# Tri SLI GTX 275s or HD 5970 or wait.



## bpgt64 (Jan 3, 2010)

I currently have 2 GTX 275's in SLI, and if I am not incorrect Star Craft 2 is right around the corner(Q1).  I was thinking of upgrading my graphics a bit but the benchmarks I have seen have older driver sets, but in general a 3rd SLI'd card doesn't help much.  I currently have the a for mentioned GTX 275's and a HD 4870 X2 in my GF's computer;

Option 1:  Keep what I have untill Nvidia releases there new cards, and see where the dust settles.

Option 2: Give my GF a single GTX 275(more than enough for her needs, she lucked into the X2) and sell single 275 and HD 4870 X2 to pay for a HD 5970

Option 3: Buy a third GTX 275 and Tri-SLI my main rig and keep the X2 in hers.

If I could get 140 ish for the GTX 275 and 200 ish for the X2 thats half way to the HD 5970.  However that would take some legwork.


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## DirectorC (Jan 3, 2010)

2


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 3, 2010)

well im fairly sure if u can sell local u can get more for the GTX as its within 5% of 280-5 performance id suspect $175 local for the 275 and a 4870x2 you can probably as u said get 200-250 local if u can find a buyer .

the dual 275s are good since a 5970 stock is nothing more then 2 5850s performance roughly u would be looking at about a 15% increase over the 275s in dx 10  id say if u can sell and cut the price down go for it  DX11 a fairly good performance jump why not if but i dont thinks its neccesary you have great cards in sli that run everything as it stands anyway so really it comes down to do you really want to upgrade do want to stay green or try red?? 

id say sell only if you get a good price then get a 5970 if u want more performance and extra features the upgrade may also be advisable if you want to cut down on power usage for the perfromance you get


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## Bo$$ (Jan 3, 2010)

i would go for tri-sli GTX275, nothing can out power 3 gpu's, plus you save money


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## Zubasa (Jan 3, 2010)

Bo$$ said:


> i would go for tri-sli GTX275, nothing can out power 3 gpu's, plus you save money


That is when the 3 GPUs actually scales well.

I say either sell and grab the 5970, or just keep the setup.
Nothing really out power (consumption) the tri-SLI GTX 275.


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## Fourstaff (Jan 3, 2010)

Keep setup till SC2 comes out, compare with benchmark and then decide which upgrade is better. I am leaning to option 2 but still not enough to warrant a purchase yet. Option 1 sounds good, until Nvidia rerelease rerenamed GT300 which is actually GT200 which is actually 9000 series which is actually updated 8000 series. I have no faith in tri sli, so that option is no go for me. And the heat output will beat your heater.


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## Fishymachine (Jan 3, 2010)

Tri SLI scales horribly(not that tri Crossfire is any brighter).Your setup is pretty good,I'd say sell the X2 (while it still keeps it's value),and keep the GTX's ,unless a LGA 1366 Hydra board appears,til Dx11 price war begins (March)


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## DeathByTray (Jan 3, 2010)

5970 for sc2?


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## Brilford Wimley (Jan 3, 2010)

Hmm...3 old gpu's vs 1 5970. Hmm.  Why are we even discussing this?  You all know the answer.  There is no comparison.  I can just about guarantee that the 5970 will spank 3 gtx275's in sli and will use far less electricity.  The 5970 will also almost always beat two 5870 radeons crossfired.  Betcha didn't know that did ya?  

Oh yeah , option 2 sounds good to me.  I bet Nvidia's new offering will be insanely expensive.


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## DrPepper (Jan 3, 2010)

I'd take option 2.


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## Zubasa (Jan 3, 2010)

Brilford Wimley said:


> The 5970 will also almost always beat two 5870 radeons crossfired.  Betcha didn't know that did ya?


Not really, because the 5970 is actually clocked quite a bit slower than 5870s.
You will need to overclock that 5970.


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## Brilford Wimley (Jan 3, 2010)

Ok , for the life of me I can't find the comparison of the 5870 crossfired vs the 5970 , but in almost of of the side-by-side tests, it showed the 5970 sightly edging out the 5870s crossfired.  I am not making this up.  It may have been just one guys experiences , it may have something to do with green drivers , it may have been that the tester overclocked the 5970 to match the 5870 speeds, or it may have been scaling issues.  IDK.  I realize it doesn't make a lot of sense , it's just something I researched a couple months ago and the conclusion was that the 5970 won.


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## exodusprime1337 (Jan 3, 2010)

i go for option 2, even a 5870 wouldn't be a bad idea, but because of the sli chipset you prolly looking for one crossfire single card so the 5970 is a great idea as well, although pricey imho.  i'd wait till some benches come out for the new sc game and see what cards are performing and what arent?


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## Bo$$ (Jan 3, 2010)

tri SLI scales well on an X58


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## DrPepper (Jan 3, 2010)

Bo$$ said:


> tri SLI scales well on an X58



Actually it has more to do with the game than the chipset.



exodusprime1337 said:


> i go for option 2, even a 5870 wouldn't be a bad idea, but because of the sli chipset you prolly looking for one crossfire single card so the 5970 is a great idea as well, although pricey imho.  i'd wait till some benches come out for the new sc game and see what cards are performing and what arent?



His motherboard can do xfire as well as SLI.


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## Pandora's Box (Jan 3, 2010)

What resolution are you gaming at?


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## KainXS (Jan 3, 2010)

If they scaled right then maybe but in most cases the HD5970 would probably be faster because some games scale like crap.

option 2 might be best, but you do realize that would be a downgrade for her right.


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## gerardfraser (Jan 3, 2010)

I have owned 3x275 also 3x285
5970 OCED is faster in almost all games I have played with the 5970.
My 2 cents


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## MK4512 (Jan 3, 2010)

Option 2, Nvidia isn't coming soon, and even XFire (2) has scaling issues which stop it from making more than about a 50% increase on the highest resolutions.


