Should I upgrade from a 6850 to GTX 295?

[dmoney1980]

Factor in that I would need to purchase a new PSU (750w?). I would be trading my 6850 plus dishing out $50 for the GTX 295. Do that, or hold off and sell the 6850 and add the difference for let's say a 570?

 

[Arachnotronic]

Factor in that I would need to purchase a new PSU (750w?). I would be trading my 6850 plus dishing out $50 for the GTX 295. Do that, or hold off and sell the 6850 and add the difference for let's say a 570?

Do not go with the 295. That's old tech, not DX11 capable. Sell the 6850, then buy a 570 or whatever.

 

[MarkLuvsCS]

GTX 570 @ $260 after MIR As long as you have a decent PSU ~500-600w it should be more than enough to handle a 570 on the system. ~360W load

 

[dmoney1980]

Do not go with the 295. That's old tech, not DX11 capable. Sell the 6850, then buy a 570 or whatever.

Nice catch! I didn't even notice that when looking at the stats, thanks for the heads up!

GTX 570 @ $260 after MIR As long as you have a decent PSU ~500-600w it should be more than enough to handle a 570 on the system. ~360W load

That does seem to be a nice deal. I just installed Witcher 2 and I can't believe how much it punished my 6850. I'm on a 2500k OC'd to 4 ghz but I'm pushing 2048x1152.
Here's a bench comparing the 2 cards: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/306?vs=291

 

[mosox]

For that resolution better get a card with 2GB of VRAM. HD 6950 the 2GB version or HD 6970.

 

[dmoney1980]

For that resolution better get a card with 2GB of VRAM. HD 6950 the 2GB version or HD 6970.

The monitor does support 1920x1080 so I can scale down....decisions decisions!
When is AMD releasing the 7k series? Jan 2012?

 

[Keysplayr]

For that resolution better get a card with 2GB of VRAM. HD 6950 the 2GB version or HD 6970.

Or GTX560ti 2GB or GTX570 2.5GB

 

[Skurge]

Or GTX560ti 2GB or GTX570 2.5GB

$500? might as well get a 580 at that price.

 

[Keysplayr]

$500? might as well get a 580 at that price.

Did you even "click" on the links?

One is 280.00 and the other is 395.00.

 

[Lonyo]

Did you even "click" on the links?

One is 280.00 and the other is 395.00.

And a GTX580 is $395 AR, so his point is valid for the 570, although his numbers are wrong.

 

[Keysplayr]

And a GTX580 is $395 AR, so his point is valid for the 570, although his numbers are wrong.

OP, ignore this runaround BS. You have the links, and the recommendations. Do with it what you will. Not playing this game anymore.

 

[PrayForDeath]

That does seem to be a nice deal. I just installed Witcher 2 and I can't believe how much it punished my 6850. I'm on a 2500k OC'd to 4 ghz but I'm pushing 2048x1152.

Do you have ubersampling enabled in Witcher 2? Because that feature is completely unnecessary (marginal difference) and totally kills your performance.

Your 6850 should easily handle Witcher 2 at that resolution (without ubersampling)

And I don't recommend upgrading from 6850 to 560 ti. That's a very small upgrade. If you want something faster, get at least a 570.

 

[dmoney1980]

I have ubersampling disabled. I have everything else set in the medium range, with AA on. I tried vsync on and off, don't really see a difference there. The game runs ok, just choppy at times and not as smooth as I would like. All my other games play smoothly though.

Thanks for all the input guys! Feel free to say hello If you see my 6850 in the FS/FT section

 

[dpk33]

I know this is sorta off-topic, but I sold my 6950 to wait for 7xxx series cards. Was it a bad idea to get a GTX295 for $120 and use it as an interim card?

 

[tweakboy]

Factor in that I would need to purchase a new PSU (750w?). I would be trading my 6850 plus dishing out $50 for the GTX 295. Do that, or hold off and sell the 6850 and add the difference for let's say a 570?

That is not a upgarde. That is more like a downgrade.

The 6850 blows the 295 out of the water performance wise, plus it has new tech DX11 etc.

Keep your 6850. If you were getting 30fps on a scene with 295, you will get double that with a 6850 if not more.

 

[GotNoRice]

Something to consider:
http://www.geforce.com/Optimize/Guides/battlefield-3-beta-performance-guide

It's interesting to note that those who invested in the flagship GeForce GTX 295 almost three years ago can still play Battlefield 3 at near peak settings

The GTX295 would be faster than a 6850 in just about every game.

While it is DX10 and not DX11, it's important to understand exactly what that means to an end user. What it doesn't do is restrict you from playing a DirectX11 game, in DirectX11.

That is because DirectX11 was built with compatibility in mind and was designed to run directly on DirectX10 and 10.1 hardware. This is accomplished via the concept of feature levels.

So when playing a game in DirectX11, it will first make a quick determination regarding which feature level your card supports after which the game should run normally. You will be running in DirectX11 using Feature Level 10_0, which does restrict you to the DX10 feature set, however you still benefit from architectural and efficiency improvements in The DX11 API itself, of which there are quite a bit. As far as being restricted to the DX10 feature set is concerned, most would be hard pressed to identify a single visual difference in most situations. The only significant feature you would miss is Tessellation which many disable anyway.

 

[GotNoRice]

That is not a upgarde. That is more like a downgrade.

The 6850 blows the 295 out of the water performance wise

Given that the GTX295 destroys a 5870, and a 5870 is faster than a 6850, I'd love to see how you came to that conclusion.

 

[Avalon]

Given that the GTX295 destroys a 5870, and a 5870 is faster than a 6850, I'd love to see how you came to that conclusion.

Voodoo magic.

 

[lehtv]

For that resolution you'd be best off with a 6950 2GB for $250 or so. E.g. XFX dual-fan + lifetime warranty. If I were you though I'd just lower the settings and wait for 28nm ;P

 

[Keysplayr]

That is not a upgarde. That is more like a downgrade.

The 6850 blows the 295 out of the water performance wise, plus it has new tech DX11 etc.

Keep your 6850. If you were getting 30fps on a scene with 295, you will get double that with a 6850 if not more.

Given that the GTX295 destroys a 5870, and a 5870 is faster than a 6850, I'd love to see how you came to that conclusion.

Tweakboy, I know you just like to fling things out there without any basis whatsoever, but I think we need to draw the line now. If you don't know, then try not to post as an authority on the subject. The real problem is going to come when you don't know what you don't know. We'll remind you, just like GotNoRice did here.

And no, it doesn't matter what color the PCB is. (stuff like this).

I know you catch my drift.

TY

 

[dmoney1980]

I turned down the offer, will be on the lookout for something else. I'm taking your advice and will look for something newer with more RAM (1.5GB+)

thanks guys