Reon 6870 vs. 6950 2GB

[Agent_Flandry]

I'm deciding between the two cards above as an upgrade for my computer I was planning on getting this Radeon 6870 for $140 post-rebate (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150521). However, there's currently a NewEgg sale for a 6950 2GB (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150549) that reduces its price post-rebate from $230 to about $200.

I know the 6950 is better, and I've gotten some vague sense of the difference from things like the comparison page at AnandTech, but I'd like to get some opinions before deciding. Is it worth the extra $60?

Some relevant information on me:

COMPUTER USAGE: Games, word processing with speech recognition software, internet browsing. Interested in games such as Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Crysis series, Skyrim, Warhammer: Space Marine, grand strategy games (e.g. Victoria II, Europa Universalis)

POWER SUPPLY: OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W

MOTHERBOARD: Asus M2N68-CM (PCI Express x16 connection is 1.0, in case that makes a difference)

CPU: Currently Athlon 7750, 2.7 GHz dual core. However, I am also strongly considering upgrading my CPU, most likely to the AMD Phenom II 955 (quad core, 3.2 GHz).

RAM: 4 gigabytes DDRAM2 PC2-6400

OVERCLOCKING: No

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: Main monitor is 1280x1024, also have a 1920x1080 HDTV I play games on

 

[mouse24]

Without upgrading the monitor/cpu the highest I would probably go would be a 6850/7750, the 6850 is still iffy because the cpu is just going to bottleneck everything.

But if you are gonna be upgrading the proc in the near future then I would just grab the 6870. The 6950 is nice, the extra frames help, they just aren't worth 60 bucks to me though.

 

[Chairman Ray]

The 6870 will be able to run all those games at max or close to max with good fps.

 

[firedice]

I'd put the extra cash in it. With some work the 6950 can be unlocked to become a 6970, plus you can overclock it. It's much more future-proof and will perform better on your 1080p display!

 

[Deemo13]

I'd put the extra cash in it. With some work the 6950 can be unlocked to become a 6970, plus you can overclock it. It's much more future-proof and will perform better on your 1080p display!

Actually, most of the 6950's sold now are not able to be unlocked. Only the very early models, like mine and some others that are mainly reference cards, could be unlocked. They have been laser cutting the shaders off of the cards, as opposed to just locking them.

You are correct about overclocking though, they do have a nice overclocking threshold.

EDIT: Forgot to add, the 6950 is a very good buy at that price.

 

[Agent_Flandry]

Best answer selected by Agent_Flandry.