1680x1050: HD5850 worthwhile?

R

RePete

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Jul 9, 2007
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Hi,

I'm currently running a 8800GT and am feeling the itch to upgrade, was previously going to go for either the 4890 or GTX 275, probably leaning towards the 275 for noise reasons.

question is, do you think a 5850 is worthwhile at this resolution (1680x1050) or will a 275 still be plenty? for half the price it's quite tempting...

Thoughts?
 
I ordered a 5870, and I am currently gaming @ 1680x1050 (moved up finally from the original 8800 GTS/640mb)....call me crazy. Future proofing for bigger (or Multi) monitor and/or displaying on my HD tv.
 
RePete said:
Hi,

I'm currently running a 8800GT and am feeling the itch to upgrade, was previously going to go for either the 4890 or GTX 275, probably leaning towards the 275 for noise reasons.

question is, do you think a 5850 is worthwhile at this resolution (1680x1050) or will a 275 still be plenty? for half the price it's quite tempting...

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

5770 should be all you need @ 1680 x 1050 :

http://techreport.com/discussions.x/17653
 
I'd hit up a 5850. The price is not that bad and it has DX11. It is basically even with the GTX 285 and will only get better with driver updates. Probably can get close to 5870 performance levels by overclocking too.

Oh nice hook up on the info about the HD5770. Not a bad midrange card at all! I was not expecting it to have that many SPs.
 
Yeah the 5850 is pretty much equal to a GTX285 which is about $150 more money...
 
Pretty much in the same boat as you. I've been eyeing a GTX275 for a while.

I plan on turning my current rig into an HTPC when I do my next build so a card that will play nice with my 46" 1080p LCD would be nice. Not to mention I believe the 5XXX card carry audio over HDMI. If those features are still in the low end 5XXX series maybe I'd grab one for now and look to build fresh down the road.

Really, I want a good 1900x1200 monitor but it's not worth it until I upgrade my trusty 8800gt.
 
it is tempting to get the latest, dx11 and all that...

current price in NZ is $460 (was $550) for a 5850..... compared to $350 for the GTX 275.

I guess there's no harm in spending a week or 2 to decide.



Edit: As the prices are settling, probably wouldn't hurt to wait...
 
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I'm looking forward to getting a 5850 to replace my 8800gt....would be a nice upgrade. I'm currently gaming at 1680x1050 as well.
 
RePete said:
Hi,

I'm currently running a 8800GT and am feeling the itch to upgrade, was previously going to go for either the 4890 or GTX 275, probably leaning towards the 275 for noise reasons.

question is, do you think a 5850 is worthwhile at this resolution (1680x1050) or will a 275 still be plenty? for half the price it's quite tempting...

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

I'd say with any 22-24" LCD display (resolution ceiling no higher than 1920x1200) that anything above HD5850 is overkill (yes; that includes dual HD5850s). For the only time since CrossFire was developed, there actually is no need for it for gaming at mainstream resolutions, not even for Crysis. I'm looking at HD5850 myself (despite the sureness of price drops on HD48xx to clear out inventory) primarily due to savings on the electric bill (even with the price gap vs. discounted HD4850, HD5850 will still make back the difference via electricity-bill savings in the first year, and make back the entire cost in two years). Yes, I said compared to the HD4850, which is still sub-$200USD; the savings on the electric bill vs. HD4870 and HD4890, of course, would be even greater (and the price difference would not be as large) resulting in even quicker winback.
 
I might go for 5850 and overclock it under water as far it goes.
I use 1920x1200 and that card is enough stock and the value/performance is something special.
I was bound to get a 5870 but the overclock ability (if true) for 5850 just won me over.:eek:

However it be a nice upgrade from the 4870 512mb card.
 
Well I have 2 x 1680x1050 running in Eyefinity 3360x1050 yesterday and tonight adding a 3rd for Eyefinity 5040x1050. All I can say is I maxed all Crysis Video options with 3360x1050 and I was averaging in the 20s FPS. I also tested WOW at ultra Video settings and I was below 60 FPS with 3360x1050. Tonight with the 3rd monitor @ 5040x1050 I will have to relax the Cysis video options but I am confident I will be able to keep WOW at Ultra and stay above 30 FPS. BTW Q9450 @ 3.2ghz

Back to your question IMHO is you really need to add 2 more Monitors to justify spending money on an ATI HD card if you have a recent card already. I just upgraded from a 4850 and with just 1 monitor it would have been frivolous to spend $400 on the HD 4870. Just with two monitors was nice but three tonight will be sublime gaming heaven.
 
