Gtx 570 or radeon 6950

ytrohs10

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Jul 28, 2011
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I want to play at 1920x1080 resolution at high or ultra settings. I want to be able to play bf3, diablo 3, rage, call of duty, skyrim and other games smoothly. I would like to know which one will perform better for these games and for the settings. i have phenom 965 and 4 gigs of ram just in case you need to know. Also will the 2gb on the 6950 be a big plus over the 570 or not that much?
here are the video cards i will be deciding between:

Galaxy 570: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162075

His iceQ X turbo 6950: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161372
 
2GB vs 1GB for HD6950:
The 2GB will make very little difference. There was a great article on this and they could only find a benefit at resolutions like 2560x1600 which you would NEVER play at because the game's frame rate was too low.

The GTX570 was the SAME or BETTER in every game tested. In a few games it was signficantly better.

So it boils down to price and what games you are playing.

My advice is go with the GTX570 unless the price or multi-monitor support is a need to go with the HD6950.

Multi-Monitor:
The HD6950 isn't fast enough to play on multiple monitors without dropping the quality significantly but there are people who would GAME on a SINGLE monitor but do non-gaming tasks on THREE monitors.

 

rmerwede

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Jan 13, 2009
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It really depends on some other variables...

Do you want to save $40? Then the 6950 is quite good... I am not sure if the $40 difference is worth a very small amount of performance that the GTX 570 will provide.

You also may be able to unlock the 6950 VIA a BIOS flash to perform like a 6970 (unsure if this model does).

The 6950 will also run ~80w-100w less during gaming.

If raw power is your only concern than the 570 comes out on top.

I would go with the 2GB at that res... people might disagree, but I push my 1GB @ 1920x1200, why even limit yourself is my POV. It can not hurt for future games. You won't notice a performance increase over the 570 with 2GB however...
 

tisue001

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Sep 14, 2011
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What is a 'prepaid card' rebate? Is it the same as cash- just like a prepaid credit card? If it's just something like a gift card to buy more HIS stuff... I'm not sure you would be getting what you're expecting. But if it's actually $50 cash rebate it would be a great deal I think.

PS. Why doesn't 2GB of memory make a difference, or is something people are thinking about for future games..? It really doesn't make a difference?? I am planning a build for 2-3 months from now, and want to go with the MSI 6950... oh crap, I just checked newegg and it's out of stock...! :fou: Well, I was going to say I wanted to go with this card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127575

My thoughts were that I would be able to upgrade the BIOS and OC that card so it's basically a 6970, thinking it would handle anything for at least a few years...