Radeon 6950 2GB or GeForce 560 Ti?

[BlockheadBrown]

I'm trying to decide between the two. While I like having PhysX available, it's not the end of the world if I don't have it. I'm looking for a solution to fit my gaming rig over the next 3 or so years. The recent Dragon Age 2 performance numbers seem to sway towards ATI. I haven't seen any 267.59 benches showing before/after though. The 560 Ti seems to perform better and quieter over the 6950. The extra GB of memory is something to consider for "future-proofing" the 6950. I haven't heard at all about the upcoming 7000 series - more importantly, what new items will be implemented.

Separately, I'm considering switching to a SB mobo with an I5-2500K. I currently have a Q6600 @2.4Ghz. The mobo doesn't OC this chip, so that's not an option.

If Bulldozer was out now, I'd consider an all AMD solution. I'm not much of a fanboy either way. Price, performance and longevity are the most important things here. I'd appreciate any thoughts you guys have.

 

[Athadeus]

Please post the resolution you play at and a more comprehensive list of the games you are interested in. You should probably be shooting for a lower end video card to enable upgrading the rest of the system sooner, but I am not sure which card is the best value below a 6950 (probably 6850). Once again it depends on resolution and games.

 

[BlockheadBrown]

Please post the resolution you play at and a more comprehensive list of the games you are interested in. You should probably be shooting for a lower end video card to enable upgrading the rest of the system sooner, but I am not sure which card is the best value below a 6950 (probably 6850). Once again it depends on resolution and games.

I tend to play at very low resolutions: 1280x720 or 1360x768 (TV resolutions). While I can play at 1920x1080, I typically don't. Games - the gamut. Dragon Age 2, Crysis, a number of Unreal Engine games, etc.

 

[RussianSensation]

If you don't intend to play above the resolutions you specified, a $100 GTX460 768mb/1GB is all you will need. In 2 years, when the card becomes too slow, just buy a new one. There is no reason to "future proof" to buy a card to keep for 3 years. That's not a smart strategy.

 

[Arkadrel]

Unlock that 6950, and its about as fast as a 570.
Then with your flashed 6970, overclock it... and watch it almost match a 580.

Is the 560ti a better buy? no.

 

[BlockheadBrown]

Remove

 

[BlockheadBrown]

Unlock that 6950, and its about as fast as a 570.
Then with your flashed 6970, overclock it... and watch it almost match a 580.

Is the 560ti a better buy? no.

There's two items here though:

1. List of 6950 2GBs that remain stable (and don't get bricked) after being flashed
2. Noise - Once you OC the card, how loud is it going to be? What's the best quiet OC'able 6950 2GB out there that can be flashed to a 6970?

 

[Keysplayr]

Please post the resolution you play at and a more comprehensive list of the games you are interested in. You should probably be shooting for a lower end video card to enable upgrading the rest of the system sooner, but I am not sure which card is the best value below a 6950 (probably 6850). Once again it depends on resolution and games.

Good suggestion, and I'd also like to add that if you, the OP, wants this to last 3 years, then I'd suggest you make sure your next rig supports SLI/crossfire. Look into possibly a GTX570 and SLI later on.

 

[badb0y]

There's two items here though:

1. List of 6950 2GBs that remain stable (and don't get bricked) after being flashed
2. Noise - Once you OC the card, how loud is it going to be? What's the best quiet OC'able 6950 2GB out there that can be flashed to a 6970?

1. Any 6950 2Gb reference has a 97% chance to unlock.
2. The fan noise isn't bad on the reference coolers, the problem is the fan profile isn't very aggressive in a sense that the card may go up to 90 degrees Celsius but the fan speed will only be at 35% or something. Any 6950 should be able to reach 880 core easily though and temperature/fan noise shouldn't be problem.

 

[BlockheadBrown]

Good suggestion, and I'd also like to add that if you, the OP, wants this to last 3 years, then I'd suggest you make sure your next rig supports SLI/crossfire. Look into possibly a GTX570 and SLI later on.

The flip side it to hold everything off for a year. Radeon HD 7000s & Kepler will be out. Ivy Bridge & Bulldozer Gen 1.5/2 will be out.

