Buying 6870 or 6850, performance and price question

[MangoX]

You could use a molex adapter and it should work fine. The 6970 only draws approximately 20-30w more than a 6850. I have a friend using a i5 750 stock, a 5850 and the same power supply with no issues.

 

[Termie]

Haven't completely decided yet

Would you say it's a good idea to use the splitter though? What if I actually would want to use my DVD-RW drive while gaming? Could the extra load cause crashes, or unreliable performance? Don't know if anyone has done it before here, and I would like some opinions, altough in general I don't think it's a really good idea, it sounds messy...

This is a relatively technical question. You may want to ask it in the Power Supplies section of the forum.

I'll repeat, however, that in your case, it probably isn't worth the risk. Until you get a new system, the performance of both cards will be completely equal (due to the bottleneck), and after you upgrade, there will be new cards that eclipse both, making the 10-15% difference seem insignificant.

The 6850 is a fine card, plus it's much shorter and more efficient, and therefore can be used in a wider array of systems. I think it's a better long-term investment (it will work for HTPC use, for instance).

 

[Davste]

Okay. I ordered the 6850 PCS+ version, with the slight factory overclock. It was the best option considering that the 6870 needed two power cords. Not worth the risk.

 

[Termie]

Okay. I ordered the 6850 PCS+ version, with the slight factory overclock. It was the best option considering that the 6870 needed two power cords. Not worth the risk.

Good choice - let us know how it works. With that and the new power supply, you are on your way to a great new system.

 

[Davste]

Will do when I get it.
I hope that by next friday I will actually be able to play crysis 2

 

[Davste]

Just got the new graphics card and really happy with it
I can run crysis 2 @ 1920x1080 - Extreme with 30-50fps. At lowest it still gives 30-50 fps lol, so I guess that's definitely a CPU bottleneck. Still, it's more than playable maxed out.

 

[Termie]

Just got the new graphics card and really happy with it
I can run crysis 2 @ 1920x1080 - Extreme with 30-50fps. At lowest it still gives 30-50 fps lol, so I guess that's definitely a CPU bottleneck. Still, it's more than playable maxed out.

That's great news - looks like the card was a good investment. You're getting to play modern games now, and once you upgrade to a new CPU, you'll really unlock the potential of that 6850.

 

[RussianSensation]

That's great news - looks like the card was a good investment. You're getting to play modern games now, and once you upgrade to a new CPU, you'll really unlock the potential of that 6850.

You believe him just like that? Oh ya, next thing you know an X2 doesn't bottleneck a GTX590.

http://www.techspot.com/review/379-crysis-2-performance/page8.html

19 fps maximum with an Athlon II X265 @ 3.3ghz. . . . Suddenly his 6850 + Athlon X2 ~ 2.2ghz is doing 30-50 fps at the same settings with a videocard 3x slower. :sneaky:

 

[Termie]

You believe him just like that? Oh ya, next thing you know an X2 doesn't bottleneck a GTX590.

http://www.techspot.com/review/379-crysis-2-performance/page8.html

19 fps maximum with an Athlon II X265 @ 3.3ghz. . . . Suddenly his 6850 + Athlon X2 ~ 2.2ghz is doing 30-50 fps at the same settings with a videocard 3x slower. :sneaky:

Oh, Russian, we all know that he's not hitting 50fps in Crysis 2, but he's playing the game and happy, and we like games and happy people here!

 

[Davste]

Oh, Russian, we all know that he's not hitting 50fps in Crysis 2, but he's playing the game and happy, and we like games and happy people here!

Yeah, I just gave those numbers off my head without checking , because that's how the game feels. I thought it felt smooth and just said 30-50fps to express myself.
Now that I actually checked my framerate, yeah I don't get 50 fps, but I have an average of 30 fps indoors, 40 sometimes, and I get very similar framerates on highest and on lowest resolutions, so I know it's a bottleneck. And not extreeme, very high. Anyway, I'm getting off this thread, forever. You can get it closed for all that matters.

 

[DigDog]

well, i had no problem playing through Crysis 2 @ 1680x1050 (medium .. still looked nice) on a E6600@3.2, and a GTX280 - bought off eBay for £50.

i agree with - get a 4850/4870, cheap, from ebay.
. . you can't go wrong, rest of the moneys should get you the better part of a i3 2100, and later get a mobo and some DDR3

 

[cusideabelincoln]

19 fps maximum with an Athlon II X265

Average.

 

[edplayer]

Just got the new graphics card and really happy with it

and that is what matters. Glad we could help you!