Buying a new GPU, Help me choose!

T

Temperfied

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 26, 2007
Messages
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Choice #1:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127565&cm_re=560ti-_-14-127-565-_-Product

Choice #2:
I am looking at the 6950 1GB. I have not decided on a brand/model yet.

Here is the comparison of 6950 1GB vs 560 Ti.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/331?vs=330

Any input is appreciated. I can afford to buy a 580, but I am having trouble settling on any one card at the moment. I really like the performance/price for the 560 Ti, but if someone can help me justify spending more, I just might.

Current System is in my Signature.

Any input is appreciated.
 
I am gaming @ 1920x1080. I am a little weary going with ATI again. I had BSOD's with a 4850 and a 5770 before returning and purchasing a GTX 260.
 
Temperfied said:
I am gaming @ 1920x1080. I am a little weary going with ATI again. I had BSOD's with a 4850 and a 5770 before returning and purchasing a GTX 260.
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Did you do a clean reinstall of Windows when installing the cards? If not, it's most likely left over NVIDIA drivers in the system causing problems. This always happens when switching from NVIDIA -> AMD. Use Driver Sweeper and you should be good to go.
 
I did use driver sweeper. I even did a reformatted the drive and installed a clean OS. Still had issues with BSOD's. It was only after I installed the drivers for the device. I tried drivers from the disc and drivers online.

On a side note:
I have been looking at the Gigabyte 560 Ti SOC, it looks like it does really well performance/dollar.
 
What do you play, and do you need to spend the cash on a 580 now or would you be happier running a 560 if it handled your current games well? If you can get away with a cheaper card, do it. You'll be better able to upgrade later in the year when many new games are released that actually need more GPU power and when there are more powerful and cheaper cards around to handle them.
 
I have just pre-ordered Rift. Which I know I can run at pretty much Max Settings. But I do tend to play all FPS games at release. I definitely need to upgrade from my GTX 260. I am just debating between the 580/6970 and the 560ti/570 or 6950.

I really like the MSI Twin Frozr design. I am not really worried about warranties, seeing as I usually just hand the cards down to a friend or family member.
 
If you really want to be [H] you could go for a GTX 580 but in my opinion that would be overkill.

If looking for higher end performance I'd pick between a AMD 6950 or a GTX 570 which -to me at least- are more worth the money.
 
_PixelNinja said:
If you really want to be [H] you could go for a GTX 580 but in my opinion that would be overkill.

If looking for higher end performance I'd pick between a AMD 6950 or a GTX 570 which -to me at least- are more worth the money.
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If you look at the reviews the Gigabyte GTX 560 Ti SOC scores almost even with the Reference GTX 570. The 570 will cost about $80 more.
 
Get the 2gb 560 or the 2gb 6950

Everything else is overpriced in comparison.
 
I personally prefer single card solutions (less hassle) but depends on what you want and prefer.

I forgot to mention though, you might be taking a gamble with an Nvidia solution at this point as your motherboard (if you are using the one is your signature) is listed over at the Nvidia forums as having problems with Fermi cards. You might want to have a quick look at this before jumping.
 
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_PixelNinja said:
I personally prefer single card solutions (less hassle) but depends on what you want and prefer.

I forgot to mention though, you might be taking a gamble with an Nvidia solution at this point as your motherboard (if you are using the one is your signature) is listed over at the Nvidia forums as having problems with Fermi cards. You might want to have a quick look at this before jumping.
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That changes things.
 
Yep :(

I'm waiting for a GTX 570 I ordered prior to being aware of this issue. Although my motherboard is not listed I'm still hoping everything will be okay...
 
It seems more reports are for the 4xx series. I feel going 5xx Series might bi-pass some of these issues.
 
So more reports of incompatibility for older series...

Reckon this has anything to do with the fact series 400 is in stores 4 times longer then series 500?

Reckon more then 1 issue like this guy with Asus P6T who whined through half of 56 pages long thread?
 
Seen plenty of similar issues with 570s. Personally I wouldn't take the risk. BSODs due to user error are no reason to dismiss Radeons really.
 
samuelmorris said:
Seen plenty of similar issues with 570s. Personally I wouldn't take the risk. BSODs due to user error are no reason to dismiss Radeons really.
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You can call it user error, but all necessary steps were taken for the cards to work. I have not completely written off AMD either. I am looking at 6950 2GB now.
 
Including a reformat? Might seem extreme but to guarantee no issues, switching brands in either direction, I consider that a potentially necessary step.
 
My guess is that you wont be disappointed with either choice. Get the best deal thats out at the time and rock it!
 
What's the noise level of the 6950? Is there any kind of aftermarket cooler to cut the noise down further without going water cooling?
 
Pretty tiny tbh. It's not silent, but it's very good as stock coolers go from what I've read. So it should be really, the cooler's enormous for a 170W GPU. Pre-overclocked 8800GTX cards used that much (as do stock GTX460s) and their coolers were tiny by comparison.
 
I am close to pulling the trigger on an Gigabyte GTX 560 Ti SOC. According to these reviews I posted below, it even bests the 5970 at times. It is neck and neck with a 6950 for performance if not bettering it in most tests.

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/3796/gigabyte_geforce_gtx_560_ti_1gb_soc_video_card/index.html

http://www.guru3d.com/article/gigabyte-gtx-560-ti-soc-review/15

http://www.legionhardware.com/articles_pages/gigabyte_geforce_gtx_560_ti_soc.html

Definitely something to think about. Newegg should be getting stock today (2/21) @ $269.99, which seems like a steal. Supposedly they have limited stock due to having to cherry pick every card for the OC.
 
