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6870 - worth it?

Z

Zcomuto

n00b
Joined
Nov 26, 2010
Messages
5
Right, I've been looking to get a pair of 6870's to put in crossfire for a while now. I've pretty much decided to get them, accepting it would cost me about £190 per card.

However, I found this offer at novatech.

I know the phrase, you get what you pay for, but knocking a good £40 off my total price is tempting. I know it's just a rebrand and but a 6870 is a 6870 - but can any vouch for what the novatech own brand stuff is like, what should I expect?

Or, should I shell out the extra £30-40 and get some real-brand cards?
 
I have heard the name from somewhere but damn if I can remember where. I have never heard them with video cards though. I would be wary myself. maybe someone else from across the pond can weight in. who knows, they might be a good company there. but there are only a few people I would trust doing this here in the US, tigerdirect is one. if the company folded (and electronic retailers have been known to do that) you could be left in the hole. then again look what happened to BFG.
 
They are all reference cards anyway tbh, you get the same warranty too. Novatech are highly regarded by many.

That being said, Crossfire is a pain in the ass right now for these cards. The drivers are a nightmare.
 
I have a friend who has been using Novatech products for 10 years. From what he has told me many times is Novatech is not a BIG company but they do Value their customers & the warranty service is Great. (this is from His experience not mine)

I personally cant tell you Ive never done business with them I always go for Name brands myself. So im sorry if it wasnt that helpful
 
Arthur Hucksake said:
That being said, Crossfire is a pain in the ass right now for these cards. The drivers are a nightmare.
Click to expand...

Really? I as under the impression that the drivers had improved in recent years, and crossfire scaling etc was far better.

I'm sitting on a GTX295 at the moment, so I'm aware any upgrade path I choose won't exactly be cheap - my other considering has been a GTX580, or just waiting until the 6970 series appears to see what they're like.
 
I like the 6870. Currently using a XFX one. Only prob I have with it is the catalyst drivers cuz they have an issue in SC2 regarding Pylons. Should be fixed in the 10.12 update.
 
Nothing really, I'm just in the market for a 30" monitor at the moment and still want to lay demanding games at a playable framerate - I know the 295 will struggle on a few.

Plus, the second hard market is strong for the 295 just now - can still get upwards of £200 for it on ebay if I'm lucky.
 
Zcomuto said:
Nothing really, I'm just in the market for a 30" monitor at the moment and still want to lay demanding games at a playable framerate - I know the 295 will struggle on a few.

Plus, the second hard market is strong for the 295 just now - can still get upwards of £200 for it on ebay if I'm lucky.
Click to expand...
a 6870 would be slower than a gtx295 in nearly every case.
 
Majinhoju said:
I think the op will be running 2 6870's in crossfire. That should be much higher than the gtx 295.
Click to expand...
well if he is going to spend that much money and go with that much gpu power then he needs to get a card setup with more vram too. 1gb is not going to cut it at 2560 and he would have to reduce the settings in some games that 6870 crossfire could otherwise handle. at that res I would just go for the 580 myself.
 
cannondale06 said:
well if he is going to spend that much money then he needs to get a card setup with more vram. 1gb is not going to cut it at 2560 and he would have to reduce the settings in some games that 6870 crossfire could otherwise handle. at that res I would just go for the 580 myself.
Click to expand...

What he said. Single GPU is always going to have fewer headaches than a multi GPU setup. Plus the 580 is just beastly.
 
I was wondering this hey OP what is ur current Rig Specs. I agree with cannon and this is why I asked you earlier a 295 is still a beastly card.

the x2 6870s are 530 bucks & one single 580 is 663. also what is ur budget on card(s)
 
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Your main choices would be:
6870 1GB CF - apparently you can get them for 170 apiece which is a good price for you.
580GTX 1.5GB
6970 2GB

Notice that each option progressively has more video ram?
At 2560x1600 if you use AA, the extra video ram will come in handy.
The problem is that enabling high levels of AA at that resolution also takes a sizable performance hit.
So you've got to ask yourself how much AA and how much performance you want as well as how much you are willing to spend to get it.

As for Novatech, I dunno but the image they have of the video card is Powercolor. So maybe Powercolor is the actually maker but it's just Novatech branded. Happens pretty often in the video card AIB biz.
 
My budget, including the monitor, is around £1200. £800 for the Monitor which gives me around £400 breathing room for a graphics card. The monitor - I'm either going with the Hazro 30" HZ30Wi (£800) or Apple 27". (£740)

Graphics wise - I've considered the GTX580, but I was under the impression that CF6870 was better, slightly, and cheaper too - that's why it was my preferred choice.

Am I mistaken in thinking this, is the 580 the better choice here?


Full system specs, for someone asked:

CPU: Intel i7 920
Mobo: Asus P6T SLi-Deluxe
RAM: 9GB Corsair Dominator 1600MHz
GPU: GTX295
PSU: Corsair TX750
Case: Antec 1200
 
Zcomuto said:
My budget, including the monitor, is around £1200. £800 for the Monitor which gives me around £400 breathing room for a graphics card. The monitor - I'm either going with the Hazro 30" HZ30Wi (£800) or Apple 27". (£740)

Graphics wise - I've considered the GTX580, but I was under the impression that CF6870 was better, slightly, and cheaper too - that's why it was my preferred choice.

Am I mistaken in thinking this, is the 580 the better choice here?


Full system specs, for someone asked:

CPU: Intel i7 920
Mobo: Asus P6T SLi-Deluxe
RAM: 9GB Corsair Dominator 1600MHz
GPU: GTX295
PSU: Corsair TX750
Case: Antec 1200
Click to expand...

indeed 6870CF will be cheaper and faster than 580, but that is only when the game support CF. But its rare for game that doesn't support CF...

I would recommend wait for 6970 first... GTX 580 is overprice right now IMO....
 
Indeed a pair of 6870's in crossfire will be faster then a single 580.

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a single card solution is going to be better then a multi for certain reasons. ati drivers need work & not everything scales in crossfire. You will run into problems going crossfire.
 
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Zcomuto said:
Can the same still be said using a 2560x1600 resolution? All those benchmarks are at 1920x1200.
Click to expand...

Well, according to the Anandtech link, the 6870 CF gets 20 more FPS in BC2 at 2560x1600, 10 FPS in CW, 8 more FPS in Metro, 25 more FPS in HAWX, 12 more FPS in Dirt 2; and 14 in ME 2.

So, in all, I can say a resounding yes.
 
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4LC4PON3 said:
a single card solution is going to be better then a multi for certain reasons. ati drivers need work & not everything scales in crossfire. You will run into problems going crossfire.
Click to expand...

A single card with approx double the power of two lesser cards will always be the better option, but if the two cards are significanly more powerful than the single GPU, the answer isn't quite so cut and dry.
 
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