Graphics Card for Gaming

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olliiee

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Apr 10, 2011
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For gaming on a 24" monitor @ 1920x1080 with a 20" monitor @ 1680x1050 (for itunes etc whilst playing a game)

Which is a better option in regards to Value for money and Future proofing:

GTX 570 ~$360
GTX 560 Ti ~$270

HD6850 Crossfire ~$360
HD6950 ~$300

CPU will most likely be a i5 2500 (NOT OC)
RAM 4-8GB
PSU depends on what GPU I go with

Looking to play Crysis at MAX settings and BF3 at MAX (maybe minus a few things like AA) and other new release games for 1+ years.

Thanks for your advice in advance!
 
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olliiee

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Not all that experienced (first gaming rig I've built) and apparently Crossfire has alot of possible complications.

If I did go with a GTX570 is there any specific cards that will be SLI compatible in the future if it does start to lag?

My thoughts are if I go 2x 6850 now, I have nowhere to move in the future and get only slightly better FPS (probablt wont even notice on a 60HZ monitor). If I go with a 570 it costs the same but in 12 months I could probably grab another for under $200 and have top notch performance once more.
 
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mdd1963

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The GTX570 is indeed an impressive card, I just consider it too expensive considering the 6950(2 gb) is down to sub-$275-ish...

Pretty much any maker's GTX570 will be SLI-ready.

Crossfire issues? Two years ago, perhaps....; AMD has gotten their act together, IMO, with Xfire rigs scaling nicely, mature drivers, etc...
 
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boiler1990

boiler1990

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Dec 21, 2009
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The 6950 will perform better than the 560 at higher resolutions (specifically 1920x1080 and up). Where are you seeing them for $300? Amazon and newegg have several 2GB models for $250 after MIR.

SLI and Crossfire will work as long as the two GPUs are the same (i.e. SLI 570s requires two GTX 570s, regardless of the manufacturer).

Crossfire used to be bad, but AMD's drivers are much better than they were a few years ago.
 
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aznshinobi

aznshinobi

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olliiee

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I'm abroad, in Australia. A Powercolour 6950 goes for 275 and a HIS for 276
 
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olliiee

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About $200 AUD

But going crossfire/SLI now with 6+ month old cards may have great performance for the cost but it leaves me with no upgrade paths :/ If I go with a 6950/GTX570/GTX560 I can throw another one in down the track..

In saying that I can get 2x HIS HD6850 for $350 which I suppose isn't so bad, I just have no idea how crossfire works and what kind of PSU I'd need..

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/302?vs=306
 
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olliiee

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Yeah cheapest a HD 5850 would go for here is 190ish

Would the HD 6950 be considerably better than the GTX 570 with 2 monitors running? Because its not too far behind it in terms of performance @ 1920x1080 for most games and $50 cheaper...
 
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boiler1990

boiler1990

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It does better than what I was expecting. Unlocking it was pretty seamless (though not everyone gets a good card). It runs a tad bit hot, but it hasn't shut down like my 470s used to when they got too hot.

It's a big card, but I'd recommend it.
 
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