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6850 vs 6950

Jschmuck2

Jschmuck2

Diamond Member
For my new SB build. I was ordering parts for someone else and decided

"Hey, this Wolfdale is getting on in years...it's time!"

My original order had an XFX 6850 but the more I read about the 6950 the more I reconsidered. Is it worth the extra 40-50 bucks to get the 6950 over the 6850?

EDIT: I'm referring to the 1GB 6950, not the 2.

EDITEDIT: Playing at 1920*1080
 
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if you can use the extra horsepower, then sure it's worth it. Otherwise, it's $40-$50 sitting there doing nothing to improve your gaming.
 
Depends of your resolution, games you play and if you consider OC. An OCed 6950, even without the shaders unlocked, will be quite close to a stock 6970 in most cases.

Personally, for $40-50 I would be quite tempted to buy the 6950.
 
It's a pretty big jump in performance, at least 20% in most games, so I would say that an extra $40-50 would make it worthwhile.
 
Unheard said:
I have the 6850 which isn't unlockable. The 6950 is the unlockable one.
Click to expand...

You know, no one's tried it, AFAIK, but remember that some of the first 6850's that went out for review had all of their shaders active. 6850's might unlock as well. No backup BIOS though to save you if it doesn't.
 
3DVagabond said:
You know, no one's tried it, AFAIK, but remember that some of the first 6850's that went out for review had all of their shaders active. 6850's might unlock as well. No backup BIOS though to save you if it doesn't.
Click to expand...

I actually looked into trying it. My backup bios would be Microcenters easy return policy. 😀

The people who did try it didnt unlock any shaders, but did raise the default clock speeds.
 
Unheard said:
I actually looked into trying it. My backup bios would be Microcenters easy return policy. 😀

The people who did try it didnt unlock any shaders, but did raise the default clock speeds.
Click to expand...

Well, there are better ways to O/C a card than flashing the BIOS. 😉
 
Jschmuck2 said:
For my new SB build. I was ordering parts for someone else and decided

"Hey, this Wolfdale is getting on in years...it's time!"

My original order had an XFX 6850 but the more I read about the 6950 the more I reconsidered. Is it worth the extra 40-50 bucks to get the 6950 over the 6850?

EDIT: I'm referring to the 1GB 6950, not the 2.

EDITEDIT: Playing at 1920*1080
Click to expand...

Is there a reason you haven't looked at the 6870?

On Newegg, as of today, March 13th, the cheapest 6850 is $155, the cheapest 6870 is $178, and the cheapest 6950 1GB is $215. In most games, the delta between the 6850 and 6870 is greater than the 6870 and 6950, with some major exceptions (e.g. Mass Effect 2, Stalker): http://www.anandtech.com/show/4137/...-6950-1gb-xfxs-radeon-hd-6870-black-edition/5.

I'd say that right now, the 6870 is the best value going in the mid/high-end segment. Here it is for $178 after shipping/code/rebate: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131373
 
Termie said:
Is there a reason you haven't looked at the 6870?

On Newegg, as of today, March 13th, the cheapest 6850 is $155, the cheapest 6870 is $178, and the cheapest 6950 1GB is $215. In most games, the delta between the 6850 and 6870 is greater than the 6870 and 6950, with some major exceptions (e.g. Mass Effect 2, Stalker): http://www.anandtech.com/show/4137/...-6950-1gb-xfxs-radeon-hd-6870-black-edition/5.

I'd say that right now, the 6870 is the best value going in the mid/high-end segment. Here it is for $178 after shipping/code/rebate: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131373
Click to expand...

Seconded. 6870 is a great alternative to get more performance than the 6850 but for less than the 6950. Performance is between the two cards, power consumption is also between the two, and it's also quite quiet. I have one and love it! Also, depending on the model, the 6870 usually has the high-end port configuration of 2x mini DP, 2x DVI and 1x HDMI.
 
Id go for the 6950 for $215.

If you are one of the people who like the overclock. The 6950 is a pretty good overclocker, but YMMV.

The 6870 is also a great alternative if you don plan on overclocking.
 
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