# ATI 4870 vs 5770 vs Nvidia GTX 260 Core 216



## Jordo (Jan 11, 2010)

Basically I'm having a controversy here... which to go with.

I'm getting all sorts of different answers from different places, why one is better, why the other is etc. And I was wondering if I could get some quick advice on which you personally find to be a better buy and why?

I'm going to be using this comp mainly for gaming/partial autocad use for business. Other specs will be as follows.

- Intel i5 750
- G.Skill PC3-12800 4GB 2X2GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24
- OCZ 500W PSU (May increase)
- ASUS P7P55D
- WD 1TB

Gaming will most likely run in 1920*1200 max resolution. I have a 22" CRT.

For the price difference is it really worth getting the 5770 over the 4870? I've heard the 4870 performs just as well and is generally $40 cheaper.

Thanks for the help in advance.


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## Twist86 (Jan 11, 2010)

You plan to Crossfire/SLI later?

SLI = Nvidia
Crossfire = ATi 

If you don't plan to then this is unimportant.

I would go with the 5770.....if you pay the extra the 4890 puts it to shame but it doesn't have DX11.

It will at least more "future proof" as DX11 might run better with the card thus make it superior to 4870/4890.


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## Jordo (Jan 11, 2010)

Twist86 said:


> You plan to Crossfire/SLI later?
> 
> SLI = Nvidia
> Crossfire = ATi
> ...



Thanks for the quick reply.

I don't plan to go SLI or crossfire in the future. This computer will probably be scheduled to last me for the next 2-3 years. So maybe it would be wiser to go with the 5770 just for the DX11 and "future proofing" as you mentioned.

On another note, should 500W PSU be sufficient for this Vid Card, or should I bump it up to at least a 600W?


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## Twist86 (Jan 11, 2010)

What is the model # on the PSU? Wattage is not always honest


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## Jordo (Jan 11, 2010)

Twist86 said:


> What is the model # on the PSU? Wattage is not always honest



I was leaning towards this PSU here:

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=33040

OCZ ModXStream Pro 500W ATX 20/24PIN SLI Ready Modular Cables 135mm Fan Active PFC Power Supply 

Good price savings right now, but am no means sold to it.


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## Twist86 (Jan 11, 2010)

Honestly id get this one instead.
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=33041&vpn=OCZ600MXSP&manufacture=OCZ Technology

Sites claim you only need 450w for the XFX version of the 5770 but I always like to have more power then I need for a few reasons.

1. Upgrades - In 1 year you might find a cheap GPU in your local papers and want to buy it to max those games out again.
2. PSU wont have to give you 90% of its capacity thus will run cooler and less issues of it blowing up and killing your system.

Extra $20 but leaves you with more roads to go down should you ever have the itch to upgrade and will ensure your system has plenty of power. As always though always wait for a second opinion before buying anything to ensure the first person wasn't a idiot 


Because trust me overloading a PSU and *IF* it should fail you will wish you spent a little more then having a $600+ PC die on you. I have seen people who have done this (but they used crappy crappy PSUs not like OCZ/Corsair) that lost every part on their computer.


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## Jordo (Jan 11, 2010)

Thanks again for the help.

Yeah I'm definately going to look at a higher capacity PSU. I may not upgrade the GPU down the road, but I might be upgrading the RAM in the future and it would be nice having the "wiggle room" to do that with.

The extra $20 is not really an issue at this point because I have my build under $900 right now and my budget was for around a thousand.


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## Twist86 (Jan 11, 2010)

Well to be honest ram wont take that much power to warrant the next step up but the GPU might stretch it as 450w is considered the minimum so 500w imho is stretching it.

The 750w PSU in my signature I bought when I first built my X2 4400+ got it for $90 and it has lasted 2 upgrades now....maybe even a 3rd as I don't SLI/Crossfire either


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## joh06937 (Jan 11, 2010)

i second the hd 5770. it may be a little bit buggy now but it can only get better from here. it uses less power and performs about the same as the 4870. plus, if you DO crossfire, it will (assuming you have 2 pcie 16x 2.0 running at 16x each) perform roughly the same as the 5870, which is more than double the price. definitely future proof.


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## kyleswitch (Jan 11, 2010)

I would say 5770 if you want something for the future, but if you are running windows 7, a lot of people are having driver problems with it.

Like a few posts above, 10-30 more dollars and you can get a 4890, which will blow the 5770 away.

I was torn between these exact 2 cards a few days ago and went with the 4890 because it is the best sub $200 card.

its $190 on newegg.  I know bestbuy isn't the best, but they have XFX 4890s for $179 right now, so I picked mine up there and I got it right away.

