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ATI Radeon HD 5770 vs 5870 1GB

K

keithos27

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 17, 2006
131
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Can someone please explain to me what the differences between these two graphics cards are? My main use will be with a 6-core Mac Pro and a 27" Apple Cinema Display. I'd like to watch Netflix/Huly Plus full screen. I will not be doing any video editing. I will be doing some audio editing and the basic Apple iLife applications.

What are the pros/cons of the 5770 vs the 5870? I know the 5870 uses more power and I've also heard it's louder.

My Mac Pro will be in my bedroom so noise is a factor.

Thank you,
Keith
 
You don't need the 5870.

Hell, Flash video doesn't even use the GPU, so really your GPU choice doesn't matter at all.
 
I would only commend the 5870 if you plan on gaming. If not the 5770 is still awesome.
 
okay, thank you for chiming in. figured i'd ask since the $200 difference is relatively small compared to the overall system cost.

i figured the 5870 would not apply to a user like myself, but thought maybe there is some advantage i was missing/not thinking of.

-keith
 
i have an xbox 360, ps3, and wii... i think i have enough gaming options. :D
 
Beside price considerations, the noise and power consumption too argue in favor of the 5770.
 
I've heard that the 5770 is comparable to the old 4870. So its a good card. Apple did take on board the criticisms with previous launches
 
GoogleFish said:
Does Aperture make use of the extra power of the 5870?
Click to expand...

Yes, it would. I don't know if the gains would be as much as something like a game or a 3D app, as Aperture is mostly a VRAM hog and the 5770 and 5870 both have 1 gig of VRAM, but it would help.
 
The 5770 can be seen as a low-power, silent version of the 4870, offering comparable performance. And in addition to that, it has twice the videoram as the the official 4870...

Not a bad choice for a stock card IMO.
 
I ordered the 5770. Not a gamer so figured this will be fast enough. Ships 29 September. Since both have 1gb, shouldn't be real far apart on performance. Just hope apple doesn't cripple it in an OS update to try and force us 2008 owners to buy a new pro for the graphics card. Don't plan on getting a new Mac pro until sanyasi bridge comes out. By then I should be able to afford one. :eek:
 
Loud?

So the 5870 is louder? If so a lot louder? Are we talking vacuum cleaner loud, or running kittens loud?
 
keithos27 said:
Can someone please explain to me what the differences between these two graphics cards are? My main use will be with a 6-core Mac Pro and a 27" Apple Cinema Display. I'd like to watch Netflix/Huly Plus full screen. I will not be doing any video editing. I will be doing some audio editing and the basic Apple iLife applications.

What are the pros/cons of the 5770 vs the 5870? I know the 5870 uses more power and I've also heard it's louder.

My Mac Pro will be in my bedroom so noise is a factor.

Thank you,
Keith
Click to expand...

One has 800 cores the other 1600 cores.... the rest is well, very well documented.
 
Two ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB - Vs - One ATI Radeon HD 5870 1GB

Hi guys.
I'd like to amplify the question.
Currently Apple is offering custom set ups for the Mac Pro. The first one with two 5770 cards and the other with one 5870 card. Are the two -slightly inferior- cards togetter better in performance and speed than the one faster card, or the two cards set up it's just for multi-displaying purposes only and will not affect the overall graphic performance?

I work in video post-production and 3D for broadcast, so I'll like to know which set up I should choose for the new Mac Pro I intend to get.
 
In the case of OS X, they're simply for multiple displays – the only advantage would be that the entire framebuffer of each card would go to whatever monitor it was driving instead of having each monitor consume a portion of one GPU's memory.
 
Hey guys,

Are there any advantages to the 5870 for photoshop work? I currently have the 5770 as well, but sometimes find it a bit slow when I'm moving layers around.

Just curious. I would likely sell my 5770 to fund the 5870.

Thanks
 
so you're spending thousands on a new mac pro, yet trying to save 200$ and going with crappier card (sorry but it's a ****** card)...I sort of fail to understand that.

5870 is much more powerful. And no, it's as "loud" as the 5770 (I have both). And although you're not doing any video edition or use aperture or even play games or do any 3d cad work under windows, what if in 2 months you find some crazy new hobby that might require that extra gpu power?

Meh...no matter how cheap of a brand new mac pro you get, this is NOT a budget buy...$1k for 5-10% boost in processor juice I understand, but 200$ on a 2x more powerful video card that won't feel obsolete in 1 year, I don't.
 
whiskey said:
Hey guys,

Are there any advantages to the 5870 for photoshop work? I currently have the 5770 as well, but sometimes find it a bit slow when I'm moving layers around.

Just curious. I would likely sell my 5770 to fund the 5870.

Thanks
Click to expand...

I am under the impression for photoshop work you will not see a advantage.
 
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