Help with a tough decision!

[vshiftyv21]

Hello,
I've just ordered a bunch of parts to start my new build. I was on a sort of tight budget but anyways I ended up dropping $595.

*CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo
*MoBo: MSI Z77A-G41 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX
*G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
*HDD: Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
*Case: Corsair Carbide Series 400R Graphite grey and black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Gaming Case

Here is the difficult decision...I've been debating for a while on which GPU to get. I was pretty much dead set on a Sapphire Radeon 7950 HD but before I drop 315, I'd love to get some opinions maybe even some suggestions.

I'm mainly wanting to run Skyrim and maybe BF3, and I know these are both kind of demanding in the graphics department.

 

[cutebeans]

Get a 7870. The games aren't really that GPU intensive.

 

[g-unit1111]

Get a 7870. The games aren't really that GPU intensive.

Um... what? BF3 is extremely GPU intensive. Stick with the 7950.

 

[cutebeans]

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2012/03/05/amd-radeon-hd-7870-2gb-review/5

Don't worry bro. The 7950 isn't really worth it. Just get the 7870. You are just paying for a few FPS differences.

 

[g-unit1111]

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2012/03/05/amd-radeon-hd-7870-2gb-review/5

Don't worry bro. The 7950 isn't really worth it. Just get the 7870. You are just paying for a few FPS differences.

Really? You're paying $50 more for +3 FPS? That doesn't seem right. What driver version are they using for that test - is it 12.8 or better?

Never mind - I found out they're using the release driver. Of course that's going to happen. I bet if they revisited those numbers with 12.8 it would be way different.

 

[cutebeans]

Yeah =(. Of course, the higher you go the lower performance increases.

 

[cutebeans]

Really? You're paying $50 more for +3 FPS? That doesn't seem right. What driver version are they using for that test - is it 12.8 or better?

Never mind - I found out they're using the release driver. Of course that's going to happen. I bet if they revisited those numbers with 12.8 it would be way different.

Not really, the 7870 also got a boost with the updated drivers. Also, the 7870 is $190 after rebate while $280.

It's more or less $100 difference.

 

[g-unit1111]

Yeah =(. Of course, the higher you go the lower performance increases.

That's kind of true - especially since there's like no noticeable difference between the 670 and 680.

 

[g-unit1111]

Not really, the 7870 also got a boost with the updated drivers. Also, the 7870 is $190 after rebate while $280.

It's more or less $100 difference.

Yeah I noticed a huge price drop on the 7870. I picked a second one up for my system since they were so cheap.

 

[cutebeans]

Lol lucky you!

 

[vshiftyv21]

Wow, after reading that article. The $75 I'd be saving by going with the 7870 makes it totally worth it. I also read that if I was to overclock the card it would outperform the 7950. Cutebeans, thank you for saving me $75. lol

 

[cutebeans]

No problem! I saved you a lot of money ^__^!