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## Binge (Jan 3, 2010)

Get a crossfire 5850.  The 5970 sucks.


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## bpgt64 (Jan 4, 2010)

Pandora's Box said:


> What resolution are you gaming at?




1920x1080


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## Pandora's Box (Jan 4, 2010)

at 1920x1080 i would say option A is your best bet. but if you crave higher levels of AA and a higher minimum frame rate then Option B.


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## theonedub (Jan 4, 2010)

bpgt64 said:


> I currently have 2 GTX 275's in SLI, and if I am not incorrect Star Craft 2 is right around the corner(Q1).  I was thinking of upgrading my graphics a bit but the benchmarks I have seen have older driver sets, but in general a 3rd SLI'd card doesn't help much.  I currently have the a for mentioned GTX 275's and a HD 4870 X2 in my GF's computer;
> 
> Option 1:  Keep what I have untill Nvidia releases there new cards, and see where the dust settles.
> 
> ...



If I see that in the BST Forum, its likely I would buy it. USPS Flat rate is only $12 to ship  Is it registered?


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## [H]@RD5TUFF (Jan 4, 2010)

Binge said:


> Get a crossfire 5850.  The 5970 sucks.


QFTW!



Brilford Wimley said:


> Hmm...3 old gpu's vs 1 5970. Hmm.  Why are we even discussing this?  You all know the answer.  There is no comparison.  I can just about guarantee that the 5970 will spank 3 gtx275's in sli and will use far less electricity.  The 5970 will also almost always beat two 5870 radeons crossfired.  Betcha didn't know that did ya?
> 
> Oh yeah , option 2 sounds good to me.  I bet Nvidia's new offering will be insanely expensive.



Wow your wrong. First 3 275 will smoke a 5970, but you are correct the 5970 will use less power, but if your even thinking about 3 vid cards power consomption is really a invalid argument. A 5970 is slower by about 3 % than a a pair of 5850s, mostly because of the slow on board SLI link and and also because their crammed together they had to lower the clock speed of the GPU's and ram and shaders. Also a pair of 5870s will beat a 5970 like a drum. Also why would you assume that Nvidia's card will be expensive, and if your dumb enough to believe the post by charlie about fab returns, your too dumb to believe, so just don't reply KTHXZ.

As for the OP, wait and see, the prices can only come down when the price wars start, but I would sell you X2 while it still has relavence and value.


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## bpgt64 (Jan 4, 2010)

> As for the OP, wait and see, the prices can only come down when the price wars start, but I would sell you X2 while it still has relavence and value.



What I am thinking.  I just started a new job and have to wait for the cash to start flowing before I can act.  I will probably be back in a month or so with the GTX 275 and the X2 for sale.


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## surfingerman (Jan 4, 2010)

LMFAO at that picture.. i almost died laughing!!


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 4, 2010)

[H]@RD5TUFF said:


> QFTW!
> 
> 
> 
> ...



so your telling the 1 guy i know of on TPU thats had 5850s 5870s and the 5970s that hes full of crap thats intresting

and even if the 5970 at stock is slower then 2 5870s its fact that 5970 will overclock to 5870 clocks and exceed them thus its equal to 2 5870s and if he wanted to do triple gpu a 5870 with a 5970 would make more sense then 3 275s since there old tech and way more expensive a 275 is still more expensive by itself then a single 5850 and the 5850 slaughters the 275,

now in terms of availibility the gt300 series wont be here till march and it will be june before widespread availability not to mention there already had to cut the number of so called cuda cores back since they cant keep heat under control. so while the 5850 5870 and 5970 offer good performance they do so without constantly being in a meltdown state  gt 300 will be powerfull more so then a 5xxx series most definetly will it come with a price premium most certaintly look at it this way a 5850 is 10-15% faster then a gts 285 some situations only 5% but fact remains a 285 still costs 350+ new where as even a price gouged 5850 is about $300 and i grabbed mine at msrp of $259 ea so nvidia can keep the performance crown when they take it in 4 months but by then i wont really care as its to little to late.

now the OP can do as he likes i suggested trying to sell his cards locally and see if he can get a bit more for them so better offset the cost of the 5970. you on the other hand seem to be very much up tight when hes asking for advice on the matter at hand. he has been given sound advice from multiple members what the OP does next is for him to decide but attacking a member with more experience with the HD 5k series is rather pointless

not to mention in some of the most demanding games used to show epeen size like the original crysis 3 275s usually show very little scaling in some cases giving worse performance then 2 275s now add in the fact that the 5970 when overclocked is equal to 2 5870s that and hell 2 gtx 295s in quad sli lose to  2 5870s and the gtx295 us 2 gtx275s strapped together so there ya go a 5970 thats overclocked should be equal to a tri sli 275s and do so with DX11 and its new features and be less of a heat producer over all.

but fact remains no matter what choice the OP makes gaming perfromance will still be top notch in all games


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## [H]@RD5TUFF (Jan 4, 2010)

crazyeyesreaper said:


> so your telling the 1 guy i know of on TPU thats had 5850s 5870s and the 5970s that hes full of crap thats intresting
> 
> and even if the 5970 at stock is slower then 2 5870s its fact that 5970 will overclock to 5870 clocks and exceed them thus its equal to 2 5870s and if he wanted to do triple gpu a 5870 with a 5970 would make more sense then 3 275s since there old tech and way more expensive a 275 is still more expensive by itself then a single 5850 and the 5850 slaughters the 275,
> 
> ...



Okay first no one attacked anyone, also are you aware that the 5970's speed limitation is the bridge on the board ( 8x ), making it physically impossible for a 5970 to be as fast as a pair of 5870s even if they are clocked at the same speed! Also my pair of 5850s will beat a 5970 by 3-7 %.

More over I recommended the OP sell his X2 and wait till march since more options breed competition and thus better prices.

