Nvidia Fermi, thread of being delayed over, and over - Reviews out!!!

[Offender_Mullet]

Originally Posted by Icecoldblue

Are you taking the PCI-E connectors into factor when measuring for length? I know the 5850's have it on the end of the board making it another inch or two longer, whereas the 5970 has them on the side.

Yep I knew that. HD5850's are around 10.5" in length. I have 12" of length to play with in my Cooler Master CM 690 case, so getting two 5850's aren't a problem (the 5970 is a no-go though). Thanks anyway though!

Originally Posted by Oddiophile

There are new Special edition HD5970's coming like ASUS's MARS that are overclocked 5970s and benchmark the same as two 5870's in crossfire but they go over the 300 watt max at about 370 watts of consumption and will retail for around $999.99

My opinion, get the two 5850's, excellent bang for the buck in the high end segment.

I saw the XFX 4GB 5970. Looks wicked and comes in a case that's shaped like a gun....but for almost $1K it better make you breakfast and drive you to work to.

Another thing is, I'm use to Nvidia's consistent driver updates so this will be a change, seeing as ATI doesn't do it as often.

[supersix4]

Originally Posted by Oddiophile

What driver version were using?

If it was an old driver that could have been your problem. I have not seen any comments form anyone having Crysis problems on the 5770. The Catalyst 10.3b driver found on AMD's underground site is currently the best performing driver out for the 5K series.


http://sites.amd.com/US/UNDERGROUND/...3-preview.aspx

mmm I'm not sure which it was a or b, but it was straight from the ati site(I'm going to say it was a), and I had wicked issues with flickering.

[Offender_Mullet]

Get a load of this thread.......

Link: http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?s...ic=164417&st=0

[supersix4]

Originally Posted by Offender_Mullet

Get a load of this thread.......

Link: http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?s...ic=164417&st=0

lol so they lowered it to sell quadro cards , my has NVIDIA fallen since the 6000's and 7000's.

[Offender_Mullet]

The GTX 400 series cards are the Mustangs of the 1980's-Now (minus the Cobra and Saleen models of course). "We'll stick with a name everyone knows, but put out a watered-down product".

[supersix4]

Originally Posted by Offender_Mullet

The GTX 400 series cards are the Mustangs of the 1980's-Now (minus the Cobra and Saleen models of course). "We'll stick with a name everyone knows, but put out a watered-down product".

Amen to that and the sad thing is had they just put a quality product out with better cooling and maybe if it was just a little bit noticeably better then even just the 5970 I'd have gotten back on NVIDIA's bandwagon, but god the power draw and heat output combined with juts barley beating some 5890s its atrocious.

[Seeking_Alpha]

So has anyone bitten the bait on this?

Are the 480's running as hot as they say?

[Offender_Mullet]

I just ordered an ATI Gigabyte HD5870, but from what I've been reading....yes the 400's run hot. You should find a ton of links on Google.

[PrivatePixel]

Originally Posted by Offender_Mullet

I just ordered an ATI Gigabyte HD5870, but from what I've been reading....yes the 400's run hot. You should find a ton of links on Google.

Where did you order your HD 5870? I'm doing so comparison shopping at the moment.

[Oddiophile]

Originally Posted by Offender_Mullet

Yep I knew that. HD5850's are around 10.5" in length. I have 12" of length to play with in my Cooler Master CM 690 case, so getting two 5850's aren't a problem (the 5970 is a no-go though). Thanks anyway though!


I saw the XFX 4GB 5970. Looks wicked and comes in a case that's shaped like a gun....but for almost $1K it better make you breakfast and drive you to work to.

Another thing is, I'm use to Nvidia's consistent driver updates so this will be a change, seeing as ATI doesn't do it as often.

AMD/ATI Has been releasing a new WHQL catalyst driver every month with beta releases every few weeks being released by AMD or leaking out. I'm running a beta version of the 10.5 driver on my 5870 with awesome results. This is my first ATI card I had been running Nvidia for years. The Catalyst drivers were buggy when I first got the card but are now pretty solid.

[Oddiophile]

Originally Posted by Offender_Mullet

I just ordered an ATI Gigabyte HD5870, but from what I've been reading....yes the 400's run hot. You should find a ton of links on Google.

Ya the 480's have been hitting around 90C/194F degrees under load.

Tom's Hardware had an article posted that said the Fermi cards were designed to run hot, But Damn! Gaming in the summer is not going to be fun with Fermi. Heat is the enemy of electronics, at almost 200 degrees I wounder how long a Fermi card will last?

[Offender_Mullet]

Originally Posted by PrivatePixel

Where did you order your HD 5870? I'm doing so comparison shopping at the moment.

I bought this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...442a22644eb7e9 on NewEgg. It just came out last night. It's more expensive than regular 5870's, but I did so much researching my eyeballs were about to pop out of my head, so figured what the heck.....might as well try this beast out. I'm not into overclocking hardware manually at all, so figured I buy something that's factory overclocked. It's a non-reference design and the cooling system on it looks awesome.

NewEgg is usually the cheapest, but early last week I got my Gigabyte motherboard and AMD X4 965 processor on Ewiz.com for $50 LESS than NewEgg! That's my first time in about 6 years buying hardware from an online store other than NewEgg. Their selection isn't as large, but they shipped it out faster and it came better packed than what I'm use to seeing.

Originally Posted by Oddiophile

AMD/ATI Has been releasing a new WHQL catalyst driver every month with beta releases every few weeks being released by AMD or leaking out. I'm running a beta version of the 10.5 driver on my 5870 with awesome results. This is my first ATI card I had been running Nvidia for years. The Catalyst drivers were buggy when I first got the card but are now pretty solid.