Temperfied said:
I am close to pulling the trigger on an Gigabyte GTX 560 Ti SOC. According to these reviews I posted below, it even bests the 5970 at times. It is neck and neck with a 6950 for performance if not bettering it in most tests.

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/3796/gigabyte_geforce_gtx_560_ti_1gb_soc_video_card/index.html

http://www.guru3d.com/article/gigabyte-gtx-560-ti-soc-review/15

http://www.legionhardware.com/articles_pages/gigabyte_geforce_gtx_560_ti_soc.html

Definitely something to think about. Newegg should be getting stock today (2/21) @ $269.99, which seems like a steal. Supposedly they have limited stock due to having to cherry pick every card for the OC.
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I have read this whole thread from the beginning and in just about every post you (OP) say you want the 560 Ti SOC.....lol just get it. No one is changing your mind, im sure you will be insanely happy with it. When it comes down to it, tiny fan noises and small performance levels arent going to sway you from the decision you've already made 99% of the way in your head, which is that 560.

My 2 cents is just that i am VERY happy with my XFX (2x LTime Warranty) 6950 2Gb, which i flashed the bios to 6970. However some things im not loving is the ATI experience (have always been nvidia), the driver issues seem to be shifty at best. Cause of the Bios-flash the card when run for hours and hours hard peaks at about 90C, but idles at as low as 24C. The fan is totally quiet under 30%, but even just a smidge above 30% and its audibly louder than all my other fans (212+, HAF 932 stock fans) so its not like when its 90C i can turn it up to 50% or something...it would be jet plane loud.
But...all that doesnt matter to me cause im getting insane frame rates and will be for years and years.
IMO go with what you want (560), but damn that HIS 6950 2Gb looks tempting for $244.99. The idea of one of those then flashed to 6970 then down the road if it got as low as $200 on sale or lower and still reference design, picking up another for CrossFire. Mmmm, its the tech sexiness equivalent of Angelina Jolie.
 
Well basically, you can do more with a 2GB HD6950 than you can with a GTX560Ti SOC, but the 560 has a slightly (and I do mean slightly) better cooler on it. The SOC starts off about the same performance as the 6950, but the 6950 can, as you see above, be unlocked to 6970 specs which means you'll end up with a better card. The overclocking headroom of an already quite overclocked card is pretty limited.
 
samuelmorris said:
Well basically, you can do more with a 2GB HD6950 than you can with a GTX560Ti SOC, but the 560 has a slightly (and I do mean slightly) better cooler on it. The SOC starts off about the same performance as the 6950, but the 6950 can, as you see above, be unlocked to 6970 specs which means you'll end up with a better card. The overclocking headroom of an already quite overclocked card is pretty limited.
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LOL, still recommending HD 6950s based on an unknown possibility of unlocking to HD 6970 ?

Do you get a commission by AMD or something for each HD 6950 you recommend ?

To the OP:

Get whatever is in your price range. Either card (GTX 560 Ti or HD 6950) will yield similar performance, depending on the games. It's win some, lose some between those two. If you generally favor NVIDIA, then go with the GTX 560 Ti. If you favor ATI, then get the HD 6950. Both will provide exceptional performance at the resolution you mentioned.
 
What? Where did this hostility suddenly come from? When I even mentioned the possibility that some HD6950s don't unlock, I was torn to pieces. Until I see proof that the revision of the 6950 that doesn't unlock is out in large numbers, I'll continue to advocate buying 6950s to unlock them.
If you think I'm so blasé about 6950s always unlocking, take a look at my sig, and see what cards I actually use.
 
Saw benchmarks with 6950 unlocked to 1536 shaders giving only 2.5-3.5% improvements over stocked (1408 shaders).

Though there were only like 4 games tested. Comments?
 
Unlocking the shaders doesn't give you much, it's the clocks that do most of the work.
 
I'd say value-wise either a 560 OC or a 6950 2GB 'unlocked' to 6970. Should hold until Kepler comes out.
 
Silus said:
LOL, still recommending HD 6950s based on an unknown possibility of unlocking to HD 6970 ?

Do you get a commission by AMD or something for each HD 6950 you recommend ?

To the OP:

Get whatever is in your price range. Either card (GTX 560 Ti or HD 6950) will yield similar performance, depending on the games. It's win some, lose some between those two. If you generally favor NVIDIA, then go with the GTX 560 Ti. If you favor ATI, then get the HD 6950. Both will provide exceptional performance at the resolution you mentioned.
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I was recommending out of experience cause i unlocked mine a few weeks ago no problem. Also pretty much every review on newegg has "i unlocked it!" written in it. The beauty is, even if you cant unlock yours, its still a great card.

Along with unlocking the shaders and clocks, you see even more improvement when you up the wattage by 20%.
 
I think they mostly all unlock if they are on reference boards. TPU did a count of cards that unlock successfully and it was rare find one that wouldn't unlock. I personally lean towards Nvidia when the performance is close between two competing cards, I like Nvidia's features and their driver better.
 
jdof said:
I personally lean towards Nvidia when the performance is close between two competing cards, I like Nvidia's features and their driver better.
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Good call. This is exactly how I feel. Back in the day I had a 5950 Ultra and the 9800Pro so I am definitely not a fanboy. I have read multiple reviews and have decided on going the NVidia route this time. If this was 6 months ago, I would be buying ATI.
 
Why not now?

In the meantime Nvidia just refined its products, while AMD offered whole new arch.
 
I think he's referring to price. Old Fermis were pretty poorly priced for high end, and while they're still not great now, they are better.
 
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