices to drop to $200 to clear inventory right before the newer cards get announced/released.

 

[tulx]

Im still using a 5870 crossfire setup as well and will probably wait for the ?9970? to upgrade, in case it's good. As far as processing power goes, 2x5870 setup is enough for pretty much anything - the issue is the 1GB of VRAM.

 

[FalseChristian]

Im still using a 5870 crossfire setup as well and will probably wait for the ?9970? to upgrade, in case it's good. As far as processing power goes, 2x5870 setup is enough for pretty much anything - the issue is the 1GB of VRAM.

The funny thing is he's right. Your 2 5870 blow my 2 GTX 460 1GB out of the water but I
can still play Crysis 3 albeit at 1680x1050 with no AA so you're fine. The 1GB of VRAM is
a problem for 1920x1080 and up.

I'm buying 2 eVGA GTX 760 4GB SLI but they cost alot more than $200. Wait to see if they come out with a 2GB GTX 750 Ti. That might be an option. You're 5870 is faster than a
GTX 650 Ti BOOST.

 

[Face2Face]

The 5870's are too legendary to upgrade.. I'm afraid you are stuck with them for awhile

 

[RaistlinZ]

been using a pair of ATI 5870 1 GB in crossfire for a few years.. I generally don't jump on the $400+ cards for awhile. Right not I'm not seeing any huge need to upgrade (only run 1920X1200) but starting to look. Any $200 each cards i can SLI or crossfire that will be a noticeable upgrade? Im (as i say) at least 2 years out of the loop.

Nothing at $400 will give you a big improvement unless you're VRAM limited at the moment. Best bet is to wait until October to see what the 9000 series brings.

 

[jacktesterson]

You could probably find a pair of 7870's or 7870 XT's for $400 used which would be a decent upgrade. (with overclocking)


I'm with the others though - 5870's are almost identical to stock 7850's performance wise. Pretty crazy how long they've lasted.

 

[tulx]

5870's are almost identical to stock 7850's performance wise. Pretty crazy how long they've lasted.

Yep. Which is why I always recommend the following upgrade cycle: buy the best single-chip card you can afford, then buy an identical one two years down the line when it costs half the original price and you're good for at least another two years, then repeat.

 

[nafees127]

Got for ASUS GTX 760 SLI

it is best bet nowadays.

 

[clok1966]

The 5870's are too legendary to upgrade.. I'm afraid you are stuck with them for awhile

When i do some quick research and look at prices I tend to agree, but being out of the loop and not following video cards (and the utter sheet way of naming they use) its easy to assume im wrong and felt some better heads might sway me.

I think I will wait yet another year.. I had been on about a 2 year upgrade cycle, but this set (bought when they cost way to much) has performed quit well and maybe can stretch it a bit more.

thanks for pretty much confirming my thoughts and for the suggestions, something to read up and maybe, who knows, change my mind.

 

[ruhtraeel]

When i do some quick research and look at prices I tend to agree, but being out of the loop and not following video cards (and the utter sheet way of naming they use) its easy to assume im wrong and felt some better heads might sway me.

I think I will wait yet another year.. I had been on about a 2 year upgrade cycle, but this set (bought when they cost way to much) has performed quit well and maybe can stretch it a bit more.

thanks for pretty much confirming my thoughts and for the suggestions, something to read up and maybe, who knows, change my mind.

For me, the 1GB of VRAM can really be felt.

In games like Skyrim where I have a bunch of mods running, I get like 22 FPS.
In games like Planetside 2, Crossfire doesn't scale very well at all and I barely get 30, dropping frequently to 25.
I also can't use my Quadro FX 4600 lying around as a Physx card because I don't have space in my case after having my 2 5870's in there.
SoftTH doesn't work with Crossfire, so when I'm playing with 3 monitors, it is running off one card.
Crysis 3 doesnt' scale well at all and I get like 20 FPS with everything maxed out and like 28 FPS with everything at minimum.
Bioshock Infinite stutters with my 2 5870's.


I can sell one of my 5870's for $150, and give the other one to my dad, who wants a better GFX card than his Quadro FX 3500.

I can buy an ASUS Radeon 7970 DirectCU II for $347.49 after rebate and tax (free shipping).


For most other games at 1080P though, it works well.


