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HD 6970 2GB or GTX 580 1,5GB

F

forceunleasher

Junior Member
Now, guys, I'm new on the forum, please don't be too hard on me 😀 I want to see your opinions NOW, so I posted a new thread. My question is simple:
1. I'll have 1 ( one ) Full HD monitor, and I'll be using only that one.
2. My criteria for choosing the card is: I want to run Battlefield 3 EVERYTHING on MAX with a resolution of 1920x1080 with a stable 45-50 to 70 FPS IF possible.
3. I've stopped on these two cards because I'm thinking that in the future I may need to put another one of the same type. I watched some benchies and I decided that the 6970 in CrossFire mode and the GTX 580 in SLI perform REALLY well. But now I'll be buying only one and after 1-2 years another one.
4. I also want to mention that I'm not going to manually overclock the card, so if you can also tell me if the clocked versions of the GTX 580 are worth the buck.
5. Also, I don't have the goal to run BF3 on more than one monitor with more than 80 FPS. I do not seek to be a record holder.
6. If you share with me some info on better games for criteria that'd be great.
7. Also if you can tell me the differences of the many brands that offer the cards. Many people say to seek the best price and warranty, that's the difference.
8. I've compared the cards, and I know that the GTX 580 outperforms the 6970 by a solid 15-20%, maybe even more, and also the GTX 580 1,5GB SLI outperforms the 6970 2GB CF by a bunch. I'm confused because people actually say that when you need to play games at a higher resolution, you need more memory. I'm leaning towards the GTX because of the tests but I cannot understand why it is beating the 6970, maybe because of the bus type being 384 bit. I don't even know anymore. The question is - is it worth the small amount of extra money?
9. I also watched a benchmark where the normal GTX 580 1,5GB outperforms the GTX 580 3GB 0_0 . Maybe I need some sleep, but can you also tell me, should I invest in the GTX 580 3GB model. The benchmark is here. Maybe something is wrong with me if I'm the only one seeing it.
10. My CPU will be i5-2500k, maybe I'll overclock it to ~4.0GHz but I'm not sure for now.

So: HD 6970 2GB or GTX 580 1,5GB? :whiste:

TL;DR version: I want to have a video card that will support the upcoming games in the next 1-2 years EVERYTHING maxed out on Full HD on 1 ( one ) monitor with some stable 50 to 70 FPS, when I start to feel I need more to run a certain game at MAX, I'll buy another card of the same type. I don't feel the need of reaching 180 FPS on Crysis 2, for example, or Lost Planet 2. Also should I worry that the GTX 580 has 1,5GB of RAM and the 6970 has 2GB BUT the GTX 580 does better on the tests, I'm using an i5-2500k CPU, should I consider clocked versions, and also what are the best brands for the two cards ( my opinion is: XFX for the 6970 and eVGA for the GTX 580, correct me if I'm wrong ).
 
Is price no concern to you? GTX 580. Pretty easy...although the 6970 is substantially cheaper. I'd suggest getting a GTX 580 used if you can find it from a seller you trust.

Secondly, neither card will run bf3 at ultra settings / 4x MSAA at without dipping below 60 fps. I've personally tried it as single card on both and the gtx 580 will need MSAA turned off (while still using FXAA) and 1080p performance will be around 45-50 fps on 64player mp maps. The alternative to this is using something like inject SMAA or inject FXAA which can make things look a bit smoother without the performance hit of 4x MSAA.

You really need sli or crossfire to turn EVERYTHING up in many games, bf3 being one, and others such as crysis 2 , metro 2033, etc. Like I said though your performance on a single 580 with ultra / MSAA turned off will be pretty good. It will be stupid fast in single player, but in 64 player MP you will dip below 60 fps at times. The super big maps you will probably be around 50 fps. Anyway long story short the GTX 580 will play better in DX11 games - but with the GTX 580 still being expensive it may not be worth it unless it is used.
 
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What is your budget? No point in getting a GTX 580 1.5GB @ $450 when the HD7950 3GB is around the same price...

Edit - Assuming you're in the US. Not sure how the prices differ in other areas of the world.
 
Yeah... the question is odd.
If you have only the budget for an HD6970, get an HD6970 (or GTX570 since I think they are about the same price)
If you can afford a GTX580, get an HD7950, ESPECIALLY if you are considering running two cards in the future, since the power requirements will be lower, and there will be greater availability of new cards in 2 years. The GTX580 is already over a year old.
 
+1 for the 7950 [3GB (as there may be a 1.5GB [or alternative] VRAM version in the future)] if you have the budget for a GTX580 [1.5GB]
If you only have the budget for the 6970 at the moment and don't want to wait until you can afford the more powerful cards, get a 6970 or a 570 like Lonyo said. 🙂
 
7950 is abit faster than a 580, and cheaper... it also has 3GB ram so its more future proof.
It has stronger tessellation, something you might see more of in the future.

The question isnt "should I buy 6970 or 580", but "7950 or 580".

The answear is the 7950, the differnce is kinda small in BF3,
but it ll be bigger in other games (and more future proof) (less power use too).
 
Nope, I'm not from the US, more like, Bulgaria. 😀 So you guys say that if I get the new series Radeon it will be more "optimal"..... I didn't think about that. You guys flipped the world for me now. Now, I'm gonna try to save some more money, and delay my PC build, to buy a Asus Radeon HD 7970. Because I want the maximum Single GPU card. But I agree with your point that I shouldn't be comparing the 6970 with the GTX 580...
Okay let's say I stop on the 7970....what brand to choose 😕 ? The 3 brands that are available here are Sapphire, Gigabyte and Asus, and Sapphire has the cheapest price( which is very attractive ) and Asus has the most expensive price. :\ I would choose Sapphire :colbert:
 
forceunleasher said:
Nope, I'm not from the US, more like, Bulgaria. 😀 So you guys say that if I get the new series Radeon it will be more "optimal"..... I didn't think about that. You guys flipped the world for me now. Now, I'm gonna try to save some more money, and delay my PC build, to buy a Asus Radeon HD 7970. Because I want the maximum Single GPU card. But I agree with your point that I shouldn't be comparing the 6970 with the GTX 580...
Okay let's say I stop on the 7970....what brand to choose 😕 ? The 3 brands that are available here are Sapphire, Gigabyte and Asus, and Sapphire has the cheapest price( which is very attractive ) and Asus has the most expensive price. :\ I would choose Sapphire :colbert:
Click to expand...
If you were going to hold on to the card for 2 years then the AMD 7970 was the only choice for you. Go with either one, they are all reference.
 
badb0y said:
If you were going to hold on to the card for 2 years then the AMD 7970 was the only choice for you. Go with either one, they are all reference.
Click to expand...

I hear ya, what do you suggest - to wait for a clocked or double fan edition, or just simply wait for a little price cut or buy it now? I see that you already bought one...
 
Playing the waiting game with graphics cards is always a gamble. They don't always drop in price immediately, especially if there is demand. I say buy the card when you have the money and enjoy it. Why wait possibly for months when you can be using the card for that amount of time...
 
forceunleasher said:
I hear ya, what do you suggest - to wait for a clocked or double fan edition, or just simply wait for a little price cut or buy it now? I see that you already bought one...
Click to expand...
If I was you I would have bought one already lol. It doesn't matter which brand you get because most of the cards are reference. The only non-reference cards I would consider are the ASUS DCUII or the MSI Lightning cards because they have a beefier PCB for better overclocks.
 
forceunleasher said:
Now, I'm gonna try to save some more money, and delay my PC build, to buy a Asus Radeon HD 7970. Because I want the maximum Single GPU card.
Click to expand...

There's always a "maximum Single GPU card" just around the corner. Get a 7950 and enjoy it, it's strong enough for any game.
 
mosox said:
There's always a "maximum Single GPU card" just around the corner. Get a 7950 and enjoy it, it's strong enough for any game.
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Around the corner doesn't apply when you buy every 2 years. He will be better off with the 7970 than a 7950.
 
I'd get a 7970 but I'd wait until April if I could to see what Nvidia brings to the table and also prices will drop. Having said that there is no firm Kepler launch date afaik but if you can't wait get the Sapphire 7970.
 
Jacky60 said:
I'd get a 7970 but I'd wait until April if I could to see what Nvidia brings to the table and also prices will drop. Having said that there is no firm Kepler launch date afaik but if you can't wait get the Sapphire 7970.
Click to expand...

Even if I wait, I think it will be a mistake because naturally Nvidia are more expensive. Even if they come up with the GTX 680 being better than the 7970, I won't have the money to afford it.
 
SlowEJ8 said:
Get a Evga 580 gtx classified. or if you got the money, get 2. You wont regret
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Why would he buy older, slower tech that is worse in every metric?
forceunleasher said:
Even if I wait, I think it will be a mistake because naturally Nvidia are more expensive. Even if they come up with the GTX 680 being better than the 7970, I won't have the money to afford it.
Click to expand...
That's a possibility. There's also a possibility that no one will drop prices regardless because 28nm supply is so low. I'm always of the mind to buy a good deal now and enjoy as opposed for holding out for the absolute best. It's a tough decision no doubt.
 
Thanks guys, you all really helped me make my choice. I'll buy the Sapphire HD 7970. It has all the accessories I need and the price is good. The card is new....and my only question that remains is: will the i5-2500k bottleneck when I get another Sapphire HD 7970? Also what power supply should I get? I know that for 1 card it's 500W. But for 2? :colbert:
 
forceunleasher said:
Thanks guys, you all really helped me make my choice. I'll buy the Sapphire HD 7970. It has all the accessories I need and the price is good. The card is new....and my only question that remains is: will the i5-2500k bottleneck when I get another Sapphire HD 7970? Also what power supply should I get? I know that for 1 card it's 500W. But for 2? :colbert:
Click to expand...

750W PSU (a good one, not a cheap one with five 12V rails or something) is enough for SLI 7970.

A stock 2500K may bottle neck an SLI 7970 setup, but over clocking it to 4.5 or so should fix that. But even a stock one should be fine for a single 7970.

I just ordered the Sapphire 7950 OC, should be here Friday 🙂

Not sure on a date for non-reference 7970's.
 
Stuka87 said:
750W PSU (a good one, not a cheap one with five 12V rails or something) is enough for SLI 7970.

A stock 2500K may bottle neck an SLI 7970 setup, but over clocking it to 4.5 or so should fix that. But even a stock one should be fine for a single 7970.

I just ordered the Sapphire 7950 OC, should be here Friday 🙂

Not sure on a date for non-reference 7970's.
Click to expand...

So final decision: I'll buy a reference Sapphire HD 7970, it overclocks well, so I can overclock it from 925 MHz to about 1050-1100 MHz maximum I think, my i5-2500k ( without OCing ) will be enough for the GPU, a 750W PSU ( most people say 1000W ), and when I buy a second 7970, I'll OC the CPU to about 4,2-4,5 GHz ( and the PSU will be enough also? ) . Right? Did I miss something?
 
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That should be correct. 1000W would be correct for something like dual GTX580's.

Now if you want one bigger than 750W you can get one, it won't hurt you really. But if you do go 750W, just keep an eye on the 12V rails, and make sure its somewhat efficient.

Or if you like, post over in the power supply area and ask there. Probably get the same answer though as others have already asked it.
 
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