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Re: Sapphire HD 5850 Toxic 2gb: Motherboard Question

PostPosted: Sun Jun 13, 2010 12:38 am
by DonJuan
What model is your PSU???? That would be the only thing that could possibly hinder you as far as I can tell.

Re: Sapphire HD 5850 Toxic 2gb: Motherboard Question

PostPosted: Sun Jun 13, 2010 1:40 am
by (TKC)TheCrimsonStar
nila wrote:Hey guys - I'm looking to buy the Sapphire HD 5850 Toxic 2gb but I really need to know if my rig will handle the beast :)

I have:

Intel Quad Q8200 @ 2.33 ghz
ASUS P5QL PRO motherboard (main concern - correct ports? PCI-E 2.0 x16?)
8GB DDR2 800s (4x 2gb)
Nvidia 9600GT 1GB (Current card to replace)
PSU 550watt

Fed up of not having seamless FPS...

Any comments on whether this will work well or not?

Or any other comments on any other options? all welcome :)


yeah i would say your PSU is the only hindrance for you. it's a PCIe x16 card, and you have PCIe 2.0 x16, so yes it will work fine :icon_happy:

Re: Sapphire HD 5850 Toxic 2gb: Motherboard Question

PostPosted: Sun Jun 13, 2010 2:13 am
by DonJuan
(TKC)TheCrimsonStar wrote:yeah i would say your PSU is the only hindrance for you. it's a PCIe x16 card, and you have PCIe 2.0 x16, so yes it will work fine :icon_happy:


It's a PCIe x16 2.0 card.

Re: Sapphire HD 5850 Toxic 2gb: Motherboard Question

PostPosted: Sun Jun 13, 2010 4:31 am
by (TKC) brownman350
It's a good card and it will work fine. :)

Re: Sapphire HD 5850 Toxic 2gb: Motherboard Question

PostPosted: Sun Jun 13, 2010 2:39 pm
by (TKC)TheCrimsonStar
DonJuan wrote:
(TKC)TheCrimsonStar wrote:yeah i would say your PSU is the only hindrance for you. it's a PCIe x16 card, and you have PCIe 2.0 x16, so yes it will work fine :icon_happy:


It's a PCIe x16 2.0 card.


Well that's the last time I use google to find the specs on a card. 5 sites in a row said it was only PCIe x16 :icon_duh:

Re: Sapphire HD 5850 Toxic 2gb: Motherboard Question

PostPosted: Sun Jun 13, 2010 4:31 pm
by (TKC) brownman350
The best thing is to go to AMD website. :)

Re: Sapphire HD 5850 Toxic 2gb: Motherboard Question

PostPosted: Sun Jun 13, 2010 6:07 pm
by bryster126
nila wrote:Hey guys - I'm looking to buy the Sapphire HD 5850 Toxic 2gb but I really need to know if my rig will handle the beast :)

I have:

Intel Quad Q8200 @ 2.33 ghz
ASUS P5QL PRO motherboard (main concern - correct ports? PCI-E 2.0 x16?)
8GB DDR2 800s (4x 2gb)
Nvidia 9600GT 1GB (Current card to replace)
PSU 550watt

Fed up of not having seamless FPS...

Any comments on whether this will work well or not?

Or any other comments on any other options? all welcome :)



try to get a more powerful psu

on the sapphire site, i couldn't find the 5850 toxic but i was able to find the toxic 5870 with 2gb ddr5. It says that a 600watt psu is required, a 550 watt will work, but it's not recommended

if i were you i'd go for a 5770, it meets all your requirements

Re: Sapphire HD 5850 Toxic 2gb: Motherboard Question

PostPosted: Sun Jun 13, 2010 9:26 pm
by Neo
Anything with 2 gigs of ddr 5 is pretty much future proof. Congrats on considering an ATI card over Nvidia. However Sapphire is not really known for quality products. That is compared to some of the other manu. Flashy and cheap ya but quality not really. Still chances are if you get that card it will work.. but Id consider the stock cooling fan on that thing and read some reviews also. Ya you want that card but is Sapphire the best choice of manufacturers for that exact card. And your PSU its a toss up if it will run your card or not. Certainly it would strain your PSU at 550 watts. Some PSU's dont really put out the power they claim to in the specs. Its best to run at least 600 to 650 to 700 watts in a quality PSU so that you dont have to worry about a breakdown or worse yet a meltdown. You could still take the chance and maybe never have a problem altho Im guessing some where down the road you would. For the price your paying for that video card you could opt for a lesser video card maybe with just one gig of ddr 5 or 4 and then buy a new and more powerful PSU and you would not only save money but you would have the FPS increase you wanted. Maybe it wouldnt be so future proof but you could always sell that video card after a while to offset the price of a better one later. Think of what a HD 5850 2 gig would cost in a year from now verses what it cost right now.

Re: Sapphire HD 5850 Toxic 2gb: Motherboard Question

PostPosted: Sun Jun 13, 2010 10:12 pm
by (TKC) Slevin
Look for a '80 Plus' certified PSU. They guarantee typically 80-85% of their maximum load.
Some 1000W PSU's are very inefficient and will only deliver 600-700 W, so getting a 80 Plus PSU will ensure you get the max potential out of your PSU

Having 8 GB of ram and a 2GB video card wont see a huge difference if you had a 1GB video card. Most cards these days use additional free ram anyway for the graphics.

