Sapphire resurrects an improved Radeon 5850 on the cheap (Now only $139.99 @ Newegg)

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Sapphire apparently had an overstock of old Radeon 5850 chips (which actually performed better than the newer 6850 chips) and decided to resurrect the card with vast improvements and sell it at a ridiculous price (under $150). The new Sapphire 5850 Xtreme card has a much shorter PCB size, better cooling and a brand new VRM design. This card will most likely only be available for a very limited time.

I'm sure AMD aren't too happy that this new 5850 completely destroys their recently launched Radeon 6790 card which costs the more. In DirectX 10 games this card performs similarly to the new nVidia GTX 560 Ti even besting it at times, yet costs almost half the price. If you buy 2 of them and crossfire them they will wipe the floor with the GTX 580 even and will still cost you over 200 bucks less than the GTX 580. As a first gen DirectX 11 card it lags a little in DirectX 11 games that use heavy tessellation and such but when you run in Crossfire it's still perfoms a lot better than a $300 graphics card.

Newegg has had them in stock twice and they've sold out in hours both times. I managed to snag two this morning thanks to Newegg's Auto-Notify feature. Newegg is selling them for $144.99 (now $139.99) with free shipping! Here's some links:

Sapphire 5850 Xtreme @ NewEgg

Sapphire 5850 Xtreme Product Page

Sapphire 5850 Xtreme TechGage Review

At this price this is an insane deal for anybody in the market for a good graphics card but doesn't wanna spend $250-300 . For people that do wanna spend that much you can always buy 2 of them and crossfire them for great performance at $279.98. I should mention though that to cut costs Sapphire decided not to include a crossfire bridge with the card so you'll need to buy one if you wish to run 2 cards in crossfire. These are going fast and being sold on the down low as to not upset AMD so get one while you can.
 
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[quote name='Ragnorok64']What do you think are the chances of this card going up in price since it seems to be selling out so much?[/QUOTE]

I doubt it'll go up, in fact Newegg dropped the price from $149.99 to $144.99 when it was out of stock, maybe to dissuade people from buying it elsewhere. It came back in stock earlier today and then they were down to 5 but it looks like they got another shipment because it went back up to 95 and now they have 82 left. so it should be in stock for a bit now. I think Sapphire just wants to get rid of these 5850 chips they had, when that runs out I doubt they'll order more 5850 chips from AMD, I'm not sure AMD even makes the 5850 chips anymore to be honest. So I think they'll keep it around $150 til they're all gone and be done with it.
 
On the Tom's Hardware chart, I only see the mobile version of my card: HD 4860.

Any idea how it stacks up against this one?
 
[quote name='dabamus']On the Tom's Hardware chart, I only see the mobile version of my card: HD 4860.

Any idea how it stacks up against this one?[/QUOTE]

For the most part you can just pretend it's an HD 4850, it's barely faster than that overall IIRC.
 
Thanks for posting this deal.

Very useful for PC Gamers. I've been watching out for deals on video cards, such as this one. Unfortunately I prefer Nvidia, so I'll pass on this deal. I'm waiting for the Msi 460GTX to hit a sweet spot in price.

Anyways it's cool to see a deal like this popup, seems a lot harder to find deals for PC gaming hardware.
 
If any of you guys are looking to pick up a 2500k/motherboard combo, Microcenter is running some decent deals. Drawback is they charge tax.
300 to 350 for 2500k and a p67 motherboard. or 180 for the 2500k by itself.

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i257/truegiga/Microcenter.jpg

From Slickdeals
CM Hyper212+ 13 after 10 rebate
Kingston 64gb V100 SSD 70 after rebate (really big rebate on this one so be aware)
http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?sduid=0&t=2829035
http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?sduid=0&t=2854635
 
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I'm sorely tempted to jump in and grab a pair of those cards and that RAM and slap together a machine.. especially since my current rig is hopelessly outdated (I'd say how outdated, but it's really just embarrassing!). Any suggestions for a mobo/CPU combo that won't break the bank too much?
 
I have two 9800GTX+'s in SLI in my core i7 build. Would 2 of these 5850's in Crossfire be an upgrade over what I have now? I looked at the Tom's Hardware list and it looks like it will, but I just want to be sure.
 
