Discussion: WSGF Reviews of the ATI 5000-series

[Kefka]

Someone should really supply you with another 5850-5830 and 5770 IbriN :D

Really wondering if the mid-low xfire setups are any good :) Would be interesting to see the xfire 5770 eyefinity performance, since a 5770 only costs 120 euros :O so 2 of those is the same price as 1x 5850 ^^

keep up the good work! :rockout

[ChainSOV]

The "WSGF Discussion Thread" Link at the end of the review points to the 6finity review discussion thread, not this one.

[skipclarke]

So what do you think? 1GB or 2GB model? I'm leaning to 1GB.

I don't think a 2GB 5850 would help you. Check out my review of the 5870 E6 card. I compared the 1GB and 2GB cards. The extra VRAM only game into play in specific games in specific circumstances. Considering you're not a graphics whole, and not running at 5760x1200, then I don't think you will use it at all.

Another quick question. My intent is to connect my TH2Go via DVI and also have an HDTV connected via HDMI to the 5850 for an extended desktop. I assume this will work with the card and ATI's CCC. Do you forsee any problems with this setup?

I don't see an issue with that, but I don't have any experience with that.

-edit-
Should I have any reservations at all about switching to an ATI+TH2Go setup from NVIDIA?

I don't think so. I tried my old DTH2Go on my original 5870 somewhere around the 9.12 driver. It would set up the 3840x1024 resolution, but not the 5040x1050. Considering you're running at 3840x1024, you should have no problem.

-edit2-
OK this worries me a little:

ATI Eyefinity multi-display technology2,3

* Three independent display controllers
o Drive three displays simultaneously with independent resolutions, refresh rates, color controls, and video overlays

SOURCE

You're not actually using the Eyefinity technology, so it shouldn't be an issue. Eyefinity is running the multi-monitor directly off the 5850, without the DTH2Go.

So is Eyefinity required for ALL multi-display configurations or will my proposed setup work with XP?

There are Catalyst drivers for XP, but you won't be using EF so it's not an issue. I actually hadn't seen the issue about EF not working in XP. Been a while since I ran an XP install.

[skipclarke]

The "WSGF Discussion Thread" Link at the end of the review points to the 6finity review discussion thread, not this one.

Oops. Bad copy-paste. Thanks.

Someone should really supply you with another 5850-5830 and 5770 IbriN :D

Really wondering if the mid-low xfire setups are any good :) Would be interesting to see the xfire 5770 eyefinity performance, since a 5770 only costs 120 euros :O so 2 of those is the same price as 1x 5850 ^^

keep up the good work! :rockout

I have put in the request. We'll see what happens. Still have a few other things to work on before I get back into benchmarking.

[GeneralAdmission]

Thanks for the comments, Ibrin. I'll go with a 1GB and save some money. :onethumb

[MaxDarklighter]

Do someone try to use TH2GO with 5000-series? Does it work with 5040x1050?

If not - can I use 3xDVI ports from 2x cards if in Crossfire?

[kmoed]

Not sure about the TH2GO, But you can only use the same outputs as a single card config with Crossfire.
So
2X DVI + DisplayPort

Displayport requires either a direct displayport connection or an active adapter for DVI/HDMI.

Mine works with a DP to VGA adapter. People have mixed results with this setup.

[MaxDarklighter]

People have mixed results with this setup.

What do you meen?

[kmoed]

Some people have reported to have flickering problems with some displays running through a DP>VGA adapter. I have personally not experienced any problems at all.

[MaxDarklighter]

Оh yes. I have heard about minor blur effect if using DP-VGA adaptor. But that's OK if this is side monitor but not centre.

[phill1978]

Someone should really supply you with another 5850-5830 and 5770 IbriN :D

Really wondering if the mid-low xfire setups are any good :) Would be interesting to see the xfire 5770 eyefinity performance, since a 5770 only costs 120 euros :O so 2 of those is the same price as 1x 5850 ^^

keep up the good work! :rockout

from the benchmarks ive seen a 5770 in crossfire is as fast as a 5870 with a very mild overclock and faster with some more agressive clocking

:D

given that two 5770`s would be £250 in UK and 5870 is around £320-£330 id say its a good idea.

only thing is, i do have a niggle that crossfire doesnt always work and some games dont scale well.

[ChainSOV]

yeah, really seem to scale well
they have better performance than a single 5870 in lots of games at normal resolutions,
and are cheaper than a single 5850,
so tempting

but I really would like to see some benches at eyefinity resolutions,
In many benchesI see a bigger falloff towards the 2560x1600 resolution, thats where the 128bit memory bus begins to hurt.

The question is, how much will it hurt at eyefinity resolutions?
Will it still maintain almost 5870 performance?

[skipclarke]

Benchmarks and Review of the 5770, 5750, 5670, 5550 and 5450 are now out. See links in left nav.

[joms]

will the 5830/5850 be replaced anytime soon? I just saw that there is already a 5970 (replacement for the 5870?). If so, when do you expect the 5930/5950 will arrive? Thanks

[fatlazyhomer]

The 5970 is not a replacement for a 5870. It is a 2-in-1 video card similar to the 295gtx. Its basically crossfire in a single slot, and thus subjected to all the driver headaches and scaling limits of 2 cards.

[Hydralisk_X]

will the 5830/5850 be replaced anytime soon? I just saw that there is already a 5970 (replacement for the 5870?). If so, when do you expect the 5930/5950 will arrive? Thanks

The 5970 was the third 5000 series card released... it came out before the 5830. It by no means 'replaces' the 5870 since they're in completely different price and performance brackets. The 5970 is just a 5870x2 (sort of... it's clocked at 5850 speeds with 5870 stream processors)

[skipclarke]

Just finished my review of the 5870 E6, 5870, 5850 and 5770 in CFX. Discuss...

[suiken_2mieu]

I'm not sure if I'll ever go Xfire. Sure the performance would be nice, but I hear way to often about the stuttering issues with Xfire and Eyefinity Mixing. Have they padded out those issues yet?

[skipclarke]

I had zero stuttering in any of my CrossFireX setups. I haven't seen issues others are reporting. I did attempt a Tri-Fire setup using and original 5870 and a pair of 5870 E6's. I saw the stuttering there. Hopefully that will be fixed.

[suiken_2mieu]

I had zero stuttering in any of my CrossFireX setups. I haven't seen issues others are reporting. I did attempt a Tri-Fire setup using and original 5870 and a pair of 5870 E6's. I saw the stuttering there. Hopefully that will be fixed.

Awesome, maybe when my mileage runs out on my E6 card, I'll bite and buy another.