Radeon 5870 - where?

[John Bennett]

Can't find the damn things anywhere - did they only make a first batch of 100 or something? :wack:

That'll teach me for fannying around and not just buying one a few weeks ago when they were actually in stock... :rolleyes:

[Sideways14a]

Its a little like rocking horse doodoo at the moment, very heavy demand and a little tight allocation aint helped.
Just put an order down for it from a retailer, you shouldnt need to wait to long.
Wish i had bought one when i could as well lol :wack:

[mandelbug]

try Aria.co.uk as a guy in work has just got one from there :D

[schumi84]

Some here:

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/Components/Graphics-ATI/ATIHD5800Series/Novatech/58701GB.html

Though on the other sites i look at, they havent even got them listed. Reckon they are waiting for bigger stock levels before marketing them.

[Cluck]

I've got 2 of them :p :wave: (albeit one in my PC and the other in my brother's)

My disti (Ingram Micro) is showing an ETA of 2011 for the next batch :wack:

[schumi84]

I wish i could afford to buy one :(. All money up to now and probably till after christmas has/is going on the car :cry:

[Martin T]

Unless you're really, really loaded don't bother. Get a 5850 for £100 less that is just as good for any game on the planet, present and future, isn't impossible to fit in a case that isn't 3 miles long and uses significantly less power making it quieter.

Of course, it has less e-peen value but who cares. Stick the extra £100 on your mortgage :)

[ZXSpectrum]

Nah go for a pair of 5770.. i just have and the performance is amazing mild ocerclock gets them to past 5870 performance.. ;)

[B.L]

Or wait a little longer, save more money and buy a 5870x2 /5970:D

[Sideways14a]

Nah go for a pair of 5770.. i just have and the performance is amazing mild ocerclock gets them to past 5870 performance.. ;)

Naaa pair of 5870s, i quite fancy having one of those video walls full of 24" displays. Have 3x24s at the moment.... pron in ultra high res :D
The 5850 is hard to overlook, its really fast and overclocks well....

[John Bennett]

Unless you're really, really loaded don't bother. Get a 5850 for £100 less that is just as good for any game on the planet, present and future, isn't impossible to fit in a case that isn't 3 miles long and uses significantly less power making it quieter.

Of course, it has less e-peen value but who cares. Stick the extra £100 on your mortgage :)

Going off benchmarks 5850 looks kinda on the edge already on GPU devouring stuff like Crysis and I'd prefer just to have a single card.
£300 is still stupid money for a card to play games, but with the 5870 it actually looks like a fair amount of product for the money (the eyefinity looks a laugh too, although they all support that). I was actually given money for a graphics card last Christmas - shows you how long I've been faffing around :wack:

Actually, even Dirt2 looks like a good 'freebie' :wack:

edit: - having waffled all that, there isn't a lot betwween the two cards for an extra £100 - looks less than 10% - worth a bit of thought then...

[ZXSpectrum]

If its the 5870 you deffo want just go on the ovuk forums and the gfx section and there is normally a post on updates for when they are due in. I am pretty sure they are getting shipments every couple of days so if you preorder i would have thought that you would ahve it within a week...

[Cluck]

Going off benchmarks 5850 looks kinda on the edge already on GPU devouring stuff like Crysis and I'd prefer just to have a single card.
£300 is still stupid money for a card to play games, but with the 5870 it actually looks like a fair amount of product for the money (the eyefinity looks a laugh too, although they all support that). I was actually given money for a graphics card last Christmas - shows you how long I've been faffing around :wack:

Actually, even Dirt2 looks like a good 'freebie' :wack:

edit: - having waffled all that, there isn't a lot betwween the two cards for an extra £100 - looks less than 10% - worth a bit of thought then...My 5870 is running Crysis (in Windows 7) with the detail settings and AA maxed out at 1680x1050 at ~40fps . That's with a 3GHz Core2Duo processor and DDR2-800 RAM :) . The old 8800GTX, by way of comparison, would manage under 20fps at the same resolution without any AA :o

Whether to buy the 5850 or not is really just a "can I justify the extra expense of the 5870 to myself". If you can then buy it and don't worry about it. Something will come along to make it look rubbish AND expensive in a year. C'est la vie :wack:

[John Bennett]