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[quote name='Midnyght']I'm sorely tempted to jump in and grab a pair of those cards and that RAM and slap together a machine.. especially since my current rig is hopelessly outdated (I'd say how outdated, but it's really just embarrassing!). Any suggestions for a mobo/CPU combo that won't break the bank too much?[/QUOTE]

In the 200 dollar range you're pretty much going to want to get a phenom quad core and whatever motherboard with the features you care about (eg usb3/xfire/sli etc)

At around 300 you can get a good phenom or a cheaper quad core sandy bridge combo (it won't overclock as hard though)

Around 350 to 400 is where you can get a 2500k and a decent overclocker board or a phenom hexacore if you do heavily threaded work
 
[quote name='Pck21']I have two 9800GTX+'s in SLI in my core i7 build. Would 2 of these 5850's in Crossfire be an upgrade over what I have now? I looked at the Tom's Hardware list and it looks like it will, but I just want to be sure.[/QUOTE]

short answer is yes, remember to check if you have a crossfire bridge handy.
only reason to think twice would be if you need CUDA
 
[quote name='runsongas']short answer is yes, remember to check if you have a crossfire bridge handy.
only reason to think twice would be if you need CUDA[/QUOTE]

That's what it looks like to me. A single 9800 GTX is on the same tier as an ATI 4850. Although Tomshardware doesn't have all the permutations of Crossfire and SLI, it seems safe to infer then that a pair of 5850s would outperform a pair of 9800 GTXs.

Also - breaking news ... they have updated the Chart for April, just today. Adding several new cards. Here is the updated Graphics Card Hierarchy Chart for April 2011.
 
[quote name='runsongas']short answer is yes, remember to check if you have a crossfire bridge handy.
only reason to think twice would be if you need CUDA[/QUOTE]

I definitely don't need CUDA, but thank you for the heads up! I love this community! :applause: I would have never thought of something like that.

I don't believe I have a Crossfire bridge. Wouldn't that be included with the cards, or no?

[quote name='gcorlett']That's what it looks like to me. A single 9800 GTX is on the same tier as an ATI 4850. Although Tomshardware doesn't have all the permutations of Crossfire and SLI, it seems safe to infer then that a pair of 5850s would outperform a pair of 9800 GTXs.

Also - breaking news ... they have updated the Chart for April, just today. Adding several new cards. Here is the updated Graphics Card Hierarchy Chart for April 2011.[/QUOTE]


Awesome! Thanks for the info!
 
equal or slightly better than a single 580 or 6970, equal to 460 1gb SLI
crossfire scaling got better with the 69xx series, previously it wasn't as good as SLI, thats why a single 5850 is better than one 460 1gb but when using 2 its a wash
 
Bridges usually come with the motherboard if they support the feature. Look in the motherboard box if you didn't throw it out. Else they are pretty cheap.
 
Tempting... but my 2x5770's are still producing good results. To make it worthwhile I'd have to get 2x5850... but still, tempting...
 
Just wondering for reference...how much better would 2x5850's be than my 2x4870's? Probably not worth an upgrade since my system isn't too old...
 
So I have a AMD 64 x2 dual core 5600 and the gt 8600 video card. Is it a good idea to just grab a single one of the 5850's so I can play somewhat modern games like Arkham Asylum or Borderlands? Or would I need to upgrade my CPU as well?
 
[quote name='Hizaki']Just wondering for reference...how much better would 2x5850's be than my 2x4870's? Probably not worth an upgrade since my system isn't too old...[/QUOTE]

30 to 50 percent better depending on the game according to Anandtech.
Can probably hold off for a price drop on the 6950 or wait for the next round of cards since 2 4870 will still do pretty decent.

Anandtech:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPU/2
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/GPU11/188
 
Crap...this looks like a damn good card and I was just going to upgrade, but I've been an Nvidia loyalist forever. I was eyeing a 460-560, but the specs are pretty nice on this thing for the price.
 
[quote name='doodofdoods']So I have a AMD 64 x2 dual core 5600 and the gt 8600 video card. Is it a good idea to just grab a single one of the 5850's so I can play somewhat modern games like Arkham Asylum or Borderlands? Or would I need to upgrade my CPU as well?[/QUOTE]

You could but you could get bottlenecked by the CPU before the 5850 would break a sweat. A cheap 4850/5670/gts 250 (50 to 60), even a gts 450 or 5750/5770 at the right price (80 or less) would be the most expensive card I would even bother to upgrade to without just basically going up to a completely new system.
 
