EVGA NVidia GTX 570 SC vs. XFX ATi Radeon HD 6950 1 GB

[gbrew345]

Hey Guys,

Alright I'm investing in my first build within the next month and had a question about the comparison of these two cards (EVGA NVidia GTX 570 SC vs. XFX ATi Radeon HD 6950 1 GB). My needs for a video card include (in order of most important): Gaming, Video Editing, Photo Editing, Watching Blu-Ray Movies. I know I should really be comparing the 570 to an ati 6970 but I wanted more of a price for performance recommendation. So, which one is a better deal? Is it worth paying the extra $70-$100 bucks for the 570 SC? Or should I even get the 6970? Here's the two cards:

XFX 6950
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150527

EVGA 570 SC
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130595&cm_re=evga_gtx_570-_-14-130-595-_-Product

Right now I just want a single GPU but in the future I might SLI or CrossfireX these. Size is also not an issue in my full size case.

I will be running these with a P67 mobo(compatible with SLI and CrossfireX) and an intel i7-2600K. 750W power unit (compatible with SLI and CrossfireX).

Thanks,

gbrew

 

[rolli59]

If your resolution is only 1080P the HD6970 1GB is a better deal price/performance. Higher resolution would benefit from more ram where HD6970 2GB surpasses the GTX570 in performance. As can be seen here as resolution goes really high http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/HD_6970_Lightning/23.html

 

[jjb8675309]

I would either get a gtx 570 or 6950/70 2 gig, personally I vote for the 570 mine is silent even when fan is ramped up and stays under 66c under load, also it oc's near 580 levels, it basically dominates anything at 1080p (as would the 6950/70 most likely) for me I prefer the quality of nvidias drivers, although AMDs have been fine for my (single card) setups of the past.

I don't even care much for Physx (looks cool in batman aa) but I still went with a gtx 570 this time around, I was pretty much posed with the same predicament about a month ago when I became fed up with my 6870 crossfire setup

 

[jay2tall]

If I were looking at the GTX570 vs 6970, I'd probably go with the GTX570. It seems to best the 6970 in more cases than not. However I would sub out the factory OCed card you chose for the Asus grand daddy card. You can OC this card yourself, but has a huge cooler and better parts onboard. These are hitting 900MHz no problem. It does take up 3 slots though, but it's worth it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121432&cm_re=gtx_570-_-14-121-432-_-Product

If you are looking for a better value, You can always get a 6950 2GB card and try your luck at flashing it with the 6970 bios. This is a very common trick people are using. These cards come with dual bios via a switch so if you hose bios #2 you still have #1. It's a cool trick.

 

[jjb8675309]

yeah +1 to the "ASUS Grandaddy" card lol, it is a beast to say the least and will no doubt have a good potential to OC near gtx 580 levels and I agree with Jay2tall that the gtx 570 seems to be on par or better with tthe 6970 to begin with so it is really nice and fast out of the box. The ASUS triple slot one is a beast but I ended up getting mine for 304AR so that is why I went with the PNY (reference model) but honestly the extra 50 bucks is probably worth it in the long run to get the ASUS...

just make sure your mobo can support dual triple slot gpus if you are considering sli...

 

[17seconds]

2 Gb of RAM makes no difference at 1080 resolution. It depends on the game you play, but overall, the GTX 570 is going to be a little better in some of the more popular games.

The bars to the left of center are those games favoring the GTX 570. Bars to the right of center are those games that favor the 6950 (orange) or 6970 (red):

(click for a larger image)

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/radeon-hd6970-hd6950_12.html#sect0


The reference cooler on the GTX 570 is also consistently quieter:

 

[gbrew345]

Wow! That grand daddy card is sexy! I'll probably go with that now but do you guys know if this motherboard supports 3 slot GPU?

Asus P8P67 Pro B3 Revision
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8P67_PRO/#specifications

thanks,

gbrew

 

[17seconds]

It looks there is good spacing on the first PCIe x16 slot. I hear the Asus DirectCu is actually more like a 2.5 slot size.

 

[gbrew345]

really? man it looks huge. You think I will eventually be able to SLI? or would I not need to? By the way, thanks for the specs matto! that helped me out.

 

[jjb8675309]

if you want to sli personally I would look to reference models they are smaller ans will save you some money... although if your just going for a single card then get the asus, thats what I would do anyways

 

[gbrew345]

Good point. Alright so just to reiterate: bottom line, should I go with the:

EVGA GTX 570 SC
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130595&cm_re=gtx_570-_-14-130-595-_-Product

Pros:
Sexy Case
EVGA lifetime waranty
able to upgrade to SLI in future
2 slots
a little less expensive (with rebates)

Cons:
Runs hotter
Runs louder
can't OC as high
worse parts?

OR THE

Asus GTX 570 DCII
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121432

Pros:
Runs Cooler
Runs Quieter
More outputs
better parts?
higher stable OC

Cons:
3 slots
NO SLI with my mobo
not as cool of a case (I know this really doesn't matter but I like my rig to look good)
more expensive

I'm thinking the Asus but let me know what you guys think.

 

[jjb8675309]

I'd say just get the Asus, get some good use out of the 570 then maybe when the 6 or 7 series nvidia cards come out you can upgrade again to a single powerful, really it just comes down to if you want to sli or not unless someone can confirm or deny how 2 triple slot cards would fit on your motherboard... its really your call now, you are well informed...

 

[gbrew345]

I think I'll go with the Asus! thanks for all the help guys. I came on here thinking I was getting a 6950 1 GB

 

[jjb8675309]

yeah, wise choice

 

[gbrew345]

hey guys, one more question... do you think it'll be able to fit on the PCIe slot closest to my CPU? heres the mobo...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131703

 

[rolli59]

Yes!

 

[asantesoul]

GTX 570 may be a bit excessive...realistically you can save a lot more money getting something like this :
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130604&cm_re=evga_gtx_560-_-14-130-604-_-Product

Your playing on a resolution that doesn't require that much power...in a lot of cases even the gtx 460 1gb can tackle most tasks...and, if your willing to oc the 560Ti...you can get some great performance that will rival the gtx 570... the card below may also be of interest..take a look at the reviews..quite the popular card...saves money too!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127565