Crossfire AMD 6870 gpu or single gtx 570 1.25 gb

I would go with the 570 you should get the single best card you can get if that is the 570 pull the trigger  

I'm Gonna be buying my friends's 6870 over the weekend and Crossfiring with my current 6870, It will be cheaper for you to do the same and will Kill a 570 , Only problems is Micro-stuttering and all the isssues that come in with CF/SLI.

It depends on how cheap you can get the other 6870.

If you can get the 6870 for $100 or less, it's a good deal. Otherwise, I'd suggest EVGA's 480. Same performance as the 570 for $50 cheaper. It's $210 on newegg; $200 from tigerdirect if you live out-of-state from their brick and mortar stores so you don't have to pay sales tax.

....though if you can swing $250, the 7850 is another option. Same performance as 480/570, but runs cooler and uses half the power.

Since most of those options are based on older cards, and since getting the second 6870 for crossfire is the cheapest investment for the best performance, I'd get that. It'd be one thing if you were getting a brand new, efficient, higher-VRAM card, but if you're not considering that route, the second 6870 wins. Otherwise, move up to a 7850 (very good card), which is more efficient, highly overclockable, and gives you 2GB of VRAM along with more possibility to crossfire later.

Here's an example of a broad comparison of crossfired 6870s to a 570: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/301?vs=306

In all the benches I've seen, as well as Tom's own ranking charts (both cards are in the same tier), the 480 and 570 are so close as to make disputes about performance differences ludicrous. EVGA cards have a lifetime warranty, so the 480 is completely covered.

The 570 draws a bit less power, but because of the price difference, it would take 3-4 years for the 570 to make up in electricity savings. The 7850 draws much less power and is the same price as the 570. It would make up the cost difference between it and the 480 in about a year.

Based on all evidence available to me, I don't see any reason to recommend the 570. What is it you like about it?

I recently added a 2nd 6870 and it rocks! Micro-stutter? Not that I ever noticed.

You cited power consumption when you were comparing the 570 to CF 6870's, so I'm confused that you're saying "who cares?" now. I, for one, care about power consumption. It's possible that others do as well, so to exclude it from a conversation about which video card to recommend would be irresponsible until the OP chimes in whether or not it's a concern for him.

I have neither card, and I'm glad you got so much performance out of your 570. However, it is still one 570 and one 480 you're referring to. That's anecdotal evidence. I'm sure you're aware that every video card, even two 570's of the same make and model, will overclock differently. Ditto for every other GPU (and CPU). Therefore, the statistical evidence gathered from several reviewers with several 480's and 570's is stronger than the evidence from a single instance of one 570 and one 480.

Just defending my original point that I can't see any reason to buy a 570 right now.

Statistically, 480 is equal in performance and cheaper to buy.
7850 is equal in performance and price, but uses less power.

Of course, if the OP can get the 6870 cheaply, this is all moot  

I already covered if you're going to spend another $30-50 over the 480, you may as well get a 7850. It's cooler then the 570; it uses less power than the 570, it give the same performance as the 570, and it's he same price as the 570.

$200 - 480 most performance for the $
$240 - 7850 coolest, and lowest power usage
$240 - 570 - not the highest performace, nor the coolest, nor the least power usage.

there's just no spot where the 570 makes sense. For any reason you'd back the 570, either the 480 or the 7850 will be better.

Seeing as you already have a 6870 the best bet is just to buy another one. It will suffice for single display gaming but when you start to get into higher res gaming, the vram will crap on you.

Best answer selected by handyjarhead.