Upgrade from GTX260 Core 216 in SLI

[nikolarun]

Hi All,
I am thinking about upgrading my 2x GTX260 Core 216 cards to something not as loud

On the shopping list are :

1x GTX 660 Ti for around £230
1x AMD 7950 for around £220-£230

The Rig :
Intel i7 860 @ stock ( can OC to 4ghz )
16gb RAM
120GB Micron C400 SSD
2x GTX260 Core 216 SLI @ Stock ( can OC quite a bit )
2x 24" Dell U2410s ( 3rd one may be on the way ).

I am mostly looking to run F1 2012. I am getting 60fps ( max ) average and 55fps minimum with everything maxed out , but it is very very noisy, cards are hitting 90+ Celsius. ( running the latest beta driver that supports SLI for F1 2012 ).

So looking to save a few quid from the power bill ( a great excuse to buy new hardware ), what would be the better card to get ? I am kind of leaning towards the AMD as it supports eyefinity and can be flashed to the new firmware.

I've seen quite a few benchmarks between the two, and they are close, but have no idea how they compare to my current set-up.

I remember that 2x gtx260s are roughly equal to 1x GTX480 in DX9 and DX10, but F1 2012 supports DX11.

Regards
Nick

 

[nikolarun]

I meant to say GTX460 instead of the GTX480

 

[mocchan]

Radeon HD7950 all the way

The GTX660 Ti is a stellar card, however, the crippled memory bit interface is a huge no-no. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-660-ti-memory-bandwidth-anti-aliasing,3283-11.html

You can see in that bench just how much it hurts the card when you crank up settings such as MSAA or AA.

The Radeon HD7950 also has a MASSIVE OC potential which makes it worth so much more than what it's priced at at the moment.

These cards are most likely cherry picked, however, it still gives you a good representation of what each card is capable of. http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/08/23/galaxy_gtx_660_ti_gc_oc_vs_670_hd_7950/3

 

[nikolarun]

Thanks , how would it compare to my GTX260s in SLI ?

 

[mocchan]

Single GTX260 216 core vs Radeon HD7950 @ stock - http://www.hwcompare.com/11501/geforce-gtx-260-core-216-vs-radeon-hd-7950/

That should give you a rough idea

 

[nikolarun]

Interesting, but no real tests, let alone with SLI.
Comparing to the GTX460 the AMD looks like the better card
So I might just for for one and sell the 260s

 

[Deemo13]

Those cards are pretty old.

What I would suggest before getting rid of them is taking them out of your computer and blowing the dust out of each of the cards. They probably have accumulated alot of dust and need to be cleaned for better airflow.

A can of compressed air should do the job. Might as well try it if you are getting rid of them anyway.

 

[nikolarun]

I did that not that long ago, dismantled the plastic etc.

This looks like a good deal, and to me it looks like a re-branded Sapphire card.

http://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/Other+products/ARIANET+Radeon+HD+7950+OC+3072MB+GDDR5+PCI-Express+Graphics+Card+%2B+2+FREE+Games!+?productId=51850&rqcType=c#rqc

 

[nikolarun]

it looks like I might need a second one to get decent FPS in eyefinity with 3x 1920x1200.

 

[Deemo13]

That just looks like a reference card to me. I would stay away from those, as the reference fan is quite loud and you are going for something more quiet.

Did you re-apply the thermal paste after you did it?

I would consider buying those cards if the price was right.

 

[nikolarun]

yep I did , arctic silver V if I'm not mistaken.
About the card, something with dual fans should do the trick, but pushing the price up to £250.

As for selling the cards , I had around £100 in mind, matched pair PNY

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Graphics+Cards+-+GPUs/Graphics+Cards+-+AMD/Radeon+HD+7950/XFX+Double+D+Radeon+HD+7950+3072MB+GDDR5+PCI-Express+Graphics+Card+%2B+2+FREE+Games!+?productId=52185

 

[nikolarun]

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/3gb-msi-radeon-hd-7950-twin-frozr-3gd5-v2-oc-5000mhz-gddr5-gpu-880mhz-1792-cores-dvi-hdmi-2x-mini-di

this looks good as well