I think your confused. Because your post make little sense


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 4, 2010)

and u realize a 5870 only loses 1% speed from the change from x16 to x8 there for the difference isnt noticeable and i also have 2 5850s point is a 5970 will overclock just extremely well. and therefore will reach 5870 crossfire performance as the 5970 has voltage tweaks just as the other cards do. and overclocks much the same. so its a moot point he loses 1 - 2% performance when overclocked compared to 2 5870s and the 5870s while they might give him a 5-15fps advantage in rare cases  it comes at a price premium one that isnt worth it same can be said of the 5870 a heavily oced 5850 can surpass a 5870

and its been proven 8x vs x16 link dosent really amount to a hill of beans unless your on an OLD motherboard using PCIe 1.1  current gpus barely max an x16 PCIe 1.1 slot alone and since thats equal to a PCIe 2.0  x8 slot your not going to see a performance difference you can physically notice only benchmarks will show the difference and again CPU RAM HDD (or) SSD motherboard maker all these make a difference in performance as well and those individual components will show more of a decrease or increase then the difference between x8 and x16

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_5870_PCI-Express_Scaling/25.html

at 1920x1200 max settings in games on average theres a 1% difference between x8 and x16 something you cannot and will not notice

were talking .7FPS not even an entire 1fps in many games



therefore an x8 link on a 5970 wont matter it provides more then enough bandwidth just overclock the 5970 and u get 5870 crossfire perfromance for much less not to mention in games that dont like crossfire all that much the 5970 seems to perform better for whatever reason (im gonna say its drivers not being 100% sorted out yet)


not to mention 2 5870s will run $850+ and a 5970 will run $670  $180 more for 1-2% difference isnt really worth it he could roll the $180 into a 5870 for trifire if the OP so choose to at a later date

and after checking some reviews it seems 900 core 1250 memory is easily reachable on a 5970 resulting in a said 15-20% increase in FPS in games (many users are able to surpass that with more tweaking


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## Wile E (Jan 4, 2010)

[H]@RD5TUFF said:


> QFTW!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


The onboard link on the 5970 is not slow by any means. Just sayin. 

And I doubt 3x275 will beat the 5970 in most games. More than 2 gpus tend not to scale well in either Crossfire or SLI. I ditched my 4870 specifically for that reason. It was taking up power for little to no gain, even in titles you would think could use the horsepower at 1920x1200, it did little.


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## Goodman (Jan 4, 2010)

[H]@RD5TUFF said:


> Okay first no one attacked anyone, also are you aware that the 5970's speed limitation is the bridge on the board ( 8x ), making it physically impossible for a 5970 to be as fast as a pair of 5870s even if they are clocked at the same speed!



As far as i know the "low" clock speed of the 5970 was not of the 8x limitation but to get the card under the 300 watts limits of the pci-e wires connections


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## Hayder_Master (Jan 4, 2010)

nothing worth now best chose option 1


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## bpgt64 (Jan 4, 2010)

So I am considering the following;  

And this is because it's most financially doable for me right now.  

Sell 1 GTX 275, and 1 HD 4870 X2, which should net about 350+ total.  Move one GTX  275 from my main computer to my GF's computer.  Buy a single HD 5870, with the intent of either selling it in the long run when nvidia's solution comes out.  OR adding another 5870 in SLI.  Depending on which ever is more powerfull

The real deciding factor in all this is how Starcraft 2 supports or doesn't support SLI.  If my current twin 275s destroy it, I may just do nothing.


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## Altered (Jan 4, 2010)

bpgt64 said:


> So I am considering the following;
> 
> And this is because it's most financially doable for me right now.
> 
> ...



If it were my decision that is exactly what I would do. Well except for the part where you said 





> adding another 5870 in *SLI*.


  I would have said 





> adding another 5870 in *Crossfire*.


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## bpgt64 (Jan 4, 2010)

Lol yea same difference


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## Kantastic (Jan 4, 2010)

bpgt64 said:


> Lol yea *same difference*



Oxymoron!


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## jagjitnatt (Jan 4, 2010)

no point going for tri-sli. support is very limited in games.
I would say hold on for the next few months. Prices are gonna fall sharply once nvidia releases the fermi.
and as it is 2 gtx 275 are pretty awesome for every game out there. 

just my 2 cents


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## douglatins (Jan 4, 2010)

Dont wait fermi wont be coming any time soon


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## yogurt_21 (Jan 4, 2010)

bpgt64 said:


> So I am considering the following;
> 
> And this is because it's most financially doable for me right now.
> 
> ...



I suggest do nothing, as a single gtx275 will likely give you max settings in sc2. but going from sli 275's to a single 5870 may have power dvantages and single card advantages, but it will be slower by a fair margin. 

in your case theres no reason to upgrade unless you can get a 5970 and if it's out of reach its no biggie, dx11 is not a factor and my guess is that you'll eb plenty ready by the time it is anyways.


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## ToTTenTranz (Jan 4, 2010)

Starcraft 2 will not be a graphically challenging game, so it's not a reason to switch graphics cards..

Either way, waiting "until the dust settles" is by far the best option.

Those GTX275 SLI can still run everything maxed out and ATI's HD5870/5850 are overpriced due to lack of competition..


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## bpgt64 (Jan 5, 2010)

Well the dust settled.

And alas poor HD 4870 X2, I knew thee well.  We adventured through Azuroth, Slain Dragons and every betraying bastard of Dragon Age,  We ran through fields knifing everyone we could find in MWF2, and you have left me.

OH well.  If you can't decipher what that meant, the X2 died, won't load any 3D based game without fragmenting with any set of drivers.  Currently running both comps with a single GTX 275, and with my next paycheck, I have cart blanch with a new video card, as I have sacrificed my SLI so that my GF can continue playing WoW for the moment.  And thus have received the blessing of the keeper of the beans.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 5, 2010)

well are some games only the GF  has and keeper happy can make you alot happier XD haha


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## aCid888* (Jan 5, 2010)

OC your i7 & 275's and be happy with more graphical power than you will ever need @ 1920x1080?



