Time to upgrade from my GTX260 to a HD5870. I'm looking for one that's quiet and runs cool. The Sapphire Vapor-X Rev 2 looks interesting but I've read mixed reviews because they went the cheap route as compared to Rev 1.
Descent overclocking is a plus.
Personally, I'd go with either an EVGA, XFX or MSI. Those are the only gfx companies I trust.
XFX > http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-476-_-Product
MSI > http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-482-_-Product
If you really want the Sapphire, here's a 2GB version
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-888-_-Product
One more thing. Am I correct that a PCI Express 2.1 x16 card will fit and work just fine in a 2.0 slot?
My main dislike about ati cards is that they all come with measly 1-2 year warranties. For that reason I would look for an xfx. The transferable lifetime warranty makes you feel all warm and fuzzy and keeps resale value
Edit- All pci-e slots/cards work with each other. Not much of a difference in pci-e 2.1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI_Express
PCI Express 2.1 supports a large proportion of the management, support, and troubleshooting systems planned to be fully implemented in PCI Express 3.0. But, the speed is the same as PCI Express 2.0.
think i'll go with the XFX. Thanks much to all.
I dont have a 5xxx series, but I can tell you sapphire fans are larger than XFX. They cover a lot of the ram chips too. At least on the 4850. I assume they are quite large on others too.
I installed and XFX 5850 this afternoon. Despite knowing the hardware was good, I was very nervous about driver issues as BFBC2 is my favorite game; however, I must say, this little beast is badass. Nothing but saucy goodness all day long and not a single issue in sight.
Get XFX, 5850 and overclock it to 1000/1250 ... If you did that you will have a card better than a default clock 5870 But costs much less...
The difference between 5870 overclocked @ 1000/1250 and 5850 with the same clocks is very slim (with a couple of exceptions)...
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