Sweet I can't wait to try them out when my card arrives. Thanks!


Here's a pic of my new setup (still haven't "cleaned" it up yet)

[supersix4]

that heatsink is massive is it taking up two of you're ram slots ?

[Seeking_Alpha]

Originally Posted by Offender_Mullet

I bought this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...442a22644eb7e9 on NewEgg. It just came out last night. It's more expensive than regular 5870's, but I did so much researching my eyeballs were about to pop out of my head, so figured what the heck.....might as well try this beast out. I'm not into overclocking hardware manually at all, so figured I buy something that's factory overclocked. It's a non-reference design and the cooling system on it looks awesome.

NewEgg is usually the cheapest, but early last week I got my Gigabyte motherboard and AMD X4 965 processor on Ewiz.com for $50 LESS than NewEgg! That's my first time in about 6 years buying hardware from an online store other than NewEgg. Their selection isn't as large, but they shipped it out faster and it came better packed than what I'm use to seeing.



Sweet I can't wait to try them out when my card arrives. Thanks!


Here's a pic of my new setup (still haven't "cleaned" it up yet)

Nice setup. The inside reminds me of my own rig. The downside to buying the top shelf PC Power & Cooling PSUs is that they aren't modular.

Anyway. I've been going crazy over the last few days trying to decide between these 2 5870s

Sapphire Vapor-X

Asus 5870

Asus has the voltage tweak and better warranty. Sapphire will run cooler and sound less. But again their support and warranty will be less than Asus. I also heard that they charge $15 for RMA.

Hell if I am spending $900 I want good warranty. Okay so I'll go with Asus....

I'll probably go back on the fence in a few minutes.... I have been going back and forth for the last 3 days.

[Offender_Mullet]

Originally Posted by supersix4

that heatsink is massive is it taking up two of you're ram slots ?

It's a Noctua and that's not even their biggest one they make. Yep, it hovers over the first two slots. I switched the ram to the first two after I took the pic. As long as the ram has low-profile heatsinks, then they fit fine underneath it. It weighs over 900g with both fans on, so I took a twist-tie and rigged it to the top of the case so it wouldn't sag and/or put uneven pressure on the cpu.

Seeking_Alpha, a lot of people love Sapphire cards. I was going to get one until I saw the Gigabyte model. $900? So you're thinking about getting two 5870's?

[Seeking_Alpha]

Originally Posted by Offender_Mullet

It's a Noctua and that's not even their biggest one they make. Yep, it hovers over the first two slots. I switched the ram to the first two after I took the pic. As long as the ram has low-profile heatsinks, then they fit fine underneath it. It weighs over 900g with both fans on, so I took a twist-tie and rigged it to the top of the case so it wouldn't sag and/or put uneven pressure on the cpu.

Seeking_Alpha, a lot of people love Sapphire cards. I was going to get one until I saw the Gigabyte model. $900? So you're thinking about getting two 5870's?

Yup, throw those bad boys into Crossfire.

What I don't like about the Gigabyte card is that it seems like the heatsink is not designed to vent the hot air out of the case. It seems like all it cares about is putting air on those fins. That's fine, but it might raise my case's internal ambient temp. Bad for CPU overclocking and Crossfire setups.

Wait a second, you said you put the ram into the first 2 slots? How many DIMMs do you have? I think your supposed to use the slots that your motherboard recommends for 2 Dimm configuration. You can't just put them anywhere. Refer to the manual.

[Offender_Mullet]

True about the Gigabyte card. That's pretty much the only thing I've read people worrying about the card, but it also depends on how good you're case cooling is as well.

What size & resolution is your monitor? The new Sapphire 5870 2Gb version is on newegg now and it costs less thant he Gigabyte I bought. Found here:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102891 You might as well just get those. The extra memory will help with AA on at high resolutions (1920x1200 or larger). And I'm sure it'll help with future DirectX 11 games.

My Gigabyte board is setup so the first 2 slots are dimms 1 & 2, rather than the usual skipping a dimm (1,3,2,4). I actually have another two sticks coming, so I'll have all four slots filled with a total of 8GB.

[supersix4]

I have two six pin connectors why they didn't get me an extra two 8s for upgrading I'll never know...

but if I want a better card I'm going to need the 8 pin connectors so I found this on newegg would you guys trust this cable?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-014-_-Product

I haven't opened up my system to see how buying a regular cable would run from the psu, but I wouldn't mind just taking a six to two 8 converter.

[Seeking_Alpha]

Originally Posted by supersix4

I have two six pin connectors why they didn't get me an extra two 8s for upgrading I'll never know...

but if I want a better card I'm going to need the 8 pin connectors so I found this on newegg would you guys trust this cable?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-014-_-Product

I haven't opened up my system to see how buying a regular cable would run from the psu, but I wouldn't mind just taking a six to two 8 converter.

Yup I would trust it. There isn't much to consider with these types of cables. Most of the high end cards however come with 6 to 8 pin adapters too. Make sure you check what's included in the box before buying the converter separately. You can also consider this

What is the make and model of your PSU though. It might not have 8 pin connectors because it can't support that much amps.

[supersix4]

Originally Posted by Seeking_Alpha

What is the make and model of your PSU though. It might not have 8 pin connectors because it can't support that much amps.

I don't know the make model still haven't opened it up down there, but I ordered the 1.1kw psu from alienware...

Yeah but like on the gigabyte card you posted it had both a six and 8 pin my problem is the wiring they did they only ran two 6 pins to the video card area so I have one 6pin in my video card now, and a hanging 6pin, so if I bought two 5970s I'd need 4 cables(at least thats my understanding )