Worthy upgrade of HD 6870?

[Termie]

Alright. So apparently, the last (reasonably priced) GTX 670''s slipped right through my fingers... They won't be selling them anymore, the only ones I could could get now are the Palit (never really heard about this before, any good?) GTX 670 for €250,- and the Asus GTX 670 for about €275,- Seeing as I can get the R9 280X for about the same price, I should go with the R9 280X instead?

Thoughts?

I figured that would be an issue, given that the 670 is discontinued.

The 280X is a great deal. I'd go for that unless you have a strong preference for Nvidia's features.

 

[nwo]

Alright. So apparently, the last (reasonably priced) GTX 670''s slipped right through my fingers... They won't be selling them anymore, the only ones I could could get now are the Palit (never really heard about this before, any good?) GTX 670 for €250,- and the Asus GTX 670 for about €275,- Seeing as I can get the R9 280X for about the same price, I should go with the R9 280X instead?

Thoughts?

If those are your choices, then I would definitely go with the 280x.

 

[nubki11a]

It definitely made it easier for me to decide haha. But now I've got a whole different issue (wasn't sure whether or not I should make a new thread).

Right now, the MSI 280X seems like the best option to me. But I use 2 monitors and the MSI 280X only has these connections:
Dual-link DVI-I x 1
HDMI (version 1.4a) x 1
Mini DisplayPort x 2

The monitors I use are a BenQ XL2411T (144hz) and a NEC LCD22WV (old).
The BenQ has: D-sub / DVI-DL / HDMI x 1
The NEC has: VGA 15 pin D-sub x 1

Would I be able to use my NEC screen with the MSI 280X and use my BenQ at the same time, with 144hz refresh rate? I read somewhere that a newer type of HDMI supports at least 120hz, though I couldn't find a clear answer to that. I am willing to purchase converters if needed.

 

[KingFatty]

Hmm what about putting the BenQ on the DVI port, and then buy a very inexpensive adapter (mini displayport to VGA) for the NEC? I think Ebay has some for like $5 that mention they are for some type of Apple computer or something, but I think they should work (can someone verify?).

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Mini-DVI-Port-to-VGA-Adapter-for-Apple-Mac-Macbook-Display-Monitor-Projector-/271337739609?pt=US_Video_Cables_Adapters&hash=item3f2cfd5559

The video card can support 2 displays without needing an active adapter so this should work regardless, but I heard that all displayport-VGA adapters are active anyway, but no idea if this is true for these "apple specific" adapters?

 

[nubki11a]

I just checked and these adapters are about €30,- here, so is there another option?

 

[KingFatty]

I just checked and these adapters are about €30,- here, so is there another option?

Hmm, the displayport adapters come in two types, active and passive. The passive are very inexpensive, but the active adapters cost more.

If you try to use 3 displays on one AMD video card, you'll need to get an active adapter and pay more.

But here, you are only using 2 displays, so you should be able to use the very cheap passive adapters, or even just a cable that has different connectors on each end.

Maybe see if your source can specifically find a "passive" adapter, which also is single-link (you only need dual-link for displays having resolutions above ~1920x1200, which I assume you don't, so you won't need the super-expensive active dual-link adapter, just a passive single-link).

 

[TheAdvocate]

Any particular reason not too look at the 760? Really like mine.

 

[nubki11a]

Simply had a bit more to spend, apart from that, nobody recommended it I think. 280X seems like an excellent card Gonna order the MSI version now

 

[nubki11a]

@Kingfatty, thanks for the explanation. Somehow couldn't find a cheap HDMI to VGA converter, but it seems that HDMI 1.4 supports up to 120hz, so I'll be using that for my BenQ. For my older NEC, I'll use a DVI-I to VGA converter. This would work right?

 

[lopri]

I'm in the same boat and want[ed] to pick up a 7870 to replace a 6870 but I don't know whether it will co-op with a 4K display in case I get one in the future. I preferr a 7870 to a 270X but it looks like a 270X is a safer bet.

 

[nubki11a]

What I read about the 270X is that it's an excellent bang for buck.

 

[nwo]

What I read about the 270X is that it's an excellent bang for buck.

7870 was better if you were able to grab one while they were being cleared off the shelves. The MSI/Sapphire 7870s I have were around $120 after MIR. A $200+ 270X is only about 10% faster than a 7870. 270X or at least the 270 non-x needs to come down to $150.

But with the current prices, I can see why a 270X is a decent bang for the buck card.

You'd be better off buying a used 7870 or equivalent for ~$100 than a brand new 270x.