URGENT - HD 6870 vs HD 6950, price worth the performance?

[argo49]

Ok I've done my homework and found two cards

Problem is that there's a 76$ difference between the 6870 and the 6950 and I can't see that the numbers justify that price difference

http://www.hwcompare.com/6107/radeon-hd-6870-vs-radeon-hd-6950/

I need advice, am I seriously going to see that much of an improvement in my games with the 6950 over the 6870?
Is the 6950 really worth the extra 76 dollars?

Please answer asap as a daily deal on newegg is about to expire and I really dont want to miss it.

 

[esrever]

the answer is not really but you will need to check the games you want to play and on what resolution.

the performance/price doesn't scale linearly, when you go up in the performance scale. Its worth it if you need it but if you don't then no.

 

[monsta]

In my opinion yes , the 6950 is worth it , always get the best you can afford!

 

[argo49]

ALSO I should add that I plan on overclocking the cards, so which handles the overclocking better? the 6870 is HIS and the 6950 is XFX

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161393&cm_sp=DailyDeal-_-14-161-393-_-Product

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150523

 

[purple stain]

What are your full system specs?(CPU,RAM,etc.)

If you can afford it and can think of nothing better to spend the extra money(RAM possibly)on then I say go for it.

Which 6950 and 6870 are you interested in?Please provide links.

You should be looking at game benchmarks not synthetic benchmarks based on clock speeds to compare.

http://www.techspot.com/review/349-amd-radeon-6950/page11.html

That review is a little old and drivers have been released since then to boost the 6950's performance in some games a little so keep that in mind.

 

[esrever]

the 6950 OCs better

 

[purple stain]

ALSO I should add that I plan on overclocking the cards, so which handles the overclocking better? the 6870 is HIS and the 6950 is XFX

If your planning on O.C.ing then maybe you you should consider going with the GTX560ti instead.It's the same price as the 6950 and also performs the same but is known to be a great O.C.er.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127594

 

[argo49]

OKAY PC specs:

Processor: AMD Phenom X4 II Black Edition Quad Core
Memory: 8 GB G-Skill ram (4 x 2GB) 1333
Mobo: Gigabyte UD2H Micro ATX GA-880GMA-UD2H
current GPU: Sapphire radeon HD 5770 256-bit
OS: Windows 7 Home edition

 

[argo49]

If your planning on O.C.ing then maybe you you should consider going with the GTX560ti instead.It's the same price as the 6950 and also performs the same but is known to be a great O.C.er.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127594

I would but the 6950 card's got the 30$ rebate so that would make all this a more than 100$ price difference between it and the daily deal'd 6870

 

[esrever]

get the 6950 then. also make sure your psu can handle it.

 

[purple stain]

Here's another GTX560ti.It's the same price as the XFX 6950 even after the MIR.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125401

But for $20 more I think the Twin Frozr is really worth it.The cooling with that card is one of the best and will allow you to achieve a much higher O.C.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127594

 

[esrever]

the 560 is less powerful than the 6950 at stock by about 5-10%

 

[purple stain]

Looks more like 5% but you are correct.But everything I've read states that your are much more likely to achieve a higher O.C. with a GTX560ti than a 6950.So in the end the GTX560ti will be faster if you can O.C well.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-560-ti-review/18

 

[esrever]

you can also OC the 6950 pretty well

 

[argo49]

oh ya forgot about the psu (d'oh) it's x-power 650 (650watts).
So it's not the greatest but it should be able to put up some solid numbers right?

240$ is really pushing it for my budget though, esp with the tax in my province (thanks for keeping it on newegg.ca btw) and i've heard better things about xfx than I have gigabyte. Can the GTX560ti really be THAT much better in OC'ing to warrant going with a (in my experience) poorer brand instead of the xfx 6950?

 

[esrever]

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-6950-1gb-vs-geforce-gtx-560-ti-review/17

 

[purple stain]

Gigabyte is just as good as XFX.Infact you will proabably see better temps with a dual fan design.

I think that review is meant to show if they perform differently with an equal O.C. because i'm seeing this...

GTX560ti

http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-560-ti-review/20

6950

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-6950-6970-review/25

 

[esrever]

hmm I guess I was wrong but I guess it depends on the game you play. the 6950 seems to do so much better in 3dmark but average pretty normal with the 560 ti in gaming.

 

[purple stain]

Yah it matters most which game you play.Some games favor Nvidia some favor AMD.

 

[argo49]

Okay but again, I'm mostly trying to figure out whether or not I should get the 6870 or the 6950/gtx560ti because the performance from my point of view seems to be pretty similar between the two. Are there any long term benefits to getting the 6950 over the 6870? Because I don't think getting an extra 6 fps really warrants the 6950's price over the 6870 but I also dont want to have to upgrade my card in another year.

 

[Headspin_69]

Ok I've done my homework and found two cards

Problem is that there's a 76$ difference between the 6870 and the 6950 and I can't see that the numbers justify that price difference

http://www.hwcompare.com/6107/radeon-hd-6870-vs-radeon-hd-6950/

I need advice, am I seriously going to see that much of an improvement in my games with the 6950 over the 6870?
Is the 6950 really worth the extra 76 dollars?

Please answer asap as a daily deal on newegg is about to expire and I really dont want to miss it.

Hell no there is a small difference that is niot even close to being worth over $70 and the 6870 is the only card to get until 7XXX comes out then that will be a real upgrade.

 

[argo49]

How expensive are the 7XXX going to be and when do they come out? Should I just wait for that?

ALSO if I can overclock the 6950 to run like a 6970 then is it worth the extra money in that regard?

 

[de5_Roy]

How expensive are the 7XXX going to be and when do they come out? Should I just wait for that?

ALSO if I can overclock the 6950 to run like a 6970 then is it worth the extra money in that regard?

depends on availability.
here's a speculations:
http://news.softpedia.com/news/AMD-to-Launch-Three-28nm-Radeon-HD-7000-GPUs-by-March-2012-243415.shtml
http://vr-zone.com/articles/report-amd-radeon-hd-7000-prices/14157.html
recent 6950 might not oc to 6970 as amd laser cut newer 6950 gpus. it depends on luck (same with any other overclocking).
some comparisons.
topmost end, 6970 vs 7970:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/509?vs=508
others, 6870 vs 6950 1 gb:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/290?vs=331
6870 vs 6950 2 gb:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/290?vs=293
gtx 560 ti vs 6950 2 gb:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/330?vs=293

 

[argo49]

Ok, thanks for the links. I feel like maybe waiting for the 7850 Is my best option right now. Although getting the 6950 to enjoy it for the rest of my holiday break is tempting... but at that price it'll be the only graphics card I buy in the next two years so I want to make damn sure it's the best I can get.

 

[Headspin_69]

Ok, thanks for the links. I feel like maybe waiting for the 7850 Is my best option right now. Although getting the 6950 to enjoy it for the rest of my holiday break is tempting... but at that price it'll be the only graphics card I buy in the next two years so I want to make damn sure it's the best I can get.

why even think about the 6950 when the 6870 is allot cheaper and pretty well matches the 6950 performance LOL.