Why has no one said this yet?  :shadedshu




*Edit:* RMA the 4870x2 and proceed to "plan aCid" above.


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## Wile E (Jan 5, 2010)

aCid888* said:


> OC your i7 & 275's and be happy with more graphical power than you will ever need @ 1920x1080?
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Since when has need ever weighed in on graphical horsepower? lol


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## aCid888* (Jan 5, 2010)

Wile E said:


> Since when has need ever weighed in on graphical horsepower? lol



This may be true, but sometimes the need to keep the cash in your wallet is more important than putting the cash in your rig when you dont really need to.


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## patheticcockroach (Jan 5, 2010)

Option 4: when the game is out, see if it's playable with your current setup and then if an upgrade is needed, rethink about it at that time (with the new prices, maybe the new NVIDIA cards out, etc). If you don't need the upgrade right now, don't do the upgrade right now.


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## bpgt64 (Jan 5, 2010)

aCid888* said:


> OC your i7 & 275's and be happy with more graphical power than you will ever need @ 1920x1080?
> 
> 
> 
> ...




You know what, I can't believe it but it's still covered under Sapphire's warranty, so I am RMA'ing through newegg.com right now.  I really thought it was way out of warranty, but I bought it in September of 2008, so it's covered.  I should get at least 200 bucks off a new card, I owe you one.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 5, 2010)

you know NEWEGG if you talk to there support via phone MAY give u a FULL retail refund of what u paid way back when its what i did and i got 2 5850s with the refund figured id throw that out there well well worth the hassel think of it this way u may have paid what $400 for a the 4870x2 maybe more??? well thats $400 in refund money going directly to 2 5850s a 5870 or a 5970  think of it as if u actually sold the 4870x2  hell if u get the refund and find a buyer for the gtx275 that actually pays for the 5970 buy itself or a 5870 with money spared to put toward another one


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## bpgt64 (Jan 5, 2010)

They might have too as the product is no longer carried


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 5, 2010)

well i still suggest you call them they told me the product was no longer carried but they managed to find one and were going to send it to me untill i called them up and talked to a rep and told them flat out u refund me and ill spend more money then u refund me on parts so they did long story short its how my new F3 1 terabyte gigabyte mobo and 2 5850s came to life  using the live chat feature netted the same result we will send u a replacement in drone speak


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## bpgt64 (Jan 5, 2010)

AMD, I flippin love the EGG!

Just talked to them online, and there honoring the warranty!!!!!!...and they said that if the card is bad(which I am positive it is) they will offer me one of two options, either current market value(which is like 400-500 according the price grabber) or a comparable product!

This might have been the best option EVAR!!!


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## yogurt_21 (Jan 5, 2010)

sweet see how much they'll give you for it and go from there. if you can get a 5870 cleam swap out for it that would be


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## bpgt64 (Jan 5, 2010)

If that happens, I am crossfiring two HD 5870s and I'll only have to drop about 200 bucks net


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## Tatty_One (Jan 5, 2010)

Option 2.  With tri SLi you will only get 20 - 30% of the third cards performance potential.


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## 3870x2 (Jan 5, 2010)

bpgt64 said:


> I currently have 2 GTX 275's in SLI, and if I am not incorrect Star Craft 2 is right around the corner(Q1).  I was thinking of upgrading my graphics a bit but the benchmarks I have seen have older driver sets, but in general a 3rd SLI'd card doesn't help much.  I currently have the a for mentioned GTX 275's and a HD 4870 X2 in my GF's computer;
> 
> Option 1:  Keep what I have untill Nvidia releases there new cards, and see where the dust settles.
> 
> ...


I hope you mean Q1 2011


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## bpgt64 (Jan 6, 2010)

I expect Wings of Liberty by summer time this year..I don't think thats too much?

And for now I am going to sit on what I have until I get the refund/replacement X2.  I was gonna sell my Ipod touch to Gazelle.com for 63 bucks, then hopefully get 350-400 for the X2 from Newegg.com then sell the GTX 275 for 150 or w/e.   Could have 600 bucks if this goes right!  And if it does....HD 5870 CF here I come!


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 6, 2010)

hell yea man im telling ya just CALL newegg and talk to a rep if they wont help ask for someone higher up i dicked around with live chat ppl on 5 occasions nothing good happened called them up wasnt 2 mins later i was told "No problem we will refund you completely for your purchase" 3 hrs later 2 5850s were on the way when they were cheap at $259 each so yea man just call them up once they get your RMA and its processing and 9/10 they will throw you a bone


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## theonedub (Jan 6, 2010)

wait wait wait do I still get a GTX 275  

Looks like things are working out quite well for you. 

Umm what model iPod touch? I cant resist.


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## bpgt64 (Jan 6, 2010)

> wait wait wait do I still get a GTX 275



Possibly,  I am sitting on what I have till newegg.com tells me how there going to replace my HD 4870 X2, which is still in warranty.  And the Ipod is already gone soz guys.


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## Brilford Wimley (Jan 6, 2010)

I don't understand why you would want to PLAN on getting 2 5870s. You will use more electricity, possibly have scaling issues, and spend $800+ when you could get a 5970 for far cheaper, not have scaling issues, and use less juice.  If you didn't have the money for a 5970 and were planning on a possible future upgrade, then I'd say get the 5870, but if you've got the means, just get a 5970. To me (a proud 5870 owner), this just doesn't make a lot of sense, even with the possible SMALL performance gain over a 5970.


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## patheticcockroach (Jan 6, 2010)

I'm with Brilford Wimley on that one. Plus the 5970 can theorically and AFAIK be easily overclocked to reach the performances of 2 5870s since it's made of underclocked 5870s that only ask to be set back to their standard clock


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## Tatty_One (Jan 6, 2010)

Brilford Wimley said:


> I don't understand why you would want to PLAN on getting 2 5870s. You will use more electricity, possibly have scaling issues, and spend $800+ when you could get a 5970 for far cheaper, not have scaling issues, and use less juice.  If you didn't have the money for a 5970 and were planning on a possible future upgrade, then I'd say get the 5870, but if you've got the means, just get a 5970. To me (a proud 5870 owner), this just doesn't make a lot of sense, even with the possible SMALL performance gain over a 5970.



