Gaming Videocard

Mr. Waffle · Oct 9, 2009

So I'm going to buy a new system real soon, but I have one question.
What is really the difference between videocards from different manufacturers?
I'm going to buy a HD5870, but the prices from different manufacturers differents more then 50 euro's
Some support OpenGL 3.1, some 3.2, whats the difference?

The Club 3D one is cheapest here, so should I go for that one or a more expensive one?

Elritha · Oct 9, 2009

There isn't a huge difference. They all need to follow a reference design provided by ATI/AMD. Some may have a slightly higher clockspeed, or they may come bundled with extra software, like a free game.

Kwartel · Oct 9, 2009

Edhel said:
or they may come bundled with extra software, like a free game.

I won't call it "free"

Maz7006 · Oct 9, 2009

Clock speeds

Fan that comes on it

Packaging (usually some are just thrown in a cardboard box and just shipped off)

and the game, the game DOES make sometimes a slight diff (as in price) and yes i wouldn't call it 'free'

Mr. Waffle · Oct 9, 2009

All have the same clock speeds

All have the same casing around it, and the fans all look the same

All just come in regular boxes

No game included, well, at some but these are just too expensive

It just is that the MSI one and another one, forgot name, suppot OpenGL 3.2, and the others 3.1
And that the MSI one has HDCP DRM support, whatever that may mean.

Joe88 · Oct 9, 2009

the cards are only a few weeks old, there should be no difference in what they support, usually its an error on their web page

see if you can get sapphire, XFX, and such brands, avoid club3d they dont have the best reputation for quality parts

Mr. Waffle · Oct 9, 2009

XFX is 50 euro's more expensive, and sapphire is about the same price as the Club 3D, maybe 10 euro's but who cares about that kind of money.
So I might go with the Sapphire one or the MSI one, I'm just gonna look which one is available first lol.

Thanks a lot for helping me out.

Joe88 · Oct 9, 2009

between those two go for the sapphire (I wouldnt trust MSI myself after their bad mobo's they produce and such)

wish ati was still selling cards directly, a little bit more expensive but you had the comfort of knowing no other third party messed around with the card,k changing clock settings, included items, different HSF's

im not sure why the prices are different, here all 5870's are about $390 or so

anyway you should be happy with your 5870, fastest single GPU card on the market and beats a GTX295 (dual GPU) in some tests

I think a 5870 is too big for my case (11" long) where as my 4870 is only 9.5" long, might have to go with a 5850 which is the same exact size as the 4870 and about 10-15% less performance then the 5870

Mr. Waffle · Oct 9, 2009

Joe88 said:
between those two go for the sapphire (I wouldnt trust MSI myself after their bad mobo's they produce and such)

K, Sapphire one is a bit cheaper too, I'll see when it'll become available.
Thanks again.

Elritha · Oct 10, 2009

Mr. Waffle said:
It just is that the MSI one and another one, forgot name, suppot OpenGL 3.2, and the others 3.1

They should support the same version of opengl. My guess is 3.2, some probably haven't had their description updated.

And yes, not exactly a 'free' game, my bad on the wording.

zkamuiz · Oct 11, 2009

Brands usually don't matter, just look into the company's warranty to make sure you're satisfied with the timeline in case anything happens to the card, you can have it replaced.
It doesn't really matter which brand you get, but I usually prefer Sapphire, HIS, or XFX in that order, but just go with the cheapest one.

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