Differences in 5850's

[Yanz]

Are the newer Sapphire 5850 Xtremes better than the older(ish) 5850s? I'm looking at an XFX 5850 (non reference) that looks like this one on Newegg
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150477 or should I go with the Sapphire? I know XFX has a better warranty but does it still apply if I buy it from a non authorized retailer? Sapphire does not honor the warranty without a legit sales receipt.

[Jaime Frontero]

it kinda depends on your OS.

reference cards like the XFX do better under windows - the overclocking tools available will get that card humming nicely.

if you're using linux, go with sapphire.  the linux tools are better for sapphire, and their cards generally have a custom BIOS that allows decent overclocking with very little hassle.

[teukon]

I like the Sapphire Xtreme's in Linux too.  I have 2 and they are both running at 900/300 at 1.01V (735 MH/s total).  I would try higher voltage and core speed but I've not yet found a way to set anything higher than 900 MHz core speed in Linux.

[PcChip]

For what it's worth, I have two old original reference 5850's.

One has had the heatsink replaced with an expensive heatpipe monstrosity + RAMsinks + VRMsinks, and it can only do 875 MHz and 350 MH/s

The other still has the old reference heatsink and blower fan on it, and can do 980+ on 1.164v or so, and hits 400 MH/s.  I'm sure this one can go higher.

[Yanz]

Thanks guys!
I'm really worried about the warranty though. It seems the Sapphires have a fan problem though...

[lebuen]

I would try higher voltage and core speed but I've not yet found a way to set anything higher than 900 MHz core speed in Linux.

works using catalyst 11.6. with 11.5 you'd have to flash the bios.

[teukon]

I would try higher voltage and core speed but I've not yet found a way to set anything higher than 900 MHz core speed in Linux.

works using catalyst 11.6. with 11.5 you'd have to flash the bios.

Yep.  I discovered this just a few hours ago.  Thanks anyway though.

[teukon]

I've just had a play and my cards are currently at:

970/330@1.0875V (400 MH/s - 83C - 50% fan)
1030/330@1.1625V (425 MH/s - 65C - 50% fan)
(The first card is sucking in hot air from the back of the second card).

I haven't truly verified the stability of the system yet but the cards have been running well for 2 hours now.  From what I've read on these forums it is VERY hard to get a refenence 5850 up to 425 MH/s so I would suggest that the Sapphire 5850 Xtreme cards are quite a bit better than the reference 5850s.

[Jack of Diamonds]

Why would you want to run a 5850 at 425mh/s?

You literally earn just a few cents more, but cut the card's effective lifespan to a few months. The stock frequency is 725, it wont last for long OC'ed to something such as 950mhz (or more).

I'd rather take the 0.02BTC less per day and have the card last longer at 380-400 mhash. If mining ever becomes unprofitable you can sell those cards even a year down the road.

Maybe people fail to realize warranty doesn't cover overclocking and volting

[rograz]

Why would you want to run a 5850 at 425mh/s?

You literally earn just a few cents more, but cut the card's effective lifespan to a few months. The stock frequency is 725, it wont last for long OC'ed to something such as 950mhz (or more).

I'd rather take the 0.02BTC less per day and have the card last longer at 380-400 mhash. If mining ever becomes unprofitable you can sell those cards even a year down the road.

Maybe people fail to realize warranty doesn't cover overclocking and volting

Ye I completely agree, besides those last 5-10% ppl get out of their 5850 cards beyond 350-360 MH/s almost doesn't even pay for itself, since they more often than not require so high voltage that the extra power draw almost eats up the extra BTC generated, ppl need to consider that increasing the frequency of a card (without touching the voltage) is a linear increase in power consumption while upping the voltage increases it exponentially. However saying that any 58xx core is perfectly safe running 24/7 for months/years with anything below 1.165V (5870 stock voltage) as long as they are properly cooled, the problem comes to the VRMs since they mostly have under dimensioned cooling and on some non reference cards you cant even find out at what temperature they are running. Just cause your core temp is at a healthy sub 75C level doesn't mean the VRMs aren't being toasted and will be the first part to fail. As a personal rule I never bother to take the cards further than they will do on stock voltage just cause of the diminishing returns.

[teukon]

Why would you want to run a 5850 at 425mh/s?

You literally earn just a few cents more, but cut the card's effective lifespan to a few months. The stock frequency is 725, it wont last for long OC'ed to something such as 950mhz (or more).

I'd rather take the 0.02BTC less per day and have the card last longer at 380-400 mhash. If mining ever becomes unprofitable you can sell those cards even a year down the road.

Maybe people fail to realize warranty doesn't cover overclocking and volting

Ye I completely agree, besides those last 5-10% ppl get out of their 5850 cards beyond 350-360 MH/s almost doesn't even pay for itself, since they more often than not require so high voltage that the extra power draw almost eats up the extra BTC generated, ppl need to consider that increasing the frequency of a card (without touching the voltage) is a linear increase in power consumption while upping the voltage increases it exponentially. However saying that any 58xx core is perfectly safe running 24/7 for months/years with anything below 1.165V (5870 stock voltage) as long as they are properly cooled, the problem comes to the VRMs since they mostly have under dimensioned cooling and on some non reference cards you cant even find out at what temperature they are running. Just cause your core temp is at a healthy sub 75C level doesn't mean the VRMs aren't being toasted and will be the first part to fail. As a personal rule I never bother to take the cards further than they will do on stock voltage just cause of the diminishing returns.

Yes, I'm worried about my VRM's.  I don't know how to find their temperature so they could be frying as we speak.

Honestly, I'm just seeing how far my card will go (and enjoying trying to keep ahead of the reference 5850 guys) while I await the power meter that I ordered.