Worth it to go 6850 to 7950?

Prey2big

Member
Jan 24, 2011
110
0
76
Many game-developers are probably aiming to release all their new titles now with the new generation of consoles coming at the end of this year. So I guess and hope for a big step-up in the new generation of games.
 

biostud

Lifer
Feb 27, 2003
19,725
6,805
136
it depends on resolution and how much eyecandy you're willing to sacrifice. I was very happy with my switch from a 6850 to a gtx 670. But if it will hold 3 years. I seriously doubt it.
 

tarmc

Senior member
Mar 12, 2013
322
5
81
biostud said:
it depends on resolution and how much eyecandy you're willing to sacrifice. I was very happy with my switch from a 6850 to a gtx 670. But if it will hold 3 years. I seriously doubt it.

went from 6870 cf to a gtx 670 and am very happy with the improvement. i doubt it will last 3 years but if a year or two will likely drop a second one in to keep performance up.


Posted from Anandtech.com App for Android
 

Dark Shroud

Golden Member
Mar 26, 2010
1,576
1
0
What do you guys think will a 7950 hold me over for 3 years?

Well it comes with free games so get either the boost model or a standard model with a good factory over clock.

The card has a wide buss with more memory than what Nvidia currently offers so you'll get a good two years out of it. Especially if you over clock, just make sure you get a model with a good cooler.
 

lehtv

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2010
11,897
74
91
Worth it? Definitely. Went from 560 Ti to 7950, it's so much faster.

Will it last 3 years? Hell no. I upgrade my GPUs about 1.5-2 years apart.
 

Plimogz

Senior member
Oct 3, 2009
678
0
71
The step up in performance from a 6850 to 7950 is definitely worth it. And if you overclock, the 7950 is definitely worth it's cost, cost/performance-wise. You also get nice games bundled with the Radeon at the moment, so...

Whether it'll hold you over for 3 years is another question altogether. But frankly, to be all set for three years would involve buying a couple of fast cards -- and I don't quite see the point unless you need them for 120Hz or eyefinity right now.

I say, consider yourself good for a couple of years with a 7950, wait for good deal after rebate, overclock the sucker to 1050MHz+, and enjoy.

They're very nice cards, if I do say so myself.
 

futurefields

Diamond Member
Jun 2, 2012
6,470
32
91
No 120hz or anything, just a single 1080p display

The 6850 ive only had for a year, but just find it a bit underpowered when actually trying to run dx11 + msaa
 

Will Robinson

Golden Member
Dec 19, 2009
1,408
0
0
3 Years is probably stretching it a little if you want to play the latest games as they are released.
Still,HD7950 is a powerful card and will most likely provide a decent gaming experience for a few years yet.
So upgrade=yes (its new and shiny which counts for a lot as well :))
 

legcramp

Golden Member
May 31, 2005
1,671
113
116
3 years who knows, the HD5870 was released in 09, still a decent card today... faster than your 6850 too.
 

futurefields

Diamond Member
Jun 2, 2012
6,470
32
91
yeah and i figure at around $300 now, might as well. they were closer to $400 when they launched right?
 

RaistlinZ

Diamond Member
Oct 15, 2001
7,470
9
91
You haven't told us what CPU you're running. A 7950 might be complete overkill if you're still running a Pentium D.
 

WhoBeDaPlaya

Diamond Member
Sep 15, 2000
7,414
402
126
Worth it. It will pretty much be like a Crossfire 6850 setup, without the hassles of multi-GPU.
Toss a Bitcoin/Litecoin client on it when you're not gaming, and the upgrade might even pay for itself. It's how I got my 7970 for free after selling off my 6950 2GB, and the value of Bitcoins was utter shite compared to what it is now o_O
 

WhoBeDaPlaya

Diamond Member
Sep 15, 2000
7,414
402
126
Haha, yup brainfart. I wrote that with my 6950 @ 6970 in mind, so it would definitely be more than 2x your 6850 :p

I've had multi-GPU capable mobos for years now, but can never seem to convince myself that its worth it and by the
time I usually need that amount of power, a next gen card comes out that does the same thing. I guess I technically
did Crossfire for a day once when I first got two 6950 2GBs in and was testing that they were OK :)
 
Last edited:

aarontpx

Senior member
Apr 3, 2013
240
0
76
It depends on what an acceptable level of performance is in your eyes. For some people they would probably be totally fine with a 7950 in 3 years, for others...they would probably rather claw out their eyes. A good friend of mine just went to a 7950 from a 6850 and he is VERY happy with his purchase. For reference my gtx 285 (2009) still runs many games fine on medium/high settings with low/no AA (albeit DX9/10) , but compared to my 680..its like an old bowl of stinky rat feet.