I have same processor and OC as Threader, and also game at 1680x1050. I plan to pick up the 5870 and another monitor (wish I had room for a 3rd on my desk....), but I also run my lcd hdtv as well (FINALLY audio bitstreaming!).

If you aren't going to run multiple monitors (or an hdtv) then a 5850 would be enough. Especially if you plan to overclock. Honestly, I am worried that my processor will hold it back.
 
RePete said:
Hi,

I'm currently running a 8800GT and am feeling the itch to upgrade, was previously going to go for either the 4890 or GTX 275, probably leaning towards the 275 for noise reasons.

question is, do you think a 5850 is worthwhile at this resolution (1680x1050) or will a 275 still be plenty? for half the price it's quite tempting...

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

like above if you plan to add more monitors then yes, otherwise a GTX275/4890 would be more then enough
 
I am planning a i5/i7 upgrade sometime this year. I have a 8800gt also and I only game at 720p on my 32"vizio. I was looking forward to the 5850 And if audio works via hdmi that would rock. I was thinking about a 4890 but was going to wait and see
 
A 5850 is slight overkill but you'll be assured of rock solid frames, DX11 support, and if you ever move up to a 24" monitor, it will power that easily as well.
 
Valset said:
like above if you plan to add more monitors then yes, otherwise a GTX275/4890 would be more then enough
Click to expand...

I'd recommend HD5850 over not just HD4870, but even HD4890 (despite the higher price, especially with discounts coming up) because of the lower electricity usage (anything you save in buying HD4870 or HD4890, even after discounts, you'd lose in terms of the electric bill). In my case, I'm going with HD5850 instead of HD4850 despite paying over twice as much (at current pricing), but I'm waiting until after swapping in a Q9550.
 
PGHammer said:
I'd recommend HD5850 over not just HD4870, but even HD4890 (despite the higher price, especially with discounts coming up) because of the lower electricity usage (anything you save in buying HD4870 or HD4890, even after discounts, you'd lose in terms of the electric bill). In my case, I'm going with HD5850 instead of HD4850 despite paying over twice as much (at current pricing), but I'm waiting until after swapping in a Q9550.
Click to expand...

I would really like to know by how much that would affect your monthly bill.
 
vjcsmoke said:
A 5850 is slight overkill but you'll be assured of rock solid frames, DX11 support, and if you ever move up to a 24" monitor, it will power that easily as well.
Click to expand...

HD5850 and pretty much any quad-core should assure high-detail high-framerate gaming pretty much regardless of game, which is something that no previous-generation single-GPU graphics card (from either AMD or nVidia) can do, if you have a 23" display (and, with most games, even a 24" display won't be a holdback).
 
i dont think a 5850 is a good buy when a 4850 will allow max eye candy at 1680x1050.

i would think that a 4890 would be a great upgrade. I have a 4850 on my 226bw and it allows me to play pretty much anything maxed out. I would like to upgrade to a 4890 at least
 
criccio said:
I would really like to know by how much that would affect your monthly bill.
Click to expand...

Check the power-consumption figures for all three cards.

TechPowerUp pointed out that the HD58xx uses a mere 27 watts at idle (even my HD3450 uses barely less than that at idle), and no HD48xx uses that little at idle (not even HD4830). I don't see electricity rates going down anytime soon, cap-and-trade or carbon-taxing notwithstanding.
 
SoAndSo said:
i dont think a 5850 is a good buy when a 4850 will allow max eye candy at 1680x1050.

i would think that a 4890 would be a great upgrade. I have a 4850 on my 226bw and it allows me to play pretty much anything maxed out. I would like to upgrade to a 4890 at least
Click to expand...

Excuse me. You just said that an HD4850 allows you to play most anything maxed out, yet you're looking to upgrade to an HD4890? Something does not compute here.

The very reason I recommend the HD5850 is that it uses less power than HD48xx (including your current HD4850) yet will outmuscle the HD4890 in the framerate and detail department. The only benefit the HD4870 or HD4890 offer now is a price savings over HD5850, which will get chewed up by the rise in your electric bill.

