Keep my H.I.S. 5870 Turbo V or do I upgrade to Sapphire 6950 2gb

[willi924]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: within the next 2 weeks BUDGET RANGE: USD $175-270 before rebates
FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming: Arkham City, BF3, Skyrim, Metro 2033, Folding@Home, home theater/watching movies

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: H.I.S. 5870 turbo v and Seasonic Gold 750w PSU

Hello Tom's Hardware!!

Need some advice and this community helped me picked my gaming rig last year!!!
It's Awesome rigby the way! Thanks.
Here the situation: Currently, I have the H.I.S. 5870 Turbo V. and was thinking of upgrading to 6950 2gb by Sapphire
because I can buy open box for $210 from Microceenter?

Should I purchase the Sapphire 6950 2gb card and sell the 5870 for about $190? or do i wait for the new AMD 7870?
Maybe one of theses AMD 7000 series cards:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/03/04/amd_radeon_hd_7870_7850_video_card_review

Haven't seen anything on the Nvidia front.
Any sound advice and comments welcomed!!
Thanks again community.
Willi

SYSTEM SPECS:

Case: Corsair 600t
CPU: intel 2500k
Cpu cooler: Thermaltake Frio
Mobo: ASUS p8p67 rev. 3.0
Ram: 8gb OCZ ddr3 1600 1.65v downclocked to ddr3 1333 1.5 v worried that the 1.65 voltage will hurt motherboard

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Microcenter, Newegg, Amazon. I just NCIX would be okay.. (never purchase from them before.)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United States Minnesota

PARTS PREFERENCES: I would like to stick to AMD cards because of power consumption but if someone can provide solid information on Nvidia I will be open to purchasing!sX card, prefer XFX cards over Sapphire cards, etc., tell us)

OVERCLOCKING: Definitely Yes
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe
MONITOR RESOLUTION: VIZIO E320vp Hdtv 1920x1080 @60, 1920x1200)

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Just want to play BF3 game on ultra settings. Work like a two fan cooling or better cooling for overclocking

 

[jmsellars1]

I would wait for one of the 7000 series cards personally, both the HD 7850 and HD 7870 look very good.

 

[vilenjan]

What game do you play that a 5870 is not keeping up? Anyways, a 6950 is a minor upgrade to the 5870m so it would be a waste of money. A 7870 will probably be a significant enough of an upgrade, if you can afford it.

 

[diec4st]

5870 = 6950, basically. Aim at least for 7870 or you won't notice any difference...

 

[Deemo13]

It would not be a worthwhile upgrade. The card will still be good for quite a few years. The 7870 looks alright, but your 5870 should be able to eat most games out there for breakfast.

 

[willi924]

What game do you play that a 5870 is not keeping up? Anyways, a 6950 is a minor upgrade to the 5870m so it would be a waste of money. A 7870 will probably be a significant enough of an upgrade, if you can afford it.

I upgraded to new catalyst drivers and used driver sweeper to clean out remnants.
When I began using the computer again and played BF3 framerates dropped from 80 fps to 35 fps.
Framerates dropped a little in other games as well.
Also the overdrive in CCC was unavailable. I have tried several solutions to rectify the problems.

Uninstalled and reinstalled drivers through Add/remove under program and features several times.
Uninstalled through device manager.
Did startup repair from recovery console and still no access to amd override selection in AMD CCC.

So I thought it might be time to get a new card.
since the 5870 was over 2 years old. Thought maybe new games had caught up to the processing speeds of GPU.

So I should keep the 5870??
Thanks.

 

[willi924]

Thanks everyone for the great advice. I should keep the AMD 5870??
Do you think the 7870 will be worth upgrading to or should I wait til next year to upgrade GPU ??
Willi

 

[diec4st]

I would wait. I personnally play BF3 with a 5870 with all settings on High (0x AA and high post AA or whatever its called, motion blur and the last setting both @ off) at 1080p and I've never seen my fps drop below 55, even in 64 players outdoor maps. My card is reference design and not overclocked (850/1200). Game looks gorgeous and plays flawlessly.

I personally see no need to upgrade since BF3 is the most demanding game I play and what I currently get is enough for me.

 

[willi924]

Best answer selected by willi924.

 

[jjack339]

What game do you play that a 5870 is not keeping up? Anyways, a 6950 is a minor upgrade to the 5870m so it would be a waste of money. A 7870 will probably be a significant enough of an upgrade, if you can afford it.

Seriously? 5870m????? 5870 to 6950 is about a 10% jump and the 6950 has better tessalation, and the 6950 scales in CF infinitely better.

But the mobile series 5870? That thing is about the power of a 5750 tops.

I had an Asus G73J (5870m GPU) and build a Destop with a 6950 and the difference was staggering.