Good deal on a GPU upgrade? (Radeon HD 5770 --> GeForce GTX 560)

waydiddy

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Hi Tom's Hardware Community!

Just saw this pop up on SlickDeals.net...

Galaxy 56NGH6HS3KXZ GeForce GTX 560 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card


I'm currently in the market for a new video card to go with my Phenom II X4 955 BE, 16 GB Patriot DDR3, and Seasonic X750 PSU. Currently running a Radeon HD 5770 and trying to patiently wait to for Radeon HD 7xxx series at the ~$200 price point. I am looking to game at on a new Dell 2048x1152 display. Borderlands, Batman: Arkham City, Crysis...that sort of demanding stuff. Got a bit of framerate slowdown at this resolution, but runs fine at 1920x1080 with med/high settings right now.

On another thread, I decided to wait it out, but I can't help but shop around for good prices, and I think I found a decent one.

Any thoughts? If you need more info, let me know...

Thanks,

WayDiddy
 
Solution
if you spend around $200 right now on a ..say a radeon hd 6870/ gtx 560/ 560ti and want to upgrade when the new amd and nvidia cards arrive, will you be able to spend as much then?
among the current gfx cards, only 6950 and higher, and 570 and higher cards (each with more than 1 gb gddr5 vram) are properly capable of handling resolutions higher than 1080p. may be the 6870/560 ti with 2 gb vram could push it...not sure.
the new cards will have entirely new architecture in the midrange and higher line up. not to mention they'll belong in a different series, so cfx/sli would be out of the question. iirc your motherboard supprts one card.
you should be seeing reviews and benches starting from january as soon as 7970 officially launches...

waydiddy

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I'm really hoping that 7xxx series Radeon cards come in at sub-$200 pricing. It's very difficult for me to make a decision with a new slew of cards on the horizon in 2012.

If I would be waiting at least 6 months to upgrade, I'd probably be looking at this card very closely, but with new cards on the horizons, either the newest or a price drop on current generation models seems to have a high probability of occuring.

I think I'll continue to wait it out and see what the future holds, but I sincerely appreciate your input.

Thanks,

WayDiddy
 

Headspin_69

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You cant touch a 560 ti for any less that a $50 premium over the cheapest HD 6870. Cheapest Radeon HD 6870 I have found was $159.99 and the Cheapest 560 ti I found was $209.99
 

waydiddy

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What would the performance difference be between the 560 and the 6870? Since the 560 is at a premium, I'm assuming it offers premium performance in comparison...
 

Headspin_69

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Being the cheapest 6870 is $50 less than the cheapest 560ti mitigates the allure of a 560ti for me plus it seems in the benches when the 6870 is running at under 60fps so is the 560ti and they are close if lots of games are tallied up. Both cards have there pros and cons and both cards are great performers within there respective class however for me I would save the $50 get a 6870 and if I needed more I would just get the GTX 570 the 6870 is to great of a deal to pass up plus it can still OC to 1ghz for some addition value.
 

Headspin_69

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The HD 6870 is to the GTX 560 like what the GTX 560 ti is to the 6870.
 

Headspin_69

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Once again that's all Nvidia is really great at is Marketing to the Yuppies and Fanbouy and Noobs however the only great cards from Nvidia of the past resent IMHO have been the GTX460 and the GTX570 all things considered however Toms Hardware reflects my opinion in there Dec Graphics card buyers guide almost to a tee.
 
If ya budget below $200, the 6870 makes most sense.....Above $200, the factory OC'd 560 Ti's are OC'ing beasts with oversized coolers and more robust VRM's, they're the way to go.

The 560 Ti (900Mhz) for $215 gets about 862 fps in SLI...the 6870 ($160) gets about 701 (source Guru 3D Game test suite).

prices based upon lowest priced card from major GFX vard brands (EVGA, Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, XFX)
 
The 6870 XFX version (single fan) gets extremely loud, I had to yell so other people could hear me, not sure if that was a defective card but it was bad enough for me to RMA it and spend the extra 50 on the Twin Frozr 2 version

Just throwing that out there if you are considering that particular one....
 

waydiddy

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Well that affirms my decision to stay with ATI (not that my previous upgrade from an XFX 9600 GSO to a Sapphire Radeon HD 5770 didn't leave a great impression)

I cut/paste a screencap of all Tom's hardware hierarchy chart into my iPhone every month...great resource
 

Headspin_69

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Even if you budget is over $200 I say still get the Radeon HD 6870 if your monitor is 1080p or under and put the savings towards games that will play just as well on the 6870. Lets not forget it's all about the games first and foremost and the games play great on the 6870 that saves you money so you can spend more on the games. To put into prospective in the benches when the 6870 is running a game at under 60fps so is a 560ti and when the 560ti is running games @ or well north of 60fps the 6870 is there as well. Don't get me wrong the 560ti is a great card but the pricing is just to high to be competitive and with the new Radeons hitting store shelves very soon I will hold on and put my money where it will be the most effective.
 

waydiddy

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To all the experts in the thread:

Do you think it's worth it at all the wait until the end of Q1 2012? We all know there's next-gen cards on the horizon, but I'm not extremely concerned with being on the bleeding edge. If I was, I'd have upgraded to a newer mobo and SSD months ago.

I just hit the point with unsatisfactory performance with my new 2048x1152 monitor. I'll be fine playing maxed settings at 1920x1080, but would love to fully utilize my display.

Feel free to check my cpu config and comment...This'll be the first time a graphics refresh happens when I'm paying attention to the industry, and I don't want to make a hasty decision.

Great thread going by the way everyone, that's why I only frequent this forum :)

WayDiddy
 

Headspin_69

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I am no expert but wait for the new cards from AMD they are great and well worth the wait if you have the patients that is. $250 will net you performance in the neighborhood of the GTX 580
 



Not quite the jump from 560ti to 6870 is a lot more than the 6870 from the 560 as the 560 and 6870 trade blows depending on the game.

Where as the 560ti is bar none better in all games buy up to 10 frames.

A 2GB 6970 might look really appealing for that higher resolution they sit around 300 after MIR you might be able to see one for 270 once the 7xxx series is out.
Otherwise the 6950 2GB might do it for you.
 

Headspin_69

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*** all this graphics card rivalry *** lets all just play the games We love and enjoy the *** out of them because today could be the best time in the history of mankind to be a Gamer !
 

Headspin_69

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WOW a whole10 frames for $50 LOL