:good:


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## lemon07r (Mar 2, 2010)

Twist86 said:


> You plan to Crossfire/SLI later?
> 
> SLI = Nvidia
> Crossfire = ATi
> ...



Another reason why to go for the 5770 (I think)
http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards.php?card1=615&card2=564


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## lemon07r (Mar 2, 2010)

kyleswitch said:


> I would say 5770 if you want something for the future, but if you are running windows 7, a lot of people are having driver problems with it.
> 
> Like a few posts above, 10-30 more dollars and you can get a 4890, which will blow the 5770 away.
> 
> ...



In here:
http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards.php?card1=615&card2=608

4890 and the 5770 seem equal other then the Memory Bandwith.


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## Gooberman (Mar 2, 2010)

Now here's why you should get the 4890 if you just want power. (even though this is an old topic :/)

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/gaming-graphics-cards-charts-2009-high-quality-update-3/compare,1679.html?prod[3260]=on&prod[3253]=on&prod[3264]=on


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## StrangleHold (Mar 3, 2010)

Between the 4870/5770/GTX 260, the 5770 is the slowest.


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## linkin (Mar 3, 2010)

yeah, but it also has the latest features. DX11 is a superset of DX9, DX10/10.1, ubt it also has new features. and when DX11 is implemented properly it gives better peformance with DX11 cards (obviously) but we have yet to see this. DX11 still new, so it just needs time to mature.


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## StrangleHold (Mar 3, 2010)

Your telling me that like I didnt already know. Its still the slowest of the three. Dont care if its DirectX 13. I guess you have a pile of DirectX 11 games. But by the time you do the 5770 will be a old card and still out performed by the 4870/GTX 260.


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## lemon07r (Mar 3, 2010)

If thats the case what is better in temps, overclocking, and in crossfire?


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## joh06937 (Mar 4, 2010)

the hd 5770 has much better power consumption. just something to keep in mind...


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## ultipig (Mar 4, 2010)

StrangleHold said:


> Your telling me that like I didnt already know. Its still the slowest of the three. Dont care if its DirectX 13. I guess you have a pile of DirectX 11 games. But by the time you do the 5770 will be a old card and still out performed by the 4870/GTX 260.



I'm gonna share the blows of the dx11 fans with you, I agree. 

Just a couple moths ago I had the choice between these three video cards; settling with the GTX 260 Core 216 rather quickly. I wanted performance, and the GTX 260 Core 216 provides that flawlessly. I also needed rock-solid drivers, which the Core 216 provides also. 

It all depends on what you want.


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## lemon07r (Mar 7, 2010)

If you want something with DX11, I'd go with the new 5830. It looks promising.


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## Shane (Mar 7, 2010)

4870 or 4890.


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## ultipig (Mar 8, 2010)

lemon07r said:


> If you want something with DX11, I'd go with the new 5830. It looks promising.



I've been told that the 5830 consumes more power than the 5850 and provides less performance.


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## Gabe63 (Mar 8, 2010)

If you go to ASUS web site you wil see the 5850 was discontinued. I called them to verify this. I bet it was too good for the price.


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## FATALiiTYz (Mar 8, 2010)

ultipig said:


> I've been told that the 5830 consumes more power than the 5850 and provides less performance.



Yes, it does. You are correct


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## linkin (Mar 8, 2010)

Don't get the 5830, it's a dud of a card...

About overclocking the 5770: mine does 930/1300 stable, according to GPU-Z my memory bandwidth is 86.4Gb/s, Pixel Fillrate of 15 Gigapixels, Texture fillrate of 37.6 Gigatexels.

For all it's worth, overclocking gave me a massive boost in FPS with DiRT 2. at stock settings i get a min fps of 28, when overclocked i get a min of 38, which is a nice improvement.

I would seriously wait until the GTX 470 and GTX 480 are released, and then see how the prices go on the Radeons. You might be able to afford a 5850.


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## lemon07r (Mar 15, 2010)

linkin said:


> Don't get the 5830, it's a dud of a card...
> 
> About overclocking the 5770: mine does 930/1300 stable, according to GPU-Z my memory bandwidth is 86.4Gb/s, Pixel Fillrate of 15 Gigapixels, Texture fillrate of 37.6 Gigatexels.
> 
> ...



You can go 1050/1400 stable with the msi 5770.


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## Dave P (Mar 16, 2010)

Twist86 said:


> 1. Upgrades - In 1 year you might find a cheap GPU in your local papers and want to buy it to max those games out again.
> 2. PSU wont have to give you 90% of its capacity thus will run cooler and less issues of it blowing up and killing your system.



So true, plugging an 8800 GT into my system a few years back flicking the power to see a small line of smoke come out of my PSU....

Most fear I have experienced with my computer ever!

(and that was a 600W PSU)


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