GTX 560 (non Ti) or Radeon HD 6870

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yogeshpro

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Hey gurus..I'm planning to buy a new graphic card. I have been a big Asus fan and have short listed the following 2 but having difficulty choosing between them:

ASUS Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express Dual DVI/HDMI Video Card with Eyefinity EAH6870 DC/2DI2S/1GD5
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004H8C2XO/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

and

ASUS ENGTX560 DCII OC/2DI/1GD5 GeForce GTX 560 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card, ENGTX560 DCII OC/2DI/1GD5
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0051E3BYM/ref=ox_sc_act_title_7?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

As I have read in reviews there has been some problem while crossfiring the Asus model of the HD 6870 mentioned above. I plan to buy the following motherboard:

MSI P67A-GD55 (B3) LGA1155 Intel P67 B3 DDR3 SATA3 and USB 3.0 A&GbE ATX Motherboard
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004P3X4V0/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

So wanted to know your choice of the graphic card and whether I will be able to crossfire/sli these properly on the motherboard and whether PCIe 2.1 iin HD 6870 makes any difference.

Please provide suggestions for any other graphic cards also in the price range (other manufacturers included)

Other than this I'll get an Intel core i5 2500k processor.
 
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Yoges.. Unless you have a terribly small computer case, you will not run into any problems running Xfire with the 6870's.

If you take a look at the picture on the mobo that you are getting, the blue slots are the PCIe slots. They are two spaces apart which is GREAT for running Xfire. This means that the top card will take up the blue slot and then one slot underneath it, then there will be a space (the second little PCI slot) and then you will install the next card there. This space is plenty to keep your cards cool and running great. Alot of motherboard don't even have this extra space but still are able to run Xfire/SLI just fine. So the length and the height honestly have nothing to do with it: its how thick they are and how many...

phishy714

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You will be able to SLI or Xfire all you want with that board. Both cards perform very well and trade blows left and right. The 6870's will scale better in xfire, but any "problems" you might have read about will present themselves in both configurations, so really just do this:

1. put both names up on a wall.
2. put on blind fold.
3. twirl around alot.
4. throw dart at names.
5. go with card it lands on
6. profit.

Asus is an awesome card maker so good choice there. But seriously, there is VERY VERY little difference in performance between these two in single cards, while the 6870's will perform slightly better than the 560's when using two cards at once.

The PCIe is something you don't need to worry about. Seriously, you are all set there with this mobo and any of those cards.

Other than that, I would suggest buying from Newegg if you can, cause you can get a free game with the purchase of the 6870
 

yogeshpro

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Hey Phishy thanks for the great reply :)
The only problem which HD 6870 has that I have read is that it is quite bigger than the GTX 560 (almost 2" in length and 1" in height) and that's why the issue in Xfiring if the PCI slots are placed close to each other.
performance wise wherever I have seen 560 Ti > HD 6870 >> 560
suggestions??
 

phishy714

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Yoges.. Unless you have a terribly small computer case, you will not run into any problems running Xfire with the 6870's.

If you take a look at the picture on the mobo that you are getting, the blue slots are the PCIe slots. They are two spaces apart which is GREAT for running Xfire. This means that the top card will take up the blue slot and then one slot underneath it, then there will be a space (the second little PCI slot) and then you will install the next card there. This space is plenty to keep your cards cool and running great. Alot of motherboard don't even have this extra space but still are able to run Xfire/SLI just fine. So the length and the height honestly have nothing to do with it: its how thick they are and how many slots they take up.

Something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121429 is a three slot cooler, which means it would be a pain in the ass to SLI with, but you don't have that problem.

The biggest troubles associated with Xfire/SLI is that first, you need to have a power supply that will be able to handle the two cards (VERY IMPORTANT). It needs to have enough wattage and be of a good quality brand. Secondly is heat. The top card is going to get alot hotter than the bottom card. To give you an example, I am running two 560ti's in SLI right now. The bottom card is at 27C and the top card is at 34C. Under load, it can be more than a 15C difference in temps. So you need a well ventilated case to make sure they dont over heat.

Aside from that, you should be golden. and yes, 560ti/6950 > 560/6870. The two cards you are looking at are roughly the same in performance, you seriously can't go wrong with either one.

 
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yogeshpro

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I have checked out GTX 560 Ti extensively but I don't think it is worth 60$ over HD 6870...check out gaming benchmarks for desktop GPUs here..HD 6870 outperforms or gives equal performance as 560 Ti in almost all games:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Computer-Games-on-Laptop-Graphic-Cards.13849.0.html

so would you suggest 560 Ti ove HD 6870?

and the motherboard mentioned by you doesn't support SLI as far as I know..and also will the card not cover the SATA slots as they are not outfacing??
 

phishy714

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the 560ti is a very very good card. If you can afford it, it does offer better bang/dollar and will last you long, especially if you overclock it. most of them can be overclocked to 1gz, which is crazy good. But, once again, only if you can afford it and if you have a powerful enough PSU. btw, what is your psu?

The motherboard he mentioned does in fact support SLI. As far as the sata connections go, just get L-shaped connectors and you will be fine. Otherwise, go with your mobo, you won't see much of a difference.
 

yogeshpro

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Good that I am making the whole system. So can chose a PSU too according to requirement. :)
I am planning to buy this PSU:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171052

Let me know whether this is sufficient for SLI/Xfire setups.

As for the mobo, MSI itself has not specified SLI in the specs but have only mentioned Xfire as shown here:

http://www.msi.com/product/mb/P67A-G45--B3-.html#/?div=Basic

many users have also mentioned in their reviews that newegg has mistakenly advertised SLI for this mobo. So I think I'll go with my original choice only.

And thanks Phishy again..will look into GTX 560 Ti more seriously but among 560 and 6870, I think 6870 is definitely the winner.
 
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