[starmanwarz]

Hey all,

First post here,I believe I'm in the right place to get some answers from the gurus here

My 22" monitor died,so I have to buy a new one(23" or 24") and a GPU to support it and replace my 8800GTX (new res will be 1920x1080).

I want a good GPU so I can be able to play at max settings in 1080p.I am not interested in SLI/Crossfire/multiple monitor setups.

After some search I found out that some popular cards are the GTX480 and the 6950.The GTX costs €400 in my country (could get it cheaper from another country though) and the 6950 €260.Are there any other cards I should take a look at?I am not following the scene for the last 3 years so I am very lost

I always had Nvidia cards and I'd like to stick with them,but if there is a great Ati card then I'm willing to change sides

So which card is the best for my needs in the ~€280 range?I also have to mention that I am not willing to upgrade any other parts,so the new card must be able to run ok with my Enermax 650W PSU and my OC'ed Q6600 @3.2.

Thanks!

 

[Sircles]

the 480 is like £300 in england, so not sure how that converts

but theyre loud and hot

 

[lotdash0t]

from your budget, gtx 560ti or 6950 and unlock it to 6970 would do the job you need.

 

[lambecrikas]

I'm an nvidia enthusiast but honestly for that budget it's better the 6950 imho... And unlocked to 6970 it's the best bang for buck card out there

 

[SHNS0]

Quote:

Originally Posted by starmanwarz Hey all, First post here,I believe I'm in the right place to get some answers from the gurus here My 22" monitor died,so I have to buy a new one(23" or 24") and a GPU to support it and replace my 8800GTX (new res will be 1920x1080). I want a good GPU so I can be able to play at max settings in 1080p.I am not interested in SLI/Crossfire/multiple monitor setups. After some search I found out that some popular cards are the GTX480 and the 6950.The GTX costs €400 in my country (could get it cheaper from another country though) and the 6950 €260.Are there any other cards I should take a look at?I am not following the scene for the last 3 years so I am very lost I always had Nvidia cards and I'd like to stick with them,but if there is a great Ati card then I'm willing to change sides So which card is the best for my needs in the ~€280 range?I also have to mention that I am not willing to upgrade any other parts,so the new card must be able to run ok with my Enermax 650W PSU and my OC'ed Q6600 @3.2. Thanks!

Where do you live?

 

[starmanwarz]

Thanks for the replies guys.

@SHNS0:I live in Greece.

Any other recommendations?

 

[Vhozard]

The HD6950 is definitely the way to go for that budget.
But make sure you get one with a custom cooler, as the AMD reference cooler is quite bad.

 

[starmanwarz]

I believe the only one with a custom cooler is the MSI twinfrozer which is about 300Euros (and I don't think it can be flashed to a 6970).If for the same price I could get a GTX480 Special edition or a 6950,which would be better?

 

[Vhozard]

Hmmm, here are a lot of other models with custom coolers...
The HD6950 is still the way to go over the GTX480, assuming both are equally priced.
They perform about the same (with the GTX480 being a little better), but the HD6950 uses a lot less power in idle and load.

 

[starmanwarz]

Something else I have read is that the 6950's with custom coolers don't unlock to 6970,is this true?

 

[Cee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sircles the 480 is like £300 in england, so not sure how that converts but theyre loud and hot

No

You can get Asus GTX480 for £200(Overclockers.co.uk and Scan.co.uk) in england and that is the best deal for graphics cards under £250..

Maybe 6950 put up a good fight for the price, but I still think GTX480 is better.

/end

 

[Blacklac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cee No You can get Asus GTX480 for £200(Overclockers.co.uk and Scan.co.uk) in england and that is the best deal for graphics cards under £250.. Maybe 6950 put up a good fight for the price, but I still think GTX480 is better. /end

That is my opinion also.

 

[Stefy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vhozard The HD6950 is definitely the way to go for that budget. But make sure you get one with a custom cooler, as the AMD reference cooler is quite bad.

It's not bad, just loud above 40% fan speed.

The 480 isn't better. It's a bit faster, but it runs hotter and less Vram.

If you want today's technology and like having lots of Vram go for the 6950, you can't go wrong. Otherwise get the 480.

