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Incremental upgrade query...

K

Kilborg

n00b
Joined
Mar 12, 2011
Messages
10
Hello hardforums, long time reader first time poster.

Just completed my first build in probably close to 10 years. Current specs: 970 phenom 2, asus m4a89td pro, 8gb corsair 1600. 750 antec psu, and lots of air blowing around. Current card is a asus 6870. It is a great setup, but I built this system with the next few years in mind. This leads me to this thread. Im really on the fence about my upgrade path. While a crossfire 6870 would be overkill for me currently, it would be a little cheaper then a single 6970 (or 6950)...and also offer a little better performance. However, like I said...I built this system with a good few years of service in mind.

So cliffnotes for those impatient ones; Currently running single 6870. Wondering how cost effective in the long run it will be to switch to single 69xx, and later xfiring those...versus going with another 6870 now. I realize crossfire 6970's will probably be beyond the 750 watt psu I currently use, whereas xfire 6870 is probably do-able.
 
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Why don't you sit tight until you need a video upgrade. Doing it now just because you can seems like a waste. By the time you need a new card, there may be better (and perhaps cheaper) products available...
 
Guess I should have included a little more info. Current monitor I'm running is maxed at 1600x900. Hardest games I'm playing now are bfbc2 and starcraf 2. My tv goes to 1920x1080i, and while the single 6870 does the job...you can tell it is being pushed. I am upgrading to a bigger monitor capable of 1920x1080 before long, and have some interest in dabbling with eyefinity eventually. With some of the upcoming "graphically inclined" games I'm interested in playing, I believe it warrants an upgrade.

So with all that in mind, I'm still a bit on the fence between another 6870 or going for a single 6970 for now until later on. I could use a little more performance then what I could reasonably get out of clocking up the single 6870. From where I stand, a single 6970 would give me more then enough for now. The same goes for running another 6870 in crossfire..even more power for less money. But on the other hand you have a substantial gain in horsepower with the 6970 in xfire land later down the road. One other key factor is I can easily make a decent amount of $$$ back on the 6970, as a friend just did a similar build with a 6850 and would like a little more power as well for his gaming.
 
I know that I'm basing this off of speculation, but the fact that AMD announced it's next video card series will be on the 28nm process is enough reason to wait. I'd go 2 6870's now to see if you like crossfire at all. Down the road you may as well get whatever card AMD releases next.
 
Stick with what you got 1600x900 doesn't warranty any upgrade. Also even your TV @ 1920x1080 isn't warranting more than a 6870. Just overclock your 6870 and you should be good to go for now. Wait until 28nm nvidia and amd cards and get what really calls you then.
 
Your 6870 is fine for now. By the time it's not a 28nm card will be the obvious upgrade choice. Stick it out until then. A 6870 at 1600x900 is the equivalent of an HD5970 for 1920x1200 users, or more powerful even than a GTX580 SLI setup at 2560x1600. The amount of rendering power you have for that tiny res is enormous. I'd consider getting a bigger monitor later if you want an upgrade.
 
Looking into it a little further, the 6970 has more horsepower sure...but not really enough to justify it right now. After some more playtesting last night I found myself pretty happy with current performance level, even at 1920x1080 on my big lcd it does pretty well. A simple driver update and a little bump in clock speed should take care of the slight dips in framerate im seeing. I'll get my new monitor and be a happy camper for a year or so. Thanks guys. I guess I will stick it out for awile. Probably just a little too caught in the market hype.
 
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