Best performance for ~$300

[plusbrian]

7000s are making their way out, kepler is around the corner (and rumored to be better than the 7000s), but not really wanting to wait that long.

So my plan is to get something good enough but not bleeding that will hold me down for a year or so, budget is around $300, single or SLI/CF. It's been my research that multi card is definitely the way to go for price/performance. Currently in process of gathering parts, and don't have the PSU so I will get a PSU that will handle it (probably bronze or better 750w). Likely going to use asus p67 deluxe (having a hard time deciding on a mobo as well). Will certainly be doing moderate OCing.

I was looking at a pair of 460GTXs (mostly over my ideal budget), and then ran across the SAPPHIRE AMD Radeon HD 6870 1GB. It competes with a 570GTX and costs less than a 460GTX (currently $144 after rebate on Amazon). Two of these would fit the budget ($288) and would handily smote a 580 GTX for $200 less. Am I missing something here? Or is that just a great deal?

Other options/suggestions happily accepted.

+brian

 

[Frizzo]

get a 6970. this is one ugly video card, but a great deal:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161382

 

[esrever]

the 6870 crossfire is good if you don't mind crossfire.

 

[esrever]

6870s are 20% more powerful than the 460s as well.

 

[FlintIronStagg]

The 570 is much faster than the 6870. The 448 core 560ti is the way to go imo for your budget if you want to xfire or sli then your first choicr would be best

 

[FlintIronStagg]

get a 6970. this is one ugly video card, but a great deal:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161382

Yeah that is an.ugly card but a good deal nonetheless

 

[DelroyMonjo]

Where do you get the idea that a 6870 competes with a GTX 570?

 

[plusbrian]

get a 6970. this is one ugly video card, but a great deal:

2 6870s are about the same price but considerably more fps:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/301?vs=292. My plan is to get something to hold me over for a year and then upgrade to kepler.

the 6870 crossfire is good if you don't mind crossfire.

I have to admit up to this point i've always had nvidia and sli. I don't know much about CF other than benchmarks. I have read stutter issues and more likely to dip on FPS, but mostly anecdotal evidence.

The 570 is much faster than the 6870

I must of had the wrong card selected when I looked at that on anadtech. But, the rest of the statement holds, 2 6870s are $200 cheaper than a 580 and more fps.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/301?vs=305

The 448 core 560ti is the way to go imo for your budget if you want to xfire or sli then your first choicr would be best

The 560ti 448 core is nice, but also costs ~$300, so when compared against 2 6870s (for $288) the CF has a lot more fps. When new cards come out its the higher dollar cards that tend to take the biggest drop, and with 7950 and kepler around the bend i'm cautious about buying a higher end single card.

Thanks for the tips, was just curious if there was some tradeoffs with those cards as I haven't really followed AMD cards as much. Just on benchmarks and price, they are a pretty clear choice.

+brian

 

[plusbrian]

Where do you get the idea that a 6870 competes with a GTX 570?

I think I was looking at the wrong card, the difference is larger than I remembered when I posted that:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/290?vs=306

The 570 is a clear winner here in benchmarks, but it also costs like $150 more than the current amazon deal on that saphire. And the differences aren't as large on the lower FPS comparisons. The 570 tends to pull away when the FPS are already very high. For the price of the 570, you could actually buy 2 of those 6870s.

Anyway, the overall point wasn't to compare on a single card to single card benchmark basis, but a $/FPS basis.

+brian

 

[FlintIronStagg]

2 x 6870 is faster than any single 6xxx or 5xx series card. As stated earlier if you want to xfire and have the psu to support it.then go for.it. Seems you have your research down.
The performance gap i was referring to with the 6870 and 570 earlier was single.card performance.