Need help deciding on a card (HD 6950 2gb vs. GTX 580 1.5gb)

[satanigatan]

I need help deciding between these two. I checked this site to compare:

http://www.hwcompare.com/9155/geforce-gtx-580-vs-radeon-hd-6950-2gb/

TBH I'm a noob though. Looking at the price:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130590

vs.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102945&Tpk=Dirt%203%20HD%206950

The GTX 580 looks a lot more epxensive. Yet, the spec numbers look lower than the HD 6950. But again, I'm a noob. So basically, is the GTX 580 a much better card? And if so why?

My buddy has an HD 6950, and it pretty much maxes out most games. Although it's had some problems in the past with Driver issues in some games (not sure if that is common among all cards. I assume it is).

 

[gmcizzle]

The GTX 580 is a faster card all around http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/305?vs=293

It has 0.5gb less memory but 1.5gb is enough, unless you're playing at higher than 1080p.

 

[ilysaml]

nVidia achieve higher performance by higher memory interface, shaders, Cuda cores. AMD achieve higher performance by higher core &memory clocks, NO of stream processors & transistors that explains the specs numbers in both sides (don't compare specs with each other because architecture is different and you'll get confused) you only need to see the overall performance.You compare only specs with nVidia diff models.

As said above the GTX 580 is extremely faster and stronger than HD 6950, VRAM won't make a trouble unless you play @ 3 monitors or a higher resolution generally.

 

[satanigatan]

Thanks guys. I'm probably just going to with the GTX 580. I've heard a lot of people say it's one of the best cards. I just wanted to make sure it was better than the HD 6950.

I have a 700 watt power supply. Should I upgrade to 850 or 1000w for the 580? Or is 700 fine?

 

[gmcizzle]

A good 700w power supply will do fine, do you know the exact model/brand of it? Also, I would go with a non-reference card if you don't plan on going SLI as the cooling is much better on those compared to the reference EVGA ones, but they are bigger.

 

[satanigatan]

A good 700w power supply will do fine, do you know the exact model/brand of it? Also, I would go with a non-reference card if you don't plan on going SLI as the cooling is much better on those compared to the reference EVGA ones, but they are bigger.

Can you link me to one of those? (Amazon or NewEgg). I was actually going to go with the EVGA model on NewEgg. But if there are better version's.

I'm going to be buying this case:

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Advanced-SuperSpeed-RC-932-KKN5-GP/dp/B001EPUQAE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1322374779&sr=8-3

^^

Should hold any card size (I would hope).

 

[gmcizzle]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127579
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162073
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814187127
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125379
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121429

All these cards have much better cooling than the reference ones. The MSI Lightning is the same width as the reference card (2-slot), and the others are 3-slots. Any of them will fit within that case easily.

 

[satanigatan]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127579
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162073
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814187127
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125379
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121429

All these cards have much better cooling than the reference ones. The MSI Lightning is the same width as the reference card (2-slot), and the others are 3-slots. Any of them will fit within that case easily.

Going off the ratings, this one seems to be the best:

http://www.amazon.com/Galaxy-Technology-Mini-HDMI-Graphics-58NLH5HS3PXZ/dp/B004K1EQLO/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1322417158&sr=1-1s

^^^

Can you confirm that's 100% the GTX 580 1.5gb? The same as this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130587


I assume they are all the same card, just made by different manufactures. But I just wanted to make sure there wasn't any changes (outside of more fans being added, which is of course welcome).

That's really my last question. Just wanted to make sure before I pulled the trigger and ordered.

Oh and, on New Egg this card says: 244W Maximum Graphics Card Power (W)
600W Minimum System Power Requirement (W)

Does that mean it needs 844 Watts for maximum? I currently have a 700 Watt. So I just want to make sure. I can order a 850 watt if need be. Just want to make sure before I place my order on all my parts (going to order at the same time to save money).

 

[gmcizzle]

Going off the ratings, this one seems to be the best:

http://www.amazon.com/Galaxy-Technology-Mini-HDMI-Graphics-58NLH5HS3PXZ/dp/B004K1EQLO/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1322417158&sr=1-1s

^^^

Can you confirm that's 100% the GTX 580 1.5gb? The same as this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130587


I assume they are all the same card, just made by different manufactures. But I just wanted to make sure there wasn't any changes (outside of more fans being added, which is of course welcome).

That's really my last question. Just wanted to make sure before I pulled the trigger and ordered.

Oh and, on New Egg this card says: 244W Maximum Graphics Card Power (W)
600W Minimum System Power Requirement (W)

Does that mean it needs 844 Watts for maximum? I currently have a 700 Watt. So I just want to make sure. I can order a 850 watt if need be. Just want to make sure before I place my order on all my parts (going to order at the same time to save money).

600w total system recommended, with at least 42 amps on the 12v rail. A quality 700w PSU will work, but the most important thing to look for is amperage rating on the 12v rails of your PSU. I have the galaxy gtx 580, it's a great and cool card. All GTX 580's have the same GPU chip in them, which is made by Nvidia, the only difference being the PCB, cooling, backplate, connectors, etc. so a GTX 580 is a GTX 580.

 

[satanigatan]

Best answer selected by satanigatan.

 

[satanigatan]

600w total system recommended, with at least 42 amps on the 12v rail. A quality 700w PSU will work, but the most important thing to look for is amperage rating on the 12v rails of your PSU. I have the galaxy gtx 580, it's a great and cool card. All GTX 580's have the same GPU chip in them, which is made by Nvidia, the only difference being the PCB, cooling, backplate, connectors, etc. so a GTX 580 is a GTX 580.

Thank you sir, you have been extremely helpful. I can't thank you enough.