$150 Gaming Upgrade - GTX 260 Core 216 to 6870

[InventorOfEvil]

Greetings everyone,


I’m looking to upgrade my video card on the cheap. For the past three or so years I’ve been running a GTX 260 Core 216, which has been okay, but seems to be mostly a disappointment. With a recent upgrade to an i5-2500k, I was hoping for some more performance, but my computer seems to be pretty bottlenecked by the GPU. The Witcher 2 still runs awful and I’m still needing to use mostly medium settings with no AA for most games, so this is really compelling me to upgrade my video card. My monitor’s native res is 1920x1200, which seems to really tax the 260.


Anyway, my goal is to upgrade for as cheap as possible; I have very little money on hand and while I can write it off as a business expense, I’d prefer to keep things around $150 give or take $20. What I’ve been looking at right now is the 6870, as it seems like I can get one for around $150-$170 AR. The performance seems pretty decent for the price, which is what causes me to lean in such a direction. However, the one thing that gives me pause is the fact that I’ve consistently read over the years that AMD’s driver support is abysmal—I’ve bought nVidia since the original GeForce for this fact—and games aren’t often optimized for AMD cards. Are my fears unfounded in this? How does AMD hold-up when it comes to driver support? Would I be making the right choice in purchasing a $150 card now, so I can at least get some extra visuals out of The Witcher 2 and Anno 2070 when it arrives? Should I not bother with AMD? Any advice would be much appreciated.




TL;DR


I5-2500k


8Gigs DDR3


1000W Antec PSU


1920x1200


Need cheap video card upgrade, ideally around $150. Considering 6870, wary about driver support and if it would be a decent upgrade from a GTX 260 Core 216 for the price.


Hopefully I didn’t leave anything out.


Thanks

 

[bryanW1995]

I have all nvidia right now, but I wouldn't hesitate to buy AMD if my budget dictated that. For ~ $150, the 6870 is the right card for you. Driver support is enormously better today for AMD than it was in the past, they are on par with nvidia. The only advantage that I've seen in going from AMD to nvidia a few years ago (ironically, from a 4850 to gtx 260 core 216) is the custom AA modes/profiles for specific games. I use it mainly to enable SSAA/16xQAA/etc for older games like nwn2, though honestly with my experience with AMD it wasn't that hard for me to manual go into CCC and change it whenever I got on an older game kick.

One thing I would mention is that with Black Friday coming up you should probably keep your eyes on deals over the next few weeks, don't be surprised if 6950 1gb and/or gtx 560 ti have deals ~ $170 AR or even a bit less.

 

[TakeNoPrisoners]

It should be a reasonably decent upgrade from a GTX 260.

Personally I would try to get either a 6950 or a GTX 560 Ti.

Driver support is more or less equal for both manufacturers.

 

[lehtv]

6870 is a great choice, it's not the most powerful GPU ever at 1920x1200 but it is your best bet for $150 (if you can actually find it for that cheap.) http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/318?vs=290. 6950 2GB would be optimal for your resolution though, except if you upgrade the 6870 to a 7000 series or Kepler next year.

 

[Smartazz]

I made the same upgrade. It's not the most powerful card out there, but I'm pleased with my first sub-$200 video card. If you could get one at $150, that's a great price.

 

[tweakboy]

Your going to lose your phsyx processor switching to Big Red.

That video card 6870 however, is a top notch performer. You can play @ 1080p 8xAA 16xAF high quality.. Games will all run 60fps no matter what. Also BF3 left to auto , sets details to high ,, and game runs like a charm,,, gl

 

[s44]

Wait. If you keep your card years at a time, you're going to regret not getting 28nm.

 

[bryanW1995]

Do you really think the OP is doing any physx with his gtx 260 right now?

Sorry OP, I didn't bother to mention physx since I haven't used it once in my past 3 years' worth of mid-high end nvidia card ownership.

 

[InventorOfEvil]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Do you really think the OP is doing any physx with his gtx 260 right now?

Sorry OP, I didn't bother to mention physx since I haven't used it once in my past 3 years' worth of mid-high end nvidia card ownership.

