260GTX Upgrade for ~150USD?

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stryder2720

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Looking to upgrade my 260GTX 192sp version to something a little more stout for around $150.00 USD. The 6850s and 6870s seem to be right around that price both before and after MIR on the Egg. I don't have a "team" preference but I want the most bang for my buck at 1920x1200. Any suggestions? The last card I purchased new was a 4770 years ago so I'm waaay out of the loop when it comes to new cards.

tl:dr

Want to replace my 260GTX 192sp with something, AMD or nVidia, for roughly $150.00usd.
 
I've seen 6870's on sale as of late when I visit Slickdeals. If you are willing to go the used route, consider selling your 260GTX and buy a 6950 or 6970 if you are really lucky.
 
FrostBite said:
I've seen 6870's on sale as of late when I visit Slickdeals. If you are willing to go the used route, consider selling your 260GTX and buy a 6950 or 6970 if you are really lucky.
Click to expand...

I'd like to keep the 260 for a backup card in case I need it. I only paid about $50 for it on the fs/ft section. I'll have to keep my eye on slickdeals, I totally forgot about that site, thanks!
 
FrostBite said:
I've seen 6870's on sale as of late when I visit Slickdeals. If you are willing to go the used route, consider selling your 260GTX and buy a 6950 or 6970 if you are really lucky.
Click to expand...

^This. New 6870's can be found under $150 after rebates. Used 6950s are tough to find for $150, but I'm sure if you offer $150 to enough sellers someone will take it.
 
If you can raise budget around $20-25 you should be able to get a 6950 2GB easily. At $150... good luck. I certainly wouldn't sell mine for that.
 
stryder2720 said:
Looking to upgrade my 260GTX 192sp version to something a little more stout for around $150.00 USD. The 6850s and 6870s seem to be right around that price both before and after MIR on the Egg. I don't have a "team" preference but I want the most bang for my buck at 1920x1200. Any suggestions?
Want to replace my 260GTX 192sp with something, AMD or nVidia, for roughly $150.00usd.
Click to expand...

Sapphire HD 6870 - USD 170 (USD 160 after rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102948

ASUS Direct Cu II GTX 560 - USD 170 (USD 150 after rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121446

I would say the GTX 560 is the better option. DX11 performance is better. And the ASUS card has a fantastic cooler.
 
There are some 6950's on ebay with a buy it now of $170-175 and "make an offer" available. Try offering $150 and see if any will bite.
 
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raghu78 said:
Sapphire HD 6870 - USD 170 (USD 160 after rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102948

ASUS Direct Cu II GTX 560 - USD 170 (USD 150 after rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121446

I would say the GTX 560 is the better option. DX11 performance is better. And the ASUS card has a fantastic cooler.
Click to expand...

The 560 piqued my interest, I might run over to Micro Center and see what they have.

Thanks for the input everyone :)
 
OP I just bought a refurb 6950 2GB on eBay for $160 shipped from his asking of $180. PM me.
 
Given the budget restriction, i would also recommend going for a 6950HD used.
 
Fairly sure a 6950 2GB is a better performer than a 560. Not 100% thought, it likely varies by title.
 
Why? So long as it's under warranty and from a reputable trader here, I'd say you're not really in any worse shape than buying new. Also, if you get a new one you can't unlock it in most cases. Almost all the used ones for sale are unlocked.
 
skeeder said:
I hate buying used gear...but I'm almost in the same boat...

Looking at these currently.
ATI:
XFX 7850 $199.99 AMIR
Sapphire 6950 2GB $189.99 AMIR.

NVIDIA side, I've been looking in that range, so far I haven't found anything worth biting.
Click to expand...

Just to punish myself even further I just got done reading about the 7770 line of cards which are even less expensive at around 110 AR. I think I'm just trolling myself as this point :p
 
A 6950 is a better card by far than a gtx 560 vanilla (non-Ti) in just about everything. I love mine and if you can get a used one for 150 from a reputable seller I would jump on that. I still have one in my second system and it can handle any game out there with very good graphics settings, but not everything maxed on newer games. Its considerably better than the 6870 also. Plus there are a lot of them out there because its been a very popular card, so there are a lot of people who have them but are upgrading to 7970 and gtx 670/680s. They dont have any problems with higher than average fail rates, in fact they seem a little better than average for longevity. Its hard to beat that at the price you specified.
 
At USD 150 the GTX 560 is good. But if you are willing to spend more your best is HD 7850 2 GB for USD 230.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2316882&CatId=7387

HD 7850 is much better than HD 6950 in DX 11 games like BF3, Crysis 2, Batman AC. Compute and tesselation performance is much better. overclocking headroom on HD 7850 is much higher than HD 6950 and at 1.2+ Ghz you get to GTX 580 perf range. HD 6950 does not have the architecture or the clock headroom to compete with HD 7850.
 
I'm upgrading my GTX260 192sp also. Found a GTX 570 in the FS forums for $175 shipped. Not too bad IMO. It's still in the mail though.

Wouldn't ya know it. My car broke down the day after the purchase! FML.
 
You can sometimes find reference 560 ti's for right at $199, if you can spare a little extra.
 
Don't buy a gtx 560 since it's just overclocked 460. I think 460 still holds its own very well. You can get a new 460 for less than $100. V2 with 192 but is good too, a better overclocker.
 
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