Upgrade HD5970 to GTX680 or wait?

[marinlik]

I have 5850cf which is basicly 5970 and will probably buy 680. Hate crossfire for all the problems it have. Have checked around myself and in techpowerups test 680 is 16% better than 5970. Their test is a bit wierd do as 5970 is better than 680 in shogun 2. Have tried myself by comparing to a test where i know the settings and my cards get 48fps and 680 get 60fps. so about 25% difference. the 680 is also much better in bf3.

Have always thought that techpowerup get some wierd results sometimes.

 

[Mars999]

Math fail.

Not if he had a 5870 and that is what I thought he posted, but the 5970 no, it's not 2x.

 

[OVerLoRDI]

Depends what bitcoin miners are willing to pay for a 5970 right now. They are great cards for that purpose.

 

[Stayfr0sty]

Flickering issues on a 5970? Running latest drivers with CAP?

 

[Sho'Nuff]

Flickering issues on a 5970? Running latest drivers with CAP?

Yes. And I update drivers the right way. Clean out the old before putting in the new.

Skyrim is basically unplayable for me right now, due to the flicker. Its fine in game. But everytime I open a menu I think I am going to have a seizure.

A total system upgrade has been considered as well. In the past when I had no kids and earned more $$ (sacrificed some salary good work life balance), I would have upgraded everything. Now, I have to pick my spots a bit more.

2500K is a pretty good deal now, but I hate buying last gen right as the new gen is about to come out. Makes me feel like I'm behind the 8 ball, regardless of whether it is the best bang for the buck.

I'm going to check out e-bay and see what I can get for the 5970. If I can sell it for $200, I'll pull the trigger. $300 (500-200) on a new card is easier for me to justify these days.

 

[supras989]

I plan on upgrading from a 5970 to a GTX 680 soon, whilst it is still a beefy card for the majority of games out there, it is rapidly getting outdated, the limited 1GB frame buffer really takes its toll on the card at higher resolutions, and trying to play games like BF3 with Ultra textures is a no go zone and cripples performance.
Not to mention mine died on me only a few hours ago! so I definitely think it's time to move on now

 

[marinlik]

Anyone that have uppgraded and can say a write a bit about the difference in performance?

 

[Stayfr0sty]

Yes. And I update drivers the right way. Clean out the old before putting in the new.

Skyrim is basically unplayable for me right now, due to the flicker. Its fine in game. But everytime I open a menu I think I am going to have a seizure.

A total system upgrade has been considered as well. In the past when I had no kids and earned more $$ (sacrificed some salary good work life balance), I would have upgraded everything. Now, I have to pick my spots a bit more.

2500K is a pretty good deal now, but I hate buying last gen right as the new gen is about to come out. Makes me feel like I'm behind the 8 ball, regardless of whether it is the best bang for the buck.

I'm going to check out e-bay and see what I can get for the 5970. If I can sell it for $200, I'll pull the trigger. $300 (500-200) on a new card is easier for me to justify these days.

Concerning latest gen. DOnt worry about that, its just the upgradeitis that makes you feel that way. You should just be looking at what will fit your needs economically. Im a major BF3 junkie and not too long ago I just went from an AMD 940 BE to a 1055t which is already considered previous gen. Do I care? No. Becaue I know with this CPU and video I have I can still play the game maxed out on ultra, no need for the latest and greatest.

 

[masterkaj]

I've been contemplating the same thing. To be honest, the 680 doesn't seem like too big of a jump in performance. I am just tired of constant crossfire issues with new releases and having to play on 1 gpu while I wait for a profile update (happens a lot).

Also, I want to play some old games (Rogue Spear) that do not work on my ATI card at all (but do for Nvidia).

Guys think it is a worthy upgrade or wait until next year when GK110 comes out? Right now my 5970 is overclocked to 850/1200 (up from 725/1000), are there any benchmarks comparing an overclocked 5970 to newer gen cards?

Games I play now:
BF3
CSS
Diablo III
WoW
Shogun 2
LoL

 

[Mars999]

There is no guarantee that the GK100 is going to be for consumers... and if it is it will be more than the 680 is now. Look at the cost of a 690... my guess is $1000 for the card and yeah it may or may not give you 2x performance, but it will be in a single card.

IMO pick up a 670 now and be happy! Epic said that you will need a Kepler based card to run Unreal engine 4 when it's out... if that matters to you.

 

[Termie]

I've been contemplating the same thing. To be honest, the 680 doesn't seem like too big of a jump in performance. I am just tired of constant crossfire issues with new releases and having to play on 1 gpu while I wait for a profile update (happens a lot).

Also, I want to play some old games (Rogue Spear) that do not work on my ATI card at all (but do for Nvidia).

Guys think it is a worthy upgrade or wait until next year when GK110 comes out? Right now my 5970 is overclocked to 850/1200 (up from 725/1000), are there any benchmarks comparing an overclocked 5970 to newer gen cards?

