Need help picking new GPU!

[Thebrave85]

I have an HD 6870 Black Edition and I am upgrading to a new ASUS 24'' LED 2ms 1920x1080p monitor, so I will also need to upgrade my video card as it will not suffice for me. I like my games running really nice and everything so yeah, but anyway what should I go for, I will be playing Battlefield 3 and I want to be able to play it on mostly all Ultra settings. I thought about getting another HD 6870 Black Edition and xfire them but there are several issues with xfire I hear nowadays.

What do you guys suggest? GTX 580? I just want to be good for awhile.

 

[happy medium]

WHats your cpu ,psu like?

 

[Majcric]

Was your experience with owning the 6870 a pretty good one? IF so, I'd recommend the 6970 2gb. Nvidia fermi cards perform great but in all my years of using nvidia I've never seen them have this many driver issues. Rumor is with the next driver release a lot of the kinks will be worked out for the 500 series.

 

[Thebrave85]

Yes, good experience, I may pick up another HD 6870 OC though in the end

here's my specs:

Videocard: XFX HD 6870 Black Edition
Processor: i5 2500K @ 4.7Ghz (1.45v)
Mainboard: Gigabyte Z68X UD3H-B3
Memory: 8GB G.Skill Ripjaws 1600
Soundcard: ASUS Xonar DG 5.1
PSU: Corsair TX750W v2 (80 plus bronze)

 

[happy medium]

I'd sell your 6870 1gb and buy 2 6870 2gb cards. 179$AR on Newegg.

 

[Silverforce11]

If you want to run BF3 with all ultra (HBAO, AA) 1080p, you need CF 6970 2GB class performance.

A cheap way to get there: CF 6950 2GB and OC it.

 

[happy medium]

If you want to run BF3 with all ultra (HBAO, AA) 1080p, you need CF 6970 2GB class performance.

A cheap way to get there: CF 6950 2GB and OC it.

Same settings as you stated @ 1900x1200 and a stock gtx580, outside level ,with 64 players. I think the faster 6870 2gb's will be just fine and for 370$ thats a steal. You would pay close to 500$ for 2 6950's.

 

[Arkadrel]

I have an HD 6870 Black Edition and I am upgrading to a new ASUS 24'' LED 2ms 1920x1080p monitor, so I will also need to upgrade my video card as it will not suffice for me. I like my games running really nice and everything so yeah, but anyway what should I go for, I will be playing Battlefield 3 and I want to be able to play it on mostly all Ultra settings. I thought about getting another HD 6870 Black Edition and xfire them but there are several issues with xfire I hear nowadays.

What do you guys suggest? GTX 580? I just want to be good for awhile.

Get a 2nd 6870

2x 6870 > 1 x 580 when it comes to performance.
Its probably cheaper too.

 

[lehtv]

Not sure if 1GB VRAM is enough for Ultra. May need 6950 2GB crossfire. Some people also complain about micro stuttering on AMD crossfire setups, while others don't even notice it...

FWIW some of the settings that tax your fps aren't necessarily even worth turning on. Personally I consider the blurry post processing effects gimmicks that just make the game run worse and look worse - that includes motion blur, depth of field (usually it's WAY overdone) and post-processing AA (normal 4xAA is much better).

 

[Rhezuss]

If you want to keep your card/cards i'd go with 2gb models.

6870 2gb Crossfire
6950 2gb single card or CF is you got the money (+ a chance to unlock to 6970)

But a good move as pointed by a previous poster would be to sell your 6870 1gb and buy 2 6870 2gb and Xfire them!

 

[Thebrave85]

it's like 210 each for the 2gb models and the cooling sux on that one, I think I may pick up another hd 6870 for now the R6870 HAWK and crossfire that one with my black edition.

 

[happy medium]

it's like 210 each for the 2gb models and the cooling sux on that one, I think I may pick up another hd 6870 for now the R6870 HAWK and crossfire that one with my black edition.

Don't believe the memory hype, 2 6870 1gb cards will be just fine.
I suggested 2gb cards for some longevity since you were crossfiring.

 

[TheAdvocate]

I wouldnt put too muchi nto the VRAM BF3 "necessity" until the game comes out and is fully benched. There was quite a lot of discussion about memory leaks and optimization from that beta build, and it may end up being overkill to have 2GB memory still except at absurdly high res.

If you have to do something now, I'd get a 2nd 6870. AMD just posted a new set of drivers/profiles to address CF in BF3. It's the cheapest option. Otherwise, sell your 6870 and get a 580.

 

[happy medium]

This was just posted in another thread.

A gtx480 for 200$ at newegg.
I would grab one of those.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...&SID=u00000687

 

[lehtv]

Already out of stock.

 

[bryanW1995]

This was just posted in another thread.

A gtx480 for 200$ at newegg.
I would grab one of those.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...&SID=u00000687

I jumped on it, deal was too stupid to pass up. Noise/temps will be greater than you're used to, but there appear to be several ways to ameliorate them.

And it's back in stock as of 5 minutes ago.

edit: back out of stock again. I'd hit auto-notify, it's already gone OOS once and come back again. One of these for that stupid low price + a decent OC should be good for you.

 

[Silverforce11]

Same settings as you stated @ 1900x1200 and a stock gtx580, outside level ,with 64 players. I think the faster 6870 2gb's will be just fine and for 370$ thats a steal. You would pay close to 500$ for 2 6950's.

Outside is still metro, you need to know what you are talking about. It's still 32 players and a tiny map.

Compared to Caspian Borders and other Conquest maps, its small.

Edit: Really freaken small. Conquest maps are huge and taking a car to drive from one point to another actually takes time. The view distance is massive, and terrain is high quality throughout the view. 1gb cards will struggle with 4xAA.