Your going to bottle-neck you computer anyway if you have a slower cpu, ddr2 ram with gddr5 video ram anyway so you may see a few fps higher, with 2gb over 1gb. (definitely not worth the extra $100-$150 for the 2GB models.

Re: Sapphire HD 5850 Toxic 2gb: Motherboard Question

PostPosted: Mon Jun 14, 2010 12:09 am
by (TKC)TheCrimsonStar
nila wrote:
(TKC) Slevin wrote:Look for a '80 Plus' certified PSU. They guarantee typically 80-85% of their maximum load.
Some 1000W PSU's are very inefficient and will only deliver 600-700 W, so getting a 80 Plus PSU will ensure you get the max potential out of your PSU

Having 8 GB of ram and a 2GB video card wont see a huge difference if you had a 1GB video card. Most cards these days use additional free ram anyway for the graphics.

Your going to bottle-neck you computer anyway if you have a slower cpu, ddr2 ram with gddr5 video ram anyway so you may see a few fps higher, with 2gb over 1gb. (definitely not worth the extra $100-$150 for the 2GB models.


What PSU specifically would you guys suggest?

Is my CPU likely to bottleneck?

thanks for the feedback!

Also guys what brand would you go for, performance and reliability wise?

is this a good shout?
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/1GB-XFX- ... DVI-I-HDMI


yea, xfx is amazing :icon_mrgreen:

Re: Sapphire HD 5850 Toxic 2gb: Motherboard Question

PostPosted: Mon Jun 14, 2010 12:18 am
by (TKC)-o]T3[o

Re: Sapphire HD 5850 Toxic 2gb: Motherboard Question

PostPosted: Mon Jun 14, 2010 12:45 am
by DonJuan
The card he's looking at recommends a 500w PSU, see here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102889&cm_re=sapphire_5850-_-14-102-889-_-Product. Your PSU will be able to run it, but I wouldn't trust it to run that card for too long. I would get the card, because it's a beast, but only if your going to be able to upgrade to a bit more powerful PSU later. Something like this would be nice: http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/650W-XFX-XXX-Edition-Single-Rail-Modular-PSU-85-SLI-Xfire-EPS-12V-20plus4pin-Connector-135mm-Fan. From the reviews that I've read on that card, no one has had any issues with it. I've never personally owned a Sapphire card so I couldn't say either way about their customer service, but I don't see anything from other people that own the card about having issues.

http://www.aone.zen.co.uk/prodinfo/psu/psu550hec_specs.pdf - PSU Specs.

Re: Sapphire HD 5850 Toxic 2gb: Motherboard Question

PostPosted: Mon Jun 14, 2010 9:34 pm
by Neo
Nila you could try something like this. The Antec Neo ECO 620 watt PSU.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817371031
I have this PSU in one of my computer setups and its quiet, well made, a good name brand, and good reviews including one thats using the HD 5850. Cheaper than some others. However it was on a shellshocker deal for I think $63 about two months ago. Shellshocker deals run twice a day on Newegg.com once in the morning and again at night. It would be worth your time if your shopping for a PSU to watch for those deals in case you find something you need. Or in my case something you dont need but cant pass up the price on. lol

PS Don ya I bought a Sapphire X1600XT video card couple of years ago and it was dead out of the box. Found a weird link to a site hosting Sapphire techies saying my 500 watt power supply wasnt enough but when I tested it with a 1000 watt PSU got the same results. Long story short bought an Asus card same card and it worked just fine with 500 watts. Also had bought a socket 939 motherboard back then that was also Sapphire same thing dead out of the box. Went to Asus products and Ive never looked back and never had problems either.

Re: Sapphire HD 5850 Toxic 2gb: Motherboard Question

PostPosted: Tue Jun 15, 2010 2:37 am
by (TKC) Slevin
Don't limit yourself to a small power supply. If the graphic card recommends a 500W and you plan on adding additional harddrives etc
may want to get a 700W just incase down the road you want to do more upgrades and cant due to a limited PSU.
The Antec is good, 80 Plus certified but look for the 700W model.

Re: Sapphire HD 5850 Toxic 2gb: Motherboard Question

PostPosted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 9:46 pm
by bryster126
nila wrote:
bryster126 wrote:
nila wrote:Hey guys - I'm looking to buy the Sapphire HD 5850 Toxic 2gb but I really need to know if my rig will handle the beast :)

I have:

Intel Quad Q8200 @ 2.33 ghz
ASUS P5QL PRO motherboard (main concern - correct ports? PCI-E 2.0 x16?)
8GB DDR2 800s (4x 2gb)
Nvidia 9600GT 1GB (Current card to replace)
PSU 550watt

Fed up of not having seamless FPS...

Any comments on whether this will work well or not?

Or any other comments on any other options? all welcome :)



try to get a more powerful psu

on the sapphire site, i couldn't find the 5850 toxic but i was able to find the toxic 5870 with 2gb ddr5. It says that a 600watt psu is required, a 550 watt will work, but it's not recommended

if i were you i'd go for a 5770, it meets all your requirements


Thanks for the input man, I was looking for this card as something a little more 'future proof' although there is rarely such a thing!

Do you think it will be alright on the 550 or will I have issues?



you'll most likely have issues. Either get a greater power supply (i reccomend this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product) corsair has a great warranty, and a good life span. or you can just get a lower quality gpu, as slevin said your cpu will bottleneck the gpu anyway