Upgrading from a 6850 to a 6950/6970. Good Idea?

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twofatslugs

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Hi, I've currently got in my rig an XFX HD Radeon 6850 and am wanting to upgrade to one of the bigger and better AMD Cards, but I can't choose which card to take. I've seen the benchmarks for both cards, and while the 6970 obviously surpasses the 6950, I don't know if the price leap is worth. Currently the price leap is around £80 which for me is steep seeing as I'm only 16. These are my specs:

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: 1-2 weeks

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: XFX HD Radeon 6850 and XFX Pro Series Core Edition P1-550S-UKB9 550W PSU

OVERCLOCKING: NO

CROSSFIRE: NO

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Currently running with an AMD Phenom 960t Black Edition x 4 3.0GHz


Thanks in advance :) All I really want to know is if it is worth it to get a 6970 over the 6950. The highest spec game I play is either Crysis 2 or BF3 right now.
 
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borisof007
It's not going to be a huge increase for your money. You're better off spending money jumping to one of the 7xxx series cards. If you can't afford it now, don't worry. With Nvidia's latest offerings, the 7 series cards will drop in price fairly quickly (and have already started to in fact).

I don't think a 7950 is necessary (or within your budget), but a 7850 is on par with a 6950, costs about the same, but has a bit newer technology:

For example, did you know that the 7850 under load uses about 50 less watts than a 6950?

http://guru3d.com/article/amd-radeon-hd-7850-and-7870-review/7

And did you also know that the 7850 is PCI-Express 3.0 ready vs the PCI-E 2.1 on the 6950?

There's subtle nuances, but they add up. I suggest...
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borisof007

borisof007

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It's not going to be a huge increase for your money. You're better off spending money jumping to one of the 7xxx series cards. If you can't afford it now, don't worry. With Nvidia's latest offerings, the 7 series cards will drop in price fairly quickly (and have already started to in fact).

I don't think a 7950 is necessary (or within your budget), but a 7850 is on par with a 6950, costs about the same, but has a bit newer technology:

For example, did you know that the 7850 under load uses about 50 less watts than a 6950?

http://guru3d.com/article/amd-radeon-hd-7850-and-7870-review/7

And did you also know that the 7850 is PCI-Express 3.0 ready vs the PCI-E 2.1 on the 6950?

There's subtle nuances, but they add up. I suggest picking up the 7850.
 
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twofatslugs

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If I sell both my PVR and Graphics Card I'll have approximately £200-220. I can easily get up to £250 after that, so, would a 7850 be a more wise investment?

Will me processor bottleneck my GPU? It's a Phenom x4 960t Black Edition 3.0ghz
 
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ilysaml

ilysaml

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@Misterio
Next time do it with a "manner" please
Avg%20Game%20Perf.png
 
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borisof007

borisof007

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Misterio:

It's not uncommon now that AMD will essentially take a card from an older series, bump it up to a newer series. In this case, ilysaml is referring to the fact that the specifications and performance levels of a 7850 and a 6970 are SO CLOSE together, that it's essentially the same, but sometimes even AMD has literally used the exact same card and just rebranded (not sure if that's the case specifically here).

A previous case of rebranding for example would be the 5750/5770 > 6750/6770
 
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borisof007

borisof007

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Even if the statement that a 7850 is a rebranded 6970 is wrong, they're still similar in performance, albeit the 7850 is a lot cheaper and comes with newer technology.

If all you're going to do is argue with someone in the community over a minute detail, then this place probably isn't the best for you. It'd be comparable to being a grammar nazi in a tennage chat room.

Lastly, I'll defend someone who's obviously given back to the community over someone who hasn't. These forums aren't the place to argue over non-important details.

And by the way, a 7850 destroys a 6950.

Reference:

http://guru3d.com/article/amd-radeon-hd-7850-and-7870-review/19
 
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ilysaml

ilysaml

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@borisof007
I know what I said, I wasn't waiting for your speech to clarify my statement, and i aslo said with the exception of "lower heat and wattage" that's the newer technology you're refering to. AMD always modify the new Mid Range Series to replce the old High End Series, well that's not the standard but that's what I've seen with the HD 6970 and HD 7850 the same as what happened with HD 6770/5770, HD 6850 and HD 5850 and so on...

And if you notice, you can CF HD 6770 with HD 5770 and HD 6750 with HD 5750, that was the only exception to CF 2 Diff cards from diff series because they were "re patched"

And if I were you, I wouldn't say "destroy" and I wouldn't even call you "wrong" but the performance between HD 7850 and Hd 6950 is not "day and night" and why didn't you provide some more benches from your reference? or just Crysis 2 is the major determinant and savior ?

EDIT: I didn't mean that it's officially "re-branded" I just used the word to express that there's no major difference in performance.
 
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ilysaml

ilysaml

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If we let people get away with saying whatever they want without providing referents as to where and how they formulated there conclusion/opinion then TH will lose credibility. This site is not about personal opinion it is about FACTS and helping others get them straight.
Click to expand...
Nice to hear that from a new fruit here, I will take that into account, moderator.
 
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ouroboros

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It's not so much the poorly worded claim as it is the constant rebuttals. Misterio was correct in pointing out the confusion Ilysami may have caused due to his post. This tennis match of text IS a touch of overkill though

OP: If you need it now, the 7870 is likely your best bet. Start looking at warranties, some manufacturers cover their cards for two years, others for three. I've had excellent luck with Sapphire in the past but they only cover for two years. My XFX 4850 is still running strong and their 7870 comes with a three year warranty or the $10 more DD version has lifetime coverage.
 
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randomkid

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In direct answer to your question, the £80 price leap from 6950 to 6970 is not worth it. I have considered it before & end up getting the 6950 myself. I have the option to unlock shaders but does not have to.

Noting that you are only 16, I would not be carried away to suggest any extreme GPU & would just recommend for ways to optimize your current rig performance with minimum expense.

1. What the monitor resolution you are currently playing at? If you are not playing at 1920x1080 or greater, the 6850 should be fine.
2. You did not put your motherboard specifications. If it supports crossfire, I would suggest that you consider getting another 6850 for the following reasons:
a. It offers the least investment & does not depend on your being able to sell your existing 6850.
b. The performance of 2x6850 is better than a single 6950
c. Your 550W can support 2x6850 (each have only 1xPCIe 6PIN power requirement).
But if your motherboard does not support crossfire, try overclocking your 6850. You could still squeeze some juice into it to meet your gaming need depending on your monitor resolution.


 
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twofatslugs

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I thank everyone for there replies and the mass amount I've got :D I've decided to get the 7850 and will be ordering one next week. Can I ask, will my PSU Cope? It's listed on the top post. If I do have the money in the end, I'll buy a 7870.

Thanks again people :)
 
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diec4st

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Just set everything @ MAX and MSAA @ 0x and your game will look splendid and your FPS will be incredible. You wouldn't notice 4x AA @ 1680x1050 anyways. See you oin the Battlefield ;)
 
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