My 5870 is running Crysis (in Windows 7) with the detail settings and AA maxed out at 1680x1050 at ~40fps . That's with a 3GHz Core2Duo processor and DDR2-800 RAM :) . The old 8800GTX, by way of comparison, would manage under 20fps at the same resolution without any AA :o

Whether to buy the 5850 or not is really just a "can I justify the extra expense of the 5870 to myself". If you can then buy it and don't worry about it. Something will come along to make it look rubbish AND expensive in a year. C'est la vie :wack:

40fps with AA - that's better than I thought :cool:. Not arsed about having AA switched on either (I can live with pixels - I still play 320x240 arcade games :wack: ).
Martin really has got me thinking as the performance difference is a lot smaller than I thought, almost to the point I'd wonder if you'd ever notice.
Not that there's 5850s for sale either :wack: . I think I will pre-order, my only fear was that I'd pre-order and find I'd picked the wrong distributer and be waiting 2 months longer than everywhere else :wack:

[Cluck]

40fps with AA - that's better than I thought :cool:. Not arsed about having AA switched on either (I can live with pixels - I still play 320x240 arcade games :wack: ).
Martin really has got me thinking as the performance difference is a lot smaller than I thought, almost to the point I'd wonder if you'd ever notice.
Not that there's 5850s for sale either :wack: . I think I will pre-order, my only fear was that I'd pre-order and find I'd picked the wrong distributer and be waiting 2 months longer than everywhere else :wack:Do you get Dirt2 with the 5850 as well? If not, then at least the cost difference is slightly less assuming you were going to buy it :D . It just comes with a code to unlock the game on Steam as soon as it's released early December :) . To be fair though, if I was a normal punter I'd probably buy the cheaper one and use the saved money to either buy some games or save towards replacing the card in a year's time :nod:

[Sideways14a]

If your running resolutions like 1680x1050 then get the 5850 as it really is a huge amount of grunt for the money especially as they are all overclocking to 5870 levels without as much as a cough. :wack:
For 1900x1200 though and if you can find it you will see more with the 5870 especially with AA and filtering on. Also if your running a slow cpu (most duals and some quads under 3ghz) you may not be taxing the video card all that much.
The bottleneck wont be the graphics system.

[ZXSpectrum]

i LOVE MY 2X5770!!! Performance is fantastic i am running them with a Corsair xtreme SSD, i7 860@3.5Ghz amd w7 and it flys.. i get almost 16K in 3D mark Vantage which is pretty stunning in its own right (Btw gfx cards ate slightly overclocked to 900/1300 but i can actually take my CPU to 4.2Ghz and the GFX cards to 960+/1350 which would give it even more of a boost) i have been firing games up and they start in seconds..

[John Bennett]

:annoyed:

A few weeks ago I noticed the prices were going up for all the 58xx range, so I just though 'sod it' and ordered a 5870 from dabs as it they had some due within a few days and they hadn't upped the prices (5850 was pushing £250 in some places!!!)

Well I wasn't high enough in the queue to get any of that shipment, but they tell me the next one's the 11th - fair enough.

Nope, today I find it's now the 23rd :rolleyes:

Guess there's little chance of me being an anti-social bastard and playing all the games I've asked for as pressies on the 25th :( :wack:

[Sideways14a]

Keep pushing them for it...
Looks like the world plus dog plus flee's are after 58xx's lol

[John Bennett]

And now it's the third of February :eek: :indiff:
I'd cancel the order but I can't see anyone else getting any in a hurry if it's this bad :(

[Sideways14a]

I have been trying now, the earliest i have seen is two weeks from now.

[Cluck]

My main disti (Ingram Micro) is expecting a large shipment of Sapphire 5970 and 5870 cards in 5 days. Whether they will arrive is another matter of course :rolleyes: . If that date holds then get checking the mail order sites on the 15th and 16th :thumbs:

[mandelbug]

I have just ordered a 5850 from Overclockers. Came next day complete with DiRT2 :D

[Cluck]

I have just ordered a 5850 from Overclockers. Came next day complete with DiRT2 :DShame DIRT2 is a pile of toss. I'm just glad it came free with my 5870 and I didn't have to pay for it. The graphics are far too "bright" and there's very little of the old Colin Mcrae rally game left in it :(

[Sideways14a]

The best thing about this is AMD even stuffed the prices up by a small amount, a vain attempt to secure a bit more much needed cash and try and slow the demand down for the cards.

It didnt work :wack: They are still like rocking horse skitter... Everyone is trying to buy a 58xx, mind you i bet there will be plenty of 5970's on the go.
Think i will have a look at Ingram, or find out where Cluck lives and rob his gaff for his :D

[Cluck]

The best thing about this is AMD even stuffed the prices up by a small amount, a vain attempt to secure a bit more much needed cash and try and slow the demand down for the cards.

It didnt work :wack: They are still like rocking horse skitter... Everyone is trying to buy a 58xx, mind you i bet there will be plenty of 5970's on the go.
Think i will have a look at Ingram, or find out where Cluck lives and rob his gaff for his :DIt would be cheaper to set up an account with Ingram - it would cost you more in petrol to drive down here and back than the card is worth :D

Although, it might just be worth it as I do have 2 of them here :D

[John Bennett]

I have just ordered a 5850 from Overclockers. Came next day complete with DiRT2 :D

I noticed that they had some 5850's, but they're now £250, which is getting near what I paid for my imaginary 5870 before the prices rocketed.

I'll keep an eye out for ingram, but nearly three hundred quid felt daft enough for a graphics card, I can (reluctantly) hang on rather than fork out more (as for a 5890, forget that! :no: :wack: )

The irritating thing now is that I'm due an operation where I'll potentially be off work for ages so I was going to veg out and play some games - looks like I'll end up either on here all the time or watching daytime TV :wack:

[ZXSpectrum]

Again.. Get 2x5770 and crossfire.. Outperforms the 5870 and is over £100 cheaper..

[Cluck]

I noticed that they had some 5850's, but they're now £250, which is getting near what I paid for my imaginary 5870 before the prices rocketed.

I'll keep an eye out for ingram, but nearly three hundred quid felt daft enough for a graphics card, I can (reluctantly) hang on rather than fork out more (as for a 5890, forget that! :no: :wack: )

The irritating thing now is that I'm due an operation where I'll potentially be off work for ages so I was going to veg out and play some games - looks like I'll end up either on here all the time or watching daytime TV :wack:I should point out that Ingram Micro is a disti and they don't deal with the general public unless you set up an account with them. I'm not sure what the criteria is to create an account but I'd imagine you have to at least be a business :nod:

[Sideways14a]

Yeah ingram is a distributor so not selling to the general public.

Most folk are saying the smart cash is going on two 5770's in crossfire, i have two 4870s in CF at the moment and fancied a single card as an upgrade.
The 5770 aint shabby, but its only the same speed as a 4870 is (which is not shite by any means anyway).

There is also chat that there is a 5890 imminent (single processor and faster clock speed like the old 4890 was), this will come in to do some damage to nvidias release of Fermi when it appears... in the next 300 yrs :wack: It will be placed in between the 5870 and the 5970.

For 99% of the population a 5850 or 5870 is enough muscle for just about everything unless your running eyefinity across 3 30" displays :eek:

[Cluck]

Yeah ingram is a distributor so not selling to the general public.

Most folk are saying the smart cash is going on two 5770's in crossfire, i have two 4870s in CF at the moment and fancied a single card as an upgrade.
The 5770 aint shabby, but its only the same speed as a 4870 is (which is not shite by any means anyway).

There is also chat that there is a 5890 imminent (single processor and faster clock speed like the old 4890 was), this will come in to do some damage to nvidias release of Fermi when it appears... in the next 300 yrs :wack: It will be placed in between the 5870 and the 5970.

For 99% of the population a 5850 or 5870 is enough muscle for just about everything unless your running eyefinity across 3 30" displays :eek:My bro is running it across 3 x 24" displays at 1920x1200 a piece. Well, it will be when I get around to fitting his card (his case needs a few 'modifications' to make the card fit, much like mine :D). Will be interesting to see how well it runs - although, like myself, he mostly plays Left For Dead 2 which is hardly a very taxing game on the graphics card.

[Sideways14a]

http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/video/display/20091214130653_Over_800_Thousand_of_DirectX_11_Gra phics_Chips_Shipped_ATI.html

Explains a few things... The world + Dog has been snapping these up...

