Single 6950 vs single GTX 570 Battlefield 3?

[maybeshewill]

Hey guys, I'm about to upgrade my 4890 and I'm wondering which has been the best performer at 1920 X 1080 of these two cards?

In Australia, I can get the 2gb HIS IceQ 6950 for $289, or the EVGA GTX570SC for $340. Is the $60 extra really justified for the GTX 570?

Is the 2gb 6950 worth the extra cost over the 1gb as well? I can get a 1gb ASUS 6950 for only $190 from a friend.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I'd get the card from your friend for $190.

If buying new the 570 is a beast in bf3. I don't know why but the 570 is kicking butt in bf3. Not far from 580 performance.

 

[Silverforce11]

Read the [H] review and make up your own mind. If you want to run with MSAA but not MLAA/FXAA (post AA) in BF3, then NV's gpu have an advantage. If you want to run with post AA, radeons have the advantage.

Just know that MSAA doesn't work well in BF3, it does not effectively remove aliasing and suffers a big performance hit (~20% for NV, ~31% for AMD).

There is no point running both MSAA and post AA (default ULTRA settings turn both on), as there is no visual difference once you have post AA on.

 

[Clinkster]

I'd go with the 570.

 

[Subyman]

I believe AMD is running BF3 better at the moment, but that can easily change with drivers.

 

[toyota]

I believe AMD is running BF3 better at the moment, but that can easily change with drivers.

where are you getting that from? the reviews I have seen have the gtx570 ahead of the 6950. in fact on ultra settings and 4x MSAA, the gtx570 easily beats even the 6970.

 

[Silverforce11]

Ultra with MSAA is unplayable on a gtx570 or 6950. Regardless of whether its faster or not. In MP 64 player maps, the fps is often 25% less than the SP benches review sites do.

Ultra without MSAA is runs excellent on both cards.

 

[Bobisuruncle54]

Got to love the crap spewed in favour on one company on this forum.

 

[tviceman]

Read the [H] review and make up your own mind.

It would be absolutely stupid and ignorant for anyone to make up their mind based on one review. More reviews than not show the gtx570 beats the hd6970, let alone the hd6950.

 

[Arkadrel]

I believe AMD is running BF3 better at the moment

^this.

6970 > 580 in speeds in BF3 (on high settings).

If you want to play ultra settings, you need to buy 2x Nvidia cards.
If all you want is high, you can get acceptable fps with just 1 x 6950-6970 or so.

 

[nsavop]

Theres no doubt the 570 is faster but is it $50 faster probably not.

 

[bryanW1995]

I'd get the card from your friend for $190.

If buying new the 570 is a beast in bf3. I don't know why but the 570 is kicking butt in bf3. Not far from 580 performance.

Yeah, bf3 is a game where 570 really distances itself from the competition, it even beats up on gtx 480 pretty well.

 

[BD231]

Just get a dual 460 setup if your motherboard can handle it, $200 bucks or so gets you gtx 580 performance (no clue what the Ausie cost is). I'd take 2 gpu's over extra v-ram any day.

 

[AtenRa]

Single 6950 1GB is playable in MP up to 1920x1200 Ultra, no MSAA, Medium post processing, no Blur.

Edit: If you want better performance skip the HD6970 and go with the GTX570

 

[Carfax83]

^this.

6970 > 580 in speeds in BF3 (on high settings).

If you want to play ultra settings, you need to buy 2x Nvidia cards.
If all you want is high, you can get acceptable fps with just 1 x 6950-6970 or so.

6970 faster than a 580 in high settings? What reviews are you reading?

Must be ones that don't use the latest drivers. Here's a review that uses the latest drivers from both vendors, and it clearly shows the 580 and 6970 pretty much tied at high setting. The 570 on the other hand, manages to edge out the 6950

At ultra setting however, Nvidia dominates.

 

[bryanW1995]

Ultra with MSAA is unplayable on a gtx570 or 6950. Regardless of whether its faster or not. In MP 64 player maps, the fps is often 25% less than the SP benches review sites do.

Ultra without MSAA is runs excellent on both cards.

Aren't you being a bit fast and loose with that "unplayable" statement? GTX 570 does just fine with MSAA + Ultra. And while AMD cards take a bigger hit with MSAA than nvidia in BF3, they are still easily "playable" on Ultra + MSAA.

This is the exact page to look at for ultra settings: http://www.techspot.com/review/458-battlefield-3-performance/page3.html

Do you really think that 49 avg and 38 min is "unplayable"????? I remember when we couldn't even get 30 fps in crysis with sli! Even the 5870 2gb with 36 avg/28 min is extremely playable on ultra.

 

[tviceman]

Do you really think that 49 avg and 38 min is "unplayable"????? I remember when we couldn't even get 30 fps in crysis with sli! Even the 5870 2gb with 36 avg/28 min is extremely playable on ultra.

He's just trying to put AMD cards in the best light possible whenever he posts.

