Help me decide. 6970 vs 580

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
A

Ashkael

Member
May 5, 2010
51
0
0
I've been gaming at 1680x1050 with my HD5870 (great card!) for quite some time now, but today I jumped the gun on a 120Hz 1920x1080 display which I'm quite excited about. In order to celebrate, I've set aside some money for a new top of the line video card (I have plans to use my 5870 on a second box, so it won't go to waste).

One of my problems right now is that I can't decide between NVIDIA's GTX580 or AMD's HD6970. The second and biggest problem is that even though money is not an issue, I live in Latin America and the only way I can get one of these cards is through Amazon or Tiger Direct, since they will take my international credit card and they are willing to ship to my US mailbox so the card gets sent to me.

Based on what's currently in stock at Amazon, some benchmarks and other articles I've some with this:

GTX580:
Fastest single-GPU card (+)
Consistent performance across a wide variety of games (+)
Physx (+)
The brand I want (EVGA) is currently sold out on Amazon (-)
Considerably more pricier than the AMD card (-)

HD6970:
Considerably cheaper than the NVIDIA card (+)
2GB of VRAM (+)
Single-card multi-monitor support (+)
Possibility of performance improvements with more mature drivers (+)
Rollercoaster performance across a wide variety of games (-)


I'm still on the fence. On one hand, the GTX580 gives me ridiculous performance for a high premium. On the other, the HD6970 gives me rollercoaster performance (matching the 580 in some games, and trailing behind the 570 in others) but for much cheaper. One part of me just wants to say "screw it! go for the fastest and best!", but the other keeps going "save yourself $100 for 5 more FPS and the very real possibility of driver improvements."

For the record, I do not care about power consumption, and I play a wide variety of games so it's not as simple as "check out if the games you play are the ones the HD6970 performs good on". I DO care about noise levels though. Also, please keep in mind I'm pretty much limited to what's currently in stock over at Amazon.com. I know it can be tempting to link from Newegg, but Newegg refuses to accept my international credit card so I can't buy from them.
What would you guys do?
 
Last edited:
snarl

snarl

Member
Oct 10, 1999
61
0
61
Between the 580 and 6970 I was in the same boat myself, in my case I went for the 6970 in Crossfire due to the excellent scaling. Since the 4870 I've favoured ATI/AMD because I liked the direction their engineering was going. Really you can't go wrong either way, the 570 is also a good suggestion.
 
S

SlowSpyder

Lifer
Jan 12, 2005
17,305
1,002
126
You say that money is not an issue, are you saying that you don't mind throwing bang for the buck out of the window, or you still want bang for the buck but don't mind spending the money for either card?

If money is truly not an issue, then I would go with the GTX580, there is no reason not to. The extra video ram won't likely make that big of a deal.

If you don't want to spend the extra money just to spend it, then the 6970 will likely give you plenty of performance at 1080P and save you some money.
 
S

SlowSpyder

Lifer
Jan 12, 2005
17,305
1,002
126
Just another thought. I didn't see you mention anything about running multiple cards one way or another. Seeing as you already have a 5870, what might be your best option is to grab a second one. You'll spend the least amount as well as have a faster setup then either the 6970 or GTX580. Two 6950's would be incredible performance as well if you wanted to go 69xx.
 
biostud

biostud

Lifer
Feb 27, 2003
19,916
7,018
136
IMHO you should consider gtx570 vs. 6950, as the premium for 6950 and gtx580, isn't going to affect your gaming experience in a noticeable way.
 
CuriousMike

CuriousMike

Diamond Member
Feb 22, 2001
3,044
544
136
IMO, top of the line cards like the 580 are victims.

What applications / resolutions and for what percentage of the time do you use them to their potential?

By the time games have "caught up to them", they're two revisions old and people are on about the next big thing.

Strong mid-(to upper mid)-range cards make a lot of sense -- at least where money has some semblance of consideration.
 
N

nanaki333

Diamond Member
Sep 14, 2002
3,772
13
81
CuriousMike said:
IMO, top of the line cards like the 580 are victims.

What applications / resolutions and for what percentage of the time do you use them to their potential?

By the time games have "caught up to them", they're two revisions old and people are on about the next big thing.

