HD6950 1GB vs. GT740 1GB?

[cbn]

If you had to choose between the following two budget cards:

Powercolor HD6950 1GB for $49.99 AR shipped:

(Caymann) 1440 VLIW4 stream processors @ 800 Mhz with 256 bit GDDR5 (1GB)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131682

MSI GT 740 1GB for $59.99 shipped:

(GK107) 384 Kepler cores @ 1007 Mhz with 128 bit GDDR5 (1GB)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127804

What one would you choose? And why? Keep in mind the HD6950 is no longer supported with new drivers by AMD as of November 24, 2015.

 

[alexruiz]

Easy one.

The HD6950 is 10-15% slower than a HD7850, and slightly faster than a R7 260X, meaning it is right there with a GTX 750 Ti. The HD6950 by a long shot.

A decent 430W PSU will be enough for the card (>30A in the 12V rail)

 

[LTC8K6]

Neither. I'd get an AMD GCN card at least.

 

[RussianSensation]

Neither. I'd get an AMD GCN card at least.

This. For gaming both are mediocre although from a performance perspective, the 6950 would easily beat a 740.

1) 1GB of VRAM = DOA

2) 740 1GB is worse than the GPU in XB1 (HD7790). :thumbsdown:

3) HD6950 has no driver support, won't support DX12

I'd save up $30 more and buy an R9 270 2GB that offers performance similar to a GTX950 2GB (because R9 270 is actually faster than R7 370). Within minutes this card can be overclocked to R9 270X speeds. This means getting close to stock 960/770 level of performance for just $90.

I don't see any point in buying an under-powered $50-60 GPU for PC gaming because it's obsolete on day 1, meaning it costs more to own the $50-60 card long-term. Might as well as save up $30 more and get a proper budget videocard. If someone cannot save up $30, how can they afford PC games without pirating them?

 

[cbn]

Neither. I'd get an AMD GCN card at least.

Sometime before the Summer of 2014 and up until recently, a person could buy the Power Color R7 250X 1GB for $59.99 AR shipped on sale on a fairly regular basis.

Now all those cards are gone and now $54.99 AR shipped only gets someone a R7 240:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...73872 600473873 600487621 600473874 600489396

(320sp @ 720Mhz/780Mhz with 128 bit DDR3 vs.640sp @ 1000 Mhz with 128 bit GDDR5 is a massive difference in performance per dollar).

 

[monstercameron]

the nvidia card wouldn't have legacy drivers...

 

[RussianSensation]

(320sp @ 720Mhz/780Mhz with 128 bit DDR3 vs.640sp @ 1000 Mhz with 128 bit GDDR5 is a massive difference in performance per dollar).

One of the cards you listed has an "irrelevant" price/performance calculation since you are talking a straight up slide-show at 1080p.

TW3 Low - City
740 2GB = 14.5 fps (unplayable)
HD6970 = 32.1 fps
HD7850 = 34.5 fps

TW3 Low - Forest
740 2GB = 14.1 fps
HD6970 = 33.9 fps
HD7850 = 39.9 fps

TW3 Low - Storm
740 2GB = 14.8 fps
HD6970 = 34.7 fps
HD7850 = 37.3 fps

Among those 2 cards, the choice cannot be clearer but I strongly advise to save up for a $90 R9 270 2GB or look in the FS forum for used GTX670/680/760/HD7850/7870/HD7950 cards.

the nvidia card wouldn't have legacy drivers...

It doesn't need drivers to play 2D games. 740 is hopeless for modern games no matter the driver support. Making matters worse, the 740 1GB costs $60 and is hopelessly outclassed by the $50 6950 and in NV's own product stack we already had Newegg deals on GTX750 for $50.

 

[cbn]

(snip) and in NV's own product stack we already had Newegg deals on GTX750 for $50.

That was true, but that $50 AR GTX 750 1GB deal didn't last very long (unlike the Power Color R7 250X $59.99 AR deals which cycled on and off again for over a year).

P.S. Looking forward to seeing the GTX 750 Ti finally go on clearance. But I wonder how low the prices will go considering it is a 2GB card?

 

[RussianSensation]

Next year it will be possible to buy a sub-$100 GTX950/R9 380 because every 28nm card will be made close to "obsolete" due to next gen card's features, perf/watt, DX12 support, DisplayPort 1.3, HDMI 2.0a HDR support, and most updated 4K video engines for 4K BluRay HDR support. Also, given the previous sales on 750, R9 290, almost everything is overpriced right now. Once 28nm gen ends, that's when the best value buys on old tech will happen in 2016.

 

[Magic Carpet]

If you had to choose between the following two budget cards

If I had to play DirectX 9/10 games, for fifty bucks TeraScale is a steal. They are both too slow for modern games, so neither.