[quote name='Masume']Crap...this looks like a damn good card and I was just going to upgrade, but I've been an Nvidia loyalist forever. I was eyeing a 460-560, but the specs are pretty nice on this thing for the price.[/QUOTE]

You can always get a 460 1gb, they perform pretty close* and cost about the same.
 
I ordered 2 to put in CrossFire. I'm an Nvidia fan through and through, but the quality, price, and availability sold me. All I need to do is upgrade my ram to 12GBs and I should be set!
 
[quote name='Full Metal XL']So how difficult would this be to install for someone with no experience upgrading PCs?[/QUOTE]

Not too difficult. You need to pull off the side of the case, pull out the old graphics card (if you have one), and then install the new one in the slot. Once that's all done, and you can see an image on your monitor, download and install the latest drivers. Done! :)

Try this too...

http://www.upgradevideocards.com/install.html
 
[quote name='Full Metal XL']So how difficult would this be to install for someone with no experience upgrading PCs?[/QUOTE]
Aside from the above advice, make sure you have the correct slot and a capable power supply with the proper connector. Depending on how cheaply made and/or how old your PC is, it might be missing a PCI-E x16 slot for adding the card, and your power supply might be underpowered or might not have a PCI-E power connector. According to the NewEgg page, you'll need a minimum of a 500 watt power supply and 2 6-pin PCI-E power connectors. If anything, hopefully the only thing that you might need to upgrade along with the video card is the power supply.

The last time I opened up pre-built desktops (Dell, HP, Compaq, Gateway, Acer, etc) in large quantities was about a year after Vista launched. Even back then, it wasn't uncommon that manufacturers were cheaping out on including appropriate slots for a dedicated video card or using power supplies that were too underpowered (I was normally surprised to find anything higher than 350-400W in store-bought PCs) to put in anything but budget cards. Not sure if that's still the case these days, but still something to consider before buying a part you might not actually be able to use.
 
[quote name='dafunkk12']Aside from the above advice, make sure you have the correct slot and a capable power supply with the proper connector. Depending on how cheaply made and/or how old your PC is, it might be missing a PCI-E x16 slot for adding the card, and your power supply might be underpowered or might not have a PCI-E power connector. According to the NewEgg page, you'll need a minimum of a 500 watt power supply and 2 6-pin PCI-E power connectors. If anything, hopefully the only thing that you might need to upgrade along with the video card is the power supply.

The last time I opened up pre-built desktops (Dell, HP, Compaq, Gateway, Acer, etc) in large quantities was about a year after Vista launched. Even back then, it wasn't uncommon that manufacturers were cheaping out on including appropriate slots for a dedicated video card or using power supplies that were too underpowered (I was normally surprised to find anything higher than 350-400W in store-bought PCs) to put in anything but budget cards. Not sure if that's still the case these days, but still something to consider before buying a part you might not actually be able to use.[/QUOTE]
thanks a ton for the help/info, guys. very informative (including the OP). thanks.
 
[quote name='dafunkk12']Aside from the above advice, make sure you have the correct slot and a capable power supply with the proper connector. Depending on how cheaply made and/or how old your PC is, it might be missing a PCI-E x16 slot for adding the card, and your power supply might be underpowered or might not have a PCI-E power connector. According to the NewEgg page, you'll need a minimum of a 500 watt power supply and 2 6-pin PCI-E power connectors. If anything, hopefully the only thing that you might need to upgrade along with the video card is the power supply.

The last time I opened up pre-built desktops (Dell, HP, Compaq, Gateway, Acer, etc) in large quantities was about a year after Vista launched. Even back then, it wasn't uncommon that manufacturers were cheaping out on including appropriate slots for a dedicated video card or using power supplies that were too underpowered (I was normally surprised to find anything higher than 350-400W in store-bought PCs) to put in anything but budget cards. Not sure if that's still the case these days, but still something to consider before buying a part you might not actually be able to use.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the additional info. :applause:

I assumed the post was referring to the install itself, and not the actual research that goes into a purchase (brand, connector(s), PSU, etc, etc). The install is always the easiest part. It's the hours of research (and the money!) that go into an investment like this. The GPU is usually one of the 3 most expensive components in the computer next to the CPU and PSU, so you need to make sure it will work with your system.
 
