What to replace my 6950 OC with?

[Dice144]

Currently my MSi 6950 is OC to 880 core, use to be a bit higher (920 ish) but re-installed windows and never got around to pushing it higher again.

Currently play Everquest (don't laugh!), Skyrim, will start Dirt 3 up again. Plan to play ACreed 3, Farcry 3. All on a 2560 monitor for my main screen and a 1080p screen on the side for web pages. Then a 32" TV 1080p off my onboard intel GPU.

I almost pulled the trigger on 7950 because it looks like the best bang for the buck under $300. However a few co-workers all rave about their 670's. Don't want a A vs N rant tho!

Considering my current card is OC what card would be worth getting of current gen with considering it WILL be water cooled and OC.

Before the new Catleap 1440p monitor the video card was more then enough. But even in Everquest the 1440p is somehow destroying the 6950. Granted Everquest is using ancient horrid code.

 

[The Alias]

Currently my MSi 6950 is OC to 880 core, use to be a bit higher (920 ish) but re-installed windows and never got around to pushing it higher again.

Currently play Everquest (don't laugh!), Skyrim, will start Dirt 3 up again. Plan to play ACreed 3, Farcry 3. All on a 2560 monitor for my main screen and a 1080p screen on the side for web pages. Then a 32" TV 1080p off my onboard intel GPU.

I almost pulled the trigger on 7950 because it looks like the best bang for the buck under $300. However a few co-workers all rave about their 670's. Don't want a A vs N rant tho!

Considering my current card is OC what card would be worth getting of current gen with considering it WILL be water cooled and OC.

Before the new Catleap 1440p monitor the video card was more then enough. But even in Everquest the 1440p is somehow destroying the 6950. Granted Everquest is using ancient horrid code.

water cooling won't be needed as this gen's coolers are more than adequate for max safe voltage (1.250) . with that said, I suggest you use the money you'd use for watercooling and get this : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131471
which roughly has the power of a 6990 and even more when you oc

the reason I suggested it is because it's dead quiet and extremely good at keeping your gpu cool

 

[Trm8r]

I had a 5850 until I got a Catleap. I also have a 1080p as secondary. I decided I needed 70% more power for 70% more pixels, so I bought a 3Gb 7950. The 7950 may not have been strictly necessary, I don't get wound-up about max frame rate, but the 3Gb is nice. You probably already know this, but if I've watched a youtube video then a Flashplayer Plugin is started. It locks the card at 500MHz. Ah, the hours I played Skyrim at half speed, didn't seem too bad. Bye the way, I love the Catleap.

 

[raghu78]

at 1440p the HD 7950 boost is a better option than GTX 670. you could go for the Sapphire HD 7950 boost or HIS HD 7950 iceq x2 boost. both have excellent coolers. and they also use reference AMD PCB design so waterblocks will be compatible.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814202006

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161429

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/HIS/HD_7950_X2_Boost/28.html

2560 x 1600

GTX 670 - 96
HIS HD 7950 iceq - 100
GTX 680 - 105
HD 7970 Ghz - 116

the HD 7950 boost at stock setting does not run at max boost. if you max out power control to +20% it would be even more faster. clock for clock HD 7950 is 3 - 6% slower than HD 7970. HD 7950(1.1 Ghz) matches HD 7970 Ghz. HD 7950(1.15 Ghz) would be faster than GTX 670(1.3 Ghz) at 1440p.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

7950\7970 oc

 

[Shmee]

7950\7970 oc

Agreed!

 

[dagamer34]

Aren't we close to a new generation of cards? I also have a 6950, but always want to skip a generation so that I get a real visible performance boost. Plus a 2560x1440 monitor is a lot of pixels to push around.

 

[lehtv]

I would keep a 6950 2GB until the next gen cards arrive

 

[aaksheytalwar]

A single 7970 ghz oc is anywhere from 60-100% faster. You are better off with this card than with 6950 cf. I don't see how a highly oced 7950 won't be a noticeable improvement.

 

[Bateluer]

I have 2 ShiMians, Korean 1440p panels myself. Up until a month ago, there were drive off a 6950 2GB. Most games ran fine, though modded ones seemed to have a little stutter. DAO with graphical enchancement mods had some noticeable frame drops in heavy battles, same with modded Skyrim. With stock games, there wasn't anything it couldn't handle though.

I ended up buying a 7950B 3GB to play the modded versions without the stutter though, my choice.

 

[Dice144]

water cooling won't be needed as this gen's coolers are more than adequate for max safe voltage (1.250) . with that said, I suggest you use the money you'd use for watercooling and get this : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131471
which roughly has the power of a 6990 and even more when you oc

the reason I suggested it is because it's dead quiet and extremely good at keeping your gpu cool

I already have a water cooling setup so only thing it will cost me is $0.50 in thermal grease. Also water cooling with my 240mm fan is far less noise then a video card shroud. That is why I replaced my twinfrozer2 shroud with WC.

I am debating waiting to come back from my vacation in mid Jan and see if the 8000's series is close by then.

 

[Jhatfie]

7950 all day every day for under $300. Once over clocked, they are an insane value for the $$. I actually had 6950's in x-fire prior to getting my single Sapphire 7950 OC about a year ago. Not once have I regretted the switch. My monitor setup is similar to what you want to run, with a 2560x1600 30" and 24" 1920x1200 on the side. With my 7950 Oc'd to 1200/7000 it pretty much has no problems playing all the games I throw at it. Some more demanding ones may require toning back AA levels a bit, but generally I can run very high settings with fluid frame rates.

 

[Makaveli]

Aren't we close to a new generation of cards? I also have a 6950, but always want to skip a generation so that I get a real visible performance boost. Plus a 2560x1440 monitor is a lot of pixels to push around.

I'm on a 6950 shader unlocked at 6970 and been thinking the same thing. But the leap in performance from a 6970 to a 7970 is already fairly large likes 50% for a stock Tahiti. You are on a larger monitor than myself so it may be worth while for you to wait. For anyone gaming at 1920x1200 or 1080p I think the 7970 is a great buy.

Right now I think its worth it to wait for us to both wait currently to alteast see what the next gen brings for me I will probably still look at a 7970 after the 8 series lauches at a reduce price.