 

[SHNS0]

LOL 1.5gb vram isn't really "less" unless you play at 2560 or surrount/eyefinity.
LOL(again), a 6950 fast as a 480? The 480 is on par with the 6970 and overclocks better. If you get a 6950 hoping to unlock it: it's complicated, it's not 100% sure, and if something goes wrong the warranty doesn't cover it. Nice job.
200£ for a 480 is UNBEATABLE.

 

[Stefy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SHNS0;13036284
LOL 1.5gb vram isn't really "less" unless you play at 2560 or surrount/eyefinity.
LOL(again), a 6950 fast as a 480? The 480 is on par with the 6970 and overclocks better. If you get a 6950 hoping to unlock it: it's complicated, it's not 100% sure, and if something goes wrong the warranty doesn't cover it. Nice job.
200£ for a 480 is UNBEATABLE.

Take your fanboy glasses off for a moment.

I said you will lose VRAM if that matters to you and thanks for proving my point exactly.

You can unlock the 6950 shaders and then go for normal overclocking, will yield near the same performance increase. So complicated bro. The 480 is only a good overclocker if you have decent cooling, which means investing in an aftermarket cooler.

 

[Blacklac]

There us no guarantee an unlocked 6950 can match a 6970. The 6950 is a great card, but I wouldn't buy it based on hopes of a successful unlock/overclock reaching 6970 performance. Your asking to be dissappointed.

 

[SHNS0]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stefy;13036346
Take your fanboy glasses off for a moment.

I said you will lose VRAM if that matters to you and thanks for proving my point exactly.

You can unlock the 6950 shaders and then go for normal overclocking, will yield near the same performance increase. So complicated bro. The 480 is only a good overclocker if you have decent cooling, which means investing in an aftermarket cooler.

No fanboyism here. He can get a 480 for 200£ - there shouldn't even be an argument about unlocking or overclocking.

 

[starmanwarz]

Lots of mixed opinions lol,I'm so confused.There are so many cards out there and yet I am unable to find the perfect one for my needs in the €280 range,every card has it's disadvantages.

Let's suppose I do not care about overclocking (I have never OC'ed my 8800GTX btw).I want a card that will last for 2-3 years and will be able to max out every game I throw at it with the highest settings at 1920x1080.

The cards mentioned in this thread are-

1)The 480 (which I can find for €290 including delivery,and I'm talking about the Super Overclocked/Special Edition versions)

2)The 6950 which I can buy for €280 including delivery and maybe flash it if I am lucky enough.

Prices are almost the same but they are not same performance wise.And I don't know which is better,that's why I am here

However these are not the only options,so if you have any other suggestions please let me know.

 

[SHNS0]

A single 480 isn't enough to MAX EVERYTHING at 1920x1080 now, let alone in 2-3 years. If you really want 32 anti alias+8 super sample+16 af for all the games in the world in the next 3 years, you'll be partially disappointed.

Don't get me wrong, this is an AMAZING card, but extremely high settings on all games (specially the demanding ones and the future ones) will require more horsepower, sli would be recommended. My 570, which is the "cousin" of the 480, so to say, gets 30-40fps on Mass Effect if I bring the anti-alias to 16Q and supersample to 4x via Nvidia control panel (at 1920x1080) It will barely touch the 30s if I bring AA to 32 and SS to 8x. Even some older games like World in Conflict won't stay at 60fps with everything maxed out.
You'll see however that 30fps is more than playable, just not "100% smooth". It's a bit like consoles, that are capped at 30fps. And you'll also notice that on the practical side, stuff like 32x AA and 8x supersample won't make an amazing difference and will be barely noticeable while you play.

Also, how about a 570? It's basically on par with the 480 (except for a quarter gig of vram less), should cost a bit less and is quieter and relatively cooler. Definitely more quiet than the newest AMDs on stock cooling.

 

[Kokin]

Not sure if your PSU in particular can handle it, but I would suggest 2x 6850s or if you prefer Nvidia, 2x 560Ti/460s. I'm sure a 650W PSU can handle the AMD cards, but Nvidia cards take a lot more power to run, so it might not be possible.

Only drawback about crossfire and SLI is the possibility of some games not working correctly with both cards, so you'll have to go back to single card mode. However, two mid-range cards will beat out a single powerful card in terms of performance, though at the cost of higher power draw (also heat) and possible driver/game drawbacks mentioned. Most people who do crossfire or SLI don't have many problems, especially if they install them correctly.