[quote name='runsongas']You could but you could get bottlenecked by the CPU before the 5850 would break a sweat. A cheap 4850/5670/gts 250 (50 to 60), even a gts 450 or 5750/5770 at the right price (80 or less) would be the most expensive card I would even bother to upgrade to without just basically going up to a completely new system.[/QUOTE]

I concur with runsongas. I did the old CPU/new GPU combination (see my post on the first page) for years. You would get frame rate improvements if you upgraded that 8600 card, but not as much as you'd see if you had a modern CPU. Also, an old CPU would prevent you from enjoying any particle effects, and you'd have frequent slow-downs as you entered firefights with several enemies moving around... right when you need the extra frames.

If you're determined to upgrade that computer, and if it's an AM2+ motherboard instead of AM2, then you would get better results by buying this CPU (Phenom II x4 920) for $100 and this video card (Sapphire 4670 1GB) for $50 than just buying a 5850 for $150.

I'm not recommending that particular upgrade path; it's just an illustration. ;)
 
just saw on newegg theres a 200 dollar 560 Ti AR and a 210 dollar 6950 1gb AR, there might be another round of price drops incoming soon for the summer, would be nice to see the 560 and 6950 1gb get around to 180ish.
 
[quote name='runsongas']You could but you could get bottlenecked by the CPU before the 5850 would break a sweat. A cheap 4850/5670/gts 250 (50 to 60), even a gts 450 or 5750/5770 at the right price (80 or less) would be the most expensive card I would even bother to upgrade to without just basically going up to a completely new system.[/QUOTE]

I have a q6600 in a Dell so it can't be overclocked. I think I have a 4850 in it. I use it at 1920x1080.

What card/price range would be a good fit ? I'd really like DX11, but price is a big factor so $100 or less is good. If the $120 one mentioned would be a lot better that's doable.

Can I sell the 4850 for $50 or so or what would it go for ?
 
Be wary of buying any video card that has less than 2gb video memory. Especially ones with 1gb. That's going to be limiting for gamers with 1080p displays while using AA soon...
 
[quote name='HisDivineShadow']Be wary of buying any video card that has less than 2gb video memory. Especially ones with 1gb. That's going to be limiting for gamers with 1080p displays while using AA soon...[/QUOTE]

I would not worry for anything that's out at this point. Generally at 4xAA 1gb memory has been shown to not be a limiting factor for 1080p, (see 6950 1gb vs 2 gb results from the Anandtech bench).

It's at 2560 or multiscreen that the memory starts being an issue.
 
[quote name='semifast']I have a q6600 in a Dell so it can't be overclocked. I think I have a 4850 in it. I use it at 1920x1080.

What card/price range would be a good fit ? I'd really like DX11, but price is a big factor so $100 or less is good. If the $120 one mentioned would be a lot better that's doable.

Can I sell the 4850 for $50 or so or what would it go for ?[/QUOTE]

a gtx460 1gb or 5850 up to a 560/6950 would be fine if you wanted to upgrade. (120 to 250 range on pricing). I don't think you could get that much for a used 4850, there have been deals for 4850/4870/gts 250 in the 40 to 50 dollar range AR.
Also consider a new power supply if you upgrade, oem ones do not handle double connector video cards well.
 
[quote name='runsongas']a gtx460 1gb or 5850 up to a 560/6950 would be fine if you wanted to upgrade. (120 to 250 range on pricing). I don't think you could get that much for a used 4850, there have been deals for 4850/4870/gts 250 in the 40 to 50 dollar range AR.
Also consider a new power supply if you upgrade, oem ones do not handle double connector video cards well.[/QUOTE]

I doubted your estimations for a 4850, but I went to ebay and found that you're spot on. Selling a used 4850 1GB card on ebay, expect $35-50. New in box sell for about $60.

That blows.

One more comment to Semifast - if you do need to upgrade your power supply, you will probably have to buy one from Dell. Dell uses custom mobos and power units in their cases; you can't just buy an ATX PSU and screw it in. Do a little googling around for your Dell model number and "PSU upgrade" and confirm this.

