Which GPU for BF3 around $250-400?

[elayman]

So I am going back and forth between the
*HD6950 2gb Sapphire
and
*SLI EVGA 560 Ti 1GB (384 core version)

I can get the 560 Ti's around $400 (for both) brand new locally that's why I'm considering it, however the 6950 would be around $240 and I would probably just buy one now and wait to get another later.

I will be playing BF3 and Diablo 3, and have heard some issues with the 560Ti's in BF3, so should I stick with a 6950? Also, I hear more VRAM helps in BF3, and SLI does not utilize both 1GB's, so that's another reason I think the 6950 is the better choice. However, the 560Ti's have way more performance than a single 6950, so I'm stuck.

Opinions?

Also have been looking for a good deal on a GTX580 (will probably get that if I can get it <$360) but not sure if I can find one.

 

[elayman]

Oh and I guess I can give some more information. I have an i5 2500k which I plan to overlock (currently my PC is in pieces going to be put together when I get back from vacation), and will be running a 26" TV at 1080p

 

[inzone]

EVGA 02G-P3-1387-KR GeForce GTX 460 2Win (Fermi) 2GB 512-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
$359.99 and a $40 rebate makes it $319.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130626

For $320 you can get this dual gpu card and have top gaming perfomance right out of the box and if your motherboard supports quad SLI you can pick up another later and have quad SLI. It is just a thought and if you had not noticed the card before then it may be something you would be interested in.

MSI N570GTX Twin Frozr III PE/OC GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
$369.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127582

Another option would be to go with the GTX 570 , while it's not a 580 it is still a powerful card and would be able to play any game out of the box and later pick up another when there could be a price drop with the new cards coming out for SLI and you could play any game with high fps and resolution.
I know you are aware of the 448 core version of the 560Ti and that would be my choice if I were going with a 560Ti.
A final solution would be to wait a little longer for these new cards to be released and there should be some price drops on the current cards. You just can't beat two GTX 580's in SLI. (unless it's two 680's)

 

[de5_Roy]

this is a list of nvidia gtx 560 and higher cards.
this one is with radeon hd 6950 and 6970 included.
tomshardware's bf3 performance analysis.
you might want to take a look at the bit where the 6970 takes a performance hit with msaa and fxaa at ultra settings.
you could also wait for the new cards to release. the cards will be costly at launch but their prices will come down in time. amd's new cards will start to come out from january 2012, nvidia's in q1 2012.

 

[xtreme5]

get gtx 580 if you can otherwise gtx560ti is outstanding option.

 

[elayman]

Thanks for the information everyone. I will try and snag a gtx580 if I can get a good price on one, otherwise I think I'm leaning towards the 560Ti SLI. I don't see a reason to get the 570 when it's only about $30 more after tax to get the 2x 560Ti setup locally, which outperform the 580. I don't want to spend more than $400, so any of the other cards are out of my range (don't seem to find any on craigslist either). The only concern of mine is the 1GB of VRAM on BF3. I don't care about turning up the MSAA (from what I can tell doesn't look much different), so would I be fine with the 1GB on the 560Ti's?

 

[dharmenparikh]

Have you considered 6950s 1gb X 2? they outperform the 560ti SLI. If thats out of your budget then get 560TI in SLI. They aren't the best card in the market for the money...but they sit between 6870 and 6950. Now another option is to wait till Jan 9th and see how much the new 7950 will be...Word is that its $450 retail...so perhaps you can get it just a little under. You can overclock it very easily...the 7970 overclocked to 20% above specs. Or the 6950s will drop in price to $200 and you can grab 2 of those since they definitely outperform a 7970.

 

[elayman]

I have considered waiting until Jan 6, but I have suspicion that the 6950s will not drop in price right away since the 7950 at $450 is still more than the current 6970, so I doubt either card will drop. I would like a dual 6950 2gb setup.

And the 6950 1gb CFX setup would push me into the $460+ budget range since I'd have to add tax to the $209.99 (lowest price, and that's with a rebate, and I doubt I can file 2 rebates, so $239.99 would be the cheapest).

