Card upgrade choices

[keffit]

Current specs:
Gigabyte GA-X48-DS5 m/b
Q9550 cpu
4gb ddr2 ram
HD 4870 1gb
1920x1080 main monitor + 1280x1024 dual

buget = aiming under $300, bang for buck key.

System holds up pretty well atm playing witcher 2 and crysis 2 on fairly high settings but looking for a dx11 card now and support for 3 monitors. Want to be able to play bf3, skyrim etc on highest settings i can with above hardware.

Was initially looking at hd6850's but now leaning towards the 6950's. What would be the 4870's new equivilent? Am i going to run into any bottleneck issues?

Also, Im in Australia so Newegg prices are no good to me, parts are more expensive here. This is the main site I shop from. All the other local sites compare pretty much the same to these in price so far as I've seen. All that changes is available stock.

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=193_1179

 

[beltzy]

If your budget is $300 you have a few options, listed below from lowest to highest performance:

- GTX 560 ti : can be had for about $185 after MIR
- HD 6950 1GB: just over $200 after MIR
- GTX 560 ti (448 core version- this is actually a scaled down version of a gtx 570): around $250+

I'd recommend either of the first two cards from a value standpoint. They will provide the same general level of performance. If you were looking at the 448 core I'd say just bump up to a 570 for around $310 after MIR.

 

[keffit]

Ah I should have mentioned Im Aussie, I cant rly use sites like newegg and our prices are far less competitive here :/

The best price i've seen for a 6950 is $235 for a sapphire brand.
Otherwise it's pretty much this:

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=877&products_id=18197
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=877&products_id=16622
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=877&products_id=18719 <-2gb version

I was unsure how much of a difference it makes between brands. Is the single fan on the cheaper ones enough to keep them cool without excess noise?

Is it time to start looking at the 560 ti more seriously? they average $229-279. I went with the 6950 cause it seemed a good middle option... and im biased towards ati

I also havent been able to find any 448 core versions.

 

[Lowlyworm]

I find umart personally much cheaper then pccasegear $10-15 and you can pick up saving extra $15 from total giving you $30 more to spend on upgrade

 

[keffit]

Ah, thanks for the site tip I've been using staticice etc to try find other sites with better prices, but pccasegear beat most of em so I thought I was stuck with them.

 

[unksol]

if you want to use 3 monitors for gaming with decent settings on BF3 you probably need crossfire or SLI. you also wouldn't want the 1GB version of a 6950. I am guessing you use them for other stuff looking at the Res but you never know.

If you want to SLI later down the road the 560 448 should be avoided as they are a limited release of defective 570s. There's no guarantee you can get another when they run out. Last I heard it was US and Canada only though so you probably wont come accross one.

Some 6950s will unlock to a 6970 with a BIOS flash if you're into that. Mine did but I paid more for a sapphire toxic version that came with a 6970 as the second BIOS so I just had to flip a switch and see if it worked.

 

[Mousemonkey]

if you want to use 3 monitors for gaming with decent settings on BF3 you probably need crossfire or SLI. you also wouldn't want the 1GB version of a 6950. I am guessing you use them for other stuff looking at the Res but you never know.

If you want to SLI later down the road the 560 448 should be avoided as they are a limited release of defective 570s. There's no guarantee you can get another when they run out. Last I heard it was US and Canada only though so you probably wont come accross one.

Some 6950s will unlock to a 6970 with a BIOS flash if you're into that. Mine did but I paid more for a sapphire toxic version that came with a 6970 as the second BIOS so I just had to flip a switch and see if it worked.

Are you saying that they can't be found outside of the US and Canada?

 

[keffit]

@unksol
Only the 1920x1080 monitor for gaming, the other two are old 1024x768 that i use for running other rubbish in the background eg winamp, vlc, photoshop, firefox etc. Im an incorrigible multitasker. I havent got the funds to get all my screens the same size to game on

The flash option is interesting, is there a way to know if it will before purchase? Is it stable?

 

[sunnk]

just buy an hd 6950 about $50 less out of your budget.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125385#top$239.99 with triple fan 1gb version

or for 2gb version

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102954#top$259.99 with dual fan.

 

[keffit]

just buy an hd 6950 about $50 less out of your budget.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125385#top$239.99 with triple fan 1gb version

or for 2gb version

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102954#top$259.99 with dual fan.

The 1gb will cost me about $269 Aus and theres a similar Powercolor 2gb that costs $269 also. I can't buy from newegg Because the prices are different here it makes it tricky following advice for bang/buck and comparing models in reviews, like these: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-4.html

 

[sunnk]

so just get an 2gb powercolor one if your are getting the 2gb card on 1gb price and yes the powercolor 2gb one is good in performance.

http://www.eyo.com.au/291388_power-colour-radeon-hd6950-800mhz-2gb-gddr5-pcie2-1-2xdvi-disp-hdmi-dx11-ax6950-2gbd5-2dh.html