Just thoughts.

 

[BlockheadBrown]

1. Any 6950 2Gb reference has a 97% chance to unlock.
2. The fan noise isn't bad on the reference coolers, the problem is the fan profile isn't very aggressive in a sense that the card may go up to 90 degrees Celsius but the fan speed will only be at 35% or something. Any 6950 should be able to reach 880 core easily though and temperature/fan noise shouldn't be problem.

Are there any models known that haven't worked?

 

[Arkadrel]

Are there any models known that haven't worked?

1gb and non referance designs.

get the 2gb referance design and it will unlock with about 97% successrate.... *if* your amoung the 3%, you still have a 6950, which at its price is good value.
Unlocking it to a 6970 just turns it into CRAZY value levels.

a 6950 for say 250$, unclocks (turning it into a 6970) + tiny overclock = ~10% slower than a 580, that costs like 499$.

half price for 10% differnce in performance? yes... that is why the 6950 is a insane buy if you plan on unlocking+oc.

 

[Farmer]

At those resolutions, it will probably be difficult to see the difference between any modern card from nVidia or ATI priced above $150.

 

[BlockheadBrown]

1gb and non referance designs.

get the 2gb referance design and it will unlock with about 97% successrate.... *if* your amoung the 3%, you still have a 6950, which at its price is good value.
Unlocking it to a 6970 just turns it into CRAZY value levels.

a 6950 for say 250$, unclocks (turning it into a 6970) + tiny overclock = ~10% slower than a 580, that costs like 499$.

half price for 10% differnce in performance? yes... that is why the 6950 is a insane buy if you plan on unlocking+oc.

Thanks!

 

[Makaveli]

1. Any 6950 2Gb reference has a 97% chance to unlock.
2. The fan noise isn't bad on the reference coolers, the problem is the fan profile isn't very aggressive in a sense that the card may go up to 90 degrees Celsius but the fan speed will only be at 35% or something. Any 6950 should be able to reach 880 core easily though and temperature/fan noise shouldn't be problem.

This ^^^

Or you can slap an aftermarket cooler on your 6950 like I did and noise is not an issue.

 

[Elfear]

For such low resolutions I'd go with either a 460 or 6850.

 

[Makaveli]

ya I would there is no point going higher than that for the res you want to use.

Listen to russian he is usually spot on when it comes to these type of recommendations.

 

[BlockheadBrown]

8GB RAM
Q6600 @ 2.4Ghz (stock)
Nvidia 680i SLi (BFG)
Windows 7 64bit Professional
GeForce 560 GTX-TI (MSI Twin Frozr II/OC)
v267.26 Drivers
1280x720 Dragon Age 2 Very High - All selections except Vsync & No AA.
No performance issues.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

For what it's worth, I seriously considered going to the Radeon 6950 2GB solution, flashing it to a 6970 2GB and possibly OC'ing it. I purchased the 560 Ti with the intention of it lasting me another 2-3 years. Initially, I was going to wait until Kepler was released. Realizing that a price friendly version likely was at least a year to a year and a half away, Dragon Age 2 and Battlefield 3 were big enough pulls to get me to purchase my first DX11 card. The main factors in choosing the 560 Ti over the 6850 2GB, were:
- Overall Performance
- Architecture
- Heat Dissipation
- Noise Levels
- PhysX compatibility
- Overclocking performance

I also believed that the DA2 performance issues could be addressed (at least to some extent) by future driver releases.

With the 680i (should I still have it down the road), I could add a second if I'd like one day. That said, I've found it simply better to wait it out for 2 generations and just get a single card rather than SLi (although I love the idea behind SLi).

Why the 560 over a 460? I was able to get it for a good price and frankly, I knew that if I saw any hiccups in performance or slowness, I'd be regretting it when I shouldn't. Additionally, I just wanted it more. Thanks for the suggestions, everyone.

