Upgrade HD5970 to GTX680 or wait?

[Sho'Nuff]

I'm sure there are lots of "should I upgrade" threads in view of the GTX 680, so I thought I would add mine to the mix.

I have an ATI HD5970, and am considering an GTX680 purchase. While the HD5970 has been a beast of a card for me, I am tired of dealing with ATI driver problems, flickering textures (due to the dual GPU), and other issues.

That said, I can't seem to find any reviews that show the relative performance of the new 680 with the 5970. Should I expect a decent performance jump by making the switch? Or simply comparable performance with better driver/physx support?

Edit: I game at 1920 x 1200
Core parts of system are as follows:

Core I7 860 @3.8Ghz
Asus P55 Deluxe Motherboard
8GB ram
Radeon HD5970
60GB Agilty 2 SSD boot
~3TB Bulk storage across 4 drives
NEC 2490WUxi2-bk

 

[Lepton87]

When CF scales properly GTX680 should be about 35-40% faster then your card. Is it enough to warrant upgrading? Maybe, it all depends how much bothered you are with your 5970. If I were you I would wait for a proper high-end card instead of buying suped-up midrange card for 500$.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

Your card is probably as fast as 6870 CF or maybe a little slower approx. You will notice a difference going to the GTX 680, IMO tis worth it.

 

[MrK6]

If the money isn't a problem, do it, especially since you're at 1920x1200. Any time you can get a single GPU to perform similarly to a multi-GPU setup, go with the single GPU card. Actually though, checking out AT Bench, you should see some significant performance increases as well depending on the games you play: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/297?vs=305
(the assumption is that the 5970 performs similarly to the GTX 580 in a lot of those games, and the GTX 680 is anywhere from 15-40% faster than a GTX 580).

 

[YBS1]

While the HD5970 has been a beast of a card for me, I am tired of dealing with ATI driver problems, flickering textures (due to the dual GPU), and other issues.

You answered your own question right there, same reason I went green.

 

[Tempered81]

I can't seem to find any reviews that show the relative performance of the new 680 with the 5970. Should I expect a decent performance jump by making the switch?

 

[Absolute0]

5970 is huge beast, hold out longer... This is just baby Kepler, think of the real thing

 

[BrightCandle]

The problems with the 5970 are really bad and its the reason I went with a pair of 7970's when they came out. I couldn't stand the performance problems and poor crossfire support that came with AMD's old card. While I still have occasional hickups with the 7970's its considerably better than with the 5970 and its improved games a lot for me.

The 5970 is a lemon, because AMD no longer bothers to support it. To get 2x performance you alas need to get a pair of top end cards as these new ones aren't that much faster than the previous high end. Personally I would say that it is worth it, just to get off the bad card onto something that will likely work in games where the 5970 really doesn't but you'll loose money and only get minor performance improvements.

 

[ShreddedWheat]

I would wait. The 680 and 7970 are not that much faster.

 

[Via]

I haven't seen anything on any site that would indicate an upgrade from the 5970 would be anything other that sideways (at least speedwise).

If you're happy with it (like I am) I think it would be a waste. I can still play almost any game well on three screens.

 

[AtenRa]

GTX680 will play every current game in 1200p max out, no point waiting for GK100

 

[SlowSpyder]

I went from Crossfired 5870's to a 7970 (and started overclocking right away) and noticed zero drop in performance. Of course my CPU may have been lmiting me already... but there are many games where I can now actually play at higher AA levels due to the extra VRAM. I imagine the move from a 5970 to a GTX680 (or 7970) would be a pretty similar experience to mine. I also game at 19x12.

 

[Termie]

More benches:
3dMark11: http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-680-review/22
BC2: http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-680-review/20
Metro: http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-680-review/18

It's definitely faster, probably about 30% or so. An upgrade, but a mild one - only worth it is a usability upgrade if you're having problems, which apparently you are.

 

[Mars999]

According to the chart posted the 680 in that benchmark is ~50% faster so it's ~2x as fast

 

[BallaTheFeared]

50% would be decent, assuming the fps for the 5970 were nearly payable already.

If you want a well rounded card the 680 is a great choice, if care only about performance and nothing about anything else, wait for GK100 if it ever comes...

 

[Zebo]

Good time as any. Double performance is usually a efficient move.

 

[Lepton87]

According to the chart posted the 680 in that benchmark is ~50% faster so it's ~2x as fast

Math fail.

 

[ghost recon88]

Also depends on how much you could sell your current 5970 for, IMO.

On eBay you could get from $300-400 it looks like. IMO I would go for it if it only costs you $100-200 out of pocket.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

Only a noob would pay more than $200 for a used 5970.

 

[lOl_lol_lOl]

If I had your system and $500 to spend I would build the system around the videocard. A 2500K/3550K with a nice $150-180 Mobo and spare change for a proper CPU cooler would bring much greater performance increases.:thumbsup:

 

[Subyman]

If I had your system and $500 to spend I would build the system around the videocard. A 2500K/3550K with a nice $150-180 Mobo and spare change for a proper CPU cooler would bring much greater performance increases.:thumbsup:

This is probably the best idea. The 860 will definitely be showing its age with a 680. I'd wait on the 680 and see what the custom PCBs bring with them. I'd focus on refreshing the motherboard, CPU, and ram when Ivy comes out. A 3550K OCed to a modest 4.5Ghz would be a huge upgrade. That would then allow you to move on to a 680 once the dust has settled and there are some custom choices.

 

[bryanW1995]

I haven't seen anything on any site that would indicate an upgrade from the 5970 would be anything other that sideways (at least speedwise).

If you're happy with it (like I am) I think it would be a waste. I can still play almost any game well on three screens.

Um, except for the link about 5 posts above your own that shows gtx 680 as nearly 20% faster than 5970. Plus, no dual card hijinks. That is a quite significant upgrade imho.

 

[VulgarDisplay]

Keep the 5970 and wait to see how AMD responds to the gtx680 pricing before you buy anything.

A 7970 for $450-475 would be quite hard to pass up especially considering their overclocking potential.

 

[Smartazz]

Keep the 5970 and wait to see how AMD responds to the gtx680 pricing before you buy anything.

A 7970 for $450-475 would be quite hard to pass up especially considering their overclocking potential.

This. You probably would be able to get decent money for the 5970 from a Bitcoin miner.

 

[TakeNoPrisoners]

I vote for the upgrade as the GTX 680 will produce a lot less heat, be quieter, and preform better then the 5970.

The 5970 was a beast but like all high end cards it got outdated fast.