GTX 470 SLi vs. Radeon 6870 Crossfire

[Guest]

Recently, my ATI Radeon 4830 crapped out on me, so I've been looking in the market to get a new graphics card. Now, after much research, I've come to the conclusion that these two cards -- the GTX 470 and the Radeon 6870 -- appear to be the best cards for my price range. It seems as though as a stand-alone card, the 470 pumps out slightly better results in terms of raw performance compared to the 6870. However, I'm more interested in a future-proof, SLi/Crossfire setup.

Right now, I can get a EVGA GTX 470 Superclocked edition for about $270 (no tax or shipping):

Amazon.com: EVGA GeForce GTX470 Superclocked 1280 MB DDR5 PCI-Express 2.0 Graphics Card 012-P3-1472-AR: Electronics
Amazon.com: EVGA GeForce GTX470 Superclocked 1280 MB DDR5 PCI-Express 2.0 Graphics Card 012-P3-1472-AR: Electronics Amazon.com: EVGA GeForce GTX470 Superclocked 1280 MB DDR5 PCI-Express 2.0 Graphics Card 012-P3-1472-AR: Electronics


On the other hand, I could get a regular Sapphire 6870 for around the same price:

Amazon.com: Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 1 GB GDDR5 DL-DVI-I/SL-DVI-D/HDMI/Dual Mini Display Port PCI-Express Video Card 100314SR: Electronics: Reviews, Prices & more
Amazon.com: Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 1 GB GDDR5 DL-DVI-I/SL-DVI-D/HDMI/Dual Mini Display Port PCI-Express Video Card 100314SR: Electronics: Reviews, Prices & more Amazon.com: Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 1 GB GDDR5 DL-DVI-I/SL-DVI-D/HDMI/Dual Mini Display Port PCI-Express Video Card 100314SR: Electronics: Reviews, Prices & more


I know the 6870 barely came out, and then it has plenty of room for improvement in terms of driver support. In other words -- it's future proof. I also heard that it performs Crossfire setup extremely well.

On the other hand, I know the GTX 470 has been out for a while, and don't have much leeway in terms of performance increase with drivers as compared to the 6870. I also know that the 470 performs slightly better in most cases. However, with the overclocked edition I'm getting, I'm wondering just how much better results I could get. I'm unaware of how well a factory overclocked video card pans out, much less how well two regular 470s SLi altogether.


tl;dr version: Should I get two EVGA SLi 470 superclocked editions, or should I get two Sapphire Radeon 6870s? Which one is better for a Crossfire/SLi setup? Which setup is more future proof? Is there another option that's better? Thanks for your time.

Note: Power consumption means nothing to me. I can always get a better power supply. However, temperatures, OC rates, durability, and noise do.

 

[dimurof82]

I've done the research on the same cards.. My suggestion would be to go with the Gigabyte super overclocked 470's in SLI. I have one of these and I'm able to overclock it to the point where in many applications it overpowers the 480 (comparing to 480 benchmarks). Is you SLI two of these cards, I'm pretty sure they will show some awesome performance. You can also triple and quad SLI those cards whereas the you can only dual card crossfire with the 68xx's. If you have a large enough case, and the room for the 470's, and this still fits your price range, I think they would be better. Here's the card I'm talkin about.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125338&Tpk=gigabye%20super%20470

 

[Guest]

I think I'm leaning more towards the 470s. Amazon has a really sweet deal on some EVGA 470 FTWs fro around $270:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003EEMFUC/ref=s9_simh_gw_p23_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-3&pf_rd_r=0W94CGRF3QE5T2J410FD&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938811&pf_rd_i=507846

From what I understand, it seems to be a good deal. I'm wondering if I should wait 'till Black Friday and see if I can get some even better deals. But I keep thinking that I probably won't save anymore than $25, even with other releases of the 69xx series and the 580. If that's the case, then I'm guessing the 470 FTW SLi setup is the way to go?

 

[dimurof82]

I would say so.. Unless you are willing to wait until the 69xx's release.. You may be able to get a single card solution at that price range that beats the 470's. If that's the case, then you will be even more future proof b/c you will be able to add some more..

 

[Guest]

I thought the 69xx series was supposed to be more in the GTX 480 price range?

Right now I can afford around $300 for a singular card. I'm only asking about SLi/Crossfire because I definitely plan on adding another card sometime next year. If the new cards aren't around that price range, then I can't really afford them.

 

[dimurof82]

Ohhh, I must have misunderstood.. I thought you were buying them at the same time. Yea, then the 6970's will be out of your range. If somehow you can save up an extra 50 or so, then the 6950 is 'expected' to weigh in around the 350 range.. Give or take a few.. It's all speculation at this point though.