Which card to get

[S1lv3r]

I really cannot decide which card to get. I'm trying to choose between either a 560ti or a hd6950. I'm aware of the presence of the 570 and the 6970, but i don’t want to spend that much money on a videocard.

As far as the 560ti goes, I managed to narrow the choices down to either the MSI 560ti hawk or the 560ti twin frozr. If they overclock to the same performance level its definitely going to be the twin frozr, cause it'll cost me €40 less. But is this true? Or does the ti hawk have more overclocking potential?

Then there's the 6950. In some benchmarks it outperforms the 560ti, but in others, it doesn't. And should I take the 1gb version or the 2gb version? And which brand, and would it perform better than a overclocked 560ti. What if i overclock it?

And what about 1gb or 2gb of VRM. I find that most people prefer the 2gb over a 1gb model, but I also read that a 2gb 6950 will run out of processing power long before using the 2gb available. So does it REALLY have an advantage over 1gb models?

I am aiming to game at 1920x1080.

My system specs:
intel 2500k
gigabyte z68xp-ud3p
650W psu

Thanks

 

[ringzero]

It sounds like you've really done the bulk of the research you need to do. You just need to decide ;-) Looking at benchmarks is the trick. The 6950 and 560 Ti are similar-tiered cards, their performance depends on the game and situation. I don't think you can make a BAD choice there. Unless of course you get a bad unit ;-)

Same goes for which vendor you choose. Check reviews. MSI is a good brand. I don't *think* there's a difference in overclockability between the tony hawk and twin frozr versions because they're the same card. I think the only differences should be between coolers/fans and if they've already been overclocked for you.

As far as 1GB vs 2GB, if you have the money I think 2GB will be nice later down the road as newer games come out. 1GB is enough for most games now, but if you want to plan ahead, get the 2GB.

The rest of your system looks nice!

 

[hang-the-9]

For the extra cost of 1 gig vs 2 gig, go with the 1 gig. By the time you have games and setting high enough to want to use 2 gig of RAM, the whole system will be outdated anyway to run that. I'd either just save the money or use the extra on a faster card that's 1 gig vs a slower model with 2 gig. Maybe spend the extra on more RAM if you have under 3 gig.

 

[amuffin]

6950 has 10% more performance than 560ti.

 

[blacksci]

The real question should be what resolution and settings do you normally run at? If you like to run at higher resolution- and like to turn on aa or a few more options to make things look pretty you would be better off with 2 gigs vs 1 because of vram, which options like aa and such eat up pretty quickly. If your the kind who turns up your resolution and drops everything else pretty much down to get the best fps then you could go with a 1 gig. The point being it depends on you, not "which is better".

 

[dharmenparikh]

6950 2gb is the way to go. It beats 560ti in every game unless the game inherently favours nvidia. Also the 2gb frame buffer may not seem important now..but newer games will need it. LOok at battlefield 3..its a total vram HOG.

Get the cheapest 6950 2gb!

 

[amuffin]

or wait a week for 7xxx series!

 

[blacksci]

Its gonna be longer then a week.

 

[simon12]

I suggest the cheapest of the 560Ti and the 1Gb 6950 (you don't need more than 1Gb at 1920 x 1080). If theres little between them on price get the 6950.

 

[S1lv3r]

Ah i knew i forgot something in my spec list, the ram (got G.skill 8gb 1600), not that it really matters though.

But to get to the point. I made up my mind and I am pretty sure I'm going with the hawk (although I have the right to change my opinion every time I feel like it ). This card shows awesome overclocking abilities and seems to have an edge on the twin frozr, based on these two reviews:

http://www.guru3d.com/article/msi-geforce-gtx-560-ti-hawk-review/1

http://www.guru3d.com/article/msi-geforce-gtx-560-twin-frozer-ii-review/1

Thanks for the help!

 

[ringzero]

Ah i knew i forgot something in my spec list, the ram (got G.skill 8gb 1600), not that it really matters though.

But to get to the point. I made up my mind and I am pretty sure I'm going with the hawk (although I have the right to change my opinion every time I feel like it ). This card shows awesome overclocking abilities and seems to have an edge on the twin frozr, based on these two reviews:

http://www.guru3d.com/article/msi-geforce-gtx-560-ti-hawk-review/1

http://www.guru3d.com/article/msi-geforce-gtx-560-twin-frozer-ii-review/1

Thanks for the help!

The second link you posted is for the 560 twin frozr, which is a lower-class product than the 560 Ti twin frozr. Check out this link for the correct review:

http://www.guru3d.com/article/msi-n560gtx-ti-twin-frozer-ii-review/

 

[S1lv3r]

Wow, how did I miss that! It puts things in a different perspective.. I guess ill be going for the ti twin frozr instead after seeing this. The difference seems to be much less pronounced, not justifying a 40 euro difference as far as im concerned.

 

[amuffin]

The twin frozr 2 would be the best option, you can overclock to 1ghz on that cooler! It will outperform any 6950 that is overclocked.

 

[kilo two nine]

MSI N430GT-MD1GD3/OC GeForce GT 430 (Fermi) 1GB DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127580
Price: $60 ( 30 after rebates ) decent reviews, plan on getting this card my self in a few months.