Strong mid-(to upper mid)-range cards make a lot of sense -- at least where money has some semblance of consideration.
Click to expand...

yep. i have a phenom x6 with a gtx 280 OC that guests use when they want to play a LAN game and it still runs everything great.
 
happy medium

happy medium

Lifer
Jun 8, 2003
14,387
480
126
hclarkjr said:
i agree, if i had the money i would have a 580 but my budget only allows ATI cards since they deliver nicer cards at affordable prices
Click to expand...

True,
The OP says 1900x1080, money is no object, and both cards are apain to get shipped.

@1900x1080 res. the gtx580 is even more faster then the 6970.

The gtx580 is the answer. 13% faster at that resolution.

perfrel_1920.gif
 
Skurge

Skurge

Diamond Member
Aug 17, 2009
5,195
1
71
Dude, forget the 580. Choose between a 570 and a 6970 and buy some games with the money you save.
 
Grooveriding

Grooveriding

Diamond Member
Dec 25, 2008
9,147
1,330
126
I would spend $70 more and get two 6950s instead of a 580. The two 6950s are about 170% faster than a single 580 and will allow you to max everything with AA at your resolution.

The 580 will not, it's an awkward card if you are looking for a rig that can max everything, two of them is too much for anything but 2560x1600 and one is not enough below that resolution.
 
Skurge

Skurge

Diamond Member
Aug 17, 2009
5,195
1
71
happy medium said:
Money is NO OBJECT, I don't think he's worried about games.

Jeeeeez.:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

He never said money was no object, if it wasn't he would have added saving $100 as a pro for the cheaper and a con for the more expensive card.

He also asked what WE would do. So I told him what I would do.
 
happy medium

happy medium

Lifer
Jun 8, 2003
14,387
480
126
Grooveriding said:
I would spend $70 more and get two 6950s instead of a 580. The two 6950s are about 170% faster than a single 580 and will allow you to max everything with AA at your resolution.

The 580 will not, it's an awkward card if you are looking for a rig that can max everything, two of them is too much for anything but 2560x1600 and one is not enough below that resolution.
Click to expand...

Thats a good idea but think of the shipping cost and hassels he will have with 2 cards. Performance wise and cost wise if he could buy at Newegg or something I would agree.
 
mnewsham

mnewsham

Lifer
Oct 2, 2010
14,539
428
136
Two 6950's unlock to 6970's almost like two 580's for 50-100 bucks more then one 580...

just my .02
 
Castiel

Castiel

Golden Member
Dec 31, 2010
1,772
1
0
The only thing i like about the 6970 is the 2GB of Memory. If only Amd could make drivers that are decent like fermi's.
 
GaiaHunter

GaiaHunter

Diamond Member
Jul 13, 2008
3,700
406
126
Have you noticed that at 1920x1200 (on the chart presented) the GTX580 is only 28% faster than your 5870? The 6970 is even less.

I wouldn't consider an upgrade so expensive for such low performance gains.

I would either get a second 5870 for CF, if your motherboard support it or go all the way for 6950CF (possibly unlocking them to 6970), especially if multi monitor gaming is in your future plans and/or your second box really wants a 5870.

Another option is wait just a bit more until for the 6990 and the 595 (not sure if this is the name) and see what those bring to the table.

Otherwise, these cards seem really bad upgrade values to the 5870.
 
Last edited:
Wreckage

Wreckage

Banned
Jul 1, 2005
5,529
0
0
Based on your list I would get the GTX570.


Second fastest single-GPU card (+)
Consistent performance across a wide variety of games (+)
Physx (+)
The brand you want (EVGA) is currently available on Amazon (+)
Cheaper than the AMD card (+)
 
Skurge

Skurge

Diamond Member
Aug 17, 2009
5,195
1
71
happy medium said:
I don't know Skurge , I really think you need glasses. :)
Click to expand...

He was referring to where he would buy them from so he has fixed prices for both. I might need glasses, but you might need better comprehension skills.
 
mnewsham

mnewsham

Lifer
Oct 2, 2010
14,539
428
136
Wreckage said:
Based on your list I would get the GTX570.


Second fastest single-GPU card (+)
Consistent performance across a wide variety of games (+)
Physx (+)
The brand you want (EVGA) is currently available on Amazon (+)
Cheaper than the AMD card (+)
Click to expand...

You would rather have a single 570 at ~$350 then a 6950 at 300 and unlock to a 6970?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom