Should I Upgrade?

drwho · Nov 17, 2009, 07:03 PM

Well, its getting close to Xmas again and as such I always upgrade something on my computer. I'm currently running a HIS HD-4870 X2 video card and have been looking at the 5870 which recently has made an appearance. So, is it worth the money to go from a 4870 X2 to the 5870 right now at this point and time?

Judas · Nov 17, 2009, 07:33 PM

In some cases, the 4870x2 out performs a single 5870..... but only marginally mostly... Some you can clearly see where multiple GPU's really come in handy.

I think your mostly gaining DX11 capabilities and likely a little better FSAA capabilities (faster)...

Overall though, it's not much of an upgrade persay... a 5970 would definitely though.

BlueMak · Nov 17, 2009, 07:45 PM

I wouldn't mind getting a 5870 to replace my 4870X2, but to buy one? No. You might want to consider the 5970 which perhaps is twice as fast as the 4870X2. I think the reviews are out tomorrow.

IvanV · Nov 17, 2009, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlueMak

... I think the reviews are out tomorrow.

Woo-hoo! :dancing_around_the_pc:

drwho · Nov 17, 2009, 10:15 PM

Thanks for the info, guys. I will definately be reading some of those reviews when they come out.

DJ BIG T · Nov 17, 2009, 11:25 PM

ill be on here first thing in the morning to read it..wooooooo

Mourgolikos · Nov 17, 2009, 11:50 PM

The difference between 4870x2 and 5870 is very little to consider upgrading just for performance. Only DX11 is an important excuse.
As the 5970 will be available soon, you can get it for performance increase, but you have to consider that you will need a very-very-very-very fast CPU to diminish the phenomenon of bottleneck, and get the full potential of the new ultra fast GPU! (some overclocking to your cpu will be enough)
The only bad thing i can see is that the selling price of your card will drop even more as the days pass.

On the other hand the 5870 (especially after a little overclocking) is pretty strong at 1980x1200 and lower, so i guess it will be enough for you gaming experience, and in case of a more demanding future you can add one more cheaper 5870 and get equivalent performance to a 5970, paying and waiting less (maybe some problems with 5970 stock availability)

Also i believe two 5870 will be cooler than a 5970 at each core chip. (I will wait for some benchmarks to be sure

)

Just my thoughts..

procupine14 · Nov 18, 2009, 03:16 AM

I basically support everyone else on this thread. The only thing that you will be really gaining out of this is the DX11 capability.

drwho · Nov 18, 2009, 04:30 AM

Quote:

As the 5970 will be available soon, you can get it for performance increase, but you have to consider that you will need a very-very-very-very fast CPU to diminish the phenomenon of bottleneck, and get the full potential of the new ultra fast GPU! (some overclocking to your cpu will be enough)

My CPU is a i7 940, so I'm thinking in least that aspect I should be OK.

**kris23** · Nov 18, 2009, 04:38 AM

i gots a Q9550 OCed to 3.6Ghz.... i dont think my bottleneck would be serious....

anyways.... i think the 5970 is the best way to go.... i say get it.....

comp_ali · Nov 18, 2009, 04:40 AM

Like they said , 5870 and 4870X2 are very close in performance aside from DX11 so I think it is not worth the upgrade , 5890 review will be published today

Cow_160483 · Nov 18, 2009, 04:52 AM

Get it is what I say then you will be in possession of the latest greatest tec. that always puts a smile on my face

but that's just me

preferably wait for the 5970

Mourgolikos · Nov 18, 2009, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drwho

My CPU is a i7 940, so I'm thinking in least that aspect I should be OK.

A usefull article about bottlenecking
If you consider that 5970 is faster than 295 and see the difference between Q9550 and i7 920 you will understand what i mean even for 940, and why here in DH they use an Intel i7-975EE @3.33GHz at their benchmarks

It's a pity to pay so much money (599$ for 5970) and not to get it's full potential

Powercolor 5970 tested by DH and seems very strong. It has great overclock capability but noisy (a thing that i personally don't care).

