6970 for $159.99?

[htpc_user]

I saw that newegg has a 6970 for $159.99. I was kind of surprised that it wasn't listed in the Hot Deals section so I was wondering; is this a good deal? I know it's an older card but for the price and performance is it worth it? I haven't been playing a lot of games lately but when I do I play TF2 and BF3. I'm running a 4890. The 6970 would be a big upgrade for BF3, right? I was planning on going with a 7970 at around $300, but now I'm considering this 6970 since I usually stay a couple generations behind in the game department any way.

 

[257Tony]

I would go 7850, same price, same performance, but less power hungry. Also comes with 3 free games

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102999

 

[Dizon248]

You can use this link as a guideline to see graphics performance broken down in tiers. It is just a general guideline, no details.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html

 

[htpc_user]

I thought that when the 7xxx cards came out that they actually performed a little behind their 6xxx counterparts?

 

[jbltecnicspro]

I thought that when the 7xxx cards came out that they actually performed a little behind their 6xxx counterparts?

It depends on the cards we're talking about, and which cards they're replacing. I think what you're saying about the 6000 being better than 7000 parts, you're referring to the 7700 series. But even then, the cards weren't slower than the ones they were designed to replace; rather, they performed worse than the cheaper 6700 (5700) series cards. I think this is what you're referring to. But no, a Radeon HD-7970 replaces the HD-6970. It's definitely faster than the HD-6970. Likewise with the HD-7800 series versus the HD-6800 series and so on and so forth.

EDIT: Specifically, the Radeon HD-7750 performed worse than the 6770 and 5770 out of the gate, while being more expensive than the 6770 and 5770. With driver updates though, that may have changed. I think this is what you're referring to.