New graphics card 5770 or 5830?

[tomferry25]

Hi, I'm finally ready to accept that my 8800gt can't quite cut it anymore and I'm ready to upgrade. My question is, if it were your money, would you buy a 5770 or a 5830?

I know the 5830 is a fairly heavily cut-down 5870 and is missing half the ROPS but there are some on the market that are only £30 more than a 5770 so surely it has a much better bang for buck rating?

Also, I'm not flush with cash so please assume I can't stretch to a 5850 in the £225 price bracket although I know it makes the most sense in terms or cash for performance.

Many thanks in advance for your opinions

[Skulltrail]

I find the following sums quite useful when calculating bang for buck things:


5770:
800 cores for £115 = 6.96 cores per £

5830:
1120 cores for £163 = 6.87 cores per £

Accordingly they are not far behind when it comes to cores for the money, but the differences in clock speed and memory speed pan out like follows:

Cores: 800 x 850 = 680,000 / £115 = 5,913.04
Cores: 1120 x 800 = 896,000 / £163 = 5,496.93

Memory: 1024 x 4800 = 4,915,200 / £115 = 42,740.87
Memory: 1024 x 4000 = 4,096,000 / £163 = 25,128.83

Overall 5770: (5,913.04 + 42,740.87) / 2 = 24,326.96
Overall 5830: (5,496.93 + 25,128.83) / 2 = 15,312.88

Difference: 41.14%

However, 5830 has 256-bit bus vs. 128-bit for the 5770, so divide the above by 2 and you still get a 20% plus lead for the 5770.

Conclusion: 5770

However, if your mobo has two x16 or x8 PCI slots definitely get the 5770 and maybe add another in a year or so, but if you only the one slot, probably get the 5830 and try and OC it a bit to close the gap, especially on the memory.

Not very scientific, but hope this helps!

[Rob_B]

Not sure as I'm out of the loop myself as well but here are the comparison specs with links to reviews at the bottom of the page. - http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards....=615&card2=626

HardOCP have a review with a comparison between the two - http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/...hd_5830_review

[Skulltrail]

What resolution will it be used at? If 1920x1080/1200 the 5830 will yield a more noticeable difference than at 1680x1050.

EDIT: just looked at your specs and saw it was 1920x1200, so that edges the case for the 5830 a bit further forward.

[tomferry25]

Skulltrail, thanks very much for all that info, its helped me put it into perspective a little better and I appreciate you giving me such an in-depth reply.

Rob_B, thank you for the two links and for your swift reply to my query.

On a side note, I'm new to the forums so could you please tell me how I go about thanking people for their posts?

Thanks again guys

[Skulltrail]

If I remember correctly you have to have 25 posts before you can give thanks, but it can be applied retrospectively!

[tomferry25]

Sorry Skulltrail, I should've mentioned it in the original post (newbie, oops). yeah I'll be using a 1900x1200 monitor which is kinda waht sparked my indecision. I'm looking to upgrade to an i7 rig soon so crossfire 5770's is def a possibility. thanks again for your time and knowledge.

Thanks for telling me about the thanks (redundant), I'll do my very best not to forget you when I reach the dizzying heights of 25 posts.

[Skulltrail]

thanks again for your time and knowledge.

Really no problem, I'm just thankful for the distraction from Classics revision really!

[Rob_B]

I'm just avoiding doing the ironing, oh the heady lifestyle I lead...