6950 vs 6970 on a Q6600 G0 @ 3ghz

[Gloryfieldzi]

So which do you guys think is the best video card for this system? Prefer not to have to upg PSU, if I do then I might as well upg whole system.


I have never owned an nvidia in my life (Radeon 7000 > 9500 pro > x800xt > 1950 pro > 4870), and prefer to keep it that way unless 10% more performance and cheaper nvidia card.

Also, how long do you guys think my CPU/PSU/Mobo/Ram will last before they breaks I've had cpu/psu for 3 years, mobo/ram 2 years and usually run it 8-14 hours a day, although load usually low, mostly browse/excel/word/powerpoint/movies.

I know my CPU can go up to 3.4ghz if I wanted to, but right now I run it at 3.0 ghz.
Thermalright Ultra 90 HSF

Asus P5Q Pro mobo

Antec Trio True Power 650w

2x2gb gskill ddr2-800 ram

Antec P182 case (will these cards fit? right now it fits a 4870)

Intel 80gb ssd

Monitors: Dell U2711 and Dell E22 (the e-IPS 22" one), and a LG L204WT

Would I be able to run eyefinity with a 27" and a 22, and a 20" (2560x1400 and 2x 1680x1050, 1 on each side)? I have no idea about how it works. The games I play most are dota, hon, lol. I think most demanding one I play is BF BC2. Will play a bit of guild wars 2 when it comes out, and dota 2. I hope diablo 3 doesn't get released until after summer 2012, else I'm in trouble....

 

[Gloryfieldzi]

Or should I pick up a second 4870 512mb for $70 and crossfire it, and upg PSU to Seasonic X 850? (would have to upg psu sooner or later to a 850w)

Also, can I crossfire 4870 with 6950?

 

[toyota]

you do not need a bigger power supply.

 

[Termie]

Or should I pick up a second 4870 512mb for $70 and crossfire it, and upg PSU to Seasonic X 850? (would have to upg psu sooner or later to a 850w)

Also, can I crossfire 4870 with 6950?

4870 512MB crossfire is a bad idea. It's memory-limited.

You can't crossfire 4870 with 6-series.

For your purposes, the 6950 and 6970 are almost equivalent. Just save some money and get the 6950.

 

[maniacalpha1-1]

Here's my theory, and it could be all wrong, so I guess I'm putting it forth for review as well!

Anandtech bench shows Q6600 as able to get 69.8 FPS on Crysis at 1680 X1050. Unfortunately they don't have Bad Company 2 or other newer game benchmarks for the Q6600, so you have to use Crysis as a fixed reference point. The closest benchmark they do have is a Core2Quad Q8400 and it gets 73 in Crysis Warhead(only 4 frames difference) and 94 FPS in Dragon Age Origins. 2500k Sandy Bridge is 91 Crysis/160 Dragon Age.

Now, since they don't have CPU benchmarks for BC2 or those other games you listed, you have to make guesses and it's not easy since you don't know if Crysis is more CPU or more GPU heavy than BC2. However, I suspect that a processor that can get you to 69.8 FPS in Crysis should get you at least that much in BC2. For comparison, Anandtech's GPU bench using i7920, a 6970 gets 63.3 FPS in Crysis Warhead. That being the case, you could possibly infer that the 69.8 FPS that the Q6600 can get(and bear in mind, they tested with a GTX 280 back when the Q6600 was benched) will not therefore bottleneck the 63.3 that the 6970 can get.

I put forth this theory because my own processor only benchmarks to about 71 FPS in crysis and is therefore in virtually the same position as you, and I'm looking forward to BF3 which will be a very similar engine to BC2.

 

[Gloryfieldzi]

so basically you suggest a Q6600 oc'd to 3.0-3.4ghz won't bottleneck a stock setting 6950? (psu can't overclock both q66 and 6950)

Also I'd like to play @ 2560x1440 resolution. And eyefinity for less intensive games like CSS or Guild wars 1/2.

 

[Zargon]

eyefiunity requires the same res on all monitors unless its a +1

but to do 3 screens like you want it shouldnt work

 

[maniacalpha1-1]

so basically you suggest a Q6600 oc'd to 3.0-3.4ghz won't bottleneck a stock setting 6950? (psu can't overclock both q66 and 6950)

Also I'd like to play @ 2560x1440 resolution. And eyefinity for less intensive games like CSS or Guild wars 1/2.

I'm not suggesting, but I'm "theorizing with hope" shall we say - because I'm looking at getting around the 6950 level of video card to go with my similar in power CPU.

