5870 vs 6870 - pricing

[Sparky]

Maybe I'm missing something, but why is the 5870 so much more expensive than the 6870? The 6870 is the newer, faster, better card isn't it?

I feel like an idiot asking this, because it has probably been discussed before, but I have no idea...

[Pantsu]

Actually 5870 is 5-10% faster than 6870. It's the last gen high end while 6870 is mainstream and has a 30% smaller chip. They won't produce 5870 anymore so whats left on the market stay at high price levels until the stocks run out.

[Sparky]

That's weird. 3 series, 3870 is the high end card. 4 series, 4870 is the high end card (before the 4890 came as the souped-up version). 5 series, high end is again 5870... So why did they change it in the 6 series? What's the high end on the 6 series now?

Wait I just went and looked - the 6970? What, why... why confuse people like me

[PaganII]

A week before 6970 release the 5870 was close to $300. After release, $399usd

[zshadow]

At this point 6870 is a better buy though. It may be 5-10% slower in raw performance but scales better in xfire and is faster under tessellation heavy situations.

[BababooeyHTJ]

At this point 6870 is a better buy though. It may be 5-10% slower in raw performance but scales better in xfire and is faster under tessellation heavy situations.

It runs pretty cool and quietly too.

[dctokyo]

A week before 6970 release the 5870 was close to $300. After release, $399usd

mmmmmmmmmm....... I just picked up a Asus EAH5870/2DIS/1GD5/HL-hemlock core that was 45,000 yen before the release of the 6970 for only 19,800 yesterday

[JaredC01]

That's weird. 3 series, 3870 is the high end card. 4 series, 4870 is the high end card (before the 4890 came as the souped-up version). 5 series, high end is again 5870... So why did they change it in the 6 series? What's the high end on the 6 series now?

Wait I just went and looked - the 6970? What, why... why confuse people like me

Taken from Bit-Tech...

"Hopefully you’ve stayed with us, and not headed straight off to the forums to flame ATI’s marketing team –we say this because the new naming scheme does make sense, once you accept the situation that ATI was in. The crux of the problem was that TSMC, ATI’s fabrication partner, couldn’t deliver the 32nm manufacturing process that ATI had been betting on. As the smaller process would have allowed ATI to decrease the cost per GPU die (while also potentially allowing higher clock speeds and lower power consumption), it couldn’t deliver a Barts GPU at the £100 to £130 price point it would have wanted. Rather than leave this hotly contested and highly profitable section of the market barren of ATI choice, ATI has chosen to continue making and selling the Radeon HD 5700. However, ATI won’t rename this range as the HD 6700 series –we suspect that some of the stories on the internet about this proposed move were leaked by ATI and used to judge whether such a re-branding move would be received badly or not. Whatever the reason, ATI was in the position that it didn’t have a new GPU that would hit the £100-150 sweet spot and would have to continue selling a part called a Radeon HD 5700. Calling the new GPUs the HD 6700 series would have killed HD 5700 sales, so Barts therefore had to be called a HD 6800 GPU –it was the most logically choice and we think the best option given the awkward situation."

[PaganII]

mmmmmmmmmm....... I just picked up a Asus EAH5870/2DIS/1GD5/HL-hemlock core that was 45,000 yen before the release of the 6970 for only 19,800 yesterday

Sorry, I meant 2Gb 5870.

[Sparky]

At this point 6870 is a better buy though. It may be 5-10% slower in raw performance but scales better in xfire and is faster under tessellation heavy situations.

Well, even though I have a crossfire capable board (MSI 790FX-GD70) I've never been into multiple cards. Too much $$$ and hassle keeping them happy, a single card is easier and more than enough for me usually...

I'm still quite happy with my 4870, really, but when I saw the pricing of the 5870 and 6870 I got confused so thought I'd ask about it.

[dctokyo]

Sorry, I meant 2Gb 5870.

I just saw a Asus ASUS ROG Matrix 5870 Platinum /2GB for only 22,000. It was 47,000 last week, damn if I only had waited to today I would have gotten this card instead

[Mekoa]

Well, even though I have a crossfire capable board (MSI 790FX-GD70) I've never been into multiple cards. Too much $$$ and hassle keeping them happy, a single card is easier and more than enough for me usually...

I'm still quite happy with my 4870, really, but when I saw the pricing of the 5870 and 6870 I got confused so thought I'd ask about it.

Thanks for raising it Sparky. I've been wondering also.. Also seen some interesting performance issues with 5970's (I only really play WoW and SC2).

Currently running 4890's in CFX, but looking to upgrade to DX11 AMD card. Problem now is 5 series vs 6 series

[Ao1]

I've had a 4870x2 for a while but recently one of the red lights near the 8 pin power connector has started to appear and my pc crashes when under load. (5th red light in from the end of the card).

I've changed the power leads - no difference, so it looks like it's time to get a new card. I only play Black Ops, but I have a 30" monitor at 2,560x1,600.

What do you guys recommend? 5 series, 6 series? Which one in a series? There are so many. The 4870x2 has performed adequately, so I don't think I need anything that a lot more powerful.

Thanks.

Oh, and I will watercool it, so a card that I can easily get a water block for would be important.

[jeremyshaw]

That's weird. 3 series, 3870 is the high end card. 4 series, 4870 is the high end card (before the 4890 came as the souped-up version). 5 series, high end is again 5870... So why did they change it in the 6 series? What's the high end on the 6 series now?

Wait I just went and looked - the 6970? What, why... why confuse people like me

Not really. The HD3870 was slower than the HD2900XT it replaced. The official excuse for changing the naming scheme has to do with Fusion APUs being given space in the lower ranks.

[bekuna]

What's 6870's official price?

[BababooeyHTJ]

I'm pretty sure that it is still $240.

[bekuna]

And ive got 5870 for 200 $ on OCN

I love 5870