So the best $~150 card is the gtx 560?

[SickBeast]

I definitely recall seeing that card for $210 after rebate on Newegg not long ago. HD7950 will have to drop closer to $200 because HD7870 is already going for $260 for good after market versions, while HD7950 is dipping to $310-320 regularly. Once GTX660/660Ti ship next month, there probably will be more price drops.

Yes, there is an intense price war going on between AMD and nVidia. To a certain extent AMD is competing with themselves as well. The GTX 660 release is just going to cap it off and drop the prices for good. I honestly expect the 7850 to be $150 before Christmas. $210 is market value for it at this point.

 

[Jaydip]

You DO realize 6950s can essentially run faster than a "stock" 6970 with overclocking? It's the same issue with the lower core clock AMD ships its 2nd tier product with. It wasn't that long ago that 6950 2gb was the best perf/$ card, in the sub $200 space, still nothing touches it.

Indeed they can but their scaling is not that good at all.Also I found only one model of 6950 under 200$ in egg.

 

[RussianSensation]

Indeed they can but their scaling is not that good at all.Also I found only one model of 6950 under 200$ in egg.

Who cares about scaling when GTX560Ti runs out of VRAM in modern games such as SKYRIM, Max Payne 3, etc. and is really not that fast to begin with. You can add 15% more performance and it will still lose.

Bulletstorm 1080P 4AA
HD6950 2GB = 58.8
GTX560Ti = 44.6

Serious Sam 3 1080P
HD6950 2GB = 47.9
GTX560Ti = 38.3

Old Republic 1080P 4AA
HD6950 2GB = 61.5
GTX560Ti = 37.4

Anno 2070 1080P
6950 2GB = 35.6
GTX560Ti = 27.2

Batman AC 1080P 4AA
6950 2GB = 43.6
GTX560Ti = 35.6

Witcher 2 1080P
6950 2GB = 44.0
GTX560Ti = 34.6

It's not surprising since GTX560Ti has never been a better card than the 6950. In cases where GTX560Ti does well, it comes close or barely beats the 6950, but when 6950 leads, it's smokes the 560Ti 1GB because newer games want more VRAM.

Even in this head-to-head against a GTX560Ti AMP! (950mhz), the 6950 1GB still won:

"On the performance front, the Radeon has a slight edge. The AMP! Edition is faster in a few scenarios, but the Radeon offers higher frame rates in more games." ~ TechReport

And despite losing, the GTX560Ti manages to use more power.

It's even harder to make the case for the GTX560Ti now since games are starting to use more than 1GB of VRAM.

At the $180-190 level, I'd get neither the 560Ti nor the 6950 2GB. I'd add a bit more for the 7850. But I still can't recommend a nearly $200 card with 1GB of VRAM under any circumstances.

 

[Silverforce11]

Indeed they can but their scaling is not that good at all.Also I found only one model of 6950 under 200$ in egg.

I don't know if u understood my point. IF 6950s have already been shown and reviewed to be as fast or faster than 6970 when overclocked.. how is it "their scaling is not that good"??

Your points are completely invalid when games that use a lot of tessellation still run faster on the 6950. Russian's points on vram is completely valid. 1gb vram on a new purchase in that price range, in late 2012 is beyond stupid.

 

[p_monks33]

I didnt know 6950's were so cheap now. Gotta give the nod to a 6950 then. They are mostly overclocking beast, that dual fan is nice, they do tend to run a bit warm in reference form.

 

[Jaydip]

I don't know if u understood my point. IF 6950s have already been shown and reviewed to be as fast or faster than 6970 when overclocked.. how is it "their scaling is not that good"??

Your points are completely invalid when games that use a lot of tessellation still run faster on the 6950. Russian's points on vram is completely valid. 1gb vram on a new purchase in that price range, in late 2012 is beyond stupid.

Fermi scales almost linearly,look at some of the oc reviews.Vram is over hyped.Just because a game is using 2gb vram doesn't mean it won't run on 1gb.Heck 580 was faster than 7970 in skyrim while the later had twice the amount of vram.Most people talking about vram doesn't have any clue how resources are allocated.I agree to Rs's points in general but just because 6950 has 2gb doesn't make it a better buy.