Is nVidia GTX 470 a better choice than a ATI Radeon 5850 when used in SLI/Crossfire?

[kendrab]

I am gathering the pieces for a new PC build, and my next purchase is the video cards. I have a budget of about $650 and want to get two video cards. Later on I might add a third, as my EVGA P55 Classified 200 motherboard allows for that.

Performance wise, how would two nVidia GTX470 video cards perform compared to the performance of a pair of ATI radeon HD 5850 video cards (both based on reference PCB design)? Also, is there an advantage with either design when it comes to overclocking?

The reason I specify reference PCB design is that these cards will be fitted with water cooling blocks, and to my knowledge, no one makes a water cooling block for the Gigabyte GTX 470 Super Overclock video cards (which would otherwise be my first choice).

I had considered going with a new pair of AMD Radeon 6870 video cards, but they are limited to a maximum of two cards per system as they only have a single Crossfire bridge.

[DkRk]

This review should be right up your alley!

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470 SLI Review | Hardware Canucks

[CTA]

just wait for gtx 580 by next week or this month... because you might change your mind... or you never know...

[_dangtx_]

i would actually get dual 6850's and clock the heck out of them to 6870 seeds. try to go for giga or asus cu models. the latter more expensive, of course.


AMD Radeon HD 6850 CrossFire Review - Page 23/25 | techPowerUp


remember, that is stock no overclocks.

ASUS Radeon HD 6850 Direct CU 1 GB Review - Page 31/32 | techPowerUp

[lKashl]

Wouldn't you be better off with 2x6870's than 3x5850's? I mean last I heard scaling on the third card is usually pretty pathetic and if u look at at from a mathametical perspective:
5850 is about 80% of the performance of a single 6870.
Therefore 3x .80= 2.4x vs 2x performance from dual 6870's

Negate scaling inefficiencies and optimisation issues inherent with multi-gpu setups and you'd be looking at about 2x performance on the 3 cards vs 1.85x on the 2 6870's. Not much of a difference considering that you'll be paying alot more for the 5850's.

Or if you know how to overclock, prolly better off with Dang GTX's suggestion for best performance per dollar

[YukonTrooper]

I never suggest waiting for new video cards, unless new video cards are right around the corner. New video cards are right around the corner.

Also, three card scaling is pretty weak. Your money would be better spent elsewhere, unless, of course, you have the money to burn.

[_dangtx_]

unfortunately amd decided to only allow 2 cards in xfire, with the 68xx models.

[Soultribunal]

Originally Posted by kendrab

I am gathering the pieces for a new PC build, and my next purchase is the video cards. I have a budget of about $650 and want to get two video cards. Later on I might add a third, as my EVGA P55 Classified 200 motherboard allows for that.

Performance wise, how would two nVidia GTX470 video cards perform compared to the performance of a pair of ATI radeon HD 5850 video cards (both based on reference PCB design)? Also, is there an advantage with either design when it comes to overclocking?

The reason I specify reference PCB design is that these cards will be fitted with water cooling blocks, and to my knowledge, no one makes a water cooling block for the Gigabyte GTX 470 Super Overclock video cards (which would otherwise be my first choice).

I had considered going with a new pair of AMD Radeon 6870 video cards, but they are limited to a maximum of two cards per system as they only have a single Crossfire bridge.

End of the Day, whatever is cheaper and available to you I would go for. Both the 6870 and GTX470 are nice cards and give very good performance. It really is a matter of personal preferance at that point.

ST

[YukonTrooper]

Originally Posted by _dangtx_

unfortunately amd decided to only allow 2 cards in xfire, with the 68xx models.

Or fortunately, depending on how you look at it.

[_dangtx_]

its all about money, unless tri cf is still botched.. 3x180$ 6850's would probably do too much damage to the upcoming more expensive dual gpu solution. :)