Help with video card choice for new system

[deadseasquirrel]

I'm building a new system in the next 2 weeks and I do not upgrade often (current system is a C2D with a 4870, which is 3 years old). New system specs will be i2500k and z68 (with both CF and SLI support... haven't played with either since SLI 6800gt back in the day).

I play at 1080p and prefer high settings with AA/AF. I play just about everything, (currently Witcher2, DX:HR) and plan to have Skyrim and BF3 take over my gaming life soon.

I had pretty much settled on a 6970 because I would prefer to have the 2GB of memory going forward. But after looking around, I am considering other higher options-- even CF.

So, at a minimum, I am looking at a $300 6970. I can't say "money is no object", but, at the same time, increasing the budget to a $430 580 is not a problem. I'm just looking for good performance that will last me a while.

Some of my options look like:
6870 CF for about $320 (better performance than the 6970 but 1GB memory vs 2GB
6950 2GB CF for $540 (a good 60% in cost vs 6970 but also around 60% perf increase)
580 for $430

There's probably some other options in there as well, such as SLI 560, etc. Lotta cards out there. I know power usage on these setups can get high, and I will be reusing my Corsair 750w PSU, so I won't be able to go crazy with the ultra high-end SLI setups.

 

[Carfax83]

I'm building a new system in the next 2 weeks and I do not upgrade often (current system is a C2D with a 4870, which is 3 years old). New system specs will be i2500k and z68 (with both CF and SLI support... haven't played with either since SLI 6800gt back in the day).

I play at 1080p and prefer high settings with AA/AF. I play just about everything, (currently Witcher2, DX:HR) and plan to have Skyrim and BF3 take over my gaming life soon.

I had pretty much settled on a 6970 because I would prefer to have the 2GB of memory going forward. But after looking around, I am considering other higher options-- even CF.

So, at a minimum, I am looking at a $300 6970. I can't say "money is no object", but, at the same time, increasing the budget to a $430 580 is not a problem. I'm just looking for good performance that will last me a while.

Some of my options look like:
6870 CF for about $320 (better performance than the 6970 but 1GB memory vs 2GB
6950 2GB CF for $540 (a good 60% in cost vs 6970 but also around 60% perf increase)
580 for $430

There's probably some other options in there as well, such as SLI 560, etc. Lotta cards out there. I know power usage on these setups can get high, and I will be reusing my Corsair 750w PSU, so I won't be able to go crazy with the ultra high-end SLI setups.

Well, if you're looking for maximum performance for your dollar at that resolution, the best bet is the 6950 2GB CF unlocked to 6970 speeds......or if you don't want to deal with AMD's drivers and other problems, get a good factory overclocked GTX 580. The 580 handles that resolution wonderfully, plus you get extras like physx and 3D vision; although the latter would probably require you to get another card.

 

[deadseasquirrel]

There really hasn't been too many games that I have played where Physx has made a difference. I'm sure more will come in the future. 3D isn't a feature I'm all that interested in at this point.

I think I'm leaning toward Crossfire 6950 2GB. There are some good rebates out this month that bring the total cost around $465, so I might jump on that instead of a single 6970.

 

[TemjinGold]

At only 1080p, I would honestly say get one card first, see how it performs, then decide if you need a second because you might not...

 

[7earitup]

At only 1080p, I would honestly say get one card first, see how it performs, then decide if you need a second because you might not...

This is exactly what I plan on doing.

 

[rothchilds]

I just did xfire 6870's for $280, the sapphires were on sale at amazon last week for $139 after rebate, witha 2500k and z68 board. Smokes anything for $300, but it generates some heat. Good thing winter is almost here. Was playing metro 2033 with all the eye candy turned on at 1920x1200 and was usually right at 60fps with vsync on

 

[we1shcake]

id say a 3gb 580 is a good idea if you have the money, its beastly now, it has the option of another in future for ridiculous performance, and the extra vram will help in future and if you ever decide to go and use multiple monitors for your gaming. if not id advise picking up one of the 2gb 560ti's floating around again with the option of sli in the future. i really think you should be looking at 1.5gb of vram at a minimum as battlefield 3 uses 1.3 gb at 1080p which doesnt leave much breathing space in case of a higher res monitor in future, or with future games

 

[AMDZen]

When is the next gen supposed to come out, isn't it soon?