Every choice you get i am sure you will rock

drwho · Nov 27, 2009, 02:24 AM

I've been reading some of threads in this forum about the 5770 and am wondering if two of the 5770s in a Crossfire setup would suit my purposes? I'm really not interested in spending around $600 on a 5870 right now.

Optix · Nov 27, 2009, 02:54 AM

5770's Crossfired will certainly do what you need them to.

http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=862

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon...ge%20to%20Load

Judas · Nov 27, 2009, 03:40 PM

personally i find it's always best to get a single card.

but provided with the funds..

Actually i can get a single HD5850 cheaper then i can get 2x 5770's....

Optix · Nov 27, 2009, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Judas

Actually i can get a single HD5850 cheaper then i can get 2x 5770's....

Can you take orders?

Judas · Nov 27, 2009, 04:51 PM

i can.. but by the time shipping and taxes are added up.. you won't like it

moshpit · Nov 27, 2009, 05:14 PM

The other HUGE advantage of the 5870 over a 4870X2 is power consumption is WAY lower at idle. Almost a silly amount of difference in fact.

To really put this in perspective, I replaced a single 4870 with 2 5870's and still use less power on the desktop when not rendering a game. In fact, the funniest part of this most recent upgrade I went through is that the new rig is over 2x more powerful in gaming, yet uses just over half the power when I'm just puttering around on the desktop.

comp_ali · Nov 27, 2009, 05:17 PM

That's the advantage of going 40nm , by the time AMD goes 32nm the power consumption will be even lower.

moshpit · Nov 27, 2009, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by comp_ali

That's the advantage of going 40nm , by the time AMD goes 32nm the power consumption will be even lower.

Will that be for Radeon "6870"? Can't wait

BigBodZod · Nov 27, 2009, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moshpit

Will that be for Radeon "6870"? Can't wait

And the subsequent 6970 dual-gpu behemoth

BlueMak · Nov 27, 2009, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigBodZod

And the subsequent 6970 dual-gpu behemoth

Nah, they will name it 6789X4/2

moshpit · Nov 28, 2009, 05:30 PM

No no no, it's the 6870XT-X2-GTX-Ultra-CherryOnTop Edition.

BigBodZod · Nov 28, 2009, 07:20 PM

This is probably way OT but will either ATi or nVidia ever produce a single card that has say 3 or 4 GPU's installed ?!?

I'm thinking no, only due to the power and thermals involved in designing such a thing but what I'm really looking at is not that there will be 3 or 4 discrete GPU cores but a multi-gpu core die like you have for cpu's now

OldBuzzard · Nov 28, 2009, 08:58 PM

It's been done. Back in the ATI9700 and 9800 days.

Evans & Sutherland ( http://www.es.com/ ) marketed the simFusion 6000 with the 9700 GPUs, and the simFusion 6500 with 9800 GPUs. They were used mostly for military simulators

Here's a pic of the card:

http://img2.zol.com.cn/product/15_45...7FRH6yi0bs.jpg

More info on that card here:

http://www.dvhardware.net/article2076.html

procupine14 · Dec 2, 2009, 04:23 AM

I think that older piece of tech just made me the happiest man on the face of the earth!
So cool!

SeraphicSorcerer · Dec 2, 2009, 05:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldBuzzard

It's been done. Back in the ATI9700 and 9800 days.

Evans & Sutherland ( Evans and Sutherland ) marketed the simFusion 6000 with the 9700 GPUs, and the simFusion 6500 with 9800 GPUs. They were used mostly for military simulators

Here's a pic of the card:

http://img2.zol.com.cn/product/15_45...7FRH6yi0bs.jpg

More info on that card here:

The simFUSION 6000q the force of four Radeon 9700 cores!

It is worth mentioning though the processors didn't take up so much die size

deBelly · Dec 2, 2009, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigBodZod

This is probably way OT but will either ATi or nVidia ever produce a single card that has say 3 or 4 GPU's installed ?!?

I'm thinking no, only due to the power and thermals involved in designing such a thing but what I'm really looking at is not that there will be 3 or 4 discrete GPU cores but a multi-gpu core die like you have for cpu's now

You mean something like Asus HD3850 Trinity?

procupine14 · Dec 2, 2009, 05:35 PM

Yeah, I guess the main problem that holds products like this back from the mainstream are the ridiculous costs and the simple fact that no one actually has a use for them in a real time situation. Especially for the amount of the cost.

Nov 17, 2009, 07:03 PM	#1
drwho HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Carol Stream, IL Posts: 572 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Should I Upgrade? Well, its getting close to Xmas again and as such I always upgrade something on my computer. I'm currently running a HIS HD-4870 X2 video card and have been looking at the 5870 which recently has made an appearance. So, is it worth the money to go from a 4870 X2 to the 5870 right now at this point and time? __________________

Nov 17, 2009, 07:45 PM	#3
BlueMak HH's Asteroids' Dominator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Hellas->Macedonia->Thessaloniki Posts: 13,459 Rep Power: 349 System Specs	Re: Should I Upgrade? I wouldn't mind getting a 5870 to replace my 4870X2, but to buy one? No. You might want to consider the 5970 which perhaps is twice as fast as the 4870X2. I think the reviews are out tomorrow. __________________ The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm *Sic semper tyrannis.*

Nov 17, 2009, 10:15 PM	Thread Starter #5
drwho HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Carol Stream, IL Posts: 572 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Re: Should I Upgrade? Thanks for the info, guys. I will definately be reading some of those reviews when they come out. __________________

Nov 17, 2009, 11:25 PM	#6
DJ BIG T DH FaN BoY Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: ORLANDO,FL Posts: 930 Rep Power: 69 System Specs	Re: Should I Upgrade? ill be on here first thing in the morning to read it..wooooooo __________________

Nov 17, 2009, 11:50 PM	#7
Mourgolikos HardwareHeaven Addict Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Greece, Salonika Posts: 356 Rep Power: 38 System Specs	Re: Should I Upgrade? The difference between 4870x2 and 5870 is very little to consider upgrading just for performance. Only DX11 is an important excuse. As the 5970 will be available soon, you can get it for performance increase, but you have to consider that you will need a very-very-very-very fast CPU to diminish the phenomenon of bottleneck, and get the full potential of the new ultra fast GPU! (some overclocking to your cpu will be enough) The only bad thing i can see is that the selling price of your card will drop even more as the days pass. On the other hand the 5870 (especially after a little overclocking) is pretty strong at 1980x1200 and lower, so i guess it will be enough for you gaming experience, and in case of a more demanding future you can add one more cheaper 5870 and get equivalent performance to a 5970, paying and waiting less (maybe some problems with 5970 stock availability) Also i believe two 5870 will be cooler than a 5970 at each core chip. (I will wait for some benchmarks to be sure ) Just my thoughts.. __________________

Nov 18, 2009, 03:16 AM	#8
procupine14 Why is it Beeping!?!?! Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: USA, Missouri Posts: 1,400 Rep Power: 58 System Specs	Re: Should I Upgrade? I basically support everyone else on this thread. The only thing that you will be really gaining out of this is the DX11 capability. __________________ HTPC/file server: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit - AMD Phenom x4 9850 - 4GB OCZ DDR2 800 (2x2GB) - 1TB WD Black - 4 x 1TB Hitachi DeskStar in RAID 5 - ATi TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuner - HIS Raedon 4850 512MB - ASRock N68C-S UCC mobo - OCZ ModExtreme Pro 500W PSU GF's Gaming PC: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit - AMD Phenom 9850 - 4GB OCZ DDR2 1066 - 500GB Western Digital GP - HIS Raedon 5770 1GB - ASUS M3A78-EM - Zalman 650W PSU Media Streamer: Win 7 Pro 64-bit - AMD Athlon x2 3200+ - 4GB SuperTalent DDR2 800 - 250GB SeaGate Barracuda - MSI K9N6PGM2-V2 - ASUS Raedon 5450 SILENT - FSP group 250W PSU

Nov 18, 2009, 04:38 AM	#10
kris23 Going Insane..... Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 6,017 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	Re: Should I Upgrade? i gots a Q9550 OCed to 3.6Ghz.... i dont think my bottleneck would be serious.... anyways.... i think the 5970 is the best way to go.... i say get it..... __________________ Hardwareheaven Super-Moderator Building a new computer system and not sure where to start? Click Here! last updated (5/18/11) Rosewill FUTURE case replaces CM 690 II with its greater interior length. Building a PC: Step by Step Guide Written by Kristopher Pedemonte and Nathan Marks-Forder Edited by Allan Campbell Questions or Comments? feel free to post them in the forums!

Nov 18, 2009, 04:40 AM	#11
comp_ali Sniper Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Egypt Posts: 10,469 Rep Power: 339 System Specs	Re: Should I Upgrade? Like they said , 5870 and 4870X2 are very close in performance aside from DX11 so I think it is not worth the upgrade , 5890 review will be published today __________________

Nov 18, 2009, 04:52 AM	#12
Cow_160483 HH's only cow moooooo... Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: BOTSWANA Posts: 6,809 Rep Power: 299 System Specs	Re: Should I Upgrade? Get it is what I say then you will be in possession of the latest greatest tec. that always puts a smile on my face but that's just me preferably wait for the 5970 __________________ Decode! Muhahahahah!

Nov 27, 2009, 02:24 AM	Thread Starter #14
drwho HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Carol Stream, IL Posts: 572 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Re: Should I Upgrade? I've been reading some of threads in this forum about the 5770 and am wondering if two of the 5770s in a Crossfire setup would suit my purposes? I'm really not interested in spending around $600 on a 5870 right now. __________________

Nov 27, 2009, 05:14 PM	#19
moshpit HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Pit, pit, pit, in the pit! Posts: 84 Rep Power: 57 System Specs	Re: Should I Upgrade? The other HUGE advantage of the 5870 over a 4870X2 is power consumption is WAY lower at idle. Almost a silly amount of difference in fact. To really put this in perspective, I replaced a single 4870 with 2 5870's and still use less power on the desktop when not rendering a game. In fact, the funniest part of this most recent upgrade I went through is that the new rig is over 2x more powerful in gaming, yet uses just over half the power when I'm just puttering around on the desktop. __________________ Ci7 2600K @5Ghz/8Gb Crucial Ballistix Tracer/Asus Sabertooth P67/EVGA GTX580 Black Ops/2x Patriot Torqx 128G(OS)/1Tb WD Black Ci7 920/6Gb Corsair DDR3 1600/GA-EX58-UD3R/Radeon HD5870/750Gb Seagate ES.2(OS)/2x 2Tb WD Green Ci7 860/8Gb Patriot Viper II/EVGA P55 SLI/Radeon HD5870/750Gb Seagate ES.2 (wife's rig)

Nov 27, 2009, 05:17 PM	#20
comp_ali Sniper Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Egypt Posts: 10,469 Rep Power: 339 System Specs	Re: Should I Upgrade? That's the advantage of going 40nm , by the time AMD goes 32nm the power consumption will be even lower.

