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Video card suggestions much needed.

F

frawressvictoly

n00b
Joined
Dec 9, 2011
Messages
5
Hey guys im new to these forums but I have read here a lot.

I figured it was time to present my case and get some suggestions. I had to replace my mobo in my old rig and in the process I jsut started buying new stuff. Sooooo where im at now.

i5 2500k custom watercooled oc'd 4.5
asus sabertooth mobo
16 gig 1600 ram
125 ssd for os and my current fav game (swtor)
850 psu
Samsung SyncMaster 245BW (monitor its 16x10 1920x1200 res)
(using my old 5870 gpu)

So my current gpu is going to be removed and im going to put it in a 2nd pc and give to the wife. So im looking to complete my build w/ a new GPU.

My budget started at $300.00. I was all set to buy a GTX 570 for around that price.. Then I started reading benchmarks and nerding out and thought "Hey get a 580" but the price of almost 500 is alot to stomach and from what I can tell in real world application its only really netting a few extra FPS while gaming. I am not a benchmarker in anyway I just wanna game it up and hold solid FPS atleast 60.

So last night I started playing w/ eyefinity w/ my 5870 and some extra monitors I had. It looked amazing and I started thinking to my self , man it would be cool to have 3 of my monitor and play on them all eyefinity style. I started research the cost of some nice ati cards (6970's) I then found my budget going from 300 to over double that. Lol I know it cost to play!! :p

So I almost went and bought a 6970 xfx card today (local tiger direct store has them for 299.99) then planned to pick up another down the road when prices drop. I made a post about this idea on different forum and was told that is a TERRIBLE idea and xfiring the ati cards is going to drive me crazy.

ANYWAYS to my point. Eyefinity would be fun to play w/ but is not something I really want to get in WAY over my head and the idea seems to be blowing my budget all the hell so I think I may just stick w/ my one monitor and get a nice single card for now and maybe sli or xfire later

I know right now is a terrible time to buy cards now. I have a bad case of money burning a hole in my pocket and im wondering if waiting is just going to end in a vicious never ending cycle on the next best thing for the money of the price of the cards im eyeballing to drop that extra 20 bucks (ya know)..

So with all this being said what do you guys think is the best route to go and why? If I can stay around $300.00 atm I would love that (its not that I can't afford to spend more). I just want to make sure I can play SWTOR at a solid 60 fps maxing everything out (which toms review shows that game is pretty graphicly intense when maxed)

I also play battlefield 3 w/ my buddies online and my 5870 doesnt even come close to maxing the game out graphicly.
 
Yea I thought about waiting on that card. I guess with the amount the cost of the 7970 is over the 6970 (or projected I should say to be). I was sticker shocked. Granted this may put the 7950 down to 400ish price range (again just a guess).

If ya cant tell im terrible at waiting lol. Im really excited about the new stuff coming out. I also have a nagging girlie at my side wanting my current gpu because thats all that is missing to get her pc back up and running hehe.
 
I thought about that long and hard for the last few days. I keep reading all the horror stories around it. Dont get me wrong xfrie or Sli seems like alot of fun and I did buy a mobo that I knew could do it and handle it just because it interest me.

Just wondering if its over kill for what im doing now. On paper it seems like the 570 would do what I want and I could add another later. Or I could spend more and get a new more powerful single gpu

Tons of options, picking the right one is driving me mad lol.
 
I never tried SLI or CFX yet so maybe it was wrong of me to suggest to go that route. So far I've been always for single GPU solution mainly because I don't want to deal with any SLI or CFX issues. That and I don't have a SLI or CFX mobo. =)

If anything you should've not promised your wife the 5870 and CFX those instead since you can get a new/used one for ~$150 nowadays.

Go with your gut, the 570 or the 6970 should do fine for what you want.
 
Yea, good call but if I didnt promise her mine then she would be getting the new one :D

It was more of an accuse for me to get a new toy.. I did the ole, Babe, if I get a new one you get my other one for your computer routine. :D
 
Hahaha whatever works, I saw a [H] F/S by zod96 of a GTX 580 for $360!!! Seems like a deal to me, that is, if it works. =))
 
In my experience, Xfire has been more of a pain than a blessing. Aside from the gaming issues, I had my quibbles with the heat and noise of two cranked cards in a closed space, too. I've since split my cards off into separate systems and I believe I'll be using single GPU solutions from now on.

But I originally spent 650 bucks for my pair of 6970's back in July... buying today, I'd pick up the 7970 in a heartbeat. But with 300 bucks as the budget, I'd settle for a single 6970. 7950 may come out soon but it'll be much more, starting from 350 at least, and more likely 399. If you're willing to spend that much, it's probably worth waiting for.
 
Thanks for the replies.. $300 was my starting budget. I dont mind spending more (its not that I cant afford more) I just have a hard time finding the value in the 500 and 600 dollar cards. To me, I see FPS in games and the extra bucks seems to give a good 5 or 6 fps more. Its hard for me to justify the extra money for that.

Like I said I dont want to benchmark. I just want solid 60 fps for my 3 or 4 favorite computer games atm. SWTOR, BF3, Skyrim (which after beating really doesn't get played much) and Rage. I guess I also want to future proof my gpu for a bit so If I did something like the ones listed (570, 6970 I could sli /xfire them but seems like a headache ahh)

If a 6970 will do the trick I will go that route, if a 570 will do the trick I could go that route. If I need to really look into a 580 I can go that route I just keeps asking my self is it worth the extra almost 200 for it. Same being said for the 7970. Its not that I cant afford it but is it worth it for what I need them for?

I guess what it all comes down to is BEST bang for buck.

I like to think I spend my money wisely
 
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