I agree completely, but if he does have money to burn, plus an Epenis that needs significant enlargement, the near 20% GPU clock speed and memory speeds of the 2 HD5870 couple with two (rather than 1) x16 PCI-E lanes may give him an extra centimetre on the peen


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## bpgt64 (Jan 6, 2010)

patheticcockroach said:


> I'm with Brilford Wimley on that one. Plus the 5970 can theorically and AFAIK be easily overclocked to reach the performances of 2 5870s since it's made of underclocked 5870s that only ask to be set back to their standard clock




Yea Anandtech said they tried that and it required altering voltages to be successful.  So I am not really sold on one way or the other.  Realistically, I could get 400 bucks from newegg.com, and if I do I'd be less than 200 bucks shy of Dual HD 5870s, which is why I have a Tri-Sli/Crossfire board and all that.  On the other hand I could net zero spent and get the 5970,  so its a toss up.  I have been approved to spend 200 dollars, and I kinda want to, but I know I shouldn't....  *tears hair out*


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## patheticcockroach (Jan 6, 2010)

bpgt64 said:


> I have been approved to spend 200 dollars, and I kinda want to, but I know I shouldn't....  *tears hair out*


Maybe get the 5970 and with what you saved, later you can get a second 5970


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## bpgt64 (Jan 6, 2010)

(head explodes)


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## Brilford Wimley (Jan 6, 2010)

(Head Nods) 

Are you planning on running 3 monitors (Eyefinity)?  

If you are worried about increasing voltage on a 5970 to match a 5870s speed (and possibly voiding the warranty), go with XFX.  I'm pretty sure they cover damages from overclocking.  I know they allow you to install an aftermarket heatsink without voiding the warranty.  Also, they have a double lifetime warranty on all graphics cards.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 6, 2010)

actually the 5870 uses about 190 watts at load compared to under 300watts of the 5970 so while 2 5870s would use more power the perfromance gain to power used is actually pretty good


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## bpgt64 (Jan 6, 2010)

Power's no problem, I have an 850W Corsair PSU.  Now its just a waiting game...


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 6, 2010)

well the point was that the power saved = meaningless for some 50 watts more u get 20-25% more performance at stock add overclocking in CCC without a voltage tweak and u can get 30-35% over the 5970 and whoever said the 5970 wouldnt have scaling issues its still CROSSFIRE and will STILL have issues in games that dont support it it will in rare cases still be slightly faster but not enough to be worth having it as a pro  2 5870s will be faster overclock further and provide a better frame rate then a 5970 id only suggest the 5970 if you were going to trifire later


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## bpgt64 (Jan 6, 2010)

Who says I am not with the 5870s?  (head continues to explode)


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 6, 2010)

lol didnt say u werent going 5870s my point is this

5870 = great
5970 = still great
5870 crossfire = even greater
5970 + 5870 = head explodes


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## jagjitnatt (Jan 6, 2010)

with 5870 in crossfire you get better performance but with 5970 you get the fastest single graphics adapter on planet. now thats something to brag about


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## bpgt64 (Jan 6, 2010)

I bought my X2 when it first came out, so I have had that feeling and its...ok.  I just really want something that obliterates Starcaft 2 at high settings.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 6, 2010)

well the 275s will do that but hey when star craft 3 makes an appearance im fairly sure 2 5870s will still destory it  and if not a 3rd would make it inevitable lol


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## bpgt64 (Jan 6, 2010)

Yea crazy, I wouldn't be doing this otherwise.  GTX 275s in sli rocked my world.  I mean talk about destroying Crisis.


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## theonedub (Jan 6, 2010)

2 275s will also destroy F@H  Can't help it.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 6, 2010)

well the 5870s will do more the destroy crysis it will destroy it sleep with its girlfriend and tea bag it as well


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## bpgt64 (Jan 6, 2010)

Thats sig worthy...


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 6, 2010)

really sweet my first sig worthy post hahah


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## Brilford Wimley (Jan 6, 2010)

crazyeyesreaper said:


> well the 5870s will do more the destroy crysis it will destroy it sleep with its girlfriend and tea bag it as well


It would be more sig worthy if you used proper grammar :

Well, the 5870s will do more than destroy Crysis. It will destroy it, sleep with it's girlfriend, and 
tea bag it as well.

Yes, I know I'm being a smartass.


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## t77snapshot (Jan 7, 2010)

You should go with two 5870's! *FTW!*


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## Brilford Wimley (Jan 7, 2010)

Naw...just get one of these : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150460&cm_re=5970-_-14-150-460-_-Product


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## wolf (Jan 7, 2010)

I'd take option 1 and wait till the dust settles, most people tend to agree Nvidia's card should at least take down the single fastest Cypress (5870) so I think when they finally land ATi will cut prices as they have done in the past.

Availability is bound to get better too over coming months, and lets face it, what games can't you play at their highest?


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## bpgt64 (Jan 7, 2010)

Eye finity looks really cool....Ihave a 24 and a 22 right now...prolly should get another 22..


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## bpgt64 (Jan 7, 2010)

Going to wait for this;

http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/product/?psn=000101&pid=293

I'll have to wait 2 weeks to get my RMA back, and think I am going to wait for the updated coolers for HD 5870s out.