Games I play now:
BF3
CSS
Diablo III
WoW
Shogun 2
LoL

Here you go: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/587?vs=555

Also, see my thread on 5850 crossfire to 670: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2245778

Overall, it's not a very big upgrade, particularly given the cost. The 680 is certainly a more elegant solution, and if you're actually having problems with your games, then you already have your answer, but if you're doing it for significantly greater performance, you will be disappointed.

 

[SickBeast]

OP you're doing yourself a disservice by not considering the GTX 670 and the 7850.

 

[toyota]

OP you're doing yourself a disservice by not considering the GTX 670 and the 7850.

7850? he would have to oc that by at least 35% just to match a 5970.

 

[SickBeast]

7850? he would have to oc that by at least 35% just to match a 5970.

It begs the question then: Why even bother upgrading?

I could see dropping $500 if it were going to at least double your performance, but spending that much cash for maybe 30% faster with a GTX 680 is silly IMO.

The 7850 is still better than what he has because it's a single GPU BTW.

OP my direct answer to your OP is to wait.

 

[Jaydip]

SB My friend sold a 5970 just out of utter frustration.Amd has done a terrible job supporting 5970,they have done a disservice to all the 5970 owners.So OP Yeah upgrade to a 680.

 

[SickBeast]

I still say a 670 is a way better deal than the 680.

 

[Jaydip]

I agree but then the Op should choose a custom edition

 

[RaistlinZ]

I'd say go with a 670 and SLI it down the road if need be.

Or, spring for a 7970 and overclock the hell out of it.

 

[Jacky60]

I would wait if I were you. The upgrade will be noticeable but not a radical improvement and if you upgrade CPU/mobo next then when you jump 2 generations you'll really be set. I owned a 5970/5870 trifire and upgraded to 2 6990's which is a big difference but I bought the 6990's a week apart and one 6990 wasn't much of a jump. I think it'll be just enough of an upgrade to be a disappointment. People suggesting 670's and 7850's don't seem to understand the concept of an upgrade vs sidegrade or downgrade.

 

[Mars999]

I would wait if I were you. The upgrade will be noticeable but not a radical improvement and if you upgrade CPU/mobo next then when you jump 2 generations you'll really be set. I owned a 5970/5870 trifire and upgraded to 2 6990's which is a big difference but I bought the 6990's a week apart and one 6990 wasn't much of a jump. I think it'll be just enough of an upgrade to be a disappointment. People suggesting 670's and 7850's don't seem to understand the concept of an upgrade vs sidegrade or downgrade.

It's not just about FPS, the 600 series has new features that will allow better gfx in upcoming engines or updated current engines. Now if he the kind of person that doesn't upgrade all the time it would allow him to run engines that are coming down the pipe.

On the other side of the coin, Radeon 8000 series are coming in 6 months... I don't know what they will be like but since the 7970 is so close to the 680 I would assume the 8k series is going to be a beast, and hopefully consume the same power as the 600 series... but again Nvidia may have something to combat that at the time. Exciting times again!!!!

 

[GotNoRice]

Games I play now:
BF3
CSS
Diablo III
WoW
Shogun 2
LoL

The games you listed are all games that have spectacular crossfire scaling and should run great on your existing 5970. I run all of those same games except for LoL and crossfire scaling is so good on my 2x 4870x2 quadfire setup that upgrading to a GTX680 would be a side-grade at best in terms of performance. 2x 4870x2 quadfire and a 5970 are pretty close in terms of performance.

 

[Don Karnage]

I see no reason to even consider a 680 unless you're a hardcore bencher

 

[masterkaj]

The games you listed are all games that have spectacular crossfire scaling and should run great on your existing 5970. I run all of those same games except for LoL and crossfire scaling is so good on my 2x 4870x2 quadfire setup that upgrading to a GTX680 would be a side-grade at best in terms of performance. 2x 4870x2 quadfire and a 5970 are pretty close in terms of performance.

I should have stated I USED to play other games but got tired of having to resort to 1 gpu, flickering textures, or bad scaling. Not to mention, one point of my original post was stating I couldn't play some old games due to ATI drivers and asking if I was crazy to upgrade just to play an old game. I have lived with not being able to play it (or just using my laptop) because the 5970 is a beast. Now that there is actually a single GPU card out that is better, I am thinking about upgrading just because I never want to deal with SLI or crossfire issues again. I'll also be able to play my old games.

 

[Jaydip]

Yeah I see ur point,get a custom 670 like evga ftw,asus dc ii or if money isn't any object get a custom edition 680 instead.

 

[Mars999]

Just sell the old beast and get the 670 Gigabyte windforce, Asus DC2, or the new MSI Power edition coming out soon(Hawk) verison basically....

And yeah the Xfire/SLI issues suck, a friend of mine had two 5850's and he ended up returning one due to the same headache and got a 570 back then... In fact it was my 570