 

[elayman]

I found a brand new EVGA GTX 580 Superclocked on eBay for $400 shipped so I got that and it runs ultra BF3 with around 60-90 FPS. I am currently just running it on High since it's not a huge difference for me and I get around high 60s all the time and jumps up to 100. I still haven't overclocked my CPU or GPU yet though

 

[Manziak]

Dont listen to the people above me. Get a gtx550Ti. Its not be the best, but it can run the game. The reason why you should buy it is because the new 600series is coming out. Buy this card, wait for a few weeka/months amd once released, get a 600series geforce. You can then use your gtx550ti as a physX processor or sell it to get a highend 600serie card. A GTX660 will propably be faster than a gtx580, due to a completly new architecture and the same way how a gtx560ti was almost as fast as the 470

 

[Deeks]

" Dont listen to the people above me. Get a gtx550Ti. Its not be the best, but it can run the game. The reason why you should buy it is because the new 600series is coming out. Buy this card, wait for a few weeka/months amd once released, get a 600series geforce. You can then use your gtx550ti as a physX processor or sell it to get a highend 600serie card. A GTX660 will propably be faster than a gtx580, due to a completly new architecture and the same way how a gtx560ti was almost as fast as the 470 "

don't listen to that at all 550 ti is junk! you made the right decision! as for the 6 series they are not even so posed to be here till 3Q so if you wanted to play now then your purchase was the correct one.

 

[elayman]

Thanks Deeks I'm pretty happy with my decision. I just wish EVGA made a better cooler than reference. I did a MSI test (forget the name the main one) and hit 70-80C at stock settings. I don't think I should overclock it since its already so hot.

 

[Deeks]

to be honest i own a EVGA 580 GTX reference model as well and if you change the fan profile settings to be a bit more aggressive it cools not bad at all. mine is only oc'd 50mhz which is nothing really but i have a more aggressive fan profile and i never go over 66c on load. Use evga precision works well easy to use.

 

[elayman]

Ah maybe that's whats wrong. I was using MSI afterburner with Fan on auto. Does the precision software allow you to set the fan more aggressively but still vary depending on usage? I don't want to have it blasting at 70-100% at idle haha.

 

[Deeks]

yup its the same idea you can set it to change fan speeds depending on temps

 

[elayman]

Oh good thanks for the tip, Deeks

 

[Manziak]

" Dont listen to the people above me. Get a gtx550Ti. Its not be the best, but it can run the game. The reason why you should buy it is because the new 600series is coming out. Buy this card, wait for a few weeka/months amd once released, get a 600series geforce. You can then use your gtx550ti as a physX processor or sell it to get a highend 600serie card. A GTX660 will propably be faster than a gtx580, due to a completly new architecture and the same way how a gtx560ti was almost as fast as the 470 "

don't listen to that at all 550 ti is junk! you made the right decision! as for the 6 series they are not even so posed to be here till 3Q so if you wanted to play now then your purchase was the correct one.

First of all, how do you know that its not coming till Q3? Its coming out in march/april. Using a mainstream gpu for a few months isnt that bad. And then you could use the 550ti isan excellent physx processor. I was just giving my opinion on what the OP should have gotten. If this was posted in october last year then i would have said different.

 

[Deeks]

i am just responding to his original question, what card should i buy in the 250 - 400 range for bf3. 550ti is not even in that range its far below!

 

[inzone]

Ah maybe that's whats wrong. I was using MSI afterburner with Fan on auto. Does the precision software allow you to set the fan more aggressively but still vary depending on usage? I don't want to have it blasting at 70-100% at idle haha.

The temps on a gpu can run hotter than a cpu and they can go over 100c where a cpu will shut down at 90c I think the shut down is around 120c so if it get to 80 or 90c you are still alright. You can add a fan in the side pannel to blow directly on to the card to add some cooling help.

 

[elayman]

I've got a 120mm fan blowing in right on the gpu, so I don't think airflow is the issue, it was probably just me running the benchmark test with fan set at stock settings.