5850 or 5850 OC??

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nakedpeanut

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Ok so i'm looking to buy a 5850, and as the title goes is it worth wile to buy the OC model?

Only differences are:
5850
Price: R2824
Clock: 725MHz
Memory Speed: 4000MHz
Standard Reference fan
Link​

5850 OC
Price: R3046
Clock: 760MHz
Memory Speed: 4200MHz
Centered fan
Link​

And as far as reviews go, the OC averages 4% improved performance over the standard model.
They also report that it's able to get to 850MHz pretty easy which leads to 7% improvement in far cry 2 (They don't mention any other games).. LINK
Where as most cant get the standard past 770...

So here comes the maths:
3046 - 2824 = 222
(222 / 2824) * 100 = 7.8%

So assuming i can get it to 850MHz then it's pretty decent.
Plus I've read numerous reports that the OC is quieter than standard in idle and under load!! (dunno about it running at 850 though)
 
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The OC version should runner quieter at its 'stock' setting, though on the 5850 its not a huge difference. I can easily get my normal 5850 to run at 760/4200, gets about 6 degrees warmer (74 degrees) than if I'm running it on stock (68 degrees), and the fan goes 2% faster (30% of max speed vs 28% at stock settings). That is with leaving the fan on auto speed. Dunno if that helps you, or confuses you more :D
 
I tried to get the OC version and there was no stock :< Getting the standard one some time during the week. I imagine they are much the same with the only difference being the cooling.
 
nakedpeanut said:
They also report that it's able to get to 850MHz pretty easy which leads to 7% improvement in far cry 2 (They don't mention any other games).. LINK
Click to expand...

7% equals extra 7fps if the non-OC version runs at 100fps. At 50fps, the OC version does 53.5fps. So the closer you go to crappy frame rates (sub 30, some would say 40), the more equal the cards become, and isn't that the point of a good card? To overcome crappy frame rates?

Well, don't buy it for the performance aspect because that's largely marketing (you'll be effectively paying an extra R100 for each additional 1.5fps). Buy it because it's a cherry picked (better quality) 5850 that'll probably last longer than the others. If you plan to buy another card in two years the R200 is wasted
 
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Archer said:
The OC version should runner quieter at its 'stock' setting, though on the 5850 its not a huge difference. I can easily get my normal 5850 to run at 760/4200, gets about 6 degrees warmer (74 degrees) than if I'm running it on stock (68 degrees), and the fan goes 2% faster (30% of max speed vs 28% at stock settings). That is with leaving the fan on auto speed. Dunno if that helps you, or confuses you more :D
Click to expand...

lol followed that.. mostly :p

battletoad said:
7% equals extra 7fps if the non-OC version runs at 100fps. At 50fps, the OC version does 53.5fps. So the closer you go to crappy frame rates (sub 30, some would say 40), the more equal the cards become, and isn't that the point of a good card? To overcome crappy frame rates?

Well, don't buy it for the performance aspect because that's largely marketing (you'll be effectively paying an extra R100 for each additional 1.5fps). Buy it because it's a cherry picked (better quality) 5850 that'll probably last longer than the others. If you plan to buy another card in two years the R200 is wasted
Click to expand...

I do have a tendency to get a new card every 2 years or so... An i understand what you mean about the crappy frame rates... So on current games the OC will show better performance, but as newer, more demanding games emerge (causing sub 40fps) the performance difference will be negligible..

I'm gunna order in the next week or so.. So got to decide by then :)
 
You can easily flash the stock 5850 with the OC version's BIOS anyway (Google "flash 5850/5870 BIOS")

You can even flash it to become a voltage unlocked ASUS, or an XFX Black Edition.
I mostly prefer to undervolt my components to make them run cooler and quiter @ stock settings.
 
Is it really worth it??? for an extra R222...i would go for the normal one though.
 
I'd go for the standard one.

Not so long ago I found a stock Asus 5850 faster than a Sapphire OC 5850. Go figure.
 
Just an update.. I decided to go with the XFX 5850 Black edition.. Which has the voltage tweak for overclocking.. plus it looks awesome!
There has just been such a shortage of the 5850 cards recently, so much so i was even contemplating getting the GTX470.. But found this baby at a good price from buycomputers.co.za.. very nice place!

I was looking at the 5870 but the vtx make, as i found it for just under 3800.. but from what I've read they use cheap materials on their boards! So thought it safer to stick with the XFX as i'm gunna OC it to 5870 clocks anyways..
Another reason i neva got the 5870 was the fact that it wouldn't fit in my case!! :( Nzxt lexa only has just under 28cm clearance for GF cards. So i'd have to cut out part of my HDD cage!! Which is a no go! I love my case to much!
 
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i'm saying the 5870 was just under 3800. pcint has Sapphire cards (well thats all i see anyways).. i wanted an OC version and one that could be over clocked more.. thus went the xfx..

EDIT: Ah this thing is running like a beast! OC it pretty good at the moment http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/cpchm/

New Clock: 910 MHz 1251 MHz
Default Clock: 765 MHz 1125 MHz
increased the voltage up to 1.149 and under 100% load temps are 64 with 56% fan speed
 
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I don't understand OC anything. You're shortening the lifespan of your hardware - even if you only keep it for two years you're passing it on to someone who will reap less benefit.
 
I dunno.. I cant explain it.. It's just fun for me :)
I dont keep my components overclocked 24/7.. My CPU for instance sits at 1.6GHz when idle (decreased voltage as well).. Only under load does it shoot up to 4GHz
Doing the same with my GPU.. Only under load will I have it OC

New clocks: 960Mhz and 1250MHz at 1.162v http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/m2bg7/
 
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