My GTX 275 will hold down the fort for the time being.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 7, 2010)

bah im telling you man call newegg up talk to a rep tell them that if they change the RMA to a refund youll buy more parts from them and theres no reason to wait on updated coolers the 5k series runs extremely cool even with my 2 5850s if i overclock them heavily they only hit 77c in furmark  and thats with the fans still SILENT


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## bpgt64 (Jan 7, 2010)

We'll see, I just got it in the mail this afternoon, and it has to arrive and be confirmed as dead.  I realllllly would like a vaporX edition if it was only a few bucks more.  There said to get about 15C on load lower than most other cards.  Which to me is worth it.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 7, 2010)

well my 5850s on 800core 1125mem never get above 80c and thats with fans at silent which is below 30% now if i bump it up to 40% is slightly audible my case fans are still louder and it drops to under 75c now all things considered thats not bad since the 4870x2 will easy hit 90c and sound like a leaf blower lol

and newegg dosent really bother to see if the cards dead they tend to take the card check to see if everything is included (manuals etc) if its all there it gets processed and u get a replacement or a warranty


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## bpgt64 (Jan 7, 2010)

I might be in trouble then, I only RMA'd the card, didn't have any of the packaging.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 7, 2010)

-_- they might refuse the rma then when i rmad the card they told me to include everything or it would be turned down altho knowing newegg if u call them and complain they will honor it regardless


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## bpgt64 (Jan 7, 2010)

I might be able to dig it out of my close somewhere but it's been a year and a half, and they don't even sell the card anymore.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 7, 2010)

like i said i wouldny worry about it just see what happens if newegg says no go to reseller rating and complain and problem will vanish   neweggs usually easy to deal with my 4870x2 was about 6-7months old when it died and they did have a replacement on hand but after explaining my situation and the fact id spend another $400 + at the same time they gave me the refund


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## Brilford Wimley (Jan 7, 2010)

Just know that Vapor-x cards vent their heat right back into the case and will make everything else substantially warmer. If you have a large case and powerful fans venting that heat away from things, you will be ok. 

Sapphire's warranty/customer service doesn't come close to XFX's. Sapphire is a good company, but I've heard their customer service leaves much to be desired.


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## bpgt64 (Jan 7, 2010)

HAF 932, 4 120mm, 120CFM Scythe Kaze fans on the side panel


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## E.M.R (Jan 8, 2010)

Where can i get a 5970 there all FOoking Sold out!


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## bpgt64 (Jan 10, 2010)

So I am debating between the Sapphire Edition of the 5870 or the XXX versions.  Going to order one now, and hope for the best with the RMA, which means I should be in HD 5870 CF by February.


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## 20mmrain (Jan 10, 2010)

Wait for the 5970. For a few reasons.....

5970 is new tech. It runs cooler than 3 GTX275's. If you swap it with a single 5970 in the future when prices come down you have the option of doing another one. And then still have an open slot for a hacked Physx card if you want. 

Now if you go with the GTX275 they will run hotter. You will have no where else to grow...and they are older tech. I mean still not that old but everything is moving to Tessellation and DX11 you might as well too if you are upgrading.

So go for the 5970 it will better for the future. Unless you perfer Nvidia in that case wait for the GF110's to release. You might be waiting that long anyway for the 5970's to become back in stock.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 10, 2010)

and i think u mr 20mmrain need to read the entire thread  lol


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## HammerON (Jan 10, 2010)

If you can, wait until March when (hopefully) nVidia will release their new cards. Hopefully by then ATI cards will be easier to find (demand is causing price increases as supply is low); and maybe ATI will even reduce their prices.
Or you may see that the new nVidia cards are worth the wait (yes they will be expensive). It would really suck to buy an ATI card (or 2) and find out that you want an nVidia card (or 2) when they are finally released. 
Your GTX 275's combined with your i7 920 will play any game currently and any new releases coming in the near future


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 10, 2010)

well lets recap shall we?? since ppl seem to have missed it

his 4870x2 is DEAD and is being sent back to NEWEGG for hopefully a refund (fairly sure thats the case thats what they did for me) now the 275s are seperated 1 in the wifes rig 1 in his rig 

now if they give him the refund thats $400 sell a gtx 275 and with a few spare $$$ he can get 2 5870s since it seems the gtx 380 is between the 5870 and 5970 that means 2 overclocked 5870s will do him just fine and without the insane heat or power requirments


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## EarlZ (Jan 10, 2010)

Wait for the Fermi since it will be just as fast as the 5970


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## HammerON (Jan 10, 2010)

crazyeyesreaper said:


> well lets recap shall we?? since ppl seem to have missed it
> 
> his 4870x2 is DEAD and is being sent back to NEWEGG for hopefully a refund (fairly sure thats the case thats what they did for me) now the 275s are seperated 1 in the wifes rig 1 in his rig
> 
> now if they give him the refund thats $400 sell a gtx 275 and with a few spare $$$ he can get 2 5870s since it seems the gtx 380 is between the 5870 and 5970 that means 2 overclocked 5870s will do him just fine and without the insane heat or power requirments



My bad~ 
I missed the part were it was stated that the 275's are currently in seperate machines.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 10, 2010)

again Fermi aka gtx 380 is suppose to be faster then a 5870 but slower then a 5970 since the 5970 is equal to 5850 crossfire that means the 2 5870s now will destroy the gtx 380 and do so without melting since they already stripped fermi of some of its power and its already a ridiculously hot even with the stripped down shaders and comes in at 5970 power requirments roughly meaning the OP could get 2 5970s for quadfire at the same power envelop of 2 gtx 380s

its cool hammer on i just find it funny ppl keep saying fermi fermi fermi when its not gonna be the huge awesometastic card nvidia wanted it to be since they stripped shaders its power hungry and runs hot i have a feeling any kind of sli action will require water cooling on Fermi


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## bpgt64 (Jan 10, 2010)

The issue is going to be Newegg.com's response to my RMA, they currently don't carry ANY HD 4870 X2s and alot of vendors have stoped similarly.  They stated that once the card is confirmed, they will contact me and give me the option of a similar card, or refund of current market value of it(300-400 on most).

If I am given the option of a similar card(atleast price wise as I still see X2s on sale for 400 bucks) I will ask for one.   I won't have much of an option when it comes to Fermi, my hand will be somewhat forced unless they issue a refund to the card it was purchased with.  I also don't expect to see Fermi untill Q3 of this year....I mean they haven't released that much about it yet..have they?