 

[mohit9206]

It always comes down to choosing either a used powerful card or a weaker new card for the same price. I'd choose the weaker new card because the people of my country have a tendency to use their product roughly and not take care of it properly so whoever is buying the used product is taking a big gamble. If i was in US I'd choose 6950 since people take good care of their things but in my case id choose 740 because unfortunately i don't live in usa.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Next year it will be possible to buy a sub-$100 GTX950/R9 380 because every 28nm card will be made close to "obsolete" due to next gen card's features, perf/watt, DX12 support, DisplayPort 1.3, HDMI 2.0a HDR support, and most updated 4K video engines for 4K BluRay HDR support. Also, given the previous sales on 750, R9 290, almost everything is overpriced right now. Once 28nm gen ends, that's when the best value buys on old tech will happen in 2016.

I can't wait! I would love to upgrade a 1GB 7850 I have to a GTX950 for cheap!

 

[RussianSensation]

I can't wait! I would love to upgrade a 1GB 7850 I have to a GTX950 for cheap!

Imo, that's not a good upgrade, unless you want it for HTPC. But, you could sell the 7850 to the OP right now for $60, and buy a $120 MSI 950 (white version) on Newegg. That way your cheap 950 "upgrade" wish comes true and OP gets a better card than either of his options Holiday spirit.

 

[Zodiark1593]

Obviously neither card is going to max out modern games, though I see no reason why the 6950 wouldn't fare reasonably well at reduced settings.

 

[VirtualLarry]

One of the cards you listed has an "irrelevant" price/performance calculation since you are talking a straight up slide-show at 1080p.

TW3 Low - City
740 2GB = 14.5 fps (unplayable)
HD6970 = 32.1 fps
HD7850 = 34.5 fps

TW3 Low - Forest
740 2GB = 14.1 fps
HD6970 = 33.9 fps
HD7850 = 39.9 fps

TW3 Low - Storm
740 2GB = 14.8 fps
HD6970 = 34.7 fps
HD7850 = 37.3 fps

Among those 2 cards, the choice cannot be clearer but I strongly advise to save up for a $90 R9 270 2GB or look in the FS forum for used GTX670/680/760/HD7850/7870/HD7950 cards.



It doesn't need drivers to play 2D games. 740 is hopeless for modern games no matter the driver support. Making matters worse, the 740 1GB costs $60 and is hopelessly outclassed by the $50 6950 and in NV's own product stack we already had Newegg deals on GTX750 for $50.

OUCH! And I had already ordered two of those MSI GT740 1GB GDDR5 cardsb from Newegg, thinking that they were competitive with the R7 250X cards I got that were roughly the same price.

 

[Zodiark1593]

OUCH! And I had already ordered two of those MSI GT740 1GB GDDR5 cardsb from Newegg, thinking that they were competitive with the R7 250X cards I got that were roughly the same price.

Sucks to be you. ^_^

 

[VirtualLarry]

Sucks to be you. ^_^

I blame the Hot Deals reflex. "Buy now, think later."

 

[SPBHM]

One of the cards you listed has an "irrelevant" price/performance calculation since you are talking a straight up slide-show at 1080p.

TW3 Low - City
740 2GB = 14.5 fps (unplayable)
HD6970 = 32.1 fps
HD7850 = 34.5 fps

TW3 Low - Forest
740 2GB = 14.1 fps
HD6970 = 33.9 fps
HD7850 = 39.9 fps

TW3 Low - Storm
740 2GB = 14.8 fps
HD6970 = 34.7 fps
HD7850 = 37.3 fps

Among those 2 cards, the choice cannot be clearer but I strongly advise to save up for a $90 R9 270 2GB or look in the FS forum for used GTX670/680/760/HD7850/7870/HD7950 cards.



It doesn't need drivers to play 2D games. 740 is hopeless for modern games no matter the driver support. Making matters worse, the 740 1GB costs $60 and is hopelessly outclassed by the $50 6950 and in NV's own product stack we already had Newegg deals on GTX750 for $50.

6950 1GB is not a 6970 2GB and these are with old drivers/game version, updated results are much worse for the 6970
http://pclab.pl/art66374-5.html

also check some newer games and the 6970 2GB is useless
http://pclab.pl/art67250-4.html
half a 7770...

save some money for a decent low end card like a 750 ti or 260X 2GB

but OK if you want to play some old games the 6950 will be fine, and for $50 it's OK I guess, I played witcher 3 (before updates) with a 5850 OC and it was better than I expected,

 

[Shmee]

For a bit more, there is a sapphire 6970 2GB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202113

 

[AtenRa]

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7770 1GB for $59,99

GCN DX-12 compatible, same price as the GT 740 but faster.

edit: hmm refurbished

 

[skipsneeky2]

As someone who actually ordered the MSI gt 740 for $60,i don't regret the decision.I had a bad experience with a 6990 back in the day,i rarely buy anything refurbished anyways and Nvidia these days offers i am sure way more support for a GT 740 over AMD and their discontinued 6950.

If the driver argument and price point aren't winning points ,wattage for me anyways was.

My GT 740 is being paired with a G1820 and the games it will play will be held back by the G1820 in regards to the most playable frame rates and settings used i bet.

 

[RussianSensation]

6950 1GB is not a 6970 2GB and these are with old drivers/game version, updated results are much worse for the 6970
http://pclab.pl/art66374-5.html

also check some newer games and the 6970 2GB is useless
http://pclab.pl/art67250-4.html
half a 7770...

