Which GPU of the following should I get - if any?

[d3fu5i0n]

By the way, read this introduction post and the latest one if you don't wish to read everything so far.

Hey guys,

I've been looking at a new GPU purchase for a while now; and I do feel that I want to go for nVidia this round - but you may be able to sway me.

Currently I have a 6950 2GB @ 840/1325 [Catalyst limits - I know I can go higher, don't worry].
The rest of my system can be seen in my signature.

I do game at 1920x1080 and generally like 4xAA - and apply more if I have incredibly high framerates. For some games, Adaptive-AA comes in handy; such as Mirror's Edge.

My friend has a voucher for £10 off from an e-retailer, so I thought I could make a purchase quickly... as it runs out in about one day. EDIT - A few hours now (coming up to Thursday).

I have the choice of:
Gainward GTX 580 Phantom £295. = £285 w/ voucher
MSI HD 7950 OC Edition £294. = £284 w/ voucher
MSI GTX 670 OC Edition £330. = £320 w/ voucher

Should I purchase any of these, as the voucher runs out on Thursday [UK - GMT] [likely, midnight?]?
Don't worry, I don't mind a "No, don't bother." either - especially as the prices are a little steep.

Thanks guys and I hope you can give me some good opinions.

 

[Yuriman]

It's not a big enough upgrade for me personally to justify any of them, but you can recoup part of it by selling your old card.

There's no wrong answer between the 670 and the 7950, one is faster and the other is cheaper. I think the 670 would feel like more of an upgrade, and you don't sound like a hardcore overclocker.

Consider yourself justified.

 

[d3fu5i0n]

It's not a big enough upgrade for me personally to justify any of them, but you can recoup part of it by selling your old card.

There's no wrong answer between the 670 and the 7950, one is faster and the other is cheaper. I think the 670 would feel like more of an upgrade, and you don't sound like a hardcore overclocker.

Consider yourself justified.

I was considering selling either my 6950 or my two 5770s.

I'm not a 'hardcore' overclocker. I do overclock a fair amount on CPUs, but generally don't touch GPUs too much.

 

[Ketchup]

Considering such cards really won't hold their value, get the 670. It isn't much more expensive and it is a faster card, and that increase may grow over time. (that last part is purely a guess though)

 

[ShintaiDK]

670 if any.

 

[d3fu5i0n]

670 if any.

Well, if I should get the 670 out of the choice, should I still get the card, or would you consider it not to be worth it and to wait instead?

 

[ShintaiDK]

Well if you _need_ to upgrade is only something you can really only evaluate yourself.

But at least for stock clocks you see a 50-100% improvement compared to your current card.

 

[d3fu5i0n]

Well if you _need_ to upgrade is only something you can really only evaluate yourself.

But at least for stock clocks you see a 50-100% improvement compared to your current card.

50-100%. Yup, judging by the benchmarks I've seen, that's a NICE improvement.
I think the question is more based around - 'is it worth the money?'; esepecially as I'd be looking to re-sell my 6950 for a reasonable price. I think I've only used it for about a year. £150 or so... I suppose - well, I'm a little unsure as to what's fair.

 

[cmdrdredd]

I would not get the GTX 670. It's on the reference PCB and fan setup. I do not like that design. Too many people claiming issues.

It is the best choice out of the three though.

 

[d3fu5i0n]

I would not get the GTX 670. It's on the reference PCB and fan setup. I do not like that design.

*Cringe*. I was a little sceptical of the reference PCB's components' quality.

 

[Ketchup]

Since both AMD and nVidia have just released new cards, waiting for something better would entail a pretty long wait.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Overclocking seems to cause bad things with temps on the back of the card and PCB area since the heat is not spread out much. It should handle it, and probably will. I'm just a little put off by it.

Granted I am a bit bias because I have received a bad overclocked reference card myself. It should be noted that EVGA identified the issue and is taking steps to correct it and I'm sure MSI has taken the proper steps to ensure that their card works good as well.

