What upgrade should I go for?

I'm thinking of upgrading my rig, but I don't know what to get. I'm thinking of either getting another 5870 for Crossfire, or replacing my current one with either a 6970 or a GTX 570, or getting another monitor for a dual-monitor setup. What should I buy? My specs are in my signature.

I'm thinking of upgrading my rig, but I don't know what to get. I'm thinking of either getting another 5870 for Crossfire, or replacing my current one with either a 6970 or a GTX 570, or getting another monitor for a dual-monitor setup. What should I buy? My specs are in my signature.

BluRayHiDef

I'd go for the second 5870. That baby in crossfire is a lot of trampling horses under the hood...

[QUOTE="BluRayHiDef"]

I'm thinking of upgrading my rig, but I don't know what to get. I'm thinking of either getting another 5870 for Crossfire, or replacing my current one with either a 6970 or a GTX 570, or getting another monitor for a dual-monitor setup. What should I buy? My specs are in my signature.

JimmyJumpy

I'd go for the second 5870. That baby in crossfire is a lot of trampling horses under the hood...

Does the tessellation performance of two 5870s match that of a single 6970?

[QUOTE="JimmyJumpy"]

[QUOTE="BluRayHiDef"]

I'm thinking of upgrading my rig, but I don't know what to get. I'm thinking of either getting another 5870 for Crossfire, or replacing my current one with either a 6970 or a GTX 570, or getting another monitor for a dual-monitor setup. What should I buy? My specs are in my signature.

BluRayHiDef

I'd go for the second 5870. That baby in crossfire is a lot of trampling horses under the hood...

Does the tessellation performance of two 5870s match that of a single 6970?

In Unigine Heaven, the 5870 performs rather poorly when Tessellation is enabled. So, the result could be in favor of the 6970...

[QUOTE="BluRayHiDef"]

[QUOTE="JimmyJumpy"]

I'd go for the second 5870. That baby in crossfire is a lot of trampling horses under the hood...

JimmyJumpy

Does the tessellation performance of two 5870s match that of a single 6970?

In Unigine Heaven, the 5870 performs rather poorly when Tessellation is enabled. So, the result could be in favor of the 6970...

Yes, but how about the performance of TWO of them in Crossfire? Does that match the performance of a SINGLE 6970? I ask because I've seen a review in which the 5970 was only a few frames behind the 6970 in the Heaven Benchmark. Assuming that the 5970 is composed of TWO downclocked 5870s, then two 5870s in Crossfire should compensate for that small difference and at least match the performance of a single 6970. What do you think?

What is causing you to desire more fps at 1920x1080? Take a look at this review of the 5870 vs 570 vs 6970. Don't see how spending $225-$350 is worth it unless Metro 2033 is the only game you own, even then it isn't worth spending that much money to play one game. 5870 still rocks at 1080p.

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1085/pg9/gtx-570-vs-radeon-6970-and-6850-vs-radeon-5870-all-overclocked-review-crysis-warhead.html

What is causing you to desire more fps at 1920x1080? Take a look at this review of the 5870 vs 570 vs 6970. Don't see how spending $225-$350 is worth it unless Metro 2033 is the only game you own, even then it isn't worth spending that much money to play one game. 5870 still rocks at 1080p.

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1085/pg9/gtx-570-vs-radeon-6970-and-6850-vs-radeon-5870-all-overclocked-review-crysis-warhead.html

BeavermanA

I can't max out GTAIV with more than 30FPS. I want 60FPS.

nvidia is seriously a messed up company. There business tactics is to push hardware that is powerful in features that the ATI cards are the weakest in, or don't support. Eg, phsyx and now tessellation. The 5870 is still an excellent card, it is actually as powerful as a geforce 470 without any of those worthless features. Im not even sure if tessellation will be that big in the future, you will just have to wait to find out.

nvidia is seriously a messed up company. There business tactics is to push hardware that is powerful in features that the ATI cards are the weakest in, or don't support. Eg, phsyx and now tessellation. The 5870 is still an excellent card, it is actually as powerful as a geforce 470 without any of those worthless features. Im not even sure if tessellation will be that big in the future, you will just have to wait to find out.

blaznwiipspman1

I wouldn't say that making sure their product outperforms the competitions in the single most important feature of the most recent version of DirectX makes them a messed up company. I'd that it makes them a smart and typical company. Tessellation is the driving force behind DX11, so I think that it's wise of them to make sure that their cards handle it very well. Also, even if AMD's cards weren't weak in Tessellation, I think that Nvidia would still have made it their goal to do well in Tessellation, since it's the most important feature of DX11 (as already mentioned).

