Upgrading my graphics card: A complicated question

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XNRen

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Apr 23, 2012
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So as this is the most commonly asked question, I feel like a n00b for asking players. I am in the market for a new graphics card.

The card I am currently running at is what I beleave to be a Radeon 4430* HD in response to my destroyed(and once powerfull) 2320. I am looking around the market and I can see some vastly superior cards that are under 200$. The Three cards I have been taking a look at are these three here:

Radeon HD 6850 2GB @ 179.98$
Specs: http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/product/?cid=1&gid=3&sgid=1037&lid=1&pid=1394&leg=0

Radeon HD 6850 1GB @ 149.78$
Specs: http://www.amd.com/us/products/desk...6850/pages/amd-radeon-hd-6850-overview.aspx#2

Radeon HD 6870 1GB @ 154.78$
http://www.amd.com/us/products/desk...d-6870/pages/amd-radeon-hd-6870-overview.aspx

Were my 1420 is pumping out a whoping 320 stream processors, all three cards above are hitting 900 or more.

The card I bought costed me 112$, which seems to be a silly price compared to the specifications of the cards above me.

My power supply gives me 600 Watts, and I run a:

Intel® Core™ i7-960 Processor: http://ark.intel.com/products/spec/SLBEU

With a Desktop Board DX58SO2 as my mother board: http://ark.intel.com/products/50242/Intel-Desktop-Board-DX58SO2

My computer's case has two built in fans, with a wiremesh top. A third installed fan was added as well, but the name escapes me.

So my question is this: Of the three cards, were is the better deal? And, would I be able to power it while having it not melt my computer?
 
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6870 probably. Or you can get a used 6950 for $180-200. Your power supply should be fine unless it's a crap brand.
 
Depending on what you use it for, the extra GB of VRAM may be a useless power-sucking waste of $$$. If you are only running one monitor and don't need all the eye-candy of the latest games and have a low- or medium-res monitor, go with the 1GB 6870 for $5 more.

OTOH, if you are running triple 30" Dell monitors, maybe the extra VRAM will matter. There's no one right answer for every situation here.
 
The 6870 is a great card, a little better than the 6850. It doesn't have high power requirements so most power supplies can handle it. You most likely will not have any need of more than 1 gig of ram from what you have stated so far. Its not overly hot so you should be fine with your case. There rare circumstances that a 2 gig 6850 is a better solution than a 1gig 6870 but they are rare, and you would already know you needed it.
 
http://shop.amd.com/us/All/Search?SearchTerms=radeon 6870&SortBy=priceLowToHigh

6870 vs 6850, the 6870 for the most part(depending on resolution) is the better card for 1gb and 2gb vram. Just to mention, in most games/apps the 6850 overclocked will come close to if not match a stock 6870, however, the 6870 overclocked is also quite a bit faster the difference is anywhere from 5-22% again, depending on resolution. The extra shaders and all that make a pretty decent difference, especially if you start using some eye candy. The 6850 is a capable gaming card, the 6870 is just better.

1gb 6850 1gb 6870 the difference is $10. Depending on where you plan on ordering it, the ASUS DCII, Sapphire Vapor X, or XFX based units are all excellent choises. I would look for one that uses a non reference cooler and comes factory overclocked, they are usually only $10 or so more $ then the reference cooled and clocked versions(though overclocking is not that hard at all)

You did not mention the resolution you are using. if 1680x1050 or lower the 6850 would probably be good enough, if 1680x1200 or 1920x1080 and such, you would be better off with a 6870, though I would make sure you go with a 2gb card and make sure you have enough system memory 6gb or more it can make a world of difference.

I have seen 6870 overclocked with much better cooler for around the $150 mark I got mine when they first came out for around $270 after taxes/shipping(canada) and I love it. Mine is a ASUS 6870 reference, stock of 913 core clock where they now have the ASUS DCII 6870 with the same 913 core clock. Sapphire dual fan model is one of the best ones for the 6870 models in regards to price/cooling/overclocking. Course, there is always the term pay more get more, in which case, the 7850/7870 are just so much faster, but yes more $.
 
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