# XFX 5770 CrossfireX vs XFX 6870



## REDDLINE (Nov 5, 2010)

Currently i have 2 5770's in CF, i got one of them last christmas and the other around 2 months ago from Fry's Electrinics. 
I was just wondering if its worth it to get an XFX 6870 since its within my price range, also considering that i would return one of my 5770's to get some money to put towards the 6870,  Anyone know if its worth it? If not should i wait until the 6970 comes out?

And when i go to possibly get the 6870 i would be getting some OCZ reapers 6 gig ram (3x2gb), or should i get something else? price range for the ram is 160-180 USD


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## 20mmrain (Nov 5, 2010)

I would say so... the performance is not even in the same range IMO. 6870's are more comparable to the GTX 470/5850/GTX 460 1GB (Overclocked versions) and even sometimes the 5870's. The 5770 is more comparable to the 4870 in terms of performance. 

It would be a very decent upgrade. Not only that the tessellation performance is way superior to the 5770. Talking more then doubled in Tessellation. 

But that is just my opinion you have to remember I have playing favorites..... I own two 6870's


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## REDDLINE (Nov 5, 2010)

Oh wow! Yeah next week i have my mind set on the 6870 for sure! I just didnt know if it would be too much of a boost in performance, guess it is though. 

At least i got some advice from someone who owns a couple 6870's. Thx +1


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## mdsx1950 (Nov 5, 2010)

Don't do it. It will be a downgrade. The two 5770s will easily beat a 6870. Unless you plan on buying two 6870s. Best you wait for a 6950/6970.


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## 20mmrain (Nov 5, 2010)

SpeedsticK said:


> Oh wow! Yeah next week i have my mind set on the 6870 for sure! I just didnt know if it would be too much of a boost in performance, guess it is though.
> 
> At least i got some advice from someone who owns a couple 6870's. Thx +1



But before you upgrade.... make sure it would be in your future to get two eventually. Like I said IMO original post a 6870 compared to 1 5770 is not even in the same class. The 6870 is compared to more the higher end cards of right now.

Two 5770's are still more powerful then one 6870 in terms of FPS. Not by much though.

So if you are eventually planning on getting two 6870's I do believe it would be a great upgrade. But if you only plan on sticking with one 6870 then don't do it. 
One 6870 will not have the micro stutter problem that your two 5770's will have. One 6870 will also beat your two 5770 in terms of Tessellation. 

So I apologize I kind of spoke half ass before.... Yes you should upgrade if you are planning on getting two like me. But if not wait till the 6950 releases or the 6970. I thought you were asking if you should upgrade to 6870 Xfire not single card.

So hopefully this will find you in time  Just PM'd yah .... I hate giving bad advice .... serves me right for reading the thread only a few words into the post.


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## REDDLINE (Nov 5, 2010)

I completely understand lol, after i get the 6870 i was planning on maybe getting another one, i truly like the concept of crossfire, plus the cards arent TOO expensive, so i was alreay thinking of gettting another.
the reason why i want them replaced so bad is because my current 5770s are horrible at eyefiniy, scaling isnt too good, micro stutter. -_-

But with a single 6870 i was hoping it wouldnt have any of those problems, and later on when better drivers come out, that it would get a little better performance too.

Anyways, thank you both for the advice.


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## NothWolfeCND (Nov 6, 2010)

I would wait, after all it will only be a week, or two. 
6870, not worth your money. If you can't wait I would suggest the 6850...


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## JrRacinFan (Nov 6, 2010)

IMO, return the 5770 and wait for 6970.


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## Fishymachine (Nov 6, 2010)

or you could get hd 6850 X-fire,since they do scale better and have superior tesselation(I recomend two that have voltmodes like Sapphire,XFX,Asus MSI)


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## 20mmrain (Nov 7, 2010)

SpeedsticK said:


> I completely understand lol, after i get the 6870 i was planning on maybe getting another one, i truly like the concept of crossfire, plus the cards arent TOO expensive, so i was alreay thinking of gettting another.
> the reason why i want them replaced so bad is because my current 5770s are horrible at eyefiniy, scaling isnt too good, micro stutter. -_-
> 
> But with a single 6870 i was hoping it wouldnt have any of those problems, and later on when better drivers come out, that it would get a little better performance too.
> ...



