Thinking I might be crazy.....

[Jhatfie]

I am debating downgrading and selling my unlocked 2GB 6950's. I paid $280/ea for them last December and the last couple unlocked 6950's I have seen have on eBay have sold for $278 and $285 + shipping. I originally got them because I was running eyefinity, but have since switched over to a 30" monitor a month ago.

I am still running 2560x1600 so I still need some muscle, would a OC'd GTX580 keep me pleased? I have seen several new for sale around $400, if I can sell my 6950's for $550-ish that would leave me with some left over funds to just about pay for a 120GB SSD boot drive.

I still game, but not a ton lately and no matter what I do, would likely eventually upgrade to the new AMD 7xxxx cards when they come out 3-5 months from now or whenever. Most the good games on the horizon are not coming out for 3+ months from now. Since the unlockable 6950's seem to be valuable at the moment and they are maybe more than I need at the moment, am I crazy for considering to sell them? I imagine if I wait to close to the 7xxx release, their value will plummet.

 

[Crap Daddy]

Here's what you'll get with Crysis 2 high res pack DX11 at that res:

http://www.pcgameshardware.de/aid,8...t-fuenf-neuen-Grafikkarten/Action-Spiel/Test/

 

[3DVagabond]

It depends on what games, settings, etc., but at that res (2560*1600) Your dual 6950/1536spu setup will cream the 580 in overall performance (Will of course vary depending on game). Keep in mind that there's often not much of a performance difference between the 580 and the 6970 at that resolution.

I think TechPowerUp gives a fair overall perspective. Not just one cherry picked benchmark.

You should be at ~6990 performance.

 

[Jhatfie]

Yeah I imagine I am at close to 6990 performance with the unlocked shaders and 840/1325 OC on my 6950's and I realize I am more powerful than a single GTX 580. However from the reviews I read, OC'd 580's can gain a ton of performance, up to 20-25% versus a standard clocked 580 in some games. Even if that is so, the performance gap is still pretty large, but it would be reduced by a good margin and like I mentioned, if I would be satisfied with the performance, the downgrade would free up some funds for me to get a SSD which I think would make my daily system use better. I'd normally just buy a SSD, but me and the wife are watching the extra spending at the moment.

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...us-rog-gtx-580-matrix-platinum-review-16.html

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...-msi-geforce-gtx-580-lightning-review-17.html

Obviously 1050+ OC's is not normal, but 925-950 seems to be with some added voltage.

Regardless if I downgrade or not, by the time the new cards come out I should be in a position to trade up again.

 

[Termie]

Here's another idea. Sell one 6950, make due with a single card for a while, and then buy the 7000-series that you said you were going to buy anyway. In the meantime, you could pick up the 120GB SSD you're eyeing.

 

[ZimZum]

Why dont you try taking out one of the 6950's and seeing if a single one will be adequate in the games you play? If so, just sell the other one.

Edit: Termie beat me to it.

 

[Jhatfie]

Why dont you try taking out one of the 6950's and seeing if a single one will be adequate in the games you play? If so, just sell the other one.

Edit: Termie beat me to it.

I had thought of this before and tried running a single card for a bit. It actually was not bad at all, but lacking a bit in a couple games. Granted I did not OC much, so I have headroom to get some additional performance that may iron out those performance gaps.

Like you guys suggested, I think I will sell one 6950. However, I felt compelled by a deal and bit on a almost new ASUS RoG GTX 580 Matrix Platinum for $400 shipped. Once I get it I will compare single cards and decide if the 580 is worth keeping or not. If not, I am positive I can get my $$ back out of it, otherwise I will sell the other 6950 and then go SSD shopping.

 

[3DVagabond]

I had thought of this before and tried running a single card for a bit. It actually was not bad at all, but lacking a bit in a couple games. Granted I did not OC much, so I have headroom to get some additional performance that may iron out those performance gaps.

Like you guys suggested, I think I will sell one 6950. However, I felt compelled by a deal and bit on a almost new ASUS RoG GTX 580 Matrix Platinum for $400 shipped. Once I get it I will compare single cards and decide if the 580 is worth keeping or not. If not, I am positive I can get my $$ back out of it, otherwise I will sell the other 6950 and then go SSD shopping.

good plan :thumbsup: