Potential New Card???

[Ivan the SoSo]

Sapphire 100282XTREME Radeon HD 5850 Xtreme Edition Video Card - 1GB, GDDR5, PCI-Express 2.0 (x16), DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort, DirectX 11, Dual-Slot, CrossFireX Ready, ATI Eyefinity Ready at TigerDirect.com

the second reviewer said it was 8.5 inches add one inch for connectors...

 

[Tomrdiedrich]

Now with the ATI Radeon cards are the stream processors to same as nvidia's cuda cores? Or at least similar? And why would a 5770 have more than a 6850? I thought with ati radeon the higher the number the better the card? I am looking at this card now. Real close to my price range and looks like quite alot of bang for my bucks!! XFX HD685XZNFC Radeon HD 6850 Video Card - 1024MB, GDDR5, PCIe, mini-Display Port, HDMI, Dual DVI at TigerDirect.com But is this card better or worse than the one Ivan the soso listed above? This is all a little confusing with how they rate and list the info for them!

Assuming it will fit my already tight HTPC case! The problem will be getting my corsair H50 lines around or over that card. If I try to unhook the lines to lengthen them that will cause a whole new issue! I cannot seen to get accurate measurements of the whole card being length width height. Then i could do cardboard cutout and see if it will fit! I am way ready just to buy this card but don't want to if it is not exactly what I want/need. Sorry to be draging this thread on and on. But my wife wont be happy if I say I need another card in a month or two!:shock:

 

[Ivan the SoSo]

The 6850 is not the 6xxx series upgrade for the 5850....the upgrade card would be a 6950....

The 5770 is a 800 stream card the 5850 has 1,440 streams the 6850 has 960 streams.... it(6850) is weaker than the 5850 but stronger than the 5770....but the 6xxx series is more "efficient" in how well the streams work, I guess you could call the 6850 the replacement for the 5770...

Ati and Nvidia cards are not comparable by stream/cuda core count...

New Egg will take returns for a 10% restocking fee...within 30 days...2 reviews have shown up with 3 pending...

At least for me buying a new card can be very stressfull since I know it will be a while before I can replace it...so I wouldn't call it dragging out the thread....I would call it being a careful shopper

 

[Tomrdiedrich]

Thanks for all that info. I do believe they do all this confusing stuff to confuse the consumer! LOL. And acording to what you said I think I need to do some more looking and researching to figure out how to get the most for my money.

I have alway dealt with tigerdirect due to they have no restocking fee and go out of there way to take care of customers. I had couple bad experiences with newegg. Bought couple sticks of ram from tiger and then I fried them while OCing my pc. Called them and they returned it no problem they even overnighted the new set before I sent in old set!!

I think I will look some more and see what else is out there. You really think that ATI Radeon card give you more power and quality for the money? I just am very nervous to switch to a product I have never used before.

 

[Ivan the SoSo]

Can't argue with that... the only reason I mentioned the card I did was from looking for a replacement for the wife's 8500gt...that would have to replace my 4890(not a easy task even if it is two generations back)It's in my cart now waiting for her card to mess-up again....(will not happen now that I am ready)

Right now to compete with the 5850 in a even match you would need a GTX 470 or a GTX 560 ti/ a reman 470 on the egg is $195 with only 90 day warr/... a 560 ti is better but still $230/... the best Nvidia card is the GTX 590 for the low price of only $730

A lot of people got bit by the 58xx and the 68xx swap...thought they were upgrading and found out the hard way they were not....

Right now yes Radeon is the best deal going.... but none are perfect, the drivers(ATI) can be a pain so I would not jump right on any updates unless I was having problems....Nvidia rushed out the 4xx line then came out with the 5xx line that fixed the 4xx problems...If I had bought a 480 I would be very mad now...(almost did)

However if this is your first high performance card then either brand will be a eye opener....

 

[Tomrdiedrich]

Yes it is my first high performance card. I am real excited to see how it will work. I was looking earlier and I think I can get my cooling lines around it. Only way to know for sure I guess is to buy it. I will let you know what I decide. Thanks for all the help!!

 

[Tomrdiedrich]

I found this one http://http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=41125&csid=_21 is this one better or worse than the 5850 or 6850? Looks like a real good deal for $129. But again how do you compair a Radeon to a Nvidia?

