Gaming at 1680x1050

Damac · 7 Dec 2009 at 19:37

I'm looking at upgrading soon from my 8800 GTS 640mb to either a 5770 or 5850. But I have read that (in PCGAMER) if your gaming at 1680 x 1050 the 5850 would be over kill and better to go for the 5770. Is this correct as there is a big price gap at the moment?

Thanks

mame · 7 Dec 2009 at 19:39

Out of those 2 I would get the 5770. The 5850 is just too expensive. Also consider the 4890 and GTX 260 which are faster but don't have DX11. If I was buying now I would get the 5770 I think.

alex24 · 7 Dec 2009 at 19:42

Do you have a crossfire board? One 5770 isn't amazingly fast, and would be outperformed by a GTX260 (which can be had second hand for less than £90 now). However, add another 5770 and it'll trade blows with a 5850 fairly easily, plus you don't have to buy both right now.

Sunshine99 · 7 Dec 2009 at 19:42

Hi,

I have a 5850 Dirt 2 all settings on MAX at this res gives me 45 frames per seconds.
Looks amazing.

See there are some in stock.

I dont know what the 5770 would give but i bet it would be low 30s. Spend the extra if you can, nice a future proof lovely jubley !.

Damac · 7 Dec 2009 at 19:44

I do have crossfire so would be able to a second later, and really would like to go DX11 and not stay with DX10.

alex24 · 7 Dec 2009 at 19:50

Then a 5770 would seem to make sense, unless you can afford one 5850 now and maybe another when that's inadequate. Depends on your budget.

asoxedri · 7 Dec 2009 at 20:12

alexhull24 said:
Then a 5770 would seem to make sense, unless you can afford one 5850 now and maybe another when that's inadequate. Depends on your budget.

what he said.

TAC4U · 7 Dec 2009 at 20:36

The 5770 is a decent value card, though don't go expecting too much from DX11 performance. The 5850 would obviously be a better card to go for but there's quite a price premium on them at the moment and getting hold of them is still relatively difficult. Either way it would be worth considering adding another card in Crossfire at the earliest opportunity, though more so with the 5770.

pumaz · 7 Dec 2009 at 21:46

Can someone tell me how MW2 would perform on a sytem @ 1680x1050 with a Single 5770, Q6600 and 4GB, For example max settings and 2x AA?

psychas · 7 Dec 2009 at 22:25

pumaz said:
Can someone tell me how MW2 would perform on a sytem @ 1680x1050 with a Single 5770, Q6600 and 4GB, For example max settings and 2x AA?

more then 100 fps all the time depends on cpu clock mw2 is not demanding game

DavieJG · 7 Dec 2009 at 23:00

5850 was the sweetspot when it was £200, at £260 though the 5770 looks much more appealing at £120

The 4890 @ £120-130 is probably the best for raw grunt right about now though

el Kuarlos · 7 Dec 2009 at 23:42

choice is as the cards stand right now;

5770 then 5870 after six months (5770 will tide you over till 5870 becomes reasonable)

Wait for 5850 to go back down to market value then see how fermi pans out (sweet spot card will reemerge).

Dont buy any 5800 card as is, they are just overpriced.

Auraomega · 8 Dec 2009 at 00:02

el Kuarlos said:
Dont buy any 5800 card as is, they are just overpriced.

I agree with this, however a lot of people don't as they still sell at ridiculous prices.

At this point in time 5770 crossfire is looking the best option for power + new tech, the 4890 crossfire for power + price. The 5850's real advantage though is the future upgrade path, it's cheaper to buy another one in the future than to buy 2 new cards because you've no more space for a 3rd 5770.

chaotic_uk · 8 Dec 2009 at 01:06

+1 for crossfired 5770's

getting min fps=48.55 average fps=55.92 at 1680x1050 with 8xAA and set at ultra in dirt2

C64 · 8 Dec 2009 at 02:09

You can buy almost two 360's or a ps3 for the price of a 5850.
Get a 5770.

TAC4U · 8 Dec 2009 at 03:32

C64 said:
You can buy almost two 360's or a ps3 for the price of a 5850.

And I could get a Wii, a 360 and a PS3 for the price I paid for my current card... what the hell has that got to do with anything? Console gaming doesn't match the experience I get on PC. It's not elitist to say that. Consoles have their place but we're reaching the end of the current generation and PC performance far exceeds what they can manage. You get what you pay for.

C64 · 8 Dec 2009 at 06:52

TAC4U said:
And I could get a Wii, a 360 and a PS3 for the price I paid for my current card... what the hell has that got to do with anything? Console gaming doesn't match the experience I get on PC. It's not elitist to say that. Consoles have their place but we're reaching the end of the current generation and PC performance far exceeds what they can manage. You get what you pay for.

My point is that the current good pc games really don't require such power apart from one or two.
I can count on 1 hand the amount of must have pc games that require much over a 4870 never mind 5 series @ 1680-1050.
Next years biggest pc games wont require it either by the looks of it.

icehot666 · 8 Dec 2009 at 07:25

It depends how long you want the card to last for as well though, I game currently at 1680x1050 and I have 5870 crossfire, and in games like Dirt 2 (though I think the current drivers aren't the best for it) it's definately not overkill, and it's not overkill for crysis, there's always some games that aren't as graphically advanced but as no one knows what future dx11 games are going to perform like I'd get the best you can afford.... i don't know why so many people say getting a decent card is overkill at this resolution cos I definately notice a decent improvement!

MeMeMeMe · 9 Dec 2009 at 09:04

Yes, if you don't buy a new card every 6 months, get the best you can afford and make it last. If the 5850 is within your budget, that's the one to get.