 

[n0x1ous]

8GB RAM
Q6600 @ 2.4Ghz (stock)
Nvidia 680i SLi (BFG)
Windows 7 64bit Professional
GeForce 560 GTX-TI (MSI Twin Frozr II/OC)
v267.26 Drivers
1280x720 Dragon Age 2 Very High - All selections except Vsync & No AA.
No performance issues.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

For what it's worth, I seriously considered going to the Radeon 6950 2GB solution, flashing it to a 6970 2GB and possibly OC'ing it. I purchased the 560 Ti with the intention of it lasting me another 2-3 years. Initially, I was going to wait until Kepler was released. Realizing that a price friendly version likely was at least a year to a year and a half away, Dragon Age 2 and Battlefield 3 were big enough pulls to get me to purchase my first DX11 card. The main factors in choosing the 560 Ti over the 6850 2GB, were:
- Overall Performance
- Architecture
- Heat Dissipation
- Noise Levels
- PhysX compatibility
- Overclocking performance

I also believed that the DA2 performance issues could be addressed (at least to some extent) by future driver releases.

With the 680i (should I still have it down the road), I could add a second if I'd like one day. That said, I've found it simply better to wait it out for 2 generations and just get a single card rather than SLi (although I love the idea behind SLi).

Why the 560 over a 460? I was able to get it for a good price and frankly, I knew that if I saw any hiccups in performance or slowness, I'd be regretting it when I shouldn't. Additionally, I just wanted it more. Thanks for the suggestions, everyone.

In your original post you mentioned that your board won't OC the q6600. Is it some OEM 680i version that Dell put in an XPS from BFG or what that they removed OC?

I have a 680i also (EVGA, retail) and a Q6600 as well OC to 3.15ghz...

 

[toyota]

you can game at 1920x1080 but you choose to play at 1280x720? that makes zero sense. whats even funnier is that you run very high settings so certainly image quality is at least some what important. and really with your cpu, you would get the same performance at 1920x1080 anyway.

 

[bryanW1995]

The flip side it to hold everything off for a year. Radeon HD 7000s & Kepler will be out. Ivy Bridge & Bulldozer Gen 1.5/2 will be out.

Just thoughts.

I would either do this or spend ~ $100 on a gtx 460 768. as russiansensation mentioned, no need to spend more right now for your resolution. Also, kepler at least looks to be a massive improvement within the next year or less. So, no matter what you buy, it'll be outdated very soon. A cheaper card that lets you crank up all the eye candy will serve you very well, and you'll still be able to sell it for $50-75 in a year.

edit: according to grooveriding he saw a 40% increase in DA2 performance with the new driver that was just released, he went from 25 to 35 fps on his rig. not sure how well that translates to a low/mid single card, though others have commented about their significant performance increase in more general terms.

 

[BlockheadBrown]

In your original post you mentioned that your board won't OC the q6600. Is it some OEM 680i version that Dell put in an XPS from BFG or what that they removed OC?

I have a 680i also (EVGA, retail) and a Q6600 as well OC to 3.15ghz...

It's a BFG 680i SLi. Apparently some of them didn't play well with the Q6600s out of the gate. The one I purchased (used), must have been one of them. I have considered just ordering a replacement board that'll well OC the Q6600. I just haven't done anything about it yet.

 

[BlockheadBrown]

you can game at 1920x1080 but you choose to play at 1280x720? that makes zero sense. whats even funnier is that you run very high settings so certainly image quality is at least some what important. and really with your cpu, you would get the same performance at 1920x1080 anyway.

I sit far enough away from the TV where reading text at 1360x768 can be difficult and 1920x1080 is simply not reasonable. 1280x720 works well in this situation.

 

[toyota]

I sit far enough away from the TV where reading text at 1360x768 can be difficult and 1920x1080 is simply not reasonable. 1280x720 works well in this situation.

well a 560ti was a waste at that res for sure especially with your cpu. in a game like Dragon Age you will not even get 50% of what a gtx560 is capable of at your res and with your cpu. you could have bought a gtx460 and gotten the exact same playable performance as even that would be held back quite a bit.

 

[n0x1ous]

I sit far enough away from the TV where reading text at 1360x768 can be difficult and 1920x1080 is simply not reasonable. 1280x720 works well in this situation.

I understand what your saying about text, but you could always leave your main desktop rez at 720, but set the games at 1080