Do I need a 7850 for my 1680x1050 Monitor?

[ddan49]

Hello,

So I'm looking at buying the following build:
Part list permalink / Part price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z68 PRO3 GEN3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($259.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Define R3 Black Pearl ATX Mid Tower Case ($114.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling 600W ATX12V Power Supply ($66.44 @ NCIX US)
Total: $801.38
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated 2012-04-22 14:32 EDT-0400)

I really like MSI Twin Frozr II OC as a manufacturer, but this is getting too expensive. I was wondering if I could go with a Hawk 6870 and still be okay at my resolution? I'm on 1680x1050, and I'll be playing stuff like BF3, CoD, GTA, Skyrim, etc. (no Starcraft or D3). I've looked at some benchmarks, and... frankly... 7850 is better (of course), but I can't tell by how much because they were tested so far apart.

Basically, I'm looking to be able to play these games on high with at least 40fps, preferably at/above 60 fps. If the difference is anything less than 10fps, then I'm not even considering it and I'm getting a 6870. If it's more... well...

Also, I was thinking of getting an MSI Twin Frozr II OC GTX 560 Ti, but it's really close to the price of a 7850.

 

[inzone]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html

This chart may help you when deciding which card as it lists the cards from highest to lowest.
A consideration would be the 6950 as that's in between the 77850 and 6870 , the other thing is to keep an eye out for deals and rebates to go along with possibly waiting a bit for more Kepler cards to come out. As you may have noticed AMD dropped thier prices on the 7970 and 7950 once the 680 came out for $500 , so there may be more price drops coming. The goal is to get the highest card you can for the money you have so you can play your games at the resolution and settings that you want and get the fps that you want.

 

[ddan49]

Thanks! I have used that hierarchy chart, but the thing is that it doesn't show benchmarks, does it?

The 6950 is about the same price as the 7850, though. $250 on newegg. I'd probably get a GTX 560 Ti at that price range 'cause it's MSI Twin Frozr II OC (which means WAY more performance).

 

[inzone]

http://www.guru3d.com/article/msi-geforce-gtx-680-twinfrozr-iii-oc-review/15
http://www.guru3d.com/article/msi-geforce-gtx-680-twinfrozr-iii-oc-review/16
http://www.guru3d.com/article/msi-geforce-gtx-680-twinfrozr-iii-oc-review/20
http://www.guru3d.com/article/msi-geforce-gtx-680-twinfrozr-iii-oc-review/21

These benchmarks are for the GTX 680 but they include a lot of other cards to compare and it is also at 1920x1080 and ultra settings. Hopefully this will give you an indication of what the various cards can do and while they are not your settings you can compare cards that are all running the same games at the same settings and resolutions.

 

[ddan49]

Yeah, I looked over guru3d's Hawk review. Seems okay... I think I might just get the 6870. I'll try for the 7850 as hard as I can, though.

Oh, and I'll close this thread in about a week. I want to keep it open in case of questions and that kind of thing.

 

[inzone]

The 7850 being the newer card would be a better option but if the budget won't allow then you would have no choice but to go for the 6870.

 

[ddan49]

And the GTX 560 Ti is somewhere in the middle, huh?

 

[inzone]

Yes that's right so it would also be a consideration if you can't get the 7850 and you could see what that has for a price before you go for the 6870.

 

[yyk71200]

If you plan to use graphic mods, you may want to go with faster card than 6870. In Skyrim I downloaded a few of pretty heavy mods, and they push even my GTX570 quite a bit at 1680x1050. Visuals are awesome though.

 

[ddan49]

Ah. No, graphics aren't that important to me. I want high now so that later on I'll be able to play games at low that I couldn't with a medium-level GPU now.