Trouble deciding between cards

[conorvansmack]

I'm looking for an nvidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448 cores or GTX 570 if the price is right. I'm leaning heavily toward this one.

I have a 22" LCD, so 1680 x 1050 is the resolution I use, so I'm not sure if the card I like is overkill, even with PhysX enabled. If you think I'm better off waiting a couple of months for prices to drop, or if a different nvidia card would be a better fit, I'd appreciate that advice as well. I'm sticking with nvidia on this one for PhysX support.

Thanks!

 

[Termie]

What's your CPU? What's your power supply? What card do you have right now? We need to know that before recommending a card.

By the way, there's a 560Ti-448 going for $235 right now: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2222176. That would make more sense than the $270 model you linked.

 

[96Firebird]

Also, what games do you play?

 

[wand3r3r]

If you play BF3 and need all the eye candy there is no such thing as overkill atm, even at that resolution. AA will kill the regular 560 ti 1 GB at 1680x1050 and I don't know if the 570 even quite has it. (I'm talking minimal 60FPS).

 

[conorvansmack]

Sorry about that, I should know better.

AMD PhenomII X4 975 3.6 GHz
MSI 890FXA-GD70
8GB DDR3 1333
OCZ ModXStream 780W
XFX Radeon HD4890

I tend to play shooters mostly, HL2, Portal2, Batman AA & AC (haven't played yet), Lost Planet. I have both Mass Effects, but haven't played them yet.

 

[nitromullet]

There really isn't much of a reason to get a GTX 570 while the GTX 560 Ti 448 core is still available. It was supposed to a limited time card, but I guess they made a lot of them. I'd personally get the EVGA Classified for $10 more over the 560 448 you linked to.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130739

If you do buy an EVGA card with a model number that ends in KR, make sure you register it in the first 30 days and buy the extended warranty ($15 for that card). This will allow you to take advantage of EVGA's step up if NVIDIA releases a better card within 90 days of your purchase. Cards that end in AR already come with a lifetime warranty and the option to Step-Up. You have to register your card in 30 days though. EVGA is awesome, but only if you are the original owner of a card registered in the first 30 days.

 

[Termie]

Sorry about that, I should know better.

AMD PhenomII X4 975 3.6 GHz
MSI 890FXA-GD70
8GB DDR3 1333
OCZ ModXStream 780W
XFX Radeon HD4890

I tend to play shooters mostly, HL2, Portal2, Batman AA & AC (haven't played yet), Lost Planet. I have both Mass Effects, but haven't played them yet.

For those games, you don't need the power of either of these cards. If you're not satisfied with the 4890 (and only you can be the judge of that), I'd recommend you get something that is at least 50% faster, otherwise you may not even notice the difference. You could probably drop down to a regular 560Ti for that. If you feel like spending more (again, you don't need to for those games), get the 560Ti-448 I linked above for $235.

The most demanding game among the ones you mentioned is Batman AC, and any card over $150 will handle it with ease: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/GPU12/392. Another example would be Portal 2 with Super-sampling AA at 1920 (the lowest res Anandtech benched): http://www.anandtech.com/bench/GPU12/396. Again, no reason you need to spend more than $150 (HD6870 or plain GTX560 woudl both get about 40fps at that very high setting).

The HD6870 really is at the sweetspot of price/performance (often selling for less than $150). Look at how it improves on the 4870 here: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/290?vs=304

 

[notty22]

I also think the TI448 is a very good card. They seem to o/c as good as any of the gf110 dies. Probably because the weakest area is fused off.

 

[lifeblood]

At that resolution a 570 or even a 560 TI 448 is "overkill", but theirs nothing wrong with that. If at a later date you buy a 1920x1050 display, then you'll be set. One child with a set of crayons can quickly put you in the market for a new monitor.

 

[EVGA_MatthewH]

There really isn't much of a reason to get a GTX 570 while the GTX 560 Ti 448 core is still available. It was supposed to a limited time card, but I guess they made a lot of them. I'd personally get the EVGA Classified for $10 more over the 560 448 you linked to.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130739

If you do buy an EVGA card with a model number that ends in KR, make sure you register it in the first 30 days and buy the extended warranty ($15 for that card). This will allow you to take advantage of EVGA's step up if NVIDIA releases a better card within 90 days of your purchase. Cards that end in AR already come with a lifetime warranty and the option to Step-Up. You have to register your card in 30 days though. EVGA is awesome, but only if you are the original owner of a card registered in the first 30 days.

Great info in this post! I would also second the idea of getting the classified version if you plan on overclocking it.

 

[conorvansmack]

Thanks for all the information and advice guys, I appreciate it. In the interest of future-proofing, I'll probably go with a 560 Ti 448.