Upgrade from Radeon HD 5850..Options?

[clarkey01]

I'm looking for an upgrade on my 5850.

Play BF3 quite a bit and something around the £150 mark is what I am aiming for.

I'm a bit out of the loop but I was looking at these three cards;

Sapphire HD 6850 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card - £143.99 inc VAT

XFX HD 6870 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £143.99 inc VAT

ZOTAC GeForce GTX 560 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £155.99 inc VAT

Any thoughts?

Cheers

 

[Rvenger]

They are all pretty much a side grade you have listed. 6850 is a slight downgrade actually. You will need to go with at least a GTX 560TI 448 or an HD 6950 (2gb models). More memory will bring your minimum frame rates up.

I would wait for the 78XX series coming out in March. Those will give you a step up.

 

[clarkey01]

Is there nothing I can get for around the 150 mark that won't bring me improvements?

 

[Blitzvogel]

Is there nothing I can get for around the 150 mark that won't bring me improvements?

Probably not, though I'm not sure how US prices are reflected in UK prices, considering don't you all have a significant electronics import tax, not to mention VAT?

 

[formulav8]

Well if you don't mind rebates you could get a 6870 for around that $150 price. But its only a few % higher than what you have. It would get you near 5870 performance.

You may want to check out the For Sale forum here and find a used 6950 for $200-$225 or so. Some may be selling the ones which can unlock into a 6970 somewhat close to that price.

Still, for $150 theres not to much out there to top your 5850. 6950/6970 would be a decent upgrade, but they aren't in the $150 range. Maybe wait until the 78xx gpu's are released and see how low the 69xx cards get and maybe buy one then.

Edit: Your not in the US so i'm not sure whats available to you. :\

 

[TakeNoPrisoners]

People think he said dollars.

A 5850 is between a 6850 and a 6870. I have the same card and I wouldn't upgrade unless I got 7970 preformance.

The performance just isn't here yet. A 5850 is too capable.

 

[DeathReborn]

All of those are a sidegrade really, all within 5-8% of each other & the 5850.

You can get around £100 for that 5850 (£150 new) so you're best off either selling it and getting a Radeon HD6970 2GB or a GTX 570 1.25GB. It's either that on a second 5850 for £150. Keep an eye on this site for good prices: http://skinflint.co.uk/

Sensible choice though is wait for the 7800's or Kepler to get a real increase in performance.

 

[gammaray]

hi,

i also own a 5850 and my next upgrade will be a 6950 ( or a gtx570 but those are too expensive compared to the 6950)

dont even bother looking at a 6870-6850 or gtx560

 

[OCGuy]

If you cant go 7970, dont bother yet.

 

[dakU7]

Get another 5850?

 

[fastman]

Like dakU7 said, if your Mobo supports a second card look into that.

 

[Powermoloch]

Your card is still capable, most of the cards you have listed are just side grades with minimal bump in performance (6850 / 6870). The 560Ti might be a better choice, but it doesn't hurt to save a little bit more to get a higher performance card.

 

[skipsneeky2]

gtx570 or 6970 would be the first worthy cards to replace the 5850 or grab a second 5850 and crossfire it.

I do have a 2gb gtx560 non ti clocked to near ti performance and in BF3 1080p ultra it usually's uses around 1150-1230mb vram per session and performance is ok with ultra but not amazing leaving me wanting a tad bit more so i feel the gtx570 would be the less worthy upgrade or the upcoming 7870.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

6850 is a downgrade

6870 or GTX560 is an unnoticeable upgrade of like 5-7% or so

I went from a 5850 to 6970 and although the difference was significant, it wasn't as much as I wanted, it was much less than that.

Infact, now that I went to a 7970 from a 6970, after oc of 20%+ 7970 from 6970 seems like a bigger jump or at least as much if not more, than what 6970 was from 5850.

So I wouldn't recommend anything below a 6970 or 570.

And if you really want to max at full HD then go for a 7950 at least.

 

[clarkey01]

Not sure my PSU would support a second GPU.

I used to follow the GPU market quite closely but I've been too busy in recent years.

I may hang fire then, I just wanted a few more fps in BF3

 

[MrK6]

Not sure my PSU would support a second GPU.

I used to follow the GPU market quite closely but I've been too busy in recent years.

I may hang fire then, I just wanted a few more fps in BF3

Overclock your 860 higher to improve minimums, don't use MSAA, and overclock the hell out of your 5850.

 

[Keysplayr]

I second the motion to sell your current card after you
go for a GTX 560Ti 448 or GTX 570. Both are valid upgrades
to your 5850. Sell it after to recoup some of tne money you lay out.

 

[WMD]

Wait for the 7870 to release. It will offer better than 6970 performance for about $250.

 

[Termie]

Is there nothing I can get for around the 150 mark that won't bring me improvements?

Welcome to the new video card market, where you can't upgrade from two-year-old video cards without spending more than you did originally.

Wait for the 7870 to release. It will offer better than 6970 performance for about $250.

No it won't.

 

[railven]

Welcome to the new video card market, where you can't upgrade from two-year-old video cards without spending more than you did originally.

The economy woes finally infiltrated our precious GPU sector

 

[Rvenger]

If you want to improve your FPS in BF3 you have to move off a 1gb card. You will always more than likely hit below 50fps during explosions and smoke.


If you can sell your 5850 for a decent price. Get a 6870/6950 2gb



Before others accuse me of contradicting myself, I am recommending a 2gb card

 

[WMD]

No it won't.

The 7850/ 7870 are the sweet spot. I am sure they are gonna be a lot more attractive in performance/ price than the 7700 and 7900 cards. The 7870 should offer about 60% better performance than an overclocked 5850. It can't hurt to wait a little more. The 5850 is still decent enough to game on in the mean time.

 

[Termie]

If you want to improve your FPS in BF3 you have to move off a 1gb card. You will always more than likely hit below 50fps during explosions and smoke.

...

That's not entirely accurate - you can adjust settings to never exceed the 1GB frame buffer, but yes, as an upgrade from a 5850, I wouldn't take anything less than 2GB.

The 7850/ 7870 are the sweet spot. I am sure they are gonna be a lot more attractive in performance/ price than the 7700 and 7900 cards. The 7870 should offer about 60% better performance than an overclocked 5850. It can't hurt to wait a little more. The 5850 is still decent enough to game on in the mean time.

It's certainly worth waiting a week or so to see what happens with the 7850/7870 introduction, but I wouldn't expect miracles. We already have the specs and price, after all:

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/AM...ource=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter#xtor=RSS-181

With a 950 core, the 7870 may just barely beat the 6970 (I'm estimating a 10% advantage), but it will be $300, not $250. At $220, the 7850, on the other hand, might actually be a value - while likewise coming in at about 10% faster than the 6950, at least it will be cheaper if the MSRP holds.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

From what I estimate, 7850 will be about a 6950, +-5%. 7870 will probably be slightly slower than a 6970.

7850 $250
7870 $300

 

[StinkyPinky]

7870