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I've narrowed down 4 GPU's - thoughts?

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Hi guys, I recently built a new pc for Christmas, and after two bad HD6850's I am on the fence about a long term GPU solution. My monitor is 1920x1080, and my PSU is a Rosewill RV2-700 700W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V.

I am retired and on a fixed income, so I want something that will keep up for as long as possible even if I have to eventually lower down the resolution and detail settings. My previous PC had a 7900GT for example and still runs great after 4 years. I game quite a bit, up to 8 hours a day on FPS, RPG, and an online game, AION. I'm looking forward to the new Star Wars MMO and ME3 / DA2 as "future graphic goals."

I've read mixed reviews about the GTX470 concerning heat, noise, and power issues vs the performance of the GTX460's, yet they still score slightly higher and a lot of people swear by them. The 6870 is attractive for the low power and newest architecture, but I'm a bit gun-shy after two bad 6850's from different vendors (I will not get a 3rd). The 460's seem to be right at the sweet spot, but I'm concerned about where they'll perform in a year or more compared to the other two.

So I've narrowed my selection to these cards under 230.00 - my price cap:

MSI N460GTX CYCLONE 1GD5/OC 725MHz/1450MHz
MSI N460GTX Hawk 780MHz/1050MHz
ASUS ENGTX470/2DI/1280MD5 (Open box from Newegg) 607MHz/1215MHz
HIS H687F1G2M Radeon HD 6870 900MHz/1050MHz

Obviously the open box is a concern, but if it works then it's a great deal for 217.00, and if it doesn't, I wonder if I can get it replaced via ASUS and their warranty. The 6870 is the only one below my price cap at the moment, else I might go with a more trusted brand.

Any thoughts or recommendations from the experts?

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Graphics card Master

well as a GTX 460 owner it will last you a long time but you got to keep it clean and maintain and improve the card like any enthusiast would do a sports car or boat. The reasons why are somewhat complicated for most users but if treated right it will last like your 7900gt did and I am sporting two 7900 gtx duos. Performance wise it is better than a GTX 470 due to heat and power although a overclocked GTX 470 will win out but at a high price.
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heh I would if I could, but I'd never hear the end of it from the boss ^ ^

I saw this:

EVGA 01G-P3-1373-AR GeForce GTX 460 763MHz / 1526MHz with a lifetime warranty for 219.00 - which is nice for the long term. I feel like I should just throw a dart at em and get whichever it lands on.

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Graphics card Master

I would grab def grab the 6870 I own the XFX model and will be crossfiring in the future, and I'm am very impressed with its performance and I got it for 220 AR on newegg. The gtx 470 is a good card but they seem to be kind of overpriced at the moment.
I could go on and on about pros and cons of each but really its your call they are about the same here are some 6870s that I would recommend. But if you wanted your card to last even longer if you can muster up the 300 I think the 6950 is probably the best bang for your buck right now especially one that is unlocked to a 6970, so if you really wanted to be able to use this card in 4-5 years than I would go with the 6950.

here are some deals I found:

XFX 6870 220 AR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

the ASUS and HIS ones are good deals at well coming in at or lower price-wise.

Gigabyte 6950 $300
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

MSI 6950 $284 AR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

there are several deals that are in the range of these cards that I listed.




Graphics card Master

The MSI GTX460 Hawk is uses high-grade components specially designed for overclocking. If you are needing something to last a long time, the upgraded components used for the Hawk and the ability to overclock will give you a card that will last you longer and allow overclocking to meet the increased demands of future games. The Hawk will also do a much better job of DirectX 11 tesselation than any of the AMD cards suggested, making it more likely to handle the needs of future DirectX 11 games. Add in bonuses like PhysX, solid drivers, a very quiet and cool Twin Frozr heatsink, and relatively low cost; the Hawk seems to be your best option.
MSI GTX460 Hawk $199 ($189 after rebate) + free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_460_HAWK/
http://www.guru3d.com/article/msi-geforce-gtx-460-hawk-...
Graphics card Master

you had 2 bad 6850's??? thats really highly unlikely. are you sure they were faulty? maybe an incompatability with your system?? maybe you have another problem there? All im saying is i would check that out before getting another card and being put off by that make because it doesnt work in your computer.
Graphics card Master

The only problem with ATI cards isn't performance nor cost but quality and reliability. I am seeing that a lot of ati users have shorter upgrade periods than users of Nvidia and Matrox. I suggest that you stick to only using one card and one card only. A GTX 460 may use more than ATI at load but at idle you wouldn't notice that it was even there. A typical stock GTX 460 1GB uses at idle only 20w give or take two to three watts so they will save a little on the power bill. Don't bother with a GTX 470 and be picky as you can be with ATI cards. I liked their oem card but ATI hasn't made their own cards in years but have been fortunate to have owned a few.

I greatly appreciate all the input, I am going to go with the 6870 with life time warranty. My logic is that it's slightly higher in the performance curve, can be OC'd to even faster, and will (hopefully) get even better as drivers mature. And if all else fails, can be replaced under warranty.

As far as the 6850's, there is a known bug with a memory voltage resistor that is causing hard crashes while under load, I was unlucky enough to get two with the same issue. The AMD/ATI forums have a lot of people with the same issue.
Graphics card Master

DigitalSignalX said:
I greatly appreciate all the input, I am going to go with the 6870 with life time warranty. My logic is that it's slightly higher in the performance curve, can be OC'd to even faster, and will (hopefully) get even better as drivers mature. And if all else fails, can be replaced under warranty.

As far as the 6850's, there is a known bug with a memory voltage resistor that is causing hard crashes while under load, I was unlucky enough to get two with the same issue. The AMD/ATI forums have a lot of people with the same issue.



wise choice, you will be satisfied
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