Sapphire 5850 - $145
newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E1681...
newegg.comPosted Apr 20, 2011, 5:33 AM UTC
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newegg.comCan this thing run adual monitor setup? 3 monitors? I've found the display port would allow another DVI/VGA monitor, but would the HDMI also work as the third, or is that the same signal as what's run through the DVI?
Edit: Yes http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/product/?leg=&psn=000101&pid=1152
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Yes, but the 5850 models are known for having a lot of issues will dual screen setups.
I don't have one personally, but it did steer me away from them.
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What sort of issues are we talking about?
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Screen tearing, artifacts, instability.
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At stock speeds the 5850 outperforms the GTX 550, 768MB GTX 460, 1GB GTX 460, and 6850.
6850 ??? Is that accurate ?
Yes. Here's a comparison of the two.
The 6850 was meant to replace the 5770, not the 5850. The true successor of the 5850 is the much better performing 6950.
Yeah, but idle power loads are so high that it ends up costing you more. The 5850 is a hot card at idle, the 6850 is a huge improvement on that. The Nvidia cards are all good at idle outside the 470 and 480.
So if you a card for less than 2 years, go for it. Otherwise, look to spend $30 now to save electricity over its lifetime.
Tom's Hardware did a report on this very subject. Their final analysis showed that, according to their formula, the 5850 will use less power over time depending on your usage. I don't necessarily agree with this, though it at least shows the difference is negligible.
You wouldn't just be losing money by choosing a 6850 over a 5850, you'd be losing performance as well. More performance = more watts, unfortunately.