5850 vs 6850

[MikeyLSU]

If any of you remember my thread earlier I had decided on a 6850. Bought a new one off ebay and the thing got pulled after I won it(got money back).

So now I'm looking again and I see the 5850 and 6850 for the same price but benchmarks look like the 5850 slightly outperform the 6850. Is there any reason the 6850 would be better?

My choices are:
HIS 6850-------$165 - $20 mail in rebate for $145
Sapphire 6850--$165 - $15 mail in rebate for $150
Sapphire 5850--$150 no rebates.

All look to be new in box products.

EDIT: the 6850 also comes with Shogun 2 which I dont' know anything about so it isn't that great of an offer.

 

[brandonb]

The 6xxx series had some fixes to image quality, mainly some Antiscopic filtering fixes.

 

[Barfo]

6850 draws less power. I'd get the 5850.

 

[GaiaHunter]

The 5850 is generally faster. Both overclock nicely.

Shogun 2 is the new installment of the famous series Total War - Medieval 1&2, Shogun 1&2, Rome, Empire and Napoleon - It is a hybrid with turn base strategy a la civilization but with real time battles. Pretty good IMHO.

If Shogun 2 isn't a factor, at similar prices 5850 for sure.

 

[happy medium]

6850 for better resale value.

 

[randomlinh]

heh, I was planning on going w/ the 6850 when I could get it for $150 w/o rebates. power consumption was a factor for me, but looking at the charts on anand, it seems the 5850 is only a bit more power hungry. I'm not overclocking so it's really a wash for me. Probably will go for rebate free now w/ that new saphire 5850 (shogun 2 isn't really anything I want)

 

[Smartazz]

That 5850 looks like a great deal. I'd def. go with that.

 

[RussianSensation]

5850. No rebates. And the card is 12% faster at 1920x1080 4AA.

 

[Termie]

5850. No rebates. And the card is 12% faster at 1920x1080 4AA.

The 5850 is really much closer to a 6870 than it is to a 6850. So yes, at $150, it's a very good deal. I also think rebate-free deals are better generally.

See this thread for more information, including reviews of that HD5850: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2156623

 

[betasub]

6850 if you are concerned about power consumption (1x6pin) or card length or the free game. 5850 for raw performance from a longer card with greater power draw (2x6pin).

 

[MikeyLSU]

thanks for all the info, my only thing is I'm not sure if my monitor accepts HDMI and I'm running dual monitors. I want to pull the trigger, but can't until I know if I can run both monitors since they took away a DVI slot.

 

[bryanW1995]

5850 is significantly better, only reason to get the 6850 is if you are confident in the rebate + you either plan to play shogun 2 a lot OR you think you can sell it for $20-$30 to reap some more savings.

edit: from reading up on shogun 2, it just came out a month ago and has had extremely positive reviews. Even if you don't play it, you should be able to sell it for pretty good money.

 

[happy medium]

thanks for all the info, my only thing is I'm not sure if my monitor accepts HDMI and I'm running dual monitors. I want to pull the trigger, but can't until I know if I can run both monitors since they took away a DVI slot.

If you are running dual monitors, you might also want to look into the power consumption of both cards at idle when running 2 monitors. They could be different. Just a tip.:thumbsup:

 

[Termie]

6850 if you are concerned about power consumption (1x6pin) or card length or the free game. 5850 for raw performance from a longer card with greater power draw (2x6pin).

This particular 5850 is on a 6850 board, so the length is not an issue. But it does use slightly more power and still requires two 6pin connectors.

thanks for all the info, my only thing is I'm not sure if my monitor accepts HDMI and I'm running dual monitors. I want to pull the trigger, but can't until I know if I can run both monitors since they took away a DVI slot.

Well, that's an issue - to keep it simple, you might need to go with the dual-DVI 6850. They did remove a DVI connector from this new 5850 model.

 

[hdfxst]

I read in one of those reviews that the 150 dollar 5850 is the same size as a 460.I think it was the rage3d review

 

[nemesismk2]

In the UK the Sapphire 5850 Extreme is now being sold for £108 which is cheaper than the 6850 at £134. The Sapphire 5830 Extreme is also a very cheap £79. I am dumbstruck! :|

 

[bryanW1995]

The 5830 actually becomes an option once you get below about $5 or so...

I find it humorous that 5850 is consistent as cheap as or often cheaper than 6850. 5850 is a much better card.

 

[MikeyLSU]

just bought the 5850 after getting home and confirming one of my monitors does have an HDMI connections.

Thanks for the help everyone

 

[GaiaHunter]

I find it humorous that 5850 is consistent as cheap as or often cheaper than 6850. 5850 is a much better card.

I wish when I was in the market I could have been humored, but unfortunately the 5850 was then some €80 more than a 6850.

 

[WMD]

5850 is the better card. Performance is almost identical to 6870 in some games. I tested both cards, at the same clocks it is much faster than the 6870 except in tessellation games.

 

[alcoholbob]

The 6850 has better scaling under crossfire and lower power TDP. Otherwise the 5850 is better.

 

[dakU7]

Open a new newegg account, receive 25$ gift card, get the 5850. Done.

 

[WMD]

Crossfire performance is largely dependent on drivers. There are no hardware differences between the 5800 and 6800 series that specifically enhances crossfire performance.

 

[randomlinh]

Open a new newegg account, receive 25$ gift card, get the 5850. Done.

didn't that expire last month?

 

[dakU7]

Nope, theres 3 hours left.