Another theoretical video card purchace.

[load81]

There must be bias in all the forums then because I visit TPU and [H]ardForum a lot and the 6950 2GB is consistently brought up when people are considering buying a graphics card within the OP's budget.

The fact of the matter is the 6950 2 GB is a damn good value and it makes the GTX 570 and AMD 6970 look kind of silly to demand a price premium. Even if the card doesn't unlock, the clocks are guaranteed to go upto at least 6970 levels where it would be around 3% slower overall and still cost $250ish.

I understand that and if I was trying to save money I would get the 6950 also. But the OP said he wanted the faster card even if it wasn't worth it to some but people kept piling on after that.

 

[badb0y]

I understand that and if I was trying to save money I would get the 6950 also. But the OP said he wanted the faster card even if it wasn't worth it to some but people kept piling on after that.

He said multiple times that he is torn with the decision if it was as clear cut as you make it he would have bought the card already so obviously money is a concern for him. On top of that he is considering a PSU with his purchase which is straining his budget, if he was to save a couple of dollars on the video card he would be able to buy other component(s) he needs to upgrade.

 

[Mistwalker]

I do think the 6950 is a better value, but if the OP prefers performance to price the 570 is definitely the way to go (especially at 1080p).

At a $10 difference there is no way a 570 isn't the better purchase, at a $55 difference...I'd really suggest taking RussianSensation's advice and looking at which games you play and how they perform on either company's tech.

If time isn't a concern hold out for a good 570 deal, they do pop up now and then.

 

[3DVagabond]

When it's all said and done gaming performance for the 570 and 6950 are going to be indistinguishable at his res. It's not rocket science. If the OP doesn't want to save the cash, let him get the 570 and be happy with it.

I'm not trying to be insulting to the OP, either. If your preference is the 570, go ahead and get it. If you don't get the one you want you'll likely never be happy with it and be looking to replace it sooner rather than later anyway. There are a lot of reasons people make the choices they do. There's subjective considerations, etc...

 

[Skurge]

I understand that and if I was trying to save money I would get the 6950 also. But the OP said he wanted the faster card even if it wasn't worth it to some but people kept piling on after that.

I will say the 570 is faster, if money was no object I would go for that too, but the thing is the OP says the extra money is not a big deal, then in another post he nit picks about small differences in price. Like when russian recommended the 6950+750w combo.

So I'm not sure anymore. OP should just get a 580 and be done with it

 

[dpodblood]

Well no deals on the GTX570 cards.

There is a nice deal on the Antec 650 Modular PSU for only $40. Combine that with a Gigabyte HD6950 2GB for $255 for a Sum of $295. Alternatively, you can pick up 2x HD6950s CF + Antec 650 Modular = $560. Power consumption of a full system with 2x HD6950s is ~ 480 Watts. So $50 more than what you intended to spend you can get a setup that will be 60-80% faster.

If you prefer NV, there is also a GTX560 Ti card for only $200. So 2 x 560 cards + Antec PSU package will be ~ $460.

Russian; do you think the Antec 650 PSU would be enough to power 6950's in crossfire if I ever wanted to go that route? Apparently that PSU is a 4 rail design, as opposed to the single rail design of the XFX. Does that make a big difference?

 

[dpodblood]

I will say the 570 is faster, if money was no object I would go for that too, but the thing is the OP says the extra money is not a big deal, then in another post he nit picks about small differences in price. Like when russian recommended the 6950+750w combo.

So I'm not sure anymore. OP should just get a 580 and be done with it

Haha I would love to have a 580, but that card seriously is out of the budget . Yeah maybe it doesn't make sense the way I am nitpicking cost in some areas and not in others. I'm going to take another look over my options today, and look at some benchmarks for myself. I really appreciate everyone's input, and will take further input into consideration.

 

[happy medium]

Msi gtx570 for 310$

2 Free games
20$ gift card
free 3d mark 11 advanced edition

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=58683

With a OCZ 1000 watt , 82% efficiency, 80 amp 12v rail (single rail which is better) for 50$AR
If you wanna go sli'ed gtx570's later it has the power.

http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=58...y&promoid=1293

Buy the gtx570 first, use the 20$ gift card for the power supply.
That means you pay 310$ for the gtx570, with free games, and 3d mark 11 advanced edition.
And only 30$ for the power supply after using the gift card from the gtx570.