PhysX was a consideration, I'd prefer not to lose it and it was a part of my reasoning for purchasing the 260 about three years ago. At this point, however, I believe the only game I played with PhysX was Mirrors Edge and I disabled it because of the performance hit. It certainly looks pretty and adds some elements to visuals, but it seems to be of such little consequence as to not matter.

Wait. If you keep your card years at a time, you're going to regret not getting 28nm.

I do tend to keep my cards for long periods. However, I'm imagining that the new 28nm cards will be in the $250+ price range, which is outside of my realm, both financially and mentally. I spent $230 on the 260 at the time and I recall feeling that I was splurging a bit due to cost. $150 is far more realistic for me to spend, not only because it's more inline with my finances, but because I can justify it to my significant other; "It was only $150! I didn't spend very much!"

I've considered waiting for the 28nm cards--in fact, I was looking at new cards in August and then decided to wait because of them--but the fact that they appear to have gotten pushed further and further back makes me not want to wait. I'd still be buying a generation behind when they came out, considering a potential price drop in the 69x0 series.

But I suppose that raises the next question: Should I wait? I can likely get by until newer cards are released, as I don't even game as much as I used to--though I'm eager to get into The Witcher 2--but I ponder if I should. I want to jack-up the settings in Anno 2070, as well as SWTOR when it releases. Skyrim eventually...when it's $20, since I scoff at being charged $60 for a PC game.

 

[toyota]

coming from a gtx260, I would not go any lower than a gtx570 or 6950 2gb. the money you wasted on getting a 1000 watt psu could have been used towards getting a better card too.

 

[InventorOfEvil]

coming from a gtx260, I would not go any lower than a gtx570 or 6950 2gb. the money you wasted on getting a 1000 watt psu could have been used towards getting a better card too.

FWIW: The PSU started out as a 450W Antec that got blown due to stupidity, which was upgraded to a 600W Antec Trio upon RMA, which died due to a power substation explosion, which was RMA'd into the current beast. The original I had about five years ago. I haven't bought a PSU--for my main PC anyway--since.

 

[toyota]

FWIW: The PSU started out as a 450W Antec that got blown due to stupidity, which was upgraded to a 600W Antec Trio upon RMA, which died due to a power substation explosion, which was RMA'd into the current beast. The original I had about five years ago. I haven't bought a PSU--for my main PC anyway--since.

they gave you a 1000 watt psu to replace your 600 watt?

 

[InventorOfEvil]

Yeah, it ended-up being an upgrade each time. I never requested such, just went through the proper channels for an RMA and I kept getting better PSU's. I'm totally fine with that. It'll certainly keep me buying Antec for future builds, as well as recommendations.

 

[bryanW1995]

Back off the psu conversation and back to graphics, toyota is right. I went from a gtx 260 core 216 (with a factory OC of 655 core) to a gtx 460-768 that I oc'd to 905 core/4400 memory. Even with the huge OC (that put me ~ 6870 performance), I only got a 30% bump in fps. Going to my new gtx 480 has been a bigger upgrade than that overclocked gtx 460 was.

tl/dr: gtx 570, 480 or 6950 2gb is the minimum card that you should consider right now. I found a gtx 480 for $183 AR shipped a couple of weeks ago, maybe keep your eyes peeled for a deal like that in the leadup to BF and xmas.

 

[Jhatfie]

In that price range the HD6870 is a fantastic card. I think you will be pleased. If you are willing to OC, they can perform around stock 6950 levels.

If rumors are true, the 78xx cards are mostly just a die shrink of the current 69xx cards with a slight boost in clock and memory speeds. If true, the performance boost will be decent, but not be enormous compared to the 6870. If I only upgraded once every couple years I would be tempted to wait the extra couple months though.

 

[bryanW1995]

I wonder if 78xx might not be a bit faster than 69x0 but be saddled with only 1gb memory since they're a mid/high card? If given a choice between a 6950 2gb or a mythical 6970 1gb (7870), I'd take the 6950.

 

[exar333]

6950 2GB now or wait a few months and do 28nm. The mid-level 28nm is supposedly out pretty soon and would be a solid card to get as well. Maybe end of year-ish?