Nov 28, 2009, 05:30 PM	#24
moshpit HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Pit, pit, pit, in the pit! Posts: 84 Rep Power: 57 System Specs	Re: Should I Upgrade? No no no, it's the 6870XT-X2-GTX-Ultra-CherryOnTop Edition. __________________ Ci7 2600K @5Ghz/8Gb Crucial Ballistix Tracer/Asus Sabertooth P67/EVGA GTX580 Black Ops/2x Patriot Torqx 128G(OS)/1Tb WD Black Ci7 920/6Gb Corsair DDR3 1600/GA-EX58-UD3R/Radeon HD5870/750Gb Seagate ES.2(OS)/2x 2Tb WD Green Ci7 860/8Gb Patriot Viper II/EVGA P55 SLI/Radeon HD5870/750Gb Seagate ES.2 (wife's rig)

Nov 28, 2009, 07:20 PM	#25
BigBodZod HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 73 Rep Power: 19 System Specs	Re: Should I Upgrade? This is probably way OT but will either ATi or nVidia ever produce a single card that has say 3 or 4 GPU's installed ?!? I'm thinking no, only due to the power and thermals involved in designing such a thing but what I'm really looking at is not that there will be 3 or 4 discrete GPU cores but a multi-gpu core die like you have for cpu's now

Nov 28, 2009, 08:58 PM	#26
OldBuzzard DH's oldest Geek Join Date: May 2003 Location: Oberlin, OH Posts: 2,781 Rep Power: 142 System Specs	Re: Should I Upgrade? It's been done. Back in the ATI9700 and 9800 days. Evans & Sutherland ( http://www.es.com/ ) marketed the simFusion 6000 with the 9700 GPUs, and the simFusion 6500 with 9800 GPUs. They were used mostly for military simulators Here's a pic of the card: http://img2.zol.com.cn/product/15_45...7FRH6yi0bs.jpg More info on that card here: http://www.dvhardware.net/article2076.html __________________ When looking for a reason as to why things go wrong, never rule out sheer STUPIDITY Last edited by OldBuzzard; Nov 28, 2009 at 09:06 PM.

Dec 2, 2009, 04:23 AM	#27
procupine14 Why is it Beeping!?!?! Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: USA, Missouri Posts: 1,400 Rep Power: 58 System Specs	Re: Should I Upgrade? I think that older piece of tech just made me the happiest man on the face of the earth! So cool! __________________ HTPC/file server: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit - AMD Phenom x4 9850 - 4GB OCZ DDR2 800 (2x2GB) - 1TB WD Black - 4 x 1TB Hitachi DeskStar in RAID 5 - ATi TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuner - HIS Raedon 4850 512MB - ASRock N68C-S UCC mobo - OCZ ModExtreme Pro 500W PSU GF's Gaming PC: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit - AMD Phenom 9850 - 4GB OCZ DDR2 1066 - 500GB Western Digital GP - HIS Raedon 5770 1GB - ASUS M3A78-EM - Zalman 650W PSU Media Streamer: Win 7 Pro 64-bit - AMD Athlon x2 3200+ - 4GB SuperTalent DDR2 800 - 250GB SeaGate Barracuda - MSI K9N6PGM2-V2 - ASUS Raedon 5450 SILENT - FSP group 250W PSU

Dec 2, 2009, 05:35 PM	#30
procupine14 Why is it Beeping!?!?! Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: USA, Missouri Posts: 1,400 Rep Power: 58 System Specs	Re: Should I Upgrade? Yeah, I guess the main problem that holds products like this back from the mainstream are the ridiculous costs and the simple fact that no one actually has a use for them in a real time situation. Especially for the amount of the cost. __________________ HTPC/file server: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit - AMD Phenom x4 9850 - 4GB OCZ DDR2 800 (2x2GB) - 1TB WD Black - 4 x 1TB Hitachi DeskStar in RAID 5 - ATi TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuner - HIS Raedon 4850 512MB - ASRock N68C-S UCC mobo - OCZ ModExtreme Pro 500W PSU GF's Gaming PC: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit - AMD Phenom 9850 - 4GB OCZ DDR2 1066 - 500GB Western Digital GP - HIS Raedon 5770 1GB - ASUS M3A78-EM - Zalman 650W PSU Media Streamer: Win 7 Pro 64-bit - AMD Athlon x2 3200+ - 4GB SuperTalent DDR2 800 - 250GB SeaGate Barracuda - MSI K9N6PGM2-V2 - ASUS Raedon 5450 SILENT - FSP group 250W PSU