ukdozer

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Sep 2, 2012
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Hello guys, this is my first time on the forum and i wondered if anyone could shine some light on my GPU upgrade options.

Ok i was using a HD5870 and it died on me, so i was going to buy another but but found that they are hard to come by for the right price. So back to my system specs:

Intel core i7 920 @ 4ghz
Asus Rampage 2 extreme motherboard (crossfire and sli supported)
6gb OCZ DDR3 1886mhz
240gb OCZ vertex 3 SSD
1050watt PSU

Ok some more information you may require:

This upgrade has to be based on battlefield3 gameplay for maximum settings (ultra).
I ONLY game at 1440x900 resolution.
I dont plan to go SLI/CROSSFIRE in the future (single slot solution only)
I will be overclocking the new GPU.


Budget: £250 MAX

I have had a look through 100s of forums and im hung between 660ti and hd7870. as they seem popular choice for my system but please guys any help would be great. Thanks

Adam
 

mousseng

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Apr 13, 2012
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Despite Radeon cards being some of the best value at the moment, if you're basing your decision off of BF3, it's gotta be the 660ti. Scroll down to the BF3 benches and see for yourself.

Even taking overclocking into consideration, it'll be the 660ti - the 7870 can OC to 7950 levels, and if you check their benches with the 7950/660ti, you'll see the GeForce still wins out in BF3.

That said, I'm sure either card will easily max out BF3 at 1440x900; but if you end up getting a 1080p monitor, the 660ti will handle BF3 best.
 

ukdozer

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Sep 2, 2012
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Thats great i was thinking the same but much rather have a second opinion. i dont plan to upgrade themonitor anytime soon so i think i will go for the 660ti. thanks dude :)
 

XXStavrosXX

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Aug 24, 2012
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Whle its true that BF3 works best with nVIDIA, at 1440x900 u can play on ultra settings the game with the excellent HD 7850 too, which is also much cheaper. nVIDIA hasn't got any competitive card in this price range other than the inferior 560Ti yet (even on BF3, see here http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-7870-review-benchmark,3148-6.html). It will cover u even when u upgrade your monitor for 1080p gaming. Paying for more expensive cards is not needed to fullfil your demands.
 

ukdozer

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Sep 2, 2012
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ok so because of the resolution been 1440x900 i dont need to spend another 50-70 pounds on a better gpu? roughly with my specs id like to see over 70fps on ultra maybe high 80s-90. my hd5870 ran smooth at 50-60 on ultra overclocked... i cant justify spending more money where i dont need to...also i will be getting blackops 2 and i cant see it been anywere near as demanding as bf3... what should i do guys lol is 7970 looking the better option for £50 less? thanks
 

Embra

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Are you keep your present monitor for a bit? The lower resolution is why you will not need to spend as much on a gpu. A 7850 puts you in the middle, so if you do upgrade to a 1080p monitor the card will perform well.

 

Thomas_89

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Mar 21, 2012
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I have the HD7850 and it performed very nicely in BF3. I play @ 1080p resolution and I had all settings on ultra, no AA 'n stuff I think. I didn't like BF3 so I'm not too sure cause it's been a while but I think it was around 40-50fps that I got. Singleplayer that is. I would never buy anything more expensive than an HD 7850 if you play at 1440x900. I can't seen any way to justify that honestly.

Hope this helps.
 

ukdozer

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Sep 2, 2012
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well some mixed opinions thanks guys, i think im going to just go 660ti as i do want to max the game out all together, who knows i change my mind to oftern lol considering your feedback i think i will stick to the 660ti as its in my budget, also i may consider upping my monitor to a 27inch 1080p i currently already own but my gf uses it as a tv lol sticking to my guns 660ti it is, thanks for your input guys mich appreciated :)