6870 vs other cards in category

[battery9000]

Hi all, I'm looking for a new card to replace my dinky 4350, and I'm not sure which card to get. Around the $300 mark is good, so my question to you is, what would be the best card to get in this range? I'm going to be picking up a 650W power supply to power the new card, so it has to be able to use this. I was looking at the GTX 470, but the 6870 seems to beat it in power usage/heat. So if anyone has any suggestions/personal experience with these card, please reply. I'm going to want to play games like Call of Duty, Starcraft 2 and WoW at max/high settings.


Thanks all, Tristan McKeever.

 

[g00fysmiley]

6870 and 470 are same tier

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-radeon-hd-6870-radeon-hd-6850,2782-7.html

6870 uses less power and runs cooler in general yes. but it is also almost maxed out on the clock speed as it is. if you plan on overclocking i'd probably say go for the 470 preferably one with a good aftermarket cooler maybe an aftermarket cooler if you don't wanna overclock yourself

like this for good cooler.... btu there are some more expensive with good factory overclocks (they just cost more)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127513

264.95 after rebate

forgot to add... either card is really mroe than you need for wow , starcraft,2, or call of duty but they'll all run max settings for you and give you plenty of room to grow

 

[battery9000]

Wasn't much planning to OC, looking to make this card last for as long as possible, so I'm leaning towards the 6870 after what you've said. Just wondering though, is there any benefits/special features only available to Nvidia or ATI? I've heard Nvidia has tessellation done much better, but is tessellation used a lot?

Thanks for the fast reply too!

Tristan McKeever

 

[g00fysmiley]

special benefits of nvidia is physx which onyl is in csome games

special benefit of amd (ati) is eyefinity in case you plan on ising 3 monitors

both are very solid cards you can't go wrong with either

as for getting a 6870 i'd reccomend an xfx for the double lifetime warrenty

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150507

300 exactly and you seem to want it to last so the lifetime warrenty should appeal to ya

 

[infernox_01]

well for $300 you could get a HD5870. better performance than a gtx 470 and HD6870, power usage is more then the 6870 but less than a gtx 470.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102883&cm_re=5870-_-14-102-883-_-Product

 

[battery9000]

Is the 5870 really worth it though? I mean, the 6870 does have some new tech, and I want an XFX card, the XFX 5870 is significantly more money

 

[Ze Raven Effekkt]

For $300 dollars on NewEgg, you can also pick up the Gigabyte GTX 470 Super Overlock Series. It basically the GTX 470 with a massive factory overclock and 3 quiet fans It can compete quite well with the 5870, and you can also get all the meaningless little nVidia goodies along with it.

 

[Embra]

well for $300 you could get a HD5870. better performance than a gtx 470 and HD6870, power usage is more then the 6870 but less than a gtx 470.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102883&cm_re=5870-_-14-102-883-_-Product

^ +1 ......Or this one!

But it is an open box so you will have to hurry.

 

[yesitsmario]

If you haven't purchased a power supply yet, the Corsair 650w is $76.49 with promo code BTEZZZS23

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005&cm_sp=DailyDeal-_-17-139-005-_-Product

 

[Tamz_msc]

Before you buy a new card, please tell us about your current system configuration.

 

[battery9000]

Thanks for all the replies guys, and i've narrowed it down to new cards. I'd like eyefinity, so I'm stuck between the 5870 and the 6870. I know the 5870 has better performance, but i've read that the 6870 does crossfire much better (not looking into dual GPUs YET), and is generally cooler and quiter. So if anyone has a suggestion between the two, please leave an answer explaining why. And my specs are...

Intel Core i3 530 @ 2.93Ghz
6 GB of ram
Radeon HD 4350
Windows 7 Home Premium (64)

And it is a gateway machine (I should've built my own)

 

[g00fysmiley]

are you overclocking your cpu at all? the 13 overclocks very well and as long as you put a good cooler on it and have good case ventilation you won't be risking much if anything in terms of longevity on a mild overclock. really a 6870 will play all the games you listed completely maxed and give you lots of room to grow. and yes they do scale better than 5870 in crossfire... in fact 2 6870 beats a 5970 .. and a 480... and a 580... 6870 is also more efficient and cooler from what i've read. but 5870 will slighty out preform ia 6870 as a single card... i'd still go latest generation though plus 6870 gives better mlaa performance from initial reviews

here's a link to 6870 in xfire vs 480 580 and 5970
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-580-Video-Card-Review/1133

but yea i'd suggest looking into a new psu a 650 corsair would be fine and the link listed is a good deal , its the psu i use and i paid $99 for it

 

[Ze Raven Effekkt]

are you overclocking your cpu at all? the 13 overclocks very well and as long as you put a good cooler on it and have good case ventilation you won't be risking much if anything in terms of longevity on a mild overclock. really a 6870 will play all the games you listed completely maxed and give you lots of room to grow. and yes they do scale better than 5870 in crossfire... in fact 2 6870 beats a 5970 .. and a 480... and a 580... 6870 is also more efficient and cooler from what i've read. but 5870 will slighty out preform ia 6870 as a single card... i'd still go latest generation though plus 6870 gives better mlaa performance from initial reviews

Yeah, I agree with this guy. I'm sure a 6870 can handle anything you throw at it, and if you need more power, you can always CF down the road. The thing is, since the drivers are only in beta for the 6870, they'll get better over time.

 

[battery9000]

I'm not overclocking at the moment, and I don't plan to. I want longevity, and I think the i3 stock is fine for gaming, or so i've read. I've chosen the 6870 over the GTX 470.
Thanks everyone!

Tristan McKeever

 

[battery9000]

Best answer selected by Battery9000.