Gtx 660 (2gb) vs 7850 (2gb)

[charzard]

I was wondering which of the following offered the best money to power ratio :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/EVGA-GeForce-GDDR5-Graphics-Card/dp/B0099AOD50/ref=sr_1_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1359402148&sr=1-2

or

http://www.amazon.co.uk/MSI-7850-Frozr-Graphics-PCI-E/dp/B007MUJI86/ref=sr_1_4?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1359402148&sr=1-4

My current graphics card is a hd 6870 , will I have to re-install the os or make any changes if I buy either of the cards (more the nvidia , as I'm assuming it's built on an alternate infrastructure) , for example will I need to remove drivers and such ?

Would either of the two work ok with a 500 w ocz psu and fx6100 processor ?

Also would I notice a significant difference from the hd6870 or should I think about upgrading my processor to a 3570k instead or something like that.

Cheers.

 

[sanilmahambre]

Yes HD6870 is still one of the value for money graphic card and performs even better when overclocked. HD6870 performs similar to 7850 when overclocked agressively.

Also buy a GPU cooler to avoid overheating.

You should rather upgrade your processor and 3570k is one of the best gaming processor with great overclock ability. buy a compatible Z77 mobo.

 

[neon neophyte]

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/660?vs=549

now one thing to keep in mind is that the 7850 has a lot more overclocking headroom than the 660.

after overclocking a 7850 will perform just slightly above that of a 7870. which looks something like this

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/660?vs=548

 

[Robert Pankiw]

I respectfully disagree with sanilmahambre. If your goal is gaming, you will be graphics bound before you are processor bound. The 660 is slightly better than the 7850 (how much is slightly depends on which driver versions you use. Sticking to reference clocks favours the 660).

If you upgrade your graphics, you will need to uninstall CCC and install the nvidia drivers if you get the 660. Don't expect any issues if you just get the 7850 (in terms of drivers).

Also of important note, to upgrade your processor, you'd need a new mother board too. That is a much more expensive upgrade (proc + mobo) whereas just graphics is $250 including shipping + tax, the 3570K is about that much too, plus $75-$125 for a motherboard.

If you have $350 to spend, get something like the 7950 (or nvidia equivalent, though AMD has the performance per dollar advantage right now in that price bracket).

The 3570k is better than the FX6100, but your graphics is holding you back well before your processor is going to.

 

[charzard]

I respectfully disagree with sanilmahambre. If your goal is gaming, you will be graphics bound before you are processor bound. The 660 is slightly better than the 7850 (how much is slightly depends on which driver versions you use. Sticking to reference clocks favours the 660).

If you upgrade your graphics, you will need to uninstall CCC and install the nvidia drivers if you get the 660. Don't expect any issues if you just get the 7850 (in terms of drivers).

Also of important note, to upgrade your processor, you'd need a new mother board too. That is a much more expensive upgrade (proc + mobo) whereas just graphics is $250 including shipping + tax, the 3570K is about that much too, plus $75-$125 for a motherboard.

If you have $350 to spend, get something like the 7950 (or nvidia equivalent, though AMD has the performance per dollar advantage right now in that price bracket).

The 3570k is better than the FX6100, but your graphics is holding you back well before your processor is going to.

Thanks , I'll probably upgrade my hd6870 - But why would I need to switch mobo's If I changed to 3570 k , what's wrong with taking fx6100 of my old m5a78l and re-installing windows with 3570k on ?

 

[neon neophyte]

because the sockets needed for those 2 cpus are different. your socket is am3+ and the socket needed for the intel offering is 1155. they require 2 seperate motherboards.

your upgrade path with that motherboard is restricted to amds offerings.