Thats 340$ total for
the gtx570
2 free games
free copy of 3d mark advanced edition
and a good 1000 watt psu that will support sli'ed gtx570's in the future.

Thats my final and best offer.

OR
Russians $300 setup with a weaker power supply, slower card, no games and no 3d mark 11 for benching.

 

[dpodblood]

That's a nice offer Happy, but there's no way I can justify buying an OCZ power supply. That's just ewww.

 

[happy medium]

That's a nice offer Happy, but there's no way I can justify buying an OCZ power supply. That's just ewww.

Then buy another power supply and use the 20$ gift card from the gtx570.
Mabe the one Russian linked too. You are not gonna sli gtx570's or x-fire 6950's, there will be new cards out in 9 months, that use less power and be much faster.
You still save 20 bucks either way.

gtx570 310$
2 free games
free copy of 3d mark 11

Use the gift card for the Antec 650 watt psu makes the psu 20$

Thats 330$ for the faster gtx 570, 2 games, 3d mark and psu vs 300$ for the slower 6950 and psu.

ARe you really gonna worry about 30$ for a faster card and 2 free games?

 

[dpodblood]

Hate to bump this thread, but I just found this deal on the new NCIX sales:

PNY GTX 560Ti ~$200 after MIR?

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?s...c&promoid=1293

That seems like a pretty smokin' deal to me. What do you all think?

 

[bryanW1995]

It would be hard for me to pick the 6950 over the 570 at this price. The cheapest 2GB 6950 I can find is $260 after MIR (see below) making the price difference only $10.

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?s...ustomerReviews

don't compare past prices of one with current price of another. 6950 2gb has been as low as $229 AR, so there is still a hefty theoretical price difference btwn the cards. having said that, you clearly want the 570 so that's the route you should go.

 

[bryanW1995]

14fps, thats no difference? 57 fps vs 71 fps. Remember thats an average framerate, I'm sure the 6950 drops in to the 40's in that game. Try to play online it will drop further.

wrong resolution

 

[bryanW1995]

I can afford a Porsche but i drive a Prius My road penis might not be bigger but i still get from point A to point B just fine.

I'm gonna have to use that in the sales mtg tomorrow... "Men, make sure that your customers all maximize their road penises!!!"

 

[bryanW1995]

So let's summarize our findings:

You can either get an XFX 6950 2GB card, which comes with a modular Corsair HX-750Watt PSU --> that combo costs $465. In this case, you get a much better power supply (it achieved a Gold rating, has a 7 year warranty, and is extremely quiet) and a videocard with a lifetime warranty. This deal requires 1 rebate only.

On the other hand, you either get a $524 combo which has an NV card that's only ~3% faster at 1080P and an inferior quality power supply. Both of the PSU and the videocard have worse warranties to boot and require 2 rebates to just get down to these prices. Alternatively, the exact same thing for $537 on Newegg....is an even bigger price difference.

And consider also that taxes are charged PRE-rebate in Canada.

OP has already stated his 570 preference, but I can definitely say that that hx 750 is a GREAT psu. well, technically I only have an hx 520 and hx 620, but those two are unbelievably quiet and overall outstanding units. my 620 did crap out a few years ago, but it went all by itself without any collateral damage, I pound the crap out of all components with 24/7/365 DC abuse, and yellowbeard (yes they have an actual rep with an account here at AT) helped me get the replacement back within a week.

That's a nice deal, but it can be beat without using the combo if I stick with the 650w. See my crappy excel sheet below (prices from NCIX):

whoops. I also have an xfx (750 or 850, don't remember which). it uses the exact same modular cables, and iirc it is also a seasonic unit and is nearly identical to the comparable highend corsair psu, including the unbelievably awesome fan. if you're only using one card then the xfx will be great, in fact it is great for 2 in most cases.

 

[bryanW1995]

Don't know if you decided yet, but you won't get a straight answer in this forum. That's why I probably won't participate in the "what card should I get" threads other than to say, go elsewhere for your answers. This forum is too jaded.
If you really look at all these posts carefully, each member cherry picks the info you are given to sway you to buy what they want you to buy. Sorry it has to be that way.

/keys

where's he gonna go for unbiased info? amdzone? evga forums? Certainly many members here are biased, but there has been quite a bit of general good advice