Upgrade time Geforce 560 vs Rad 6790

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Haveapie

Junior Member
Apr 1, 2012
5
0
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Hi,
This is my first time to this site, everyone seems so helpful, so hopefully someone can lend a hand. I have a moderate tech level, I understand how all these things work, GPUs however have always seemed to escape me! Thanks in advance!

System Specifications:

I. Processor/CPU:
AMD Athlon II x4 630

II. Current Graphics Card:
Radeon HD 5770

III. Display Resolution:
1680x1050

IV. Power Supply Unit Specification (Brand, Wattage, Ampage, Age). If possible, please provide a link to a website containing the power supply specifications:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817339024


V. Case Specifications(N/A, Model, Length, Low Profile, Cooling, HTPC, Water, Silent):
Its not huge, but I've got room for days in the Vid Card spot. Ive got nothing special going on in the cooling dept though.

Purchase Details:

I. Budget? Please be sure to include currency (If not USD), retailer preferences & specify whether rebates are a viable option.
I'd like to stay under $150


II. Any particular preferences (Manufacturer[nV or AMD], Brand[XFX, Sapphire, EVGA, etc], Cooling Solutions)?
No Preference


III. Do you plan to have any Multi-GPU solutions such as Crossfire or SLI?
No

IV. Have you previously looked at a product(s) which you feel would fit your needs?
I have, but I do not really know what makes one GPU better than another. I use this benchmark website as my guide- http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html

From here I have singled out the:
Radeon HD 6790- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161377

Geforce GTX 560- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130770

I am also very open to other suggestions as I am going into this pretty blind.

V. What are your needs for this GPU? Which games(If any)do you intend to play? If you have this information at hand, what are the desired detail levels?
Right now I am playing STWOR. I also enjoy a good bout into Skyrim. I obviously would like to play on the highest settings I can and stay at a reasonable FPS. My current card does a decent job of that, however I have recently been getting Blue, Yellow and Red lines across my screen. I think my poor card is on its last leg.



VI. Do you plan on overclocking the card you intend to purchase?
No

Additional Notes

Feel free to add any details that you feel were not covered within this template!

As I had mentioned, my current card was doing a good job, but I am getting red, blue and yellow lines across my screen. It looks Grim for my current card. Unless anyone has any advice to fix this guy, I would love some upgrade advice.

Thank you so much for your help!

Sean
 
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digitaldurandal

Golden Member
Dec 3, 2009
1,828
0
76
Neither of those cards are very much faster than your current card. They are both a small step up. That 560 is the 288 core version so it is the slowest one. the 6790 is not much faster than a 6770 which is the same exact card you currently have.

My suggestion would be, if you feel like you have to upgrade right now and you want the most bang for your buck I would sell the 5770 and purchase a 5850/470 on these forums. They can be had for your budget if you look around for sale/trade.

Otherwise you are not going to have very good luck making a worthwhile upgrade for your budget.

Instead of that terrible passmark graph, try checking out anandtech's bench feature and comparing your card to another card.

EDIT I just read about your card having artifacts. Have you tried reseating the card or changing drivers to remedy that? If you have, is your card under warranty at all?
 
notty22

notty22

Diamond Member
Jan 1, 2010
3,375
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0
notty22

notty22

Diamond Member
Jan 1, 2010
3,375
0
0
The 5 series are simply not readily available any more. A 6870 is faster than a 5850, it's also a refined gpu die. Uses less power/ runs cooler / is clocked higher because of that. A 5850 was a partially disabled 5870.
Also if you want new game gpu driver support, the newer series you get will always get the most attention.
A 6790 is hardly faster than your 5770
36559.png
 
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Haveapie

Junior Member
Apr 1, 2012
5
0
0
Wow guys, thanks a ton for getting back to me on this-

@digitaldurandal- Per your edit, yea I am seeing artifacting, its a real bummer as my card performance was already good enough for me. Alas, I figure is I have to replace it, I might as well upgrade. I did reset the drivers, removed the card, cleaned it and all that- no luck. That said, the thought of buying a used card never entered my mind! Not a bad tip.