Way to cherry pick one game and ignore many other games. Considering both cards in the OP are 1GB cards, we can see at least where the maximum level of raw GPU horsepower lands an HD6950 level card. HD6970 today is just 9% behind GTX580 and is on par with a GTX750Ti.
http://www.computerbase.de/2015-08/...#abschnitt_tests_in_1920__1080_und_2560__1440

That means in the types of games an HD6950 and GT740 can actually be used (i.e., pre 2H 2015 games), HD6950 will win in almost all titles, especially older games. It won't be close either.

Making the argument that HD6950 is useless for newer games ignores the fact that GT740 is just as useless. At least 6950 is much faster for older games and in this case costs less.

save some money for a decent low end card like a 750 ti or 260X 2GB

In light of a $90 R9 270, neither of these cards make any sense in the US. From the first date either of these cards launched, both offered terrible price/performance. Thankfully the 750/750Ti $119/$149 turds finally got replaced by a $120 950 2GB. In the days of $150-170 R9 280/HD7950 cards, GTX750Ti was terribad. Too bad perf/watt and brand name marketing won that time.

As someone who actually ordered the MSI gt 740 for $60,i don't regret the decision.I had a bad experience with a 6990 back in the day,i rarely buy anything refurbished anyways and Nvidia these days offers i am sure way more support for a GT 740 over AMD and their discontinued 6950.

Future driver support for GT740 vs. 6950 is irrelevant when 740 is a much slower card. For the types of games where either of these cards is useful, 6950 will win in almost all cases. If price/performance or performance wasn't the primary motivator for the purchase, it's kinda pointless to compare the 6950 to a GT740. As I mentioned earlier, I wouldn't buy either card because of TCO (total cost of ownership):

HD6950 = $50 -> Resell in 2 years for $25 => TCO = $25 over 2 years
GT740 = $60 -> Resell in 2 years for $30 => TCO = $30 over 2 years
R9 2 70 = $90 ->Resell in 2 years for $45 => TCO = $45 over 2 years

I would seriously question how it's possible to buy PC games legally but not have $15 extra over 2 years for a card that's at least 2X faster than GT740.

This thread just highlights the common theme in recent years after APUs/iGPUs took over the low end GPU market = low end budget $50-60 cards make no sense for modern AAA gaming anymore. All of them offer terrible gaming performance and price/performance.

GT730 cannot even beat the integrated GPU inside A10 7850K:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HO3hijGL4wU

The only way now to get a good budget gaming card is go up towards $100 price level OR go into the used market.

 

[cbn]

GT730 cannot even beat the integrated GPU inside A10 7850K:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HO3hijGL4wU

I believe that is the 128 bit DDR3 version of the GT 730:

https://www.asus.com/Graphics-Cards/GT7302GD3/

Which has 96 Fermi Cuda cores.

http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gt-730/specifications

That is pretty slow.

A better card is the $52.99 AR shipped PNY GT730 which has 384 Kepler cores (GK208) and 5 Gbps GDDR5 on a 64 bit bus:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133542

 

[cbn]

If someone cannot save up $30, how can they afford PC games without pirating them?

it's kinda pointless to compare the 6950 to a GT740. As I mentioned earlier, I wouldn't buy either card because of TCO (total cost of ownership):

HD6950 = $50 -> Resell in 2 years for $25 => TCO = $25 over 2 years
GT740 = $60 -> Resell in 2 years for $30 => TCO = $30 over 2 years
R9 2 70 = $90 ->Resell in 2 years for $45 => TCO = $45 over 2 years

I would seriously question how it's possible to buy PC games legally but not have $15 extra over 2 years for a card that's at least 2X faster than GT740.

Some people buy their games on super sale several years after they release. So these people never play full price. Essentially their current game play schedule is what someone else would call their back log.

Another group of folks like to play free mods of a game well after it has been released. Skyrim is that sort of game where its life will be well extended even after TES VI releases. (example: Enderal: Shards of Disorder Total conversion mod ).

With that mentioned, I do think you make a really good point about the R9 270 for $89.99 AR being a bulletproof value.

That is the card I would recommend to any budget user. (PCs > consoles)

 

[RussianSensation]

Some people buy their games on super sale several years after they release. So these people never play full price. Essentially their current game play schedule is what someone else would call their back log.

I totally get you but in that case what 2015 AAA games is it possible to purchase for $5? In that case, future driver support for GT740 is irrelevant since by the time it's possible to buy GTA V, FO4, TW3, Dying Light, AC Syndicate, Far Cry 4, Batman AK, SW:BF for $5, chances are GTX950/R9 380 or that level of performance will drop to $50-60. If someone can only afford a $50-60 card, they shouldn't really be thinking of buying it to play The Division, Deus Ex Mankind Divided, Far Cry Primal, Dishonored 2, Doom, Rise of the Tomb Raider. Also, just this month we had 2 trustworthy forum members sell their GTX760/670 cards for very good prices, barely above $60 GT740. Since we are all a large community here, it shouldn't be too hard to find a $65 used and well-maintained card on this forum which will be much better than a $50-60 HD6950/GT740.