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i5-3570K: Which AMD GPU?

P

PGHammer

2[H]4U
Joined
Oct 8, 2002
Messages
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Okay - for the build in my sig below, I've been looking at the AMD HD6770 from XFX (mainly due to the warranty). However, since I never sell my used hardware (instead, it gets passed down), would the HD7770 (also from XFX) be a safer matchup (despite the shorter warranty and higher price by $30)?

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0385949

I'm looking retail (and at MicroCenter in particular) for two reason - I have two locations nearby (Fairfax, VA and Rockville, MD) and usually buy from one OR the other (depending on stock - not price). The other reason I buy retail is for the *immediate delivery* factor (as long as it's in stock, the wait is two minutes at the register - at worst); besides, I pay cash.

The other reason I'm looking at the HD6770 (and HD7770) is the lack of power hunger; at worst, each uses a single 6-pin PCIe power plug. Also, thanks to falling prices for the HD6770, it's now less than *half* the price of HD7850.

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0387843 (The only HD7850 at MC.)

That the HD7770 has likewise slipped in price does NOT help the HD7850's case any.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161402

AND

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0387845

(Yes - the two cards are identical other than price - here's the rare case in which online *loses* to retail; MicroCenter is $5 cheaper.)

The only games I plan on adding this year to my playlist are Diablo III and Guild Wars 2.

The *less-than-half-HD7850 price* leads to (inevitably) the question about either x770 and CF - CrossFire is something I've heard of, but never used myself. Oddly, except for the two games I've mentioned, every game I have supports CF to a major extent (D3 CF support is, naturally an unknown, as is the case for GW2, since neither game is in retail yet); however, the real issue (and the reason I've largely avoided multi-GPU) is the effect on everyday (non-gaming) performance or operations; how much would CF'd HD6770s (or CF'd HD7770s) impact non-gaming performance compared to a single HD GPU of the same type?
 
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The 7770 is a great card BUT for the raw performance you get for it, it is a bit expensive. Especially if you look at the next card that follows up, the 7850 which is roughly double the performance. http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/536?vs=549

Personally, if you can still find them, the 6870 looks to be something more ideal for you.
Otherwise, the price of the gtx 560ti looks pretty descent on the website you used.
 
Shago said:
The 7770 is a great card BUT for the raw performance you get for it, it is a bit expensive. Especially if you look at the next card that follows up, the 7850 which is roughly double the performance. http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/536?vs=549

Personally, if you can still find them, the 6870 looks to be something more ideal for you.
Otherwise, the price of the gtx 560ti looks pretty descent on the website you used.
Click to expand...

However, even at Newegg, HD7850 is *more* than double the price. (The two features that HD7850 has that *might* justify that additional cost are the extra bandwidth *and* the extra gigabyte of onboard memory; while all my games can take advantage of the extra bandwidth, none except MAYBE Crysis 2 can take advantage of the extra RAM on the GPU.)

Granted - if I were considering HD7770s in CF from the beginning, a single HD7850 might make sense (as an alternative to HD7770s in CF). However, no experience with CF, and the persnicketyness of CF in general argue against it; therefore, if I *do* get two HD7770s, I'll put them in different computers.

That is, in fact, the real value of HD78xx - as an alternative to CF'd setups (HD77xx and lower). However, even HD7770, like HD6770 and HD57xx, can run a LOT of the games of today full-out given enough CPU horsepower (a search on YouTube alone provides a crapton of evidence of that), and that's just ONE.
 
PGHammer said:
However, even HD7770, like HD6770 and HD57xx, can run a LOT of the games of today full-out given enough CPU horsepower (a search on YouTube alone provides a crapton of evidence of that), and that's just ONE.
Click to expand...

For what its worth I considered the 7770 to be a 'steam card', because it'll run the living hell out of essentially every indie game out there and do respectably on newish titles as long as the user isn't overzealous in expectations. Really it depends on user habits. If I played games all the time or all new, high end titles I would go with something better.

I was shocked how well it plays sniper v2. I dig that game. 1920x1200 medium works great.
 
Q1DM6 said:
For what its worth I considered the 7770 to be a 'steam card', because it'll run the living hell out of essentially every indie game out there and do respectably on newish titles as long as the user isn't overzealous in expectations. Really it depends on user habits. If I played games all the time or all new, high end titles I would go with something better.

I was shocked how well it plays sniper v2. I dig that game. 1920x1200 medium works great.
Click to expand...

Precisely my point. And it's not just the indie titles, either. In my YouTube searches, I've uncovered some decidedly non-indie (and very recent vintage) AAA titles among the "you only need a single HD7770" genre. BF3. CODMW3. DIRT 3. Deus Ex: Human Revolution. ME3. Syndicate. None at any WORSE than 1680x1050 with maxed-out detail (and most at 1920x1080 with maxed-out detail - which happens to be my display's ceiling).

And given that, HD7770 is a bargain at that $120 price.
 
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