Yeah no man IMO I would go after the 6870 then if you plan on getting another one. The reason is that you said you only have a certain amount of money to spend. 

Sure while you could wait for a 6950 or a 6970 the price difference between the 6970/6950 and the 6870 could be a few hundred dollars. So if that is the case those cards will not be in your price range. 
The drivers in my experience for the 6870 have not been bad at all. I actually have not had any problems with my drivers for these cards what so ever. Not only that I can vouch that the scaling on Crossfire has increased by a lot!
I haven't really noticed too much Micro stutter with my two 6870's really either.

So again I would go for it but it is totally up to  you bro


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## alexsubri (Nov 7, 2010)

6850 = Entry Gaming
6870 = Mainstream Gaming
6970 = Ultra Gaming
6990 = Enthusiast Gaming

If that makes sense or help's at all. I would wait as well for the 6970 ...it's only a couple of week's away.


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## SonDa5 (Nov 7, 2010)

alexsubri said:


> 6850 = Entry Gaming
> 6870 = Mainstream Gaming
> 6970 = Ultra Gaming
> 6990 = Enthusiast Gaming
> ...




I think your chart is a little off.

HD5770 is definitely entry gaming.

2 HD5770s in Xfire is just about as good as a single HD5870.


I have rean HD5770s in Xfire and I have been running a HD6850 most recently and a over clocked HD6850 is just about as good as 2 over clocked HD5770s in Xfire.

The HD6850 is a great card.  Definitely high mid range when over clocked. 

Since the HD5900 series are rumored to be coming soon I would wait to see what kind of performance and value they offer.

HD6850 is a great single card though.


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## NothWolfeCND (Nov 7, 2010)

@SonDa5 » Agree with you're HD6850 CF solution, it's the best if you want AMD cards. I'm just not to sure about their AA solution. I'm "test-burning" both cards, for a review, and so far the FPS's are good, but their is something wrong with their new "Post-processing" AA technology, in many applications. As I see it, so far:
*HD6850 » Great card, great OC'ing potential, great scaling in CF. A very good buy.
*HD6870 » Mediocre card, a rush job, scaling is OK, but almost no headroom for OC'ing. Maybe, as the card matures, and with new Drives, this problem will be fixed.

Bottom Line » Can't hurt to wait one or two weeks to, a) see where the 69XX cards fit, and b) see what AMD vs. Nvidia pricing wars will enable you to buy.

If you really have to buy them, I would recommend 2 HD6850 in CF, as the best bang-for-buck solution...and OC them like there's no tomorrow...


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## pantherx12 (Nov 7, 2010)

Scaling is just as good with 6870s, it's only over-clocking headroom that is affected really.

I'm sure that could be rectified with custom cooling though : ]


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## NothWolfeCND (Nov 7, 2010)

pantherx12 said:


> Scaling is just as good with 6870s, it's only over-clocking headroom that is affected really.
> 
> I'm sure that could be rectified with custom cooling though : ]



Yep, but cooling is not the issue - I have them really cold, and can't make them fly, like they should. With good cooling the 6850CF results are almost equal to the 6870CF, that's not a good sign.

Another thing that is really starting to annoy me is the AA technology. The cards are showing great difficulties in every application that needs depth rendering.

*For now I will give both issues the benefit of doubt.
Since the cards are so new, maybe with updated Drivers, in one or two months, these issues will be fixed. After all, it took Nvidia almost six month to get their GF100 cards tuned...


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## pantherx12 (Nov 7, 2010)

Just use msaa rather than mlaa, I think it won't be decent until game devs code it themselves.


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## Hayder_Master (Nov 7, 2010)

ok here is 5770 in crossfire review
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/2983/his_radeon_hd_5770_1gb_video_card_in_crossfire/index8.html

and check it with same tastes on 6870

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/3601/amd_radeon_hd_6870_1gb_video_card/index.html

and w1zzard do many reviews  on TPU about 6870 you can check it, but i give u these links for same benchmarks


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## SonDa5 (Nov 7, 2010)

NothWolfeCND said:


> @SonDa5 » Agree with you're HD6850 CF solution, it's the best if you want AMD cards. I'm just not to sure about their AA solution...





I haven't tried Xfire HD6850.  Only single HD6850.

I have tried 2 HD5770 in Xfire which work great however a single HD6850 over clocked seems to be just about as good as 2 HD5770s in Xfire. That has been my experience so far.


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