I've been thinking of upgrading mainly because I know the 9970 won't be as good as the 7970 price/performance wise when it just launches. I also have a feeling that AMD is going to do what the 7xx series an the Titan did; add a new price point highest-end GPU's instead of completely replacing the older generation, sort of like with the FX 9590.

All in all, I'm on the same boat as you; with probably a couple more incentives to upgrade. I also probably can't stand waiting a year longer for the 9xxx series price to drop.

 

[SPBHM]

it's funny but, with the release of the frame pacing driver from AMD, the 5870 CF never worked as good as now...

in terms of upgrade, a 7950 with OC should deliver some gains.

 

[toyota]

The funny thing is he's right. Your 2 5870 blow my 2 GTX 460 1GB out of the water but I
can still play Crysis 3 albeit at 1680x1050 with no AA so you're fine. The 1GB of VRAM is
a problem for 1920x1080 and up.

I'm buying 2 eVGA GTX 760 4GB SLI but they cost alot more than $200. Wait to see if they come out with a 2GB GTX 750 Ti. That might be an option. You're 5870 is faster than a
GTX 650 Ti BOOST.

lol so now its 760 4gb sli that you will be buying? every couple of weeks you tell us what you will be buying and it changes every time. my money is on you keeping that 460 sli setup and letting us know which 8xx series card you will be buying. lol

 

[Mr Expert]

lol so now its 760 4gb sli that you will be buying? every couple of weeks you tell us what you will be buying and it changes every time. my money is on you keeping that 460 sli setup and letting us know which 8xx series card you will be buying. lol

HA HA my HD 7850 is better than that GTX 460 SLI setup.

 

[toyota]

HA HA my HD 7850 is better than that GTX 460 SLI setup.

actually no its not unless sli is scaling badly. a 7850 is only about 35% faster than a single 460.

 

[Mr Expert]

actually no its not unless sli is scaling badly. a 7850 is only about 35% faster than a single 460.

Well the HD 7850 is actually about double the performance of a single GTX 460. http://www.hwcompare.com/12060/geforce-gtx-460-vs-radeon-hd-7850/

Even with 100% scaling which never happens the GTX 460 would still be at the heels of the HD 7850 even when in SLI.

 

[toyota]

Well the HD 7850 is actually about double the performance of a single GTX 460. http://www.hwcompare.com/12060/geforce-gtx-460-vs-radeon-hd-7850/

Even with 100% scaling which never happens the GTX 460 would still be at the heels of the HD 7850 even when in SLI.

lol stop looking at theoretical numbers and look at real gaming.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_7850_HD_7870/26.html

at 1920x1200, the 7850 is 42% faster than a 460. I was accidentally looking at the lower res earlier and thats where I got 35% from.

 

[KingFatty]

There is a single-fan MSI 7950 going for $179 after rebate. You could get two of those (assuming they let you do up to 2 rebates, haven't checked) and get crossfire 7950s for $360 to be insanely faster than crossfire 5870s?

 

[Obsoleet]

The 5870's are too legendary to upgrade.. I'm afraid you are stuck with them for awhile

The only thing prying my 5870 out of my cold dead hands is a Radeon 8870 (or whatever the name will be).

 

[Mr Expert]

There is a single-fan MSI 7950 going for $179 after rebate.QUOTE]
Cite the link please. WOooop rebate no thnx .

 

[Mr Expert]

lol stop looking at theoretical numbers and look at real gaming.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_7850_HD_7870/26.html

at 1920x1200, the 7850 is 42% faster than a 460. I was accidentally looking at the lower res earlier and thats where I got 35% from.

LOL the ironey. Says to stop looking at theroticals and then links to some more du du du theoretics. Owned GTX 560/460 rebrand and now run an HD 7850 so it's not theortics it's reality.

 

[toyota]

LOL the ironey. Says to stop looking at theroticals and then links to some more du du du theoretics. Owned GTX 560/460 rebrand and now run an HD 7850 so it's not theortics it's reality.

perhaps get a dictionary?

the site I linked to had real gaming tests. do I need to link to other reviews too or is everything theory that does back up what you want to believe?

 

[VirtualLarry]

I'm going to back up toyota here.

Anyways, what's a good upgrade for a pair of 1GB HD6870 cards? A pair of 7950 cards?

I think they 6870s were $260 ea when they were first released.