One reason why Dell stinks as a gaming computer. (Been there, done that.) You can buy decent power, but they are poor for upgrading and the cases aren't always laid out well for air flow or a big GPU card.
 
[quote name='gcorlett']I doubted your estimations for a 4850, but I went to ebay and found that you're spot on. Selling a used 4850 1GB card on ebay, expect $35-50. New in box sell for about $60.

That blows.

One more comment to Semifast - if you do need to upgrade your power supply, you will probably have to buy one from Dell. Dell uses custom mobos and power units in their cases; you can't just buy an ATX PSU and screw it in. Do a little googling around for your Dell model number and "PSU upgrade" and confirm this.

One reason why Dell stinks as a gaming computer. (Been there, done that.) You can buy decent power, but they are poor for upgrading and the cases aren't always laid out well for air flow or a big GPU card.[/QUOTE]
Depending on the system, this PSU from PC Power & Cooling might work as a replacement, and it's a 500W PSU:

http://www.pcpower.com/products/power_supplies/dell/

I just used one of these on a friend's XPS 410 when her PSU died and needed replacement. Only issue with it was the OEM PSU was taller than this replacement, so there was about a 1" gap in the back of the case where the PSU heights were different. Other than that, worked like a champ.

My issue with video cards is that my primary PC is a SFF case that has a 450W PSU and only works with cards 9.5" or shorter, and I was restricted in what I could use. I have a GTX 560 Ti in it and if this Radeon 5850 was available when I was looking before, I might have jumped on this one, as it has similar numbers to my GTX 560 Ti.
 
I totally forgot about the Dells having the non-ATX pinouts. You would have to double check whether your motherboard is fully ATX compliant (aka will take any correctly designed psu out there) or it has the retarded Dell pin scheme. There are adapters for this specific purpose but not all the Dells can take the adapters (can be cheaper to get a standard ATX psu plus the extra cable and also would be useful if you wanted to use the newer psu later on a different computer).

PC power and cooling has a solid rep for a psu oem, one of the brands that I would recommend, too bad the Silencer thing is a lie (and yes I own a 750 watt silencer, it gets loud sometimes).
 
[quote name='HisDivineShadow']Be wary of buying any video card that has less than 2gb video memory. Especially ones with 1gb. That's going to be limiting for gamers with 1080p displays while using AA soon...[/QUOTE]
Unless you are from the future 1GB and even 768MB of ram is perfectly fine for 98% percent of games even at 1080p on recent cards like the GTX460. And maybe only two games coming I can see stressing recent cards.
 
Hopefully this starts a price war and we end up with GTX 560's at or under $150 by summer that would be great as I'd love to upgrade my 8800gtx.
 
[quote name='powersurge']Hopefully this starts a price war and we end up with GTX 560's at or under $150 by summer that would be great as I'd love to upgrade my 8800gtx.[/QUOTE]

Hehe I wish this would happen as well. I'm looking to upgrade my 4870 1gb, this looks like decent upgrade. But I'm willing to hold out for a while :).
 
[quote name='Pck21']The GPU is usually one of the 3 most expensive components in the computer next to the CPU and PSU, so you need to make sure it will work with your system.[/QUOTE]
I LOVE that you consider the PSU to be an expensive component. I've had to change out so many cheap-o PSUs (and sometimes other consequently fried components!) in my early days of PC building that I now refuse to compromise on that piece of the puzzle.

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," they say. For any newbie PC builders, I highly recommend spending the extra dough to buy a PSU with a solid reputation rather than scraping the bottom of the barrel for the lowest-price deal. You'll save yourself a lot of heartache and money further down the line by not having to buy replacement parts. And unlike almost any other component of a PC, PSUs are probably the most future-proof component you can buy aside from the case. (Just make sure you get one that will meet your expansion needs by buying one of large enough wattage and enough peripheral connectors.)
 
Here's Jonny!
http://www.jonnyguru.com/

I find the reviews to be more entertaining than informative because half the brands seem kind of hard to find. I really lucked out on my first build before I knew anything about component quality because I bought a 500 watt rosewill with teapo caps in a combo deal off newegg which at least didn't do that bad. Only lost one component ever (hitachi hdd, what are the chances amiright?)

PSU's generally aren't that expensive but yea get something with japanese caps (nippon chemicon/rubycon) or at the very least teapo/capxcon
 
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