I can't max out GTAIV with more than 30FPS. I want 60FPS.

BluRayHiDef

You're spending hundreds to max out a poorly optimized game??? Not worth it man.

[QUOTE="BluRayHiDef"]

I can't max out GTAIV with more than 30FPS. I want 60FPS.

kaitanuvax

You're spending hundreds to max out a poorly optimized game??? Not worth it man.

I still want more frames in the games that I can already max out with smooth frame rates. I want a constant 60FPS in most, if not all, of my games. Also, I want to be prepared for Crysis 2. I want 60 FPS in that game. Anyhow, since you don't think I should upgrade my graphics, what other upgrade or accessory do you recommend? I want to buy something for my PC. I've already decided that I'm going to get this and this.

[QUOTE="kaitanuvax"]

[QUOTE="BluRayHiDef"]

I can't max out GTAIV with more than 30FPS. I want 60FPS.

BluRayHiDef

You're spending hundreds to max out a poorly optimized game??? Not worth it man.

I still want more frames in the games that I can already max out with smooth frame rates. I want a constant 60FPS in most, if not all, of my games. Also, I want to be prepared for Crysis 2. I want 60 FPS in that game. Anyhow, since you don't think I should upgrade my graphics, what other upgrade or accessory do you recommend? I want to buy something for my PC. I've already decided that I'm going to get this and this.

[QUOTE="BluRayHiDef"]

[QUOTE="kaitanuvax"]

You're spending hundreds to max out a poorly optimized game??? Not worth it man.

NerubianWeaver

I still want more frames in the games that I can already max out with smooth frame rates. I want a constant 60FPS in most, if not all, of my games. Also, I want to be prepared for Crysis 2. I want 60 FPS in that game. Anyhow, since you don't think I should upgrade my graphics, what other upgrade or accessory do you recommend? I want to buy something for my PC. I've already decided that I'm going to get this and this.

Not worth it, in my opinion. I highly doubt that a "gaming" keyboard and mouse will improve my performance or enjoyment in games. I'm content with the keyboard and mouse that I currently have.

If +10fps means much to you then buy a 6970 an CF later or buy two now to prepare for crysis 2 for a game that may be as unoptimised as the first one so .... :)

If +10fps means much to you then buy a 6970 an CF later or buy two now to prepare for crysis 2 for a game that may be as unoptimised as the first one so .... :)

Silicel1

Do you think two 5870s will be enough for Crysis 2? I think I'll just go for the second 5870 since it's the cheapest option.

Get an SSD and a 120Hz monitor.RayvinAzn

SSDs are not worth the price. They're too expensive per gigabyte. Also, aside from initial load times, they're aren't any better than a mechanical drive. I've got the patience to wait for my computer to boot, or for an application to start up. Also, I'm content with the monitor I already have.

Save your money. If you have a 5870, you're good to go for quite some time.

I also feel the ssd;s arent worth it and 120Hz monitors are all nice toys but if I can run a game on decent settings on a 1080p lcd I'm happy. :)

Save your money. If you have a 5870, you're good to go for quite some time.

cmdrmonkey45

I've got this urge to buy SOMETHING! I mean, it's Christmas season and my birthday is coming up (it's on January 1st :)). I've got to get my self something. I've spent 10 days of the last two weeks working 6 hour long shifts at my university's fitness center; campus is closed and the semester is over, so I've had free time. I've got the urge to get myself something.

Well Crysis 2 is going to be less demanding then the 1st because of the Consoles. Also There's no point in upgrading a 5870 because of the fact tha there is nothing you cant run to begin with. Wanting GTA 4 to run better is a lost cause because it was a poorly coded game. Why dont you just buy a crap load of games off of steam?

[QUOTE="BeavermanA"]

What is causing you to desire more fps at 1920x1080? Take a look at this review of the 5870 vs 570 vs 6970. Don't see how spending $225-$350 is worth it unless Metro 2033 is the only game you own, even then it isn't worth spending that much money to play one game. 5870 still rocks at 1080p.

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1085/pg9/gtx-570-vs-radeon-6970-and-6850-vs-radeon-5870-all-overclocked-review-crysis-warhead.html

BluRayHiDef

I can't max out GTAIV with more than 30FPS. I want 60FPS.

Well Crysis 2 is going to be less demanding then the 1st because of the Consoles. Also There's no point in upgrading a 5870 because of the fact tha there is nothing you can run. Wanting GTA 4 to run better is a lost cause because it was a poorly coded game. Why dont you just a crap load of games off of steam?04dcarraher

There are no current games that I want. I want the Witcher 2 and Deux Ex: Human Revolution. However, they haven't been released yet.

[QUOTE="BluRayHiDef"]

[QUOTE="BeavermanA"]

What is causing you to desire more fps at 1920x1080? Take a look at this review of the 5870 vs 570 vs 6970. Don't see how spending $225-$350 is worth it unless Metro 2033 is the only game you own, even then it isn't worth spending that much money to play one game. 5870 still rocks at 1080p.

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1085/pg9/gtx-570-vs-radeon-6970-and-6850-vs-radeon-5870-all-overclocked-review-crysis-warhead.html

BeavermanA

I can't max out GTAIV with more than 30FPS. I want 60FPS.

V-sync is turned off. I'm telling you, if I max out the game at 1920x1080, I get around 30 FPS. What do you think the problem is?

[QUOTE="BeavermanA"][QUOTE="BluRayHiDef"]

I can't max out GTAIV with more than 30FPS. I want 60FPS.

BluRayHiDef

V-sync is turned off. I'm telling you, if I max out the game at 1920x1080, I get around 30 FPS. What do you think the problem is?

30fps would be good for a highly overclocked dual core. Think even with my 920 at stock 2.4ghz it was still getting 45+fps.

Are you playing it off steam, or was this one of those steam only games? I dunno, I bought it on sale last year when it was like $7.50 or something. At the time I had my 5870 but was still using my E6600 clocked at 3.6ghz. Could only manage about 25-30fps with med/high settings. Once I got the i7 system, the game ran like butter.

Edit: Oh and turn off that record thing. Where it is constantly recording a demo of you, I forget what it's called and haven't played the game in forever, but I think it puts a huge toll on your system.

experiment with GPU drivers, make sure you have the latest patch and defrag the drive, overclock cpu and GPU. If still low FPS then that all the GPU and CPU can. :):(

My vote always has been and always will be to get more monitors.

[QUOTE="BluRayHiDef"]

[QUOTE="BeavermanA"] Do you have v-sync turned off? GTA4 is not really graphics intensive, it's all cpu and you look good in that department too. With my 5870 at stock clocks and overclocked i7 920, I would get 70+ fps maxed out with mods at 1920x1200, so something isn't right for you. You don't need a better card to run that game. BeavermanA

V-sync is turned off. I'm telling you, if I max out the game at 1920x1080, I get around 30 FPS. What do you think the problem is?

30fps would be good for a highly overclocked dual core. Think even with my 920 at stock 2.4ghz it was still getting 45+fps.

Are you playing it off steam, or was this one of those steam only games? I dunno, I bought it on sale last year when it was like $7.50 or something. At the time I had my 5870 but was still using my E6600 clocked at 3.6ghz. Could only manage about 25-30fps with med/high settings. Once I got the i7 system, the game ran like butter.

I got the game through Steam. I've got version 1.0.7.0.

[QUOTE="BeavermanA"][QUOTE="BluRayHiDef"]

I can't max out GTAIV with more than 30FPS. I want 60FPS.

BluRayHiDef

V-sync is turned off. I'm telling you, if I max out the game at 1920x1080, I get around 30 FPS. What do you think the problem is?

I wonder if you have a ton of apps running in the background

[QUOTE="BeavermanA"]

[QUOTE="BluRayHiDef"]

V-sync is turned off. I'm telling you, if I max out the game at 1920x1080, I get around 30 FPS. What do you think the problem is?

BluRayHiDef

30fps would be good for a highly overclocked dual core. Think even with my 920 at stock 2.4ghz it was still getting 45+fps.

Are you playing it off steam, or was this one of those steam only games? I dunno, I bought it on sale last year when it was like $7.50 or something. At the time I had my 5870 but was still using my E6600 clocked at 3.6ghz. Could only manage about 25-30fps with med/high settings. Once I got the i7 system, the game ran like butter.

I got the game through Steam. I've got version 1.0.7.0.

Here this will show you the game doesn't need the latest and greatest gfx card. i7 at 4.0ghz and a single 5870 gets 62fps at 19x12 on very high.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-5870,2422-19.html

I just turned V-Sync off through the CCC and set the game's settings to the following. My frame rates were in the 20s.

Video Mode:

1920x1080(60Hz)

Aspect Ratio:16:9

Texture Quality: High

Reflection Resolution: Very High

Water Quality:Very High

Shadow Quality:Very High

Night Shadows:Very High

Texture Filter Quality:Anisotropic x16

View Distance:25

Detail Distance:31

Vehicle Density:51

Definition:On

Vsync:Off

Resource Usage:927/1004MB

I just turned V-Sync off through the CCC and set the game's settings to the following. My frame rates were in the 20s.

Video Mode:

1920x1080(60Hz)

Aspect Ratio:16:9

Texture Quality: High

Reflection Resolution: Very High

Water Quality:Very High

Shadow Quality:Very High

Night Shadows:Very High

Texture Filter Quality:Anisotropic x16

View Distance:25

Detail Distance:31

Vehicle Density:51

Definition:On

Vsync:Off

Resource Usage:927/1004MB

BluRayHiDef

[QUOTE="BluRayHiDef"]

I just turned V-Sync off through the CCC and set the game's settings to the following. My frame rates were in the 20s.

Video Mode:

1920x1080(60Hz)

Aspect Ratio:16:9

Texture Quality: High

Reflection Resolution: Very High

Water Quality:Very High

Shadow Quality:Very High

Night Shadows:Very High

Texture Filter Quality:Anisotropic x16

View Distance:25

Detail Distance:31

Vehicle Density:51

Definition:On

Vsync:Off

Resource Usage:927/1004MB

BeavermanA

How much do you have running in the background? I bet much less.

you should get yourself an ipod touch and just hold off trying to overpower your already dominating pc. Try other electronics? maybe a dslr or whatever I cheaped out on my computer at $1000 and bought myself a nice $850 canon t2i dslrfishing666

I already have an I-Pod touch.

[QUOTE="BluRayHiDef"]

[QUOTE="BeavermanA"] Do you have v-sync turned off? GTA4 is not really graphics intensive, it's all cpu and you look good in that department too. With my 5870 at stock clocks and overclocked i7 920, I would get 70+ fps maxed out with mods at 1920x1200, so something isn't right for you. You don't need a better card to run that game. GummiRaccoon

V-sync is turned off. I'm telling you, if I max out the game at 1920x1080, I get around 30 FPS. What do you think the problem is?

I wonder if you have a ton of apps running in the background

Well, I have half as many running.

You might want to go into msconfig and make sure things that you actually want running to be running.

Well, I have half as many running.

You might want to go into msconfig and make sure things that you actually want running to be running.

GummiRaccoon

I just did that. I'm going to run GTA IV again. I'll be back.

It made no difference. I'm still getting poor performance. I'll run 3dMark vantage to make sure that my card is ranked where it should be.

[QUOTE="RayvinAzn"]Get an SSD and a 120Hz monitor.BluRayHiDef

SSDs are not worth the price. They're too expensive per gigabyte. Also, aside from initial load times, they're aren't any better than a mechanical drive. I've got the patience to wait for my computer to boot, or for an application to start up. Also, I'm content with the monitor I already have.

