Upgrading from Sli 9800s

[SolidusSandwich]

Discouraged by the lack of DX11 support for my two EVGA superclocked gtx+ 9800's, I've began thinking of upgrading for that juicy DX11 for games like Deus Ex:HR and BF3. I've been doing research like crazy, but I just can't come up with a solution as to what I want to do. I've been looking at some GTX 560's and such, but am still unsure. I have a $300 budget, and I'm looking to see a real performance upgrade.

My current specs are:

AMD 955 Black edition
Asus M4n75td (about to be upgraded to a gigabyte 990fx)
2x GTX+ 9800's
3x 2 gb DDR3
1000w Coolermaster Silent pro

What would you guys suggest I do? I'm open to any option to get max performance out of my budget.

 

[monsta]

For your budget I would look at getting a GTX560ti or a HD 6950 for under $300

 

[neonneophyte]

he seems more interested in a dual card solution in the same price range. you do get more performance in games that support crossfire/sli that way. more bang for buck, assuming everything works right.

2 6870s seem to be the recommended solution in that price range. if you can find them on sale

 

[monsta]

He can always upgrade again to SLI with a 560ti or CF with a 6950, I would't go dual gpu with any graphics cards lower then them as he will have to upgarde the 6870's much sooner and the chance for microstutter is higher for weaker graphics cards.

 

[blade061188]

The performance of 2 6870s is actually very good.

Here is an article reviewing the 6950 in crossfire, but for all the FPS graphs they also include 6870s in crossfire as well as single 6950s and 6870s.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-6950-crossfirex-review/12

 

[spentshells]

If you favor nvidea you are looking at a good 560ti w/ nice aftermarket cooler
or a Saphire 6950 toxic

 

[benski]

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

2 of those would be faster than anything else you can get for 300 bucks.

 

[SolidusSandwich]

Thanks guys, those are all pretty good options. I'm not biased towards green or red, I'll take any card. The 560's or the 6950's are looking like a prime option. I think I'm leaning towards getting a really nice 6950 or a 560 ti and getting another later down the road. I'm leaning more towards the 6950's. But would it be better to get two 460's? I would be spending less money, and I know it wouldn't be as good as two 6950's, but do I need that much power? Would 2 460's suffice? Or is the extra performance worth it right now?

 

[blade061188]

I would get on 6950 now, and then another in the future.

This is the best 6950 out there at the moment:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102951&Tpk=6950%20toxic

It has been confirmed unlockable by the reviewers of the card. This means you can load the BIOS of a 6970 and unlock the extra shaders that separate the 6970s and the 6950s. Most of the cards that have this ability have been replaced by non-reference designs, but this one remains.

It also has a pretty solid factory OC

 

[spentshells]

Do not buy two cards instead of one. Buy one big card and add one later if you feel the need. Do not look past the 560 ti unless you are going to use a larger monitor.

 

[SolidusSandwich]

I do have a rather large monitor, at 32 inches. I think I'm going to go for a 6950 and look at getting one a little later down the road. Or would a 560 ti be more wise?

 

[4745454b]

Large monitors are not measured in inches.

 

[Mid-highgfx]

This is easy, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=14-102-951&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=2#scrollFullInfo

Flip the switch, boom a 350 dollar card now with factory OC.

Enjoy.

 

[Mid-highgfx]

Btw, since it's 2gig version, itl be better fps than all the other cards :3

 

[gnomio]

Sapphire Radeon HD 6950 2GB Toxic, with Unlocking switch – $289.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102951

review from Xbitlabs for more details on the Sapphire Radeon HD 6950 2GB Toxic and its unlocking/overclocking potential:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/graphics/display/sapphire-radeon-hd-6950-toxic.html

 

[neonneophyte]

i have the sapphire toxic. it unlocked. both bios are preloaded on the card, all you do is flick a switch

 

[monsta]

Either the 560ti or 6950, you can't lose

 

[SolidusSandwich]

I'm pretty sold on the 6950. But is the toxic really worth it? Am I guaranteed to be able to unlock it? I've been looking at this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102945, the toxic just seems expensive, is it worth the extra cash?

 

[spentshells]

How savy are you ? The card you linked has a dual bios but you would have to load the bios yourself. It has the same switch as the toxic only the dirt version only has 2 of the same 6950 bios. The cooling is way better though and I am sure is a lot more quiet. Are you gaming at 1920x1080 ? If so maybe get a 1 GB version.

 

[cuecuemore]

From what I hear, you're not going to have too much unlocking, but I wouldn't worry about that as the 6950 is a great card on its own. I'd just go with the Sapphire, or even better, wait 2 months for the next gen.

 

[SolidusSandwich]

I'm fairly savy, I know my way around the computer. But I don't know as much about overclocking and such. I wouldn't say it's out of my skill range, it's just something that I haven't experimented with enough. Yes most of my gaming is in 1920X1080

 

[blade061188]

If you read the user reviews on the Dirt 3 card, you will see mixed reviews. Some people have success unlocking while others don't

Everyone I've seen reviewing the Toxic edition have reported success unlocking. Plus there is a $20 rebate on it, so you could get your $20 back in a couple months

 

[blade061188]

PS. Here is a good review of the 6950 next to a 560 Ti if you are still considering that one as well.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-6950-1gb-vs-geforce-gtx-560-ti-review/1

 

[SolidusSandwich]

The decision is tough. I guess the only thing really preventing me from ultimately deciding on the Sapphire Toxic is the heating issues I've been reading about. It seems that the card just runs ridiculously hot and loud and I've read a lot of people having to RMA things back because of such problems.

 

[blade061188]

Where are you reading about the heating issues?