The time has come. OP Updated.

[SickBeast]

Ever since I bought my 8800GTS so I could play Crysis on it, I have given up on "future proofing". To this day not even a GTX 580 can run that game to its fullest potential.

I have yet to see a game that needs more than the 768mb on my 460. Even GTA4 runs well with the textures maxed out.

TBH it's going to take a GPU at least as powerful as a GTX 580 to properly use 2GB of VRAM. It takes a ton of horsepower to process large volumes of graphics memory.

 

[RussianSensation]

Ever since I bought my 8800GTS so I could play Crysis on it, I have given up on "future proofing"

I don't believe in future proofing either, but the OP wants to keep his setup for 2-3 years. Therefore, I believe the 2GBs of ram will become much more beneficial with an HD6950 CF setup.

 

[SickBeast]

I don't believe in future proofing either, but the OP wants to keep his setup for 2-3 years. Therefore, I believe the 2GBs of ram will become much more beneficial with an HD6950 CF setup.

Well, you're providing the OP the best option given their framework. I personally think it's a bad idea to follow a strict 3 year cycle. Just stick with the cards that give you the most bang for the buck. If you go with a high end card every 3 years, you get stuck with a GPU that is constantly too hot and too power hungry. You also wind up with an overpowered GPU or else an underpowered GPU for the majority of the "upgrade cycle".

I did it with my 8800GTS and I would never do it again or wish it upon anybody.

 

[MentalIlness]

Well, when I say 2-3 years, it is probably alot closer to two years rather than 3 years. Setup I have now, I am just a "hair" over two years.

I should also add, I have $500 put aside for the GPU alone. Not that I want to use it all for the GPU though. But I can if it becomes a worse case scenario.

 

[SickBeast]

Well, when I say 2-3 years, it is probably alot closer to two years rather than 3 years. Setup I have now, I am just a "hair" over two years.

I should also add, I have $500 put aside for the GPU alone. Not that I want to use it all for the GPU though. But I can if it becomes a worse case scenario.

Well, it's hard to future proof. Some people say you'll need more texture memory in future games. Other people say that tessellation is going to take off and will require less texture memory. We also don't know if CUDA and PhysX are going to turn out to be important features.

TBH you have a ton of options under $200. The 6850 is a good choice. So is the GTX 460. I wouldn't worry too much about future Crossfire or SLI; by the time you need another card, you'll be able to find a single card that's twice as fast as your current card for cheap.

 

[MentalIlness]

What kind of basic jump can I expect from a 9800GTX to something like a 6870 / 570 ?

I'd very much prefer keep the minimum to the 6870 level of performance without overclocking. I know how to overclock GPU's, But since these are all great cards, I just really don't see the need for such a thing.

Of course I run benchmarks and stuff like that as well. But I dont go for highest clocks/scores for e-peen.

I just want great FPS and IQ.

One of my younger brothers has a EVGA GTX460 1-GIG. He has the external exhaust cooling. He ordered the regular card "stock clocks" and they sent him the Superclocked card. The one that is clocked at 673 on the core....or something like that.

 

[Rifter]

Honestly i would go AMD if you do not have a SLI mobo. I would go with a 6950 or 6970. Can always CF later if you need the power.

I do think tess will become more popular and having the better tess of the 69xx over the 68xx will be better in the long run. And you said 2-3 years lifespan.

 

[Ovven]

By the time that tesselation becomes important, you'll be better off just getting a new card anyway, since anything from now will be obsolete.

 

[Rifter]

By the time that tesselation becomes important, you'll be better off just getting a new card anyway, since anything from now will be obsolete.

This is possible, depends when the new consols hit i suppose. I think thats going to be before 3 years from now though.

 

[RavenSEAL]

Go HD6870 CF, you won't regret it

If you want a bit more future proofness, get yourself up to 6950 CF for an extra $200. That'll leave you set for 3 years for sure.

 

[MentalIlness]

Honestly i would go AMD if you do not have a SLI mobo. I would go with a 6950 or 6970. Can always CF later if you need the power.

I do think tess will become more popular and having the better tess of the 69xx over the 68xx will be better in the long run. And you said 2-3 years lifespan.

Yes, I did say that. But I also said in another post, that it is alot closer to two years than three.

