560448 core vs 7970 vs 6950

[alexryden]

So I am building a computer this week and I need help picking a card. The 7970 comes out in two weeks, which is sooner than I expected. I originally planned on buying a 560 or a 6950 and wait till summer when I thought the cards where coming out. However, now the 7970 is coming out. Should I wait till it comes or wait till summer? I play both battlefield 3 and shogun 2 so I need a good card. The reason I ask is becaus it is beyond my budget, but I can afford it. Is it a good idea to suck it up and buy or am i okay waiting for nvidia? If so, is a 6950 2 gb or a 560 448 core better? The rest of my system is future proof. I have an i5 2500k, an asrock extreme 4 gen 3 pcie 3.0 motherboard, 8 gb of ram, a wd hard divOe (1.5tb), a 90gb corsair ssd, and a 750w corsair psu. I just need gpu help.

 

[refillable]

Wait for 7970 if you can buy it and afford it. It's an amazing card and really fast.

 

[wurkfur]

Just a though, you can buy TWO 6950's for the price of a 7970. It will own the crap out of it in just about every aspect. Look at the comparisons of the 6990 to the 7970 to see what I mean. For $250 you can start to enjoy higher frame rates immediately versus having to wait. You can then wait until you are more comfortable financially to add a second card.

Good luck!

 

[gooseta]

@wurkfur

The 7970 will pwn the 2x 6950 , also the 7970 IS NOT a replacement for the 6990, that is the 7990, which will be released later next year. Wait for the 7970 cuz it will have loads of DRAM and will outperform cf'd 6850/6870/6950, and maybe even 2x 6970

 

[gooseta]

sorry for DP

Lol one 7970 even beats a GTX580

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/517?vs=508&i=411.410.371.372.373.374.375.376.377.378.379.380.381.382.385.384.383.386.387.388.389.390.392.393.394.395.396.397.400.398.401.402.403.404.405.391.426.406.424.425.407.408.422.423.409.413.412.414.415.416.417.418.419.420.421

 

[refillable]

@wurkfur

The 7970 will pwn the 2x 6950 , also the 7970 IS NOT a replacement for the 6990, that is the 7990, which will be released later next year. Wait for the 7970 cuz it will have loads of DRAM and will outperform cf'd 6850/6870/6950, and maybe even 2x 6970

R U sure?

 

[monsta]

LOL

 

[wurkfur]

@wurkfur

The 7970 will pwn the 2x 6950 , also the 7970 IS NOT a replacement for the 6990, that is the 7990, which will be released later next year. Wait for the 7970 cuz it will have loads of DRAM and will outperform cf'd 6850/6870/6950, and maybe even 2x 6970

If you look at the clock rates and power consumption, two 6950's are almost the same as a stock 6990. It also isn't 8 feet long like the 6990. So if a 6990 beats a 7970, why wouldn't the two 6950's?

 

[refillable]

why wouldn't the two 6950's?

Man that makes no sense at all... I guess you mean 6970?

Yeah, we know that crossfire 6970 is faster than single 7970, but in other point it will have large power consumption and therefore not efficient like 7970, also noisier and also harder setting up, and also adds up the less upgradebility.

The thing is, that overall single 7970 will give you better experience. Also it can be crossfired later.

 

[alrobichaud]

Not another one of these threads...

6970 > 6950
http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-6950-6970-review/3
http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/amd_hd6970_hd6950_review/15.htm

7970 > 6970
http://www.techspot.com/review/481-amd-radeon-7970/page13.html

7970<6990
Again... http://www.techspot.com/review/481-amd-radeon-7970/page13.html

If you have the budget and can wait a few weeks(or so they say anyway) get the 7970. It is by far the best of the cards that you originally mentioned.

 

[alexryden]

What about waiting for nvidia? How are there cards looking? And of I decide to go with a lesser card is the 6950 2gb or the 560 448 core better?

 

[refillable]

The 560 448 is better

 

[alrobichaud]

**edit** was comparing the 384 core 560ti please ignore

 

[wolfram23]

I don't get it, the 7970 is in an entirely different price range so why would it be an option and not a 580 or CF 6950 or SLI 560 Ti??

Obviously the most expensive (by far) card is the best one... as a single card.

 

[Delengowski]

get a 7970, wait some time until you get more money and crossfire two and be set for a good long time.

 

[alrobichaud]

I don't get it, the 7970 is in an entirely different price range so why would it be an option and not a 580 or CF 6950 or SLI 560 Ti??

Obviously the most expensive (by far) card is the best one... as a single card.

I agree with you. There are plenty of other options but if you look at how much a gtx 580 or CF 6950 or sli gtx 560 ti costs then you are roughly the same price as one 7970 and the 7970 is supposed to be able to outperform all of those cards. With the other choices( in sli or crossfire), you will still get awesome framerates on games such as bf3 in ultra but as far as being future proof you will need to start looking into 3way sli or trifire which possibly means a new power supply and/or motherboard and possibly even a new case to stay current. With a 7970, you are getting current tech with kick ass performance in a single card. In a few years if/when the 7970 doesn't cut it anymore simply adding another in CF will keep you current. If the budget is the important factor, get the gtx 560 ti 448 and maybe pick up another when the opportunity presents itself and don't worry about the future until it happens.