Ati 5870 vs. GTX 285: head-to-head comparison

[tfm 184]

GTX 285 (factory overclocked to 702MHz): average 36.67fps , minimum 22fps , maximum 63 fps.Ati 5870 (stock clock, 850MHz): average 51.347fps , minimum 31.5fps, maximum 68.5fps.Notes:1. This is one of my "standard" tests - the same as I used for comparing different RAM speeds a while ago. It consists of running a video replay of a 190 second helicopter flight over Manhattan. Benchmarks on FRAPS. Average of 2 runs. Identical FSX settings, using the "default" AF and AA settings (ie, without nHancer or CCC tweaks).2. Main bits of the PC: i7 975 @ ~4.4GHz; 6Gb RAM @ 1866MHz 7-7-6-18 CR1.3. Light cloud cover in this test - but subjective testing shows no adverse impact in dense clouds with the 5870.4. Ati 5870 is quieter than the GTX 285.Tim

[TechguyMaxC 516]

Interesting results. Could you re-test with dense clouds for quantitative results rather than subjective? Not saying you're wrong, just always better to have cold, hard numbers than feelings.

[tfm 184]

Interesting results. Could you re-test with dense clouds for quantitative results rather than subjective? Not saying you're wrong, just always better to have cold, hard numbers than feelings.

Difficult to do, without putting back the GTX 285.However, using old data from one of my other tests (an auto-land in the PMDG MD-11 at EGLL in stormy weather) I can offer this comparison:GTX 285: minimum 16fps; average 20.75fps; maximum 24fpsATI 5870: minimum 16fps; average 20.81fps; maximum 27fps.Note:1. I can't find any sign that the clouds are causing a problem for the ATI 5870.2. Do NOT expect the 5870 to be a miracle cure if you're into the "heavies". The 5870 brings a SLIGHT improvement to the experience in a PMDG 747 or MD-11, but nothing like the large increases in my Manhattan test using a default helicopter.Tim

[TechguyMaxC 516]

Nice. Thanks for the info.You may want to put on a flamesuit though, lots of people are going to have bruised egos after spending a bunch of money on outdated NV hardware to run FSX at its best.

[Guest djt01]

Nice. Thanks for the info.You may want to put on a flamesuit though, lots of people are going to have bruised egos after spending a bunch of money on outdated NV hardware to run FSX at its best.

I just put the GTX 285 back in my i7 setup last night to compare it to what I was getting before with the 5870 and I

[Guest simjunkie]

Nice. Thanks for the info.You may want to put on a flamesuit though, lots of people are going to have bruised egos after spending a bunch of money on outdated NV hardware to run FSX at its best.

Excellent contribution to the OP's topic, thank you Max.I happen to be very interested in Tim's results.Gee, technology moving forward...what a suprise! Nevermind the fact it takes an older rendering technology to run an older game like FSX, hence the 285 and advice to run that card comes from a solid source.I for one always look forward to anything the makes the sim run better and I know what I'm getting into when I do it. I take care of my parts and can sell them when I wish to upgrade so I'm always able to roll over the expense. No bruised ego, sorry. If this new ATI card is a definite improvement on the GTX285 (and that requires some more testing) than awesome! ATI finally caught up...it's about time. Time to reformat and reinstall w/the 5870 (and somebody is going to get a great deal on my 285). And finally multi-monitor support w/o a TH2Go.-jk

[Guest UlfB]

Thanks a lot Tim for sharing your benchmarks!

[TechguyMaxC 516]

Excellent contribution to the OP's topic, thank you Max.

Without my request for further information this thread would've been inundated with Nvidiots claiming b.s. I simply stated his demonstration of superior performance from ATi hardware was likely to summon these Nvidiots.

Gee, technology moving forward...what a suprise! Nevermind the fact it takes an older rendering technology to run an older game like FSX, hence the 285 and advice to run that card comes from a solid source.

Nonsense statement of the day. The 5870 is faster than the GTX 285, no matter how you want to spin it. Check my sig BTW, I own a 285 so no fanboyism here.

I for one always look forward to anything the makes the sim run better and I know what I'm getting into when I do it. I take care of my parts and can sell them when I wish to upgrade so I'm always able to roll over the expense. No bruised ego, sorry. If this new ATI card is a definite improvement on the GTX285 (and that requires some more testing) than awesome! ATI finally caught up...it's about time. Time to reformat and reinstall w/the 5870 (and somebody is going to get a great deal on my 285). And finally multi-monitor support w/o a TH2Go.