 

[InventorOfEvil]

I'll probably end-up waiting if I can get more card for the money. I'd love to pick-up a 6950 right now, but unfortunately, I just can't justify it. I'm just starting to get impatient and irritated with the performance of my 260. I bugs the hell out of me that games chug--at times--even on medium settings, but that's what I get for having higher resolution.

What makes the GTX 480 still relevant over newer cards?

 

[RussianSensation]

The Witcher 2 still runs awful and I’m still needing to use mostly medium settings with no AA for most games, so this is really compelling me to upgrade my video card. My monitor’s native res is 1920x1200, which seems to really tax the 260.

so I can at least get some extra visuals out of The Witcher 2 and Anno 2070 when it arrives? Should I not bother with AMD? Any advice would be much appreciated.

You just love playing the most GPU intensive games, don't ya?

Anno 2070 is brutal on GPUs. At the maximum quality setting at 1920x1080, the situation is pretty deplorable. To achieve a sufficient level of performance in this game at these settings, you'll need at least a Radeon HD 6870 or GeForce GTX 560 to get you to 25 fps or so. However, to achieve a more reasonable 30 fps or higher, you'll need nothing less than an HD5870/6950 or a GTX480!!

Source

Witcher 2 runs slightly faster on AMD cards.

Source

You can see Ultra Quality which introduces Super Sampling AA is out of the question for any single-GPU card this generation.

I would say because those 2 games so GPU intensive, I honestly don't think it's worth it to buy an HD6870 for you. You should either wait for a price drop on an HD6950 2GB card that you can unlock into a 6970 or save up another $50 for a $200 28nm GPU.

Since you have kept your GTX260 for a long time, HD6870 is just not fast enough if you intend to also keep it for another 2-3 years without upgrading.

 

[InventorOfEvil]

Since you have kept your GTX260 for a long time, HD6870 is just not fast enough if you intend to also keep it for another 2-3 years without upgrading.

Thanks for the performance charts. Helps me get an idea where I sit and where I will sit when I'm ready to purchase.

I likely will wait until I can spend a little bit more money, which will hopefully be a few months. I'm getting downright impatient, especially when it comes to GPU intensive games.

But of course, this is why I came here to ask before I went out and spent any money. Thanks for the help and advice, all.

 

[lehtv]

I wonder if 78xx might not be a bit faster than 69x0 but be saddled with only 1gb memory since they're a mid/high card? If given a choice between a 6950 2gb or a mythical 6970 1gb (7870), I'd take the 6950.

If the leaks are correct, 7850 and 7870 will have 2GB VRAM

 

[Jhatfie]

Also, since you feel impatient, if you look around sometimes there are some great deals on 6950's. I got my 2GB Sapphire HD 6950 Dirt3 Edition for $240 after rebate - $15 Coupon code and Deus Ex and of course Dirt3 which together I sold for $35, which in turn essentially made my 6950 a $190 card. Not to shabby for a unlocked 6950 that OC's to 970/1370.

 

[edplayer]

I do tend to keep my cards for long periods. However, I'm imagining that the new 28nm cards will be in the $250+ price range, which is outside of my realm, both financially and mentally.

Um, no.

There will be lots of different products on 28nm. From $75 cards up to $500+. Not sure which will come out in what order but eventually there will be a large choice.

Since you have waited this long and are willing to wait some more, I'd say wait. If you do pick up a 6870, only do it if you can get a smoking deal. I've already seen them for $140AR and I believe that came with a game you could have resold to lower the cost. For $120 or less I would pick it up (being in your spot) even though I knew better cards are coming.

I think that sub $120 6870 is possible and likely but it would involve a rebate and maybe selling the bundled game. If you have alerts set up at slickdeals its possible to catch it.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

The only advantage that I've seen in going from AMD to nvidia a few years ago (ironically, from a 4850 to gtx 260 core 216) is the custom AA modes/profiles for specific games. I use it mainly to enable SSAA/16xQAA/etc for older games like nwn2, though honestly with my experience with AMD it wasn't that hard for me to manual go into CCC and change it whenever I got on an older game kick.

Presets do make that easier. Just create a preset for the default settings, and then create presets for older games. You can save a number of clicks by doing this, and you can also assign hotkeys.