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 10, 2010)

it was working at the show this month running the benchmark aka Heaven bench with tessellation on etc  but according to some reports by ppl there the card runs hot and is not faster then a 5970 its between a 5870 and 5970 (which is expected think of it this way a 5850 is 10-15% faster then a gtx 285 and usual each real generation the power dbls so a gtx 380 if at full power would be around gtx 285 sli perfromance now 5850s are faster then 285s and a 5970 is equal at stock to 2 5850s roughly meaning 2 5870s if overclocked will stomp a gtx 380 and knowing nvidia i myself am expecting a $650 price tag on the GTX 380 so 2 5870s at about $800 or 2 GTX 380s at $1300 not taking into account how your going to keep them cool lol


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## bpgt64 (Jan 10, 2010)

Cooling is not a problem, if anything waiting for Fermi to drop will only reduce the price on the 5870, I am going to be forced to wait a month on the RMA, and see how that works out.  And make a move from there, hopefully we'll see Fermi soo.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 10, 2010)

i doubt the RMA will take a month man Newegg turn around on my 4870x2 was 9 days thats it


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## 3volvedcombat (Jan 10, 2010)

get a 5970 already?

Certian news has told me that fermi's arnt going to be faster then 5970's but ARE going to be faster then 5870s.

HD 5970 might run cooler then the fermi, sense wierd opinions and reviews.

You think about it. HD 5970 is hella fast, new archetecture, and will be worth alot on resale value if fermi is high priced(probably will be). Cant go wrong with fermi or 5970, and the 5970 will probably be better performing. And lets hope the Hd 5970 is better performing because, if it insnt nvidia is going to drop the PRICE DOWN ON US for god allmighty. Also they want to leave a little early room for there dual gpu solution also.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 10, 2010)

true but 2 5870s will smoke the 5970 and consider both me and the OP both had dual gpu cards die WELL before they should have im avoiding dual gpus on a single pcb for awhile


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## Super XP (Jan 10, 2010)

*2*


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## bpgt64 (Jan 10, 2010)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102856

Ordered...

If Fermi comes out before I get a response from newegg.com, I'd swap the HD 5870 into my GFs box and get that ;P  and sell her GTX 275.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 10, 2010)

well when u get the other bad boy installed i want to see some crossfire results till then enjoy the 5870 man


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## bpgt64 (Jan 11, 2010)

Yea I started pushing my i7 920 a bit today, haven't bothered past 3.8ghz in the past because it's rather unlikely anything would be bottlenecked by it.  However I could see 2 HD 5870s Overclocked past the 1ghz mark might need some help with the CPU end.  

In other words...Pushed it to 4.2ghz on 1.28v stable 7-7-7-21 T1, DDR3-1600, and


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## Super XP (Jan 11, 2010)

bpgt64 said:


> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102856
> 
> Ordered...
> 
> If Fermi comes out before I get a response from newegg.com, I'd swap the HD 5870 into my GFs box and get that ;P  and sell her GTX 275.


Fermi has been delayed for the 3rd time. Expect it to appear sometime in Q2 2010, that's if Nvidia gets the think working right. Maybe coming in late April 2010 
http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20091109PD208.html
http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=21081


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## bpgt64 (Jan 12, 2010)

....So there's more;

http://www.multi-monitors.com/product_p/ergotech05.htm
+
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236048

Almost worth skipping the second HD 5870 and getting eyefinity first...hrm


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## Bo$$ (Jan 12, 2010)

Tri-sli


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## patheticcockroach (Jan 12, 2010)

Bo$$ said:


> Tri-sli


We need to get rid of the easy and hurry-friendly quick reply box at the bottom of the first page... RTFThread...


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## bpgt64 (Jan 12, 2010)

haha yea.  Gooood God do I want eyefinity but I think I am gonna hold out till I can get LED monitors instead.


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## bobzilla2009 (Jan 12, 2010)

[H]@RD5TUFF said:


> Also why would you assume that Nvidia's card will be expensive



Because they haven't had a cheap high end launch card in forever, I'm expecting £400-500 for a gtx380 minimum, less if it sucks compared to the hd5970 (can't see it doing so tbh, but time shall tell). The GTX280 released for around £400-500 in the UK iirc, and that wasn't as badly delayed meaning less R&D money had to be recouped.


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## Black Panther (Jan 12, 2010)

Tri-sli will have even crappier drivers than those available for the 5970.

My own plan (for system specs BlackPanther) is to get a 5970 _now_, then upgrade to either a XF or tri-fire mobo 1366 socket and move on from there....


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## Super XP (Jan 12, 2010)

AMD should have more than 2 million HD 5000's cards sold in the market before the Fermi is released, no Nvidia has a lot of catching up to do. And by looking at polls on the internet, more people rather buy the HD 5800's vs. waiting for the Fermi. If Nvidia releases its card, I believe AMD will fight back on price and a possible refresh for it's high end HD 5970


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## EarlZ (Jan 17, 2010)

People keep saying that the Fermi will run, how exactly how will it run.. any specific numbers ?


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## bpgt64 (Jan 17, 2010)

Well, but thats exactly why I did, and I am doing what I am.  I am trading my GTX 275s in for for a pair of HD 5870s in crossfire.  When Fermi comes out, I re-evaluate,  and some lucky bastard will get my HD 5870s if its THAT much better....heh


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## Super XP (Jan 17, 2010)

It's been confirmed by inside sources within NVIDIA that Fermi at its best will be approx: 20% than it's current fastest cards today. I don't see it touching the ATI Radeon HD 5970 especially with the bad yields Fermi has been getting as of late. 

But you will never know


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## Marineborn (Jan 17, 2010)

id take the 5970, newer technology, lesswattage, direct X 11 support, nvidia is old technology, its the logical choice


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## Brilford Wimley (Jan 17, 2010)

bpgt64 said:


> ....So there's more;
> 
> http://www.multi-monitors.com/product_p/ergotech05.htm
> +
> ...



