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[H] newbie seeks buying advice

K

Karolis

n00b
Joined
Jan 6, 2012
Messages
38
Hi [H],

Long time lurker, finally have something to ask (and maybe answer!) so created an account, best reviews, OC and comp. hardware site IMO.

Now that this is out of the way, maybe you could shed some light on my GPU buying decisions..

I'm assembling a new core with the following components:

Asus P8Z68 Pro
i5 2500K + CM 212 Evo
8GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 CL9

Stuff from my previous build:

CM 850W Silent Pro PSU (would you recommend swapping that to a Zalman ZM1000HP? Have both, tried to sell ZM but no one's interested in my area, so might as well keep it. Do you think I'd need additional 150++W in the future when there's a "go green" trend going on?)
Crucial C300 256GB SSD + storage drive
Antec 1200
Dell UltraSharp 2408wfp 24" 1920x1200 monitor

I don't have plans to upgrade to multiple monitors or go larger resolution with this build. The game I'm interested in maxing out currently is Skyrim, with a blitz over SP of Metro 2033. I'm not a huge gamer by any means, sometimes I don't touch a game in months, but when I do I'm really picky about the graphics and want it perfect (stupid, I know). I want my new card to perform well at this resolution for 3 years so that I could go on living without upgrade bug inside me.

Initially I waited for 7970 which is due in a few days, but I'm beginning to have my doubts.

The price - MSRP of 550 will be 550 EUR and then some in the corner of EU that I live in. Someone in Greece paid 579 EUR for that, I believe that to be the price locally.

The noise - I've had GTX 460 768MB which I've bought after 8800 GTS 512 only to max out Company of Heroes in DX10 at 1680x1050. It was definitely too little to drive 1920x1200 so I swapped that to 4870x2 for no additional pay. Loved the performance, hated micro stuttering and various flickers in Skyrim. But I hated noise the most - room becomes unhabitable during load, my wife did not approve of it so I've sold it and looking to upgrade.

Based on these two graphs:

http://images.anandtech.com/graphs/graph5261/43143.png
http://images.anandtech.com/graphs/graph4209/35821.png

55 dB is only slightly more silent than 4870x2 (I can't image having 6990 tbh) which might be a deal breaker for me.

My other option would be to live off 2500K integrated gpu till 7950 3GB (I think the 1.5GB is not enough/future proof for my res.) arrives. BUT. It will have a price of 449 USD or so this says: http://wccftech.com/amd-radeon-hd7000-28nm-southern-islands-specs-pricing-release-dates-unveiled/ which will be current GTX 580 price here. Secondly, I think AMD might have learned from the 6950 unlocking and eating in 6970 sales they won't make the same mistake again and you'll get something you pay for - 6970 replacement with better wattage anyone?

Which brings me to my most realistic option to date - just buy ASUS 6950 2GB, hope it unlocks (and don't sweat if it doesn't), OC to 6970 territory and save some money having a card that matches GTX 460 MSI Cyclone levels of noise. I know you'll likely be able to OC 7950 like crazy, but I'm not sure if it's worth the supposed 30% higher price than 6950 2GB given my setup and gaming habits.

What do?

Sorry for the wall of text, appreciate if someone takes the time to read and respond.
 
I can't really comment on the best card for your games, I'm not much of a gamer. As I'm sure you're aware, there are lots of graphics card reviews on [H] so that is a resource for you.

I can say that I'm running a 750W PCPC PSU and that is quite sufficient to drive both a 6950 and 570 on my system. I use them for computing with a little game play. So regarding 1000W, I don't think you need it but if it will just going to set around unused then I might go ahead and put it in.
 
I'm guessing you don't have any sort of GPU at the moment?

If you aren't dying to play your games, I would wait.

I think price to performance wise... the 7900's don't really improve on that area so you really can't go wrong with a 6950 / 6970 especially at a single monitor res of 1920x1200.
 
I think it all depends here if you want brand new shiny, ie 7950; or tried and true as in the 6950 2GB.

I don't think you'll find a new unlockable 6950 around anywhere, but you may be able to find them, already unlocked, by the bushel basket used on the forums in about 2 weeks or so.
The 6950 will sure do it for 1920x1200 under most circumstances.

Consider a 6970 though. The price is right.:D and it will shine at your resolution in everything.:D

If you want to wait for the 7950, certainly do so. I'm sure reviews will be out soon, but the ETA has been moved back into February I think.

I haven't touched the nvidia side of things, but the GTX 580 is also an excellent choice, but at times has been limited by the VRAM size.
 
magoo said:
I think it all depends here if you want brand new shiny, ie 7950; or tried and true as in the 6950 2GB.

I don't think you'll find a new unlockable 6950 around anywhere, but you may be able to find them, already unlocked, by the bushel basket used on the forums in about 2 weeks or so.
The 6950 will sure do it for 1920x1200 under most circumstances.

Consider a 6970 though. The price is right.:D and it will shine at your resolution in everything.:D

If you want to wait for the 7950, certainly do so. I'm sure reviews will be out soon, but the ETA has been moved back into February I think.

I haven't touched the nvidia side of things, but the GTX 580 is also an excellent choice, but at times has been limited by the VRAM size.
Click to expand...

I'd like to play Skyrim, but can't for a week or so, rushing to buy 6950/70 right now, without even seeing local prices of 7970 would be stupid.. And thanks for the catch on my ideas of unlocking a recent 6950 - indeed, now that I've checked most comments on successful unlocks after purchase are rather old.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102957&Tpk=6970 sapphire

Sapphire 6970 can be had for 30-40% less than GTX 580 locally and around 22% more than 2GB non un-lockable 6950 model. I expect 7970 to launch at 80-90% premium over 6970 price. I'm talking in percentages because converting to USD does not make sense for you guys.

Given these gaps, 6970 sure looks like a great choice and a silent one at that. I'm just not sure about my 3 year longevity expectations buying 1 year old tech (albeit this particular Sapphire model was released recently I've read, but it's just cooling and noise).
 
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To think some more, should I buy an open box 6970 (showroom or used up to two weeks) for the price of low end 6950 2GB new? Or.. look around at buying used 6950 2GB which is unlocked already, possibly at even lower price?
 
If you have the time, wait until after the 7970 goes on sale.

There should be alot of 6970 and 6950 models on sale in the For Sale section.

If not.....I'd buy a new 6970. I like new.:D
 
waiting, when it comes to hardware, is almost always preferable
problem is, you can be waiting forever if you're picky enough

you'll be able to grab a used 6970 for under $200 soon
getting two of those for ~$400 is a pretty damn good deal
 
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