AlexJakes

Honorable
Jun 10, 2012
28
0
10,530
I found this gigabyte gtx 560 card:
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=43_557_559&item_id=040164

and this sapphire 6870:
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=43_557_558&item_id=043593

what my question is, is there a real noticeable difference between the two cards, enough to justify spending a but more for the sapphire 6870?
also, are gigabyte and sapphire good gpu brands? I've heard xfx is one of the best because of its warranty, do sapphire and gigabyte have a good warranty as well? I've checked benchmarks and gpureview as well, and price for performance, 6870 is better than gtx 560, but I don't know if the difference is that noticeable. Also, I eventually plan on running sli or crossfirex, which one is better? Sorry for all the questions, this will be my first video card that I buy. Thanks.

Specs:
CPU: i5 2500k
PSU: OCZ 750W
Mobo: GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3
 
Solution

fantastik250

Distinguished
Both cards are nearly matched

perfrel.gif


It comes down to price. Both are clocked higher to 20 MHz from the reference stocks.
Gigabyte GTX 560 (830 MHz). Reference GTX 560 (810 MHz)
Sapphire 6870 (920 MHz). Reference GTX 6870 (900 MHz)

So do these higher clocks matter? Only a little bit. Both cards will roughly have the same performance.

So, the best card for your money from what you listed is the Gigabyte GTX 560.

The scaling for crossfire is generally better in AMD cards.
 



1. difference is pretty small, nvidia has professional work bonus and a currently slightly more stable driver as well as ability to use physx and nvidias slight edge on some games optimized for nvidia cards. amd usually has the price to performance ratio correct and since their drivers are not always the best, a good driver will show an fps improvement(for example look at toms 7970 ghz edition review)
2. yes, gigabyte makes both amd and nvidia gpus of good quality. though on some of their models, they really need to tune down the number of fans they use(im looking at you 5 fan gigabyte model). Sapphire is the most gpu # turning for amd, as they make the most varients of a gpu(you can find sapphire making normal, OC edition, vapor-x, toxic and ultimate versions of some cards)
3. crossfire in general scales better
 
Solution