I like the multi-monitor stand, but you should go with a 1920x1200 monitor instead of 1080 (IMHO).


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## Super XP (Jan 17, 2010)

Marineborn said:


> id take the 5970, newer technology, lesswattage, direct X 11 support, nvidia is old technology, its the logical choice


The Fermi is suppose to be based on something new built from the ground up. If my memory serves me well, ATI's next gen (either the HD 6800's or the 7800's) is suppose to be a completely new design built from the ground up being released sometime in early Q3 2010


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## Marineborn (Jan 17, 2010)

Super XP said:


> The Fermi is suppose to be based on something new built from the ground up. If my memory serves me well, ATI's next gen (either the HD 6800's or the 7800's) is suppose to be a completely new design built from the ground up being released sometime in early Q3 2010



yeah the fermi was SUPPOSE! to be released a long ass time ago, like a said go with the 5970, or your gonna be waiting awhile, and if you always wait for the next card youll never upgrade.


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## air_ii (Jan 17, 2010)

Super XP said:


> The Fermi is suppose to be based on something new built from the ground up. If my memory serves me well, ATI's next gen (either the HD 6800's or the 7800's) is suppose to be a completely new design built from the ground up being released sometime *in early Q3 2010*



(emphasis mine) I don't think so. New architecture in 12 months? It's usually 18 months in the GPU industry between releases of new series (Cypress was 16 months, which was quite early).


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## Super XP (Jan 17, 2010)

air_ii said:


> (emphasis mine) I don't think so. New architecture in 12 months? It's usually 18 months in the GPU industry between releases of new series (Cypress was 16 months, which was quite early).


NVIDIA's GPU's out today along with ATI's are not new designs. Just a bunch of re-hashes from older designs. 

Fermi (NVIDIA working on it for at least 3 to 5 years now) is a completely new micro-architecture built from the ground up. Fermi shouldn’t have anything major in common with there products which are out today.

The same applies to ATI and its HD 2900’s, HD 3800’s, HD 4800’s & now 5800’s. They all have multiple similar design features with very minor tweaks. The HD 6800’s and/or the HD 7800’s will be a completely different story. (Been designing for now 3 to 5 years). It will be something built from the ground up and will be mostly nothing in common with current cards out today.

ATI is looking at a modular approach for the upcoming graphics cards. Build the core design and just add components over and over again as time passes buy. By utilizing this method, they will not only be extremely energy efficient, but they will also have the ability to come out with Dual/Tri/Quad/Octa + Multi-Core designs with a dump load of memory on the cheap by simply adding as many as they like. They would have designed something which will give them big performance boosts for years to come at good cheap cost for us gamers.

Currently ATI & NVIDIA have been playing us all with a bunch of cheap design re-draws taken from old design templates and just bumping up the clocks/memory/shaders here & there and selling them for an arm and maybe an eye. At the very least, ATI is doing a much better job keeping within the Price/Performance range.


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## air_ii (Jan 18, 2010)

Super XP said:


> NVIDIA's GPU's out today along with ATI's are not new designs. Just a bunch of re-hashes from older designs.
> 
> Fermi (NVIDIA working on it for at least 3 to 5 years now) is a completely new micro-architecture built from the ground up. Fermi shouldn’t have anything major in common with there products which are out today.



And what is a definition of a new architecture? Where do you draw the line?

Fermi is a direct descendant of G80 - GT200. Sure, it does have some new features (and so does Cypress) and moves some functions from fixed function units to shaders (and so did Cypress, although to a lesser extent).



Super XP said:


> The same applies to ATI and its HD 2900’s, HD 3800’s, HD 4800’s & now 5800’s. They all have multiple similar design features with very minor tweaks. The HD 6800’s and/or the HD 7800’s will be a completely different story. (Been designing for now 3 to 5 years). It will be something built from the ground up and will be mostly nothing in common with current cards out today.
> 
> ATI is looking at a modular approach for the upcoming graphics cards. Build the core design and just add components over and over again as time passes buy. By utilizing this method, they will not only be extremely energy efficient, but they will also have the ability to come out with Dual/Tri/Quad/Octa + Multi-Core designs with a dump load of memory on the cheap by simply adding as many as they like. They would have designed something which will give them big performance boosts for years to come at good cheap cost for us gamers.



Please, I've been hearing this since R600 came out (about the modular approach). No one knows what they'll do with the next gen. FYI, even what you call a rehash, takes 2-3 years to develop. So Cypress was well in the design stage long before RV7xx was released.

Product launch cycle isn't only about whether you have the architecture ready or not. ATI would be foolish to release a new lineup not even a year from the current one, when the old one has not yet been sold in sufficient quantities to make up for the R&D and other costs.

Of course, there's always the competition factor, but I will eat my shoe if ATI releases new architecture by the end of September 2010 (if they do, I'll send you a picture  ). There could be some higher binned GPUs or something like RV790, but new arch? I doubt it...


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 18, 2010)

and all arguments in this thread are fing pointless the OP already bought a 5870 and has his own plans to the OP  please close your own thread  this is getting pointless you already ordered your card and are happily doing whatever it is you want to do and ppl still want to argue the fact anyway hope you enjoy the 5870


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## bpgt64 (Jan 18, 2010)

Moderators please close the thread, the discussion is over, and it's leading to hypothetical battles that are irrelevant and not based on current valid information.

Thank you to everyone who posted.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 18, 2010)

thank you bpgt64 but you can close ur own thread  

up top under thread tools u can close thread 

good luck with the 5870s my friend hopefully it serves you as well as my 5850s serve me


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## bpgt64 (Jan 18, 2010)




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## theonedub (Jan 18, 2010)

I was under the impression you can only close your own FS threads.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 18, 2010)

wierd.... hmm i 2nd oh MODERATOR  come help bpgt64 and myself out and close the thread as its served its purpose thanks


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