Never mind that question. Looking between the two manufacturer websites I believe the 5850 is still alot better of a card. I think the 5850 is the winner!!

 

[linnemeyerhere]

Tom,

The link to TigerDirect doesn't connect. Is it for the MSI R5770 Hawk? This is my new card and it is off the hook, runs cool and easily overclocks and is also not an energy hog with gddr5 chips and runs quiet. All I can say is buy it don't look back and you will be happy !

 

[Tomrdiedrich]

I was looking at the 5770. It is a really good card. But compared to the 5850 it is not as good as the 5850. I am out to get the most for my dollar and yes the 5850 is about $25 more, but for that little bit the performance increase is dramatic judging by the reviews and benchmarks I have looked at. The next better card is the 5870 and that is alot more. And like Ivan the SoSo said to even come close to the 5850 performance in Nvidia cards you have to spend over $200! The only real concern I have is the drivers. That seems to be the downfall of all Ati Radeon cards. For whatever reason they have driver issues. Nvidia does not seem to. But for that type of price increase to me is not worth it! I think as soon as I see a real good price on the 5850 I am going to pull the trigger. So If anyone sees a 5850 for under $150 PM me. Thanks to all for the help. Everyone has brought a lot of really good views into the conversation.

Ok this is a little sad for me! I found a good deal on the 5850. Checked the length in my case...TO BIG!!! I am majorly bummed! linnemyerhere I am going with your 5770. And that card will barely fit! It is 8 3/4 long and I have 9 inches of clearance. The 5850 is 9.5' long. SO SO BUMMED!!! Oh well. win some and then you loose some. This is the price you pay for having a HTPC case!

 

[linnemeyerhere]

Tom,
Sorry about the space issue as the Nvidia and big Radeon cards are huge. Don't look back as the performance for the money is crazy good.....is there better.....well wait 10 minutes in the tech arena and yes there will be better and what you just bought will be less. But that being said you really will dig this card and I can tell you I've had zero issues regarding drivers and in fact the GTX 260 was more of a headache in that area. I love having all AMD and the synergy of the CPU and GPU is as very good !

 

[Ivan the SoSo]

Oh that is tight....not to start something but remember you have to plug in the six pin connector at the back of the card.....can you post a pic of the case?

 

[Tomrdiedrich]

YA, I will post a pic tonight when I get home. According to the measurements I found online the only Radeon card that will fit is the 5770. And that is with the power connected also. It will be tight but it should fit. I was all set to get the 5850!! Oh well!

 

[lnav83]

I personally have the GT 430 in another pc on my network that i use for streaming video to my tv (thru 360), its also used as a general use computer internet, etc. the card is pretty capable in everything you're looking for and it even plays a few games relatively well. oh and I would always go with Nvidia over ATI just because of the drivers.

 

[Tomrdiedrich]

Have you tried to watch a HD movie while encoding a movie? That is what I am trying to accomplish here. I need more power! LOL

 

[lnav83]

I have a feeling it wouldn't stand up to a scenario like that, In that case I would shoot for something a bit better just to make up for that gap.

I think this card is perfect for your situation, and a good price.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162062&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10440897&PID=3067296&SID=

 

[Tomrdiedrich]

That is the problem I am having. The perfect one for me would be the Radeon 5850, but it is 1'' to long. So I have to step down untill one fits. Which in my case is the 5770. That is the most powerful card that will fit in my case. Radeon or Nvidia.

 

[lnav83]

how much space you do you have to work with?

 

[Tomrdiedrich]

I have 8.5" including having the plug also. So from front to back plugged in it can not be over the 8.5"

 

[lnav83]

I have 8.5" including having the plug also. So from front to back plugged in it can not be over the 8.5"

It looks to me like your in a bind. I don't think there are many options at the performance level you want under 8.5" let alone 8". I think the option I provide is a good one at a good price above, and even that is pushing it at 8.25".

 

[Tomrdiedrich]

Ya, I know. If I had to I could move the PSU cage about .25'' by drilling and riveting, but don't really want to do that. My new PSU is the issue. It's huge! Oh well. Maybe I return that and get smaller one. I think I will investigate that some more. Thanks for bringing my thought process there!! TY

I will post picks this evening so you all can see the issue!