Take it for what you will.

 

[d3fu5i0n]

Since both AMD and nVidia have just released new cards, waiting for something better would entail a pretty long wait.

That's something else that I have thought about.
I think I just need enough people to say 'get this', justify it and say it's worth the money and that I can sell any of my old cards for a good enough price and then I'd buy the new card.

 

[ShintaiDK]

GFX cards wont get much better the next 3 years or so. Since the major improvements is due to die shrinks. So that another point in upgrading now.

And I bought my GF a Zotac reference GTX 670. Nothing to complain about there.

 

[d3fu5i0n]

GFX cards wont get much better the next 3 years or so. Since the major improvements is due to die shrinks. So that another point in upgrading now.

And I bought my GF a Zotac reference GTX 670. Nothing to complain about there.

Well, it's good that you have nothing to complain about.
I think that I just need to feel confident if I'm going to make a purchase; and how much would you say that I can sell a 6950 2GB for [non-reference - about 1 year old]? Or two 5770 non-reference cards? [both 1GB VRAM].

 

[Jaydip]

670 no question

 

[d3fu5i0n]

Bump.
So I'd go for the 670 - it's just a matter of "Is it worth it?"
If anyone thinks it'd be a waste of money - do say so.

 

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

You should go for the GTX 670, especially since you said you only do mild to no overclocking on graphics cards.

The HD 7950 would need to be clocked at 975MHz-1000MHz to match the GTX 670, and the price difference between both isn't too big.

 

[Shmee]

670 or 680 would be my choice.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

IMO the upgrade is worth it and the 670 is okay over the 7950 but if you can get a high clocked 7950 custom then it may be debatable due to nearly similar performance now plus 3gb VRAM for later, nearly similar performance after max oc that is.

I would do it in this order
7970 custom or 680 reference whichever is cheaper
670 custom
670 reference or 7950 custom whichever is cheaper provided oc potential is good. For a sub 30 euro difference go with 670 reference.
7950 reference

IMO if that isn't a lot of money for you and if you will upgrade within 2013, go for 670 IMO

 

[Don Karnage]

If you're comfortable overclocking i say go with the 7950. If you're not go with the 670

 

[d3fu5i0n]

If you're comfortable overclocking i say go with the 7950. If you're not go with the 670

It's not so much that, but I wanted to learn some things about nVidia and try out their cards; and as little as it's used, PhysX as well.
But I am getting BF3 and want to max. that out, of course.

If you think that the performance boost is really worth it, I'll buy it.
Also, what clock speed do you think I should put my 2500K to in order to relieve as much of a bottleneck as possible [if I were to get a 670]?

 

[aaksheytalwar]

Oc past 4ghz. After that diff is minimal if any

 

[cmdrdredd]

Two things I thought about...

1) Overclocking is a crap shoot. You just never know. Yeah maybe that 7950 could pass up a GTX 670 but not everyone gets the overclocks you see plastered up on forums. That's a small percentage of actual cards to market that can do those speeds.

2) by the time 3GB of memory is really not enough (i.e. game is not playable with 2GB) then you probably won't even own the 7950 or 670 anymore and would have moved on. Even at 2560x1600 games are very playable with 2GB. Again, when that changes you would need more than GTX 670 or 7950 anyway. Games lag way behind the hardware capabilities it seems. There's the exception like Metro 2033 which uses massive amounts of tessellation etc to cripple performance.

 

[3DVagabond]

I don't like the reference 670 PCB at all. I also don't really like the reference 7950 cooler. I'm not sure exactly which models you are looking at (They look like reference designs just O/C'd. Is that correct?).

We're talking ~$57.00USD more expensive for the 670. Too much more. So, all else being equal except the price difference I'd go with the 7950. I'd try to get one with a custom cooler, but don't give up the bios switch. It adds a lot of flexibility to possible modding.