Three 5870s vs two 5970s.

[varrius]

I currently have two monitors. One is a 30" apple.

The other is a 27" Samsung Sync Master.

I am currently running two GTX 295s. I game at 2560x1600.

I need something powerful enough to run high settings at those resolutions.

I have a 1200 watt PC Power & Cooling PSU. It has run three GTX 280s before. So, I am not short on PCI-E connectors for a tri-fire setup.

In real world performance, I remember the three GTX 280s were faster than my two GTX 295s, however, the 280s got very hot and that became an issue in some cases.

Which would offer me the best performance? Three 5870s or two 5970s.

Thanks in advance.

[Blkout]

My personal opinion would be 3 5870's or 3 5850's instead of 2 5970's. I believe there's a review or article posted on the web that shows that a single 5970 is faster than 2 GTX 295's in many games.

[ajaidev]

two 5970s

[zalbard]

two 5970s

For max performance, definitely!

[XCheater]

2 5970 are cheaper than 3 5870

[Blkout]

2 5970 are cheaper than 3 5870

Not by MSRP prices. 5870's are $379 each, 5970's are $599. I actually think both would perform similar as quad GPU's just aren't going to scale all that well except in games that won't matter when your FPS is well over 200-300 anyway.

[LightSpeed]

I think 3x 5970's overclocked at 950/1200 will outperform 2x5970's since they are having a hard time reaching over 850

[dan7777]

i would go with 2x5970 OVERKILL

[zanzabar]

2x5970 if u have liquid, but i would take 2 5870 over 3, unless u really like 3d amrk 3gpus rarely work well

[jfer]

Buy two 5850 and put them like 5870 or WC'them and pown like this:



I eat 5870 and GTX285 for breakfast.

[jcool]

On air? 3x 5870's.. the 5970 will probably overheat and throttle if you run two cards close to each other, especially when you OC them. A 5870 has way more thermal headroom (it's only 188W TDP)
On water, both are viable options.

[Stanley Pain]

Isn't 3+ GPU scaling pretty much non existent?

[zanzabar]

Isn't 3+ GPU scaling pretty much non existent?

it depends on the game or app but exept for 3dmark and other benches it dosnt help, or make a game play better

[Mabyboi]

I believe there's a review or article posted on the web that shows that a single 5970 is faster than 2 GTX 295's in many games.

Do you have proof?

[Blkout]

Do you have proof?

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/....php?p=4129902

[dan7777]

5970 is kick ass but is it worth all that money ? 1 295 ^ in that review is faster the 2 295 lol

[Blkout]

5970 is kick ass but is it worth all that money ? 1 295 ^ in that review is faster the 2 295 lol

Of course the 5970 is worth the money compared to a GTX 295, it costs $100 more than the 295 and outperforms it quite easily and you get full DX11 support. Only an Nvidiot would see it otherwise. The 5970 is priced just fine for the performance you're getting.

[billdavis]

I think 3x 5970's overclocked at 950/1200 will outperform 2x5970's since they are having a hard time reaching over 850

you cant do 3 5970's!!!

[Blkout]

you cant do 3 5970's!!!

It was a typo, he meant 3 5870's. I thought that much was obvious seeing as that's the title of the thread.

[demonkevy666]

not in crossfire, but eyeinfity can.

[Splave]

Buy two 5850 and put them like 5870 or WC'them and pown like this:



I eat 5870 and GTX285 for breakfast.

nice clocks, probably almost as fast as a stock 5870 there

Single 5970 will mow everything.

[Blkout]

nice clocks, probably almost as fast as a stock 5870 there

Single 5970 will mow everything.

Uhhh...a 5850 at 1100/1275 is faster than a stock 5870. A 5850 only needs about 945MHz core speed to match a 5870 on paper. In the real world, even less than that.

[Nizzen]

And 5870 OC very well too under water Then 5850 is owned again....

Bobbylite: Windows XP with 5850... So mutch for dx 11 support....

[Blkout]

And 5870 OC very well too under water Then 5850 is owned again....

Bobbylite: Windows XP with 5850... So mutch for dx 11 support....

No one said anything about an overclocked 5850 vs an overclocked 5870. The statement was that a 5850 OC'd to 1100/1275 was about equal to a stock 5870.

Next time read more carefully before posting.

[[XC] gomeler]

I'd go with 2 HD5870s, clock them to 900MHz core and call it a day.