Penny wise, but pound (sterling) foolish, in my humble opinion.
 
I don't know about some of you, but power consumption is about the last thing I look at in a computer part. No, thats being generous. I don't look at power consumption at all.

Gotta love paying a flat rate. ;)
 
Don't listen to people who talks about "overkill" with the 5870, perhaps the card won't be pushed to it's limits with today's games, but people are forgetting tomorrow and next gen. games, that will make you regret you never bought a future proof graphic card.

Like already stated, forget about the previous 40xx generations, you save money on your electric bill with the 50xx series, which will make it a cheaper purchase in the long run, compared to the 40xx series, and it's not like they are that expensive either in the first place.
 
I am not quite sure why some people suggest no need to upgrade or upgrade less unless using 1900*1200 or above..
but for me, if I can't max out my game with 60fps constant or above, I will definitely go for upgrade.
I am currently using 4890CF on 1680*1050 resolution..
 
knekker said:
Don't listen to people who talks about "overkill" with the 5870, perhaps the card won't be pushed to it's limits with today's games, but people are forgetting tomorrow and next gen. games, that will make you regret you never bought a future proof graphic card.

Like already stated, forget about the previous 40xx generations, you save money on your electric bill with the 50xx series, which will make it a cheaper purchase in the long run, compared to the 40xx series, and it's not like they are that expensive either in the first place.
Click to expand...
unless you have one hell of a cpu, overkill can be a waste of money for just 1680x1050. if you do have a good cpu then the 5850 isnt to much overkill at 1680 as will allow you to crank more settings and run those 2 or 3 really deamning games out there. it is very likely that no games are going to push the envelope over Clear Sky and Crysis any time soon though. you arent going to save any money in the long run either so thats a silly excuse to buy a card.
 
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PGHammer said:
Excuse me. You just said that an HD4850 allows you to play most anything maxed out, yet you're looking to upgrade to an HD4890? Something does not compute here.
Click to expand...

hey, this is [H], of course i want to upgrade. i just dont need to.
 
PGHammer said:
Check the power-consumption figures for all three cards.

TechPowerUp pointed out that the HD58xx uses a mere 27 watts at idle (even my HD3450 uses barely less than that at idle), and no HD48xx uses that little at idle (not even HD4830). I don't see electricity rates going down anytime soon, cap-and-trade or carbon-taxing notwithstanding.
Click to expand...

Assuming $0.12/kWh (my rate, yours may be higher or lower), leaving your PC on 24/7, an HD5870 will cost about $4 less per month than an HD4890, and about $8.90 less per month than an HD4870 X2.

If you have an HD4870 X2, upgrading to an HD5870 will save you $106/yr at my rates (or more, depending on how much you game). That means that the card pays for itself in about 3.5 years.

Of course, you will save more by not leaving your PC on 24/7, which is what I now do. I have a media PC that sits there and records TV (it's an Intel G41 system with a Pentium Dual-Core at 2.5GHz). The media PC uses about 45W, compared to my regular PC which uses over 150W. By turning off my full-size PC when I'm not using it (about 16 hours per day) and leaving the media PC on all the time, I save about 1.3kWh/day, or $4.90/mo.
 
knekker said:
Don't listen to people who talks about "overkill" with the 5870, perhaps the card won't be pushed to it's limits with today's games, but people are forgetting tomorrow and next gen. games, that will make you regret you never bought a future proof graphic card.

Like already stated, forget about the previous 40xx generations, you save money on your electric bill with the 50xx series, which will make it a cheaper purchase in the long run, compared to the 40xx series, and it's not like they are that expensive either in the first place.
Click to expand...

were not forgetting, its already in that recommendation. outside of DX11 games, years out and most game will default back to earlier versions, there will be enough horsepower to push games for quite a while on 22" with a 4890, or less for that matter.

also I don't know about others but I have a hard time telling people to upgrade to a 300 - 400 dollar card for a 125 dollar monitor (what I can get a cheap 22" for now". Its kinda like telling someone that has an old 939 board to get a 4890, the money goes further elsewhere. now if he will make use of the 5800 features and such I can see it
 
Here we are talking about high-end gaming cards and saving a Subway footlong's worth per month in electricity? Priorities, people!
 
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