Are you running ATI 5870, 6870 or Nvidia 460?

[klem]

First, can I only have replies from people running the above cards. I really want to get away from hearsay and second hand opinion (no offence meant).

Second I couldn't find a general Technical Issues Section, they all seem to be specific-game related so as an IL-2 / SoW player I've posted here.

I am trying to decide which Video card to buy within my budget. I had settled on the 5870 for performance reasons (excluding Tesselation and 3D which I don't think I need for SoW). All reviews I have read rank the cards as:-
1. ATI 5870
2. ATI 6870
3. ATI 460

examples:-
http://www.hardware-infos.com/grafikkarten_charts.php
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...50,2782-7.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...arts,2776.html
http://www.visualdreamers.com/news/a...-6870-vs-5870/

So the answer would seem fairly obvious. However my supplier is pushing me hard towards the 460 on the basis of ATI driver problems and 6870 performance issues;
" the most sensible purchase at present is a GTX460. The 6000's are plagued with performance issues at present and as an early adopter on a new card, you'll be hit with driver updates, fixes and frequent bugs. You get what you pay for in the graphics card industry, like many things in life but given the spec I really think you'd be cutting your nose to spite your face by going ATI. "

That runs against everything I have read (except ATIs reputation on drivers!).

So can you reply with "I am running the xxxxx card"

and tell me your experience regarding drivers, performance, reliability, heat etc., and where you think ATI/Nvidia are with the drivers for your card.

Please keep it to the point to make it easier for me to take in

Proposed system spec:
Intel i7 950 3.06GHz overclocked to 4.2GHz by supplier (o/c under warranty)
Prolimatech Megahalems Rev B,Super 6 Heatpipe Tower Cooler
6Gb DDR3 RAM
XFX 5870 GPU....... ???????????????
ASUS Sabertooth mobo
SSD for the OS and Flying software (IL-2, FSX, SoW)
600w Silverstone Tech. Element PSU (4 x PCIe 6 pin connectors for a future second card)
Coolermaster HAF 912 case
plus DVD R/W and a couple of HDDs I already own for other stuff (photos etc)

It's based around a Scan.co.uk "3XS SLIK i7 X58 950 BlackOps Bundle"

Budget is around £1100-1200.

Many thanks.

You're on the mark about adopting a first production card from a new series. I usually try and get the follow-up in the series since most of the bugs (if any) are ironed out with the next card. With today's technology and programs they can pretty much find an issue with a card before they even make it (circuit sims and such) so a first of the series "lemon" is hardly likely these days.

As far as driver issues go, ATI earned that bad reputation about 11-13 years ago and it seems it will never lose it despite stellar work from 2000 onwards. I've had about 10 ATI cards and 6 Nvidia cards since 1998 (and two 3DFX cards) and for the most part I've had nearly as many driver issues with Nvidia as ATI (given the number of ATI cards I've had compared to Nvidia it's expected).

The 460 is a nice card, and the price isn't bad, but you can get more for less with ATI at this point in time.

[mr71mb0]

I am running with a 5870. No specific issues at all. It's plenty fast, nice and quiet and coming down in price so excellent value.

All cards have driver issues here and there and are usually corrected pretty quickly in driver updates. I have never noticed any specific issues with the 5870.

Previously to owning this card I always had Nvidia. I'm brand agnostic and always go for the best performing card I can afford be it AMD (ATI) or nvidia.

[mr71mb0]

one thing I would add though is that with the GTX580's just hitting and the ATI 6970's just around the corner. This is bound to depress the prices on the 460, and 5870 even further so hanging on might get you one cheaper.

If you are thinking of buying for SOW then I'd say hold on till it's nearer release. You'll get more bang for your buck.

[kimosabi]

First of all, driver issues with ATi is a long gone problem with IL-2 ever since 10.8 came out. Those who still suffer from problems with an ATi card running IL-2 has to blame something else pl0x, because it sure as hell ain't the drivers. Your supplier needs to get with the times. I play both RoF and IL-2 on 10.8 drivers, all maxed out(Perfect Landscape in IL-2) on my 5870 with no hassles what-so-ever.

The fastest card you have among those three, OP, is the 5870. The 6870 is a revised and improved 5770, and a GTX460 is similar(give or take) to a 5850 performance-wise.

What you CAN do to be on par with upcoming SoW's DX11/tesselation is to up a notch on the GTX. The GTX470 is a powerful card, and surpasses the 5870 in many areas except heat and power consumption. The 5xxx series ATi is a bit immature in DX11/tesselation and when game devs really start running DX11, I'm going to upgrade my card as well. The GTX470 also scales extremely well so that's a great upgrade possibility for you if you should decide to run two cards in the future.

My specs:

Q9550 @ 3.7gHz
8GB RAM
1GB ATi 5870
Gigabyte UD3P(P45 chipset) motherboard.

I've had no reliability issues at all with my 5870 and it runs very nice and cool on water. The stock fancoolers on them are good enough though but nowadays there are many versions of the 5870 on the market with upgraded coolers, so I'd go for one of those instead. Doesn't cost much more than a stock card.

Finally, it would help us if you posted your computer specs though. If you're going to buy a new graphics card, other components should be in the same league.

[Flanker35M]

S!

If playing other games too than IL-2 then the choice would be the new AMD card. It gives quite a good performance for the buck at the moment and is faster than the nVidia 460GTX(non-OC). I use now for a moment 5870HD, my 480GTX was bought out of my computer! Waiting now for either 580GTX or the new 6XXX series coming soon..or the Kepler from nVidia. Shall see..

It was a moment of wtf when I installed the 5870HD again It is so quiet compared to the nVidia vacuum cleaner Nevertheless nVidia will for sure improve their performance per wattage in the upcoming Kepler thus less noise and heat.

Originally Posted by kimosabi

First of all, driver issues with ATi is a long gone problem with IL-2 ever since 10.8 came out.

Yes! I don't know how that old "ATI drivers are horrible" rumour still persists!

Also if you can bear it, (depends on when SOW comes out), wait for the next flagship card to appear on the market, that's when all the current flagship cards really take a price dive.

Personally I'm going to wait 6 months if I can stand it before making my own SOW gaming rig.

[JG27CaptStubing]

Something to keep in mind as we head into Dec and early next year...

The new 580s just hit the street... I own one and upgraded from my 480 as it was still under the store return policy. There is little doubt that Nvidia will release 560s 570s to compete with ATI's lates releaes of the 6800 series...

These cards if they use the revamped GF110 with disabled features you're looking at signifigant advantages across the board. Add in the cost factor of these new chips and Nvidia is a very good position to take more from the mid market card arena. Just looking at the raw numbers a 570 would be 29 percent faster than a 470 at a much lower price point. That would be faster than a 5870.

Check out this short article.

http://www.bit-tech.net/blog/2010/11...ch.net+feed%29

[mr71mb0]

29% faster you say? LoL,

I'm 57.1334% impressed.

[kimosabi]

Hey if klem has an unlimited budget, he should just go for what's fastest at this point in time. He did mention that awful word "budget" though and if we're going to jump on the "future" card-train, we'll be in for a long haul.