"If it's faster"No, it is faster. Look at the results."ATI finally caught up...it's about time"

[Guest simjunkie]

Without my request for further information this thread would've been inundated with Nvidiots claiming b.s. I simply stated his demonstration of superior performance from ATi hardware was likely to summon these Nvidiots. Nonsense statement of the day. The 5870 is faster than the GTX 285, no matter how you want to spin it. Check my sig BTW, I own a 285 so no fanboyism here. "If it's faster"No, it is faster. Look at the results."ATI finally caught up...it's about time"

Oh! Ouch!!! That hurts. LOOK AT ME!!! My name is Max and I'm here to be the resident expert even though I have NO REAL TRAINING OR INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE!!!Stick your nose in EVERYTHING Max and give your half-arsed advice. You are a wannabe. How many FSX addons have you developed? How many conversations have you had with the designers of this sim? How many years of experience do you have consulting for Intel, nVidia, ATI, NASA, etc.? Where is your justification for advising people on how to spend their money to set up this sim?You feed your ego by flooding this site with your posts and then show up to flame the community with your smart-arsed remarks like the one above. You ask for it. You don't know what you're talking about have the time. At least I know who to listen to and trust around here. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that industry professionals with over 40 years experience know more than some lame IT guy or best buy geek squad retiree. Who ya going to listen to?-jk

[tfm 184]

... If this new ATI card is a definite improvement on the GTX285 (and that requires some more testing) than awesome! ... -jk

I only bought this thing out of curiosity and because nobody else had actually bothered to do a head-to-head comparison. As you say, it needs more testing. If you already own a 285, then personally I wouldn't bother with the 5870 UNLESS you only use the default aircraft.Tim

[crashmax 1]

Hey TimThank you very much for the comparison u made for us all how are afraid to sell our GTX285 for a 5870 :(For me it does not matter which manufacture I have installed in my PC. I will simply the fastest piece of Hardware for FSX and my other needs. So at the moment it's obvious to be the 5870 and I'm sure the GT300 will be the new king soon. But should I wait? Unfortunately I have not too much patients :(

[TechguyMaxC 516]

Oh! Ouch!!! That hurts. LOOK AT ME!!! My name is Max and I'm here to be the resident expert even though I have NO REAL TRAINING OR INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE!!!Stick your nose in EVERYTHING Max and give your half-arsed advice. You are a wannabe. How many FSX addons have you developed? How many conversations have you had with the designers of this sim? How many years of experience do you have consulting for Intel, nVidia, ATI, NASA, etc.? Where is your justification for advising people on how to spend their money to set up this sim?You feed your ego by flooding this site with your posts and then show up to flame the community with your smart-arsed remarks like the one above. You ask for it. You don't know what you're talking about have the time. At least I know who to listen to and trust around here. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that industry professionals with over 40 years experience know more than some lame IT guy or best buy geek squad retiree. Who ya going to listen to?

What was that about useful contributions again?Hypocrite says what?I've at least prompted the OP for more info, what have you done other than drag this thread through the mud with your baseless personal attacks?

[Guest djt01]

I only bought this thing out of curiosity and because nobody else had actually bothered to do a head-to-head comparison. As you say, it needs more testing. Tim

That

[duckbilled 310]

Ya know, I was all set to get a GTX285 and now this comes along. I'm glad to see this because I have become a fan of ATI since I installed my current card three years ago. I would also rather deal with CCC or ATI Tray Tools. In addition, I think there will be more longevity with this card since it is DX11. I'm really starting to get excited about the new rig - just got my Mushkin Redline in today.I think this is the 5870 I would go for. It is out of stock at Newegg right now. Are these just coming on to the market?HIS H587F1GDG Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card ... - RetailChipset Manufacturer: ATICore Clock: 850MHzStream Processors: 1600 Stream Processing UnitsMemory Clock: 1200MHz (4.8Gbps)DirectX: DirectX 11OpenGL: OpenGL 3.1HDMI: 1DisplayPort: 1 Model #: H587F1GDG Item #: N82E16814161301 Return Policy: VGA Replacement Only Return Policy

[TechguyMaxC 516]

HIS is a great vendor. I've owned a couple cards from them over the years. Right up there with BFG, XFX, EVGA for quality and support. Other good options for ATi cards are Visiontek and Powercolor because of their lifetime warranties. Depending on when you're ready to buy you may want to hold off for Asus or Gigabyte boards though, since they both offer extreme overclocking options. Asus has their "TOP" line with voltage tweaking software that has already pushed Radeon 5850/5870 cards to over 1GHz GPU clockspeed with stock cooling. Gigabyte has their "Super Overclock" line which features cherry picked chips that have gone through additional qualification at the factory to be certified to run at the highest factory overclocked levels in the industry.