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Is it time to upgade?

Cr0nJ0b

Cr0nJ0b

Golden Member
I've got a 6870 that I got really cheap at christmas to hold me over until a new process chip came out that would last me a few years. I generally play BF3 and shooters, but I have skyrim and game quite a bit. Would a 680 be a good upgrade for me? It's like $500 from what I've seen and if I do that I'll probably build my new HTPC with my old 6870...or should i wait to see what other cards are coming out later in the year?

My guess is that the 680 will be it for a while...I don't plan to get one of the dual chip on card options. I like the efficiency of the new process, but i'm torn on which card to get.

thanks for the help.
 
$500 is a lot to spend.

Have you considered dropping another 6870 in there?

What games do you need the performance in? At what resolution?
 
IMO buying top end makes sense only if you upgrade each generation. With your budget I would rather buy a 7850 and OC it 30%+, will nearly equal a stock 580 for $250 and will last you 1-2 years or so. You can upgrade after 1-2 years with another $250-300 🙂
 
Ofc it all depends on if you are satisfied with the performance or not, but I wouldn't upgrade from a HD6870 right now

But who am I to talk, I'm planning on keeping my HD4870 until the next-gen consoles make it obsolete:biggrin:
 
You're talking about upgrading from a $150 card to a $500 card. I would only do it if that's what you had intended to spend in the first place. Don't do it just because a $500 card is the only serious upgrade out there. And no, getting the 7850 is not a serious upgrade and certainly not worth the hassle, especially for BF3: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/540?vs=549

I personally would get another 6870 for ~$150 and enjoy near-GTX680 performance. Sure, you'll run into VRAM problems and need to turn down AA/textures, but you're talking a huge price difference. Now, you could probably sell that 6870 and make your 680 cost you about $400 net, but that's still a lot more than $150.

Here's an XFX 6870 for $140AR: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150561
 
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I just did a long article on AT long back. To equal a 680 OC you will need at least 6990 or 6970 CF where the performance really counts. or 570 SLI or 570 OC SLI. A 6870 CF will be about the performance of a single GTX 580 with lots of stuttering and hassles. And a overclocked 7850 is like 5-10% slower than a GTX 580 so about as powerful as 6870 CF even in games where CF scaling is pretty decent.
 
aaksheytalwar said:
I just did a long article on AT long back. To equal a 680 OC you will need at least 6990 or 6970 CF where the performance really counts. or 570 SLI or 570 OC SLI. A 6870 CF will be about the performance of a single GTX 580 with lots of stuttering and hassles. And a overclocked 7850 is like 5-10% slower than a GTX 580 so about as powerful as 6870 CF even in games where CF scaling is pretty decent.
Click to expand...

He can judge for himself whether dual 6870s perform like a GTX580: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/graphics/display/powercolor-radeon-hd6870x2_6.html#sect1

17687x2vs58.png


The 7850 is equivalent to a 6950 at stock, and while it overclocks a bit better, there is no way it is comparable to dual 6870s, just as a 6950, or even a 6970, wouldn't be competition for dual 6870s.
 
aaksheytalwar said:
Wrong.

And I am not saying the 6870 cf won't be 15-20% faster but isnt worth doing dual card for such minimal gains

Acc to toms charts a 7850 stock to stock is 10% faster than 6950

And with a 30% performance increas it equals a 580 stock. Clearly you have no idea how much 7850 OCs and scales, even 7970 and 7870 don't overclock the same percentage as 7850

http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/gpu_displays/nvidia_gtx680_review/4

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2234512
Click to expand...

Nothing in your thread or that article has anything to do with a 7850.

To the OP, if you want to spend $500, obviously the GTX680 is your best choice. Below that, I don't think you're getting enough of an upgrade for your money, and that's why going crossfire for $140AR should be considered.
 
lavaheadache said:
lol, I do always have the itch. Isn't it great to be a hardware junkie?
Click to expand...

Same here, it takes constant willpower to resist the urge.
A few days ago I didn't resist it and bought a 240GB intel 520 SSD for 350$.
The 180GB and the 240GB tie for being the fastest according to specs. The 480GB is actually somehow slower.
 
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