Basically it could be "up to" three years. So when I say up to three years, that just gives a little extra playing room. Pending launch dates etc:

 

[Rifter]

Yes, I did say that. But I also said in another post, that it is alot closer to two years than three.

Basically it could be "up to" three years. So when I say up to three years, that just gives a little extra playing room. Pending launch dates etc:

Then CF 6870's is a good idea.

 

[MentalIlness]

I know XFX has double-lifetime. Anyone here know if Gigabyte/ASUS support and warranty is good ?

Ive never owned any cards by these 3 companies before.

Even though I havent used cards of these three brands, I do know that they are "high tier" brands.

Which would you choose ? But only from these three companies .

 

[Bill Brasky]

If I was in your shoes, there's no question I would go with a GTX 570.

Also, I thought I should mention I currently own a 5850, so no fanboy here.

 

[tannat]

Buy a HD6950 @279$, performs close to GTX570 and you can always try to flash it to a HD6970.

 

[Powermoloch]

6950 HD is a hot buy right now, especially flashing it to 6970 (if you don't mind flashing ;P )

 

[biostud]

Look at the thread I started here:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2128066

 

[Gikaseixas]

2-3 years down the line - 2GBs of ram might start to come into play much more so. Since BF3 and Crysis 2 are not out yet, why not pick up a single HD6950 for $280 and then when those games come out, pick up a 2nd HD6950 at reduced prices. Since your MB only supports CF and you plan to keep this card(s) for 2-3 years, I'd be leaning towards AMD HD69xx series.

i recommend HD6970 or GTX570 but i think this is the best advice. Since you have a CF borad you coud get a single HD6950 which is very close in performance and later on add another card. Those 2GB of memory will come in handy in the new wave of games.

 

[OVerLoRDI]

I didn't bother to read all the previous posts.

In my experience more video card memory is a good plan for the long term. I am glad that when I bought my 8800gts, i picked the 640mb version instead of the 320mb version, it lasted me till I bought my 5850 last September.

Saying that, I would opt for the 6950 and try for an unlock to 6970. Avoiding the 570, because of 1.2gb of ram instead of 2gb and avoiding crossfire of 1gb cards.

See this thread for details:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2130396

 

[badb0y]

6950 and unlock it to a 6970, seems to be relatively easy, safe (Dual Bios switch) and stable.

 

[SlowSpyder]

6950 and unlock it to a 6970, seems to be relatively easy, safe (Dual Bios switch) and stable.

Yea, I think seeing as you have a CF capable board this might be your best route. 2GB of memory, it seems like a lot of people are having some luck unlocking the 6950's, and if you want more performance in the future a second card can be added. CF scaling appears to be very good with the 69xx.

But a 6950 unlocked would be difficult to beat for the money.

If you are absolutely against dual cards and don't want to worry about the card not unlocking, then I would choose between the GTX570 and 6970... whichever you can get a better deal on.

 

[Teizo]

Since you are sticking with 19x10, I'd go with the 570. The extra RAM is nice on the 69's, but I doubt you'll need it at that resolution for some time to come. The 570 performs excellent at that resolution with high IQ and high AA/AF.

The 6950 and 6970 are not that far apart, so if you do go with AMD I would go with the 6950, especially since the current batch can be unlocked to 6970 via bios flash supposedly. The extra money spent on the 6970 is not worth the peformance difference imho, especially since the 6970 is slower than the 570 (albeit marginally) at 19x10.

 

[Avalon]

I'd probably recommend going with an eVGA GTX570. Trades blows with a 6970, is a couple $ cheaper. As for myself, I'd probably try 6850 Crossfire, but I don't typically recommend dual card setups due to the potential problems that can arise from them.

 

[Bill Brasky]

I'd probably recommend going with an eVGA GTX570. Trades blows with a 6970, is a couple $ cheaper. As for myself, I'd probably try 6850 Crossfire, but I don't typically recommend dual card setups due to the potential problems that can arise from them.

That's exactly why I recommended the gtx 570 as well. It's the best single card in his price range.

 

[MentalIlness]

So are there any reviews that has these setup's in them....

6870 Crossfire
6850 Crossfire
GTX460 SLI
GTX570
6970
6950

I'd really like to see a review like this.

EDIT: Found one "Dont have 460SLI in the review though. http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/3735/sapphire_radeon_hd_6970_2gb_video_card/index14.html