General consensus thus far looks like the 6870 (which I wasn't even considering, this is exactly why i came to these boards- THANK YOU)

I'll also look into the prospect of buying used- it makes me a little nervous, but places like ebay and amazon at least have a bit of buyer protection.

Any further advice is totally welcome! Thank you all again.
 
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Haveapie

Junior Member
Apr 1, 2012
5
0
0
Buggar, I'm not sure how comfortable I am OCing things. I feel like I am going to end up breaking something :p

Would it be significantly hampering if i kept my CPU at stock to get the full force out of the 6870? Am I throwing in the extra few dollars only to hit a ceiling with my CPU?
 
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BallaTheFeared

Diamond Member
Nov 15, 2010
8,115
0
71
Depends on the game mostly. Generally in non cpu bound games you'll be fine. It might bottleneck but if it does so it will still be at a point where you're getting playable fps.

Skyrim is cpu intensive, even patched/fixed.


Overclocking is a risk/reward system, often people can get double the performance value out of their hardware via doing it. However you risk killing parts.

It's good for people who are cheap, but can still afford to replace parts if they blow up.
 
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Haveapie

Junior Member
Apr 1, 2012
5
0
0
This has been super helpful. Additionally, the prospect of buying used has opened up a lot of options for me, and I have found a GTX 560 ti within budget.

Based on the AnandTech benchmarks, that looks like it blows the other cards out of the water. (Still don't really know what I'm looking for when I judge a card, but benchmarks seem like a good place to start)

I'm going to jump into that unless that sounds nuts to you people who know what you're talking about :)
 
BlockheadBrown

BlockheadBrown

Senior member
Dec 17, 2004
307
0
0
Haveapie said:
This has been super helpful. Additionally, the prospect of buying used has opened up a lot of options for me, and I have found a GTX 560 ti within budget.

Based on the AnandTech benchmarks, that looks like it blows the other cards out of the water. (Still don't really know what I'm looking for when I judge a card, but benchmarks seem like a good place to start)

I'm going to jump into that unless that sounds nuts to you people who know what you're talking about :)
Click to expand...

The 560 Ti is a good choice. :)
 
kalrith

kalrith

Diamond Member
Aug 22, 2005
6,628
7
81
Termie said:
Buy this right now: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150561

XFX HD6870 for $140AR/FS. Cheapest it's ever been, same price as most 6850s but much faster, also significantly faster than the 560, which is more expensive.

Finally, it's at least 50% faster than your card. You'll notice the difference.
Click to expand...

Amazon has it at the same price: http://www.amazon.com/XFX-Radeon-MIN...dp/B005C31F2M/

What's interesting is that the Amazon rebate uses a different code. Therefore, someone should be able to get two 6870s (one from Newegg and one from Amazon) for $280 AR if they want to crossfire them.
 
kalrith

kalrith

Diamond Member
Aug 22, 2005
6,628
7
81
RavenSEAL said:
I second the 6870, fantastic card. Specially for your resolution.
Click to expand...

Good call on the resolution; I missed that.

At that resolution and with his CPU, I think anything more than the 6870 would be a waste of money. Any money saved will be better spent on another upgrade 18-24 months from now (if he needs it) or on other components.

Since the OP is pleased with the 5770 performance level, he should be VERY pleased with the 6870 performance level :)

I'm half tempted to pick one up to replace my 4870 512MB card, but I won't have the money until July (or I should say that I won't be allowed to spend the money until then :oops:).
 
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Haveapie

Junior Member
Apr 1, 2012
5
0
0
Then its done.

The 6870 is on its way.

My view of tech forums like this has drastically changed, you guys have been a monumental help. I will be sure to pay it forward.

Thank you again!
 
Termie

Termie

Diamond Member
Aug 17, 2005
7,949
48
91
www.techbuyersguru.com
Haveapie said:
Then its done.

The 6870 is on its way.

My view of tech forums like this has drastically changed, you guys have been a monumental help. I will be sure to pay it forward.

Thank you again!
Click to expand...

Congrats! Now let's just hope everything works out! I don't foresee any problems, but definitely post your results and/or questions.

The only other potential issue that could be involved is your PSU, which could cause some videocard issues if it's not providing clean power. But let's cross that bridge if we come to it.
 
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