800k is a bloody lot of DX11 cards though, they have only been on sale for a few months :eek:

[John Bennett]

Well just as I was about to cancel out of frustration (see what Nvidia have up their sleeves) the card turns up a month earlier than expected :wack: Thankfully still for the original price I paid before things went silly.

Yep it's a lot faster than the 2 year old £50 thing I had in. Not sure what the hell you need to run GTAIV with everything on full though :wack: :confused: (not that it looks any worse with the draw detail under 50% or textures on medium)

Need to go buy some other games to play on it when I get some spare time now....

[Sideways14a]

GTA is a poorly coded game and doesnt seem to work well with any video system, even twin 5970's lol...
Fermi is apparently delayed again, dont expect to be able to purchase it until april or something...Its also predicted to be only 20% faster than the 5870 which aint going to cut the mustard.

2million plus dx11 parts sold now, things are moving on.

[Cluck]

Need to go buy some other games to play on it when I get some spare time now....Don't bother with Dirt 2. I was completely unimpressed with how it looked, considering the hype surrounding the graphics on DX11 :indiff: . Coupled with it's "down with the kids" design, I've played it for an evening and not looked at it again since. It's far too brash and loud for these old ears :o (I'm just grateful that I didn't directly pay for it as it came with the card)

Crysis runs at over 35fps in maximum detail on my stock 3GHz Core2Duo system, and still manages to look amazing after all this time :nod:

[John Bennett]

Yeah GTA does seem a bit of a ropey port - the loading times are ridiculous and there's loads of graphical glitches, so I had put it down to a failing in the programming that it requires 2GB of video ram to whack everything to 100% (for little visual difference) :wack:

I'd be mad not to at least download Dirt2 as it's free (bit confusing though - after a bit of head scratching I'm assuming I've got to use steam to download it, although the voucher just says you need Steam to 'activate it'.). I get the feeling it's a long way from the good old CmC rally games though...

After years of not getting round to it, I'll finally get Crysis ASAP and maybe Hawx (just cos it looks nice). PC games are sooo cheap :cool: :D

[Sideways14a]

I love crysis, its gameplay has come in for some stick (although i didnt think it was bad) but the graphics, especially when modded, are superb.
http://www.incrysis.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=840

[ZXSpectrum]

Great pics but they are just renders. Basically a very small section of game with silly bit of detail for modders to see what they can do.. Unfortunately even with 2x5970 you would struggle to get that to run at a playable rate..

[Sideways14a]

Err no they aint, i get that when i play crysis at 1900x1200... You use a mod for crysis that increases the performance, provides better visuals ect.
I am on crossfire 4870s and a quad, it runs great....

[Cluck]

Yeah GTA does seem a bit of a ropey port - the loading times are ridiculous and there's loads of graphical glitches, so I had put it down to a failing in the programming that it requires 2GB of video ram to whack everything to 100% (for little visual difference) :wack:

I'd be mad not to at least download Dirt2 as it's free (bit confusing though - after a bit of head scratching I'm assuming I've got to use steam to download it, although the voucher just says you need Steam to 'activate it'.). I get the feeling it's a long way from the good old CmC rally games though...

After years of not getting round to it, I'll finally get Crysis ASAP and maybe Hawx (just cos it looks nice). PC games are sooo cheap :cool: :DIf you haven't already got Steam then download it and activate the code that came on the card. That will then download Dirt 2. Trust me though, it's not all that great to look at and it's too 'loud' on the graphics and sound. Oddly, the one thing that isn't loud is the sound of the engines - I can barely hear them above all the other racket :(

HAWX does look impressive but it's awful as a game. I was bored of the demo within 10 minutes :o

[Sideways14a]

And just in case anyone on here wants a better graphics card but... doesnt know how..
Well ask the monkey
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DPQW0e9ufM
:D

[John Bennett]

I installed mine when half-cut so it's easy :D (good job there was room in the case, or I'l probably have got the hacksaw out though :wack: ).

Just finished getting Dirt2. Must just be me being out of touch with games, but it is rather nice looking (yes it's a bit too technicolour to look 'real' like GT5 ). I can't complain for free - hopefully get a few hours fun out of it. Pretty cool being able to smash the shit out of the car and drop if off mountains, rather than just bouncing off walls for a race :D