[QUOTE="BluRayHiDef"]

[QUOTE="RayvinAzn"]Get an SSD and a 120Hz monitor.RayvinAzn

SSDs are not worth the price. They're too expensive per gigabyte. Also, aside from initial load times, they're aren't any better than a mechanical drive. I've got the patience to wait for my computer to boot, or for an application to start up. Also, I'm content with the monitor I already have.

What makes SSDs worth the money? They do nothing to improve game performance. At least the upgrade that I want to make, is relevant to gaming performance.

[QUOTE="RayvinAzn"][QUOTE="BluRayHiDef"]

SSDs are not worth the price. They're too expensive per gigabyte. Also, aside from initial load times, they're aren't any better than a mechanical drive. I've got the patience to wait for my computer to boot, or for an application to start up. Also, I'm content with the monitor I already have.

BluRayHiDef

What makes SSDs worth the money? They do nothing to improve game performance. At least the upgrade that I want to make, is relevant to gaming performance.

near instant load times

[QUOTE="BluRayHiDef"]

[QUOTE="RayvinAzn"] When the creator of Anandtech says that an SSD is absolutely worth the price and is the biggest upgrade you can make to any reasonably modern setup, I personally sit up and take notice. But it's your call if you want to make a pointless upgrade for one very mediocre game.GummiRaccoon

What makes SSDs worth the money? They do nothing to improve game performance. At least the upgrade that I want to make, is relevant to gaming performance.

near instant load times

Well, that's irrelevant to gaming performance. Once the game (or any application) is loaded into local memory, an SSD offers nothing that a mechanical HDD can offer. I'd rather wait a few seconds for the application to load, than pay a ridiculous amount of money to have them load instantaneously. SSDs are nice, but the cost per gigabyte is definitely not worth it.

[QUOTE="GummiRaccoon"]

[QUOTE="BluRayHiDef"]

What makes SSDs worth the money? They do nothing to improve game performance. At least the upgrade that I want to make, is relevant to gaming performance.

near instant load times

Well, that's irrelevant to gaming performance. Once the game (or any application) is loaded into local memory, an SSD offers nothing that a mechanical HDD can offer. I'd rather wait a few seconds for the application to load, than pay a ridiculous amount of money to have them load instantaneously. SSDs are nice, but the cost per gigabyte is definitely not worth it.

[QUOTE="BluRayHiDef"]

[QUOTE="GummiRaccoon"]

near instant load times

04dcarraher

Well, that's irrelevant to gaming performance. Once the game (or any application) is loaded into local memory, an SSD offers nothing that a mechanical HDD can offer. I'd rather wait a few seconds for the application to load, than pay a ridiculous amount of money to have them load instantaneously. SSDs are nice, but the cost per gigabyte is definitely not worth it.

Look, the bottom line is that I'm not shelling out a ridiculous amount of money for an SSD. They're just too expensive. If I wanted an SSD that could fit a decent amount of my games on it, I'd be paying over $200.00. There's no way that I'd pay that much just for storage.

[QUOTE="04dcarraher"][QUOTE="BluRayHiDef"]

Well, that's irrelevant to gaming performance. Once the game (or any application) is loaded into local memory, an SSD offers nothing that a mechanical HDD can offer. I'd rather wait a few seconds for the application to load, than pay a ridiculous amount of money to have them load instantaneously. SSDs are nice, but the cost per gigabyte is definitely not worth it.

BluRayHiDef

Look, the bottom line is that I'm not shelling out a ridiculous amount of money for an SSD. They're just too expensive. If I wanted an SSD that could fit a decent amount of my games on it, I'd be paying over $200.00. There's no way that I'd pay that much just for storage.

You are only supposed to load OS + games/apps

All your normal files go on a mechanical harddrive.

I only have 120GB of OS and games, the rest is songs/movies/shows

I think once you use an SSD you will immediately notice the improvement in all around pc usage, and you won't want to go back to using a mechanical for your OS. They are slowly coming down in price also. I bought a 80gb G2 X25-M this time last year for a little over $200. My 120gb G2 X25-M just arrived today, got that for $165. Some of the smaller ones have been on sale for $1/GB, so you could buy a couple or more and raid for ridiculous speeds.BeavermanA

This video agrees.