 

[Gloryfieldzi]

eyefiunity requires the same res on all monitors unless its a +1

but to do 3 screens like you want it shouldnt work

so can I run eyefinity with 27" and 22"? 2560x1440 + 1050x1680 portrait, ran at 1050x1440

 

[Gloryfieldzi]

I'm not suggesting, but I'm "theorizing with hope" shall we say - because I'm looking at getting around the 6950 level of video card to go with my similar in power CPU.

yea on one hand I'd rather upg now and get it over with, on otherhand I know that sb will price drop a ton by summer time once amd comes out with refresh. And by then hopefully mobo prices go down to. I wouldn't have any reason to upg if I didn't just get this U2711 monitor. I have to set everything to minimum in order to play BF BC2 @ native res with stock 4870

 

[Gloryfieldzi]

also, what's the rumor on 7xxxx release date? Maybe i'll hold out with 4870 and just run bf bc2 @ low settings native res

 

[toyota]

also, what's the rumor on 7xxxx release date? Maybe i'll hold out with 4870 and just run bf bc2 @ low settings native res

don't be silly because that card is 9 months away at best.

 

[jiffylube1024]

also, what's the rumor on 7xxxx release date? Maybe i'll hold out with 4870 and just run bf bc2 @ low settings native res

6xxx series just came out. 6xxx was AMD's second generation on 40nm (third generation if you consider the 4770 was also made on 40nm). AMD won't release another high-end card on 40nm.

So, given those factors, TSMC has to get 28nm or 32nm up and running before ATI can even think of releasing their new card.

I'd expect 7xxx to come out after September 201.1 at the earliest, so if you want to upgrade anytime soon that's off the table.
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I'd say go with the 6950; you get a big upgrade over the 4870 (it will consume 50-60W less power at the desktop too!). Given your system and setup, the 6970 is spending a decent chunk more money for not much of an upgrade over the 6950.

The video card will fit in the P182 no problem; the 6950 has connectors at the top of the card, not on the end like the 4870, so even though the card is 1" to 1.5" longer than the 4870, it won't take up more space horizontally in the case due to the power plugs sticking out on the 4870.

Worst case you can always remove the top HDD bay on the P182.

 

[happy medium]

6950 is the best card for your system/ resolution, and overclock your cpu to 3.4.
I would also do a stock voltage overclock of the 6950. I would not stress you psu with a 6950 overclock with voltage boost.

 

[superccs]

6950 is the best card for your system/ resolution, and overclock your cpu to 3.4.
I would also do a stock voltage overclock of the 6950. I would not stress you psu with a 6950 overclock with voltage boost.

This.

I run the same power supply and it is doing just fine running my x6 1055t @ 3.4-4.0Ghz and a GTX 460 @ 850Mhz both on stock volts + an SSD and 2 WD green 1TB drives.

 

[Gloryfieldzi]

would a 6950 fit inside a P182?

 

[happy medium]

would a 6950 fit inside a P182?

Yes

You may have to remove a drive cage but yes it will fit.

 

[MangoX]

You will need to OC that cpu if you don't want to bottleneck the 6950. I tested the 6950 on my roommates pc (e5200@3.75, G31 chipset, 4870) and the 6950 barely gave a better gaming experience than the 4870. The only games I tested were WoW, SC2, NFS: HP, JC2, Warhead. Out of those games, only JC2 and Warhead (obviously) had any improvements in average FPS, but min FPS was still terrible, barely better than the 4870.

 

[Gloryfieldzi]

I don't think I can oc my cpu anymore than 3.6ghz without switching cooling to something better. would that be enough?

 

[SolMiester]

I think the dual core referred to in #18 couldnt feed the GPU. I dont the same issue with a 3.4 quad core, especially with games like Wow and SC2

 

[Skurge]

I think the dual core referred to in #18 couldnt feed the GPU. I dont the same issue with a 3.4 quad core, especially with games like Wow and SC2

Well, SC2 only uses to cores, so you'll need a modern cpu to get good fps in that game.

 

[happy medium]

I don't think I can oc my cpu anymore than 3.6ghz without switching cooling to something better. would that be enough?

A e5300 @ 3.75 is not nearly as fast as a q6600 @ 3.4. I would not worry.
My upgrades were e5400 @ 3.6 to e8400@ 3.6 to q9950 @ 3.6. I would know. You minimums will be much better then any dual core and that gives you a better gaming experience.

 

[SolMiester]

Well, SC2 only uses to cores, so you'll need a modern cpu to get good fps in that game.

Goodbye theory.....!

 

[MangoX]

Well, SC2 only uses to cores, so you'll need a modern cpu to get good fps in that game.

Yup. That's why IPC and clock speed matters for this game. With my i5 750@4ghz was good. But the 2500K@4.5 is even better.

 

[NoQuarter]

so can I run eyefinity with 27" and 22"? 2560x1440 + 1050x1680 portrait, ran at 1050x1440

No, all the monitors will be set to the same resolution, meaning 1680x1050 on each including the big middle monitor, all in landscape (or 1050x1680 on each all in portrait). You can't do PLP on Eyefinity so it won't work the way you want at all. You can use SoftTH to make it work that way but it is poor performance.