Need Advice on New GPU thinking GTX 460 1GB or AMD 6850

[kureme]

I need to make a decision before 12/9/2010 because that's when the rebate offer is over on the MSI GTX 460 1GB Hawk. Reviews say it has great OC potential, cooling and is very quiet.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127518

I've pretty much settled on this card but want other opinions before I go ahead with it. Should I get an AMD 6850 instead? Wait for GTX 560/AMD69xx?

I don't really have a budget so long as the deal is right but rather not needlessly pay the premium for performance that doesn't offer any significant gameplay improvement. SLI/CF is an option, if you think its worth it.

My current system:
Core i5-760
Asus P7P55D-E Pro
G.Skill Eco Series 4GB (2 x 2GB)
Cooler Master Elite 330 w/ extra 12mm front fan
Corsair 650TX 650W PSU
Nvidia 9600 GT (borrowed from friend)

Resolution: 1920x1080

 

[17seconds]

Get the Hawk. It is one of the best video cards you can buy within that price range. You will also get PhysX, overall better DirectX 11 tesselation performance and better texture filtering.
http://www.guru3d.com/article/msi-geforce-gtx-460-hawk-review/

 

[jyjjy]

Yeah, you aren't going to do better than the Hawk for that kind of money at the moment.

 

[kureme]

Should I get two in SLI? I probably don't need it but would it be worth it?

Do I need to upgrade my PSU if I SLI? I probably already know the answer but want to hear it coming from someone else to be sure.

 

[17seconds]

According to the article I linked earlier, you need 550 watts for one Hawk, and 750 watts for two in SLI. Two Hawks in SLI will bring your performance up to the level of a single GTX 480/580, while also costing less (of course, you would need to factor in the cost of a new PSU).

I would get the one Hawk, try it out, and decide then if you need to get another with a new PSU.

 

[jyjjy]

Your PSU has 636w on the +12v rail. At reference during stress testing SLIed GTX 460s tend to use about 300w. Even adding 50w per card for a high OC that would still leave you over 200w for the rest of the system which should be fine.
That said I would just get one. Those cards are designed to OC up over 900mhz and at that point for 1080p there are probably less than 5 games where you won't be able to max out every setting and play smoothly.

 

[jyjjy]

According to the article I linked earlier, you need 550 watts for one Hawk, and 750 watts for two in SLI. Two Hawks in SLI will bring your performance up to the level of a single GTX 480/580, while also costing less (of course, you would need to factor in the cost of a new PSU).

They are measuring power from the wall which is input power not output power which is what all PSUs are rated for. It's really not a good method of calculating what kind of power supply you need because it ignores efficiency which is never perfect. That said their numbers show the system using 350w with a single card. Adding 200w for another card like they suggest gets you to 550w so I don't know where they are getting the 750w recommendation from. Perhaps they are assuming a lower quality PSU with less on the +12v but it's irrelevant when talking about a Corsair. Their numbers show the 636w on this guys PSU should cover it, even ignoring that they are taking readings from the wall.

 

[17seconds]

They are measuring power from the wall which is input power not output power which is what all PSUs are rated for. It's really not a good method of calculating what kind of power supply you need because it ignores efficiency which is never perfect. That said their numbers show the system using 350w with a single card. Adding 200w for another card like they suggest gets you to 550w so I don't know where they are getting the 750w recommendation from. Perhaps they are assuming a lower quality PSU with less on the +12v but it's irrelevant when talking about a Corsair. Their numbers show the 636w on this guys PSU should cover it, even ignoring that they are taking readings from the wall.

They also indicate that they are using a highly stressed overclocked system. Corsair PSU's are excellent and known to comfortably deliver more power than their rating. I still think 650 watts is pushing it with factory overclocked Hawks, but depending on the other system components, it may work. All the same, the process should be the same; buy one Hawk, decide if that's enough; if not buy another, see if the PSU holds up; if not upgrade the PSU.

 

[jyjjy]

750w would be more ideal but I think it should handle 2 even with a high OC. The only point it might give out is running Furmark or similar with both cards OCed to the max but that isn't comparable to normal gaming.

 

[mosox]

A HD 6870 would be nice. Or wait for the 6950, to be released a week from now.

 

[kureme]

Best answer selected by kureme.