The Radeon HD 5970: Completing AMD's Takeover of the High End GPU Market
by Ryan Smith on November 18, 2009 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
Left 4 Dead
Finally we have Left 4 Dead, another title that’s fairly easy on the GPU. The game is approaching (if it has not already hit) a CPU limitation, even with multi-core rendering. 145fps appears to be the approximate cap, and our cards quickly approach this. Because of this cap, the overclocking advantage is only 3%, and the 1% difference between the 5970 and 5850CF is practically immaterial.
Finally the GTX 295 gap is only 17% here, thanks to these cards coming up against our CPU limitation.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
114 Comments
View All Comments
kilkennycat - Thursday, November 19, 2009 - link
Er, have you noticed the "Not in Stock" or "Pre-order" when you have gone to order one. You might get a 5850, but try finding a 5870 without having to psy a jacked-up premium over MSRP. Best of luck.mrdaddyman - Wednesday, November 18, 2009 - link
Since the 5870 seems to be in such great supply, I would like for someone to post a link where I can actually buy one of these. I have been trying to buy one for a month and haven't been able to find one.rennya - Thursday, November 19, 2009 - link
Does it has to be online?Here, I have many options for 58xx and 57xx models in retail stores. Which is more applicable for me because Newegg doesn't ship to my place.
Well, if you insist of finding online links, plenty of them at http://flaturl.com/eb0">http://flaturl.com/eb0 or http://flaturl.com/YmU">http://flaturl.com/YmU or http://flaturl.com/pAU">http://flaturl.com/pAU or http://flaturl.com/q15">http://flaturl.com/q15 or http://flaturl.com/5av">http://flaturl.com/5av and many more.
These are just some of the sellers in my place who sells those so-called mythical ATI cards online (doesn't include the gazillions others sold in retail). You may want to argue that they won't ship to you in United States, but then again the likes of NewEgg doesn't ship here too.
If you are desperate enough, I can help you obtain one of those cards. Want to take the offer?
Alexstarfire - Wednesday, November 18, 2009 - link
And this is the 5970 that we are talking about. Not the same thing.MamiyaOtaru - Thursday, November 19, 2009 - link
by saying "another paper launch" you were implying that the previous launches were paper. So you were talking about the 5870. As they are and have been available, they were not paper launches. So even if the 5970 is a paper launch (it isn't) you can't very well call it another onetajmahal - Wednesday, November 18, 2009 - link
No link yet for the 5850 or the 5870? That's a surprise.lloyd dd - Wednesday, November 18, 2009 - link
would using 3 monitors in portrait orientation sort out the aspect ratio in eyefinity?JarredWalton - Wednesday, November 18, 2009 - link
It would be closer. 4800x2560 would end up at a 1.875 AR, compared to 1.78 for 16:9 and 1.6 for 16:10. I think that 16:9 content stretched to fill 4800x2560 should look fine (about the same as 16:10 stretched to fill a 16:9 monitor).Of course, the more difficult question is how to put three 30" LCDs into portrait mode. You would need a different base stand -- none of the 30" LCDs I've seen allow you to rotate the display into portrait mode, probably because the LCDs are two feet wide.
yyrkoon - Wednesday, November 18, 2009 - link
Hey Jarred,Why not be inventive, and make a stand to hold 3 x 30" LCDs ? I do not mean you specifically of course, but whomever would want to have one. It really is not that difficult . . . just a little planning, and the ability to work with steel ( heavy ) or quality aluminum. Now if someone did not have the skills to make brackets etc, they could even draw something up, give it to a local fabricator, and be on their merry way . . .
Personally, I like the first option mainly because I enjoy working with materials as such ( metals, wood, plastics, etc ). Not to mention the fact that it can cost far less doing it yourself.
JarredWalton - Thursday, November 19, 2009 - link
I understand it's entirely possible. My point is merely that it's yet another expense. I don't think 3x30" with EyeFinity is going to be anything but a very, *VERY* niche product. LOL.5970 = $600
3 x 30" = $3000 (minimum)
3 x Stands = $120 to $600
So besides having the money, you need the space (and possibly time). I'd say $4000+ just for the GPU and LCDs is where the costs start, and naturally you would want a killer system (i7-920 with overclocking, or i7-975). But hey, you want the best of the best, there you have it. Until the next big thing comes along.
Speaking of which, what about 30" LCDs with 120Hz and 3D Vision? LOL.... (No, I'm not saying that's out or coming soon, but it could be.)