 

[saratoga172]

I use a 6950 2GB and run ultra settings. Completely smooth and runs great. Average is around 40 fps. High I was getting about 55-60 but v sync capped me at 60.

I run ultra now with 2x msaa and no post. Get about 45-50 average. Everything else ultra. I don't capture fps anymore since everything is maxed and fluid. No hiccups or anything.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Aren't you being a bit fast and loose with that "unplayable" statement? GTX 570 does just fine with MSAA + Ultra. And while AMD cards take a bigger hit with MSAA than nvidia in BF3, they are still easily "playable" on Ultra + MSAA.

This is the exact page to look at for ultra settings: http://www.techspot.com/review/458-battlefield-3-performance/page3.html

Do you really think that 49 avg and 38 min is "unplayable"????? I remember when we couldn't even get 30 fps in crysis with sli! Even the 5870 2gb with 36 avg/28 min is extremely playable on ultra.

It's unplayable in MP yes. I don't want to be fodder in MP so MSAA is off regardless if I had a 570 or my current unlocked 6950. The 10fps or more hit you take is worth trading off IMO. In Single player I can turn ON MSAA to 4x on my current system and it's playable for me. I don't notice any significant situations where you cannot play the game smoothly. Granted I am not counting FPS when I was playing. In MP however, things are different. I have many situations where it's not very playable with MSAA on. Turn it off and all is well.

So for the OP, I tried running my 6950 without unlocked shaders and stock clocks. Ultra settings with no MSAA runs very well. In MP there are very few situations I found myself wanting more FPS. Turn things to high and you'll never have to worry.

For clarity I ran everything Ultra, Post AA High, motion blur on and slider set to half.


Note: all the review sites are giving you numbers from the single player game. There is less action going on in the SP than there is in MP. SO while they may say you could use MSAA or have this/that setting set to ultra, remember they are benching the single player.

 

[saratoga172]

It's unplayable in MP yes. I don't want to be fodder in MP so MSAA is off regardless if I had a 570 or my current unlocked 6950. The 10fps or more hit you take is worth trading off IMO. In Single player I can turn ON MSAA to 4x on my current system and it's playable for me. I don't notice any significant situations where you cannot play the game smoothly. Granted I am not counting FPS when I was playing. In MP however, things are different. I have many situations where it's not very playable with MSAA on. Turn it off and all is well.

So for the OP, I tried running my 6950 without unlocked shaders and stock clocks. Ultra settings with no MSAA runs very well. In MP there are very few situations I found myself wanting more FPS. Turn things to high and you'll never have to worry.

For clarity I ran everything Ultra, Post AA High, motion blur on and slider set to half.


Note: all the review sites are giving you numbers from the single player game. There is less action going on in the SP than there is in MP. SO while they may say you could use MSAA or have this/that setting set to ultra, remember they are benching the single player.

I've had no problems in MP with my 6950. Its not unlocked either. I've played on 20-64 person severs. Nothing fazes it

 

[cmdrdredd]

I've had no problems in MP with my 6950. Its not unlocked either. I've played on 20-64 person severs. Nothing fazes it

Are you running MSAA? I'm guessing no.

The MP is a little odd since if you enter a vehicle you get a big fps boost right there as there's less rendering going on. Point is, it's playable but on anything less than a GTX580 or a dual GPU card/dual card config I am turning MSAA off.

 

[saratoga172]

Are you running MSAA? I'm guessing no.

The MP is a little odd since if you enter a vehicle you get a big fps boost right there as there's less rendering going on. Point is, it's playable but on anything less than a GTX580 or a dual GPU card/dual card config I am turning MSAA off.

Yes I started out running msaa 4x and I've settled on 2x since I can't tell much difference and it was about a 10% performance boost.

 

[saratoga172]

Are you running MSAA? I'm guessing no.

The MP is a little odd since if you enter a vehicle you get a big fps boost right there as there's less rendering going on. Point is, it's playable but on anything less than a GTX580 or a dual GPU card/dual card config I am turning MSAA off.

Have you updated your drivers? I'm running the 11.13 rc drivers and its great. I know nvidia put out done new ones as well.

Point is all the claims about having to have a 580 or sli setup are false for ultra. I was pleasantly surprised when I got the game. Everything maxed out, including msaa is butter smooth. I'm playing at 1920x1080. My second monitor runs my monitoring tools and temp stats. Gpu is almost always at 98-99% usage so no doubt I could get more fps but I have no need to.

OP, I'd personally get the 6950 2GB card. I think the 1GB will have more trouble keeping up with the limited memory.

 

[saratoga172]

I think I should post my system specs for pertinent information.

i5-750 stock
4GB ddr3 1600
HIS 6950 2GB stock
Intel SSD 320 boot drive
1Tb spinpoint that had my bf3 install

 

[chimaxi83]

Some people think having the extra VRAM isn't exactly necessary, but BF3 has been taking close to 1.7GB in multiplayer matches. I think having 2GB helps.

All settings on Ultra, no MSAA, post AA high.

Edit: screenshot text tiny, sorry. VRAM is almost 1.7GB utilized.