Hi everyone, I am looking to setup a triple monitor setup to use while I play iRacing. I am curious as to the performance differences I may see between the Radeon HD 5770, 5850, and 5870. I am trying to decide which card will be best based on price vs. performance. My current rig is correct in my signature. With my current 1 monitor setup I see around 70fps with most graphics options turned up pretty high and the performance is very good. Thanks for your input.
Radeon HD 5770 vs. 5850 vs. 5870
- Thread starter josh088
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danthrax
Member
5770 < 5850 < 5870.
IMO I would say the performance gain you will see when going from 5770 to 5850 will be worth the extra money. The 5870 is a very high-end card that comes with a high-end price tag as well. The 5850 should run 3 monitors quite well, whereas I can see the 5770 struggling to run 3 monitors at high res and high video settings.
The other issue to consider as well is that if you go with a 5850 or 5870 you should probably get a better PSU just to be safe. If you go with the 5770, your current Thermaltake 500W should be more than satisfactory.
IMO I would say the performance gain you will see when going from 5770 to 5850 will be worth the extra money. The 5870 is a very high-end card that comes with a high-end price tag as well. The 5850 should run 3 monitors quite well, whereas I can see the 5770 struggling to run 3 monitors at high res and high video settings.
The other issue to consider as well is that if you go with a 5850 or 5870 you should probably get a better PSU just to be safe. If you go with the 5770, your current Thermaltake 500W should be more than satisfactory.
joh06937
New Member
to run newer games in eyefinity, a single 5770 really wouldn't cut it. from personal experience, you'd need to have low/medium settings with no aa to run eyefinity on 3 1920x1080 monitors. a 5850 is a great card for the price, but like danthrax said, you really should consider upgrading your psu. you might also consider a 5830. another great performance/cost ratio. but again, the MINIMUM psu is 500w. you probably would be fine with an hd 5830 or an hd 5850 since they usually overestimate, but if you wanted to crossfire in the future, you'd have to upgrade then.
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Thanks for the input guys, I really appreciate it. I dont play any other games that are high end as far as graphics go so I believe the 5850 is the way I am going to go. Upgrading the PSU wouldn't be an issue either if you feel that I should upgrade it with one of the 58xx series cards. Any suggestions on a PSU you feel would work well?
danthrax
Member
If you are choosing the 5850 then I would recommend something between 600W and 750W. Choose a good brand and do not get a cheap one! I'd go with 750W because if you ever plan on Crossfiring two cards in the future, you should be able to do it with a 750W with no problem. Go with one of these brands: Corsair, Antec, OCZ, Rosewill, Thermaltake, Silverstone, etc...
Great advice, 5850 plus a Corsair 750TX. If you buy used look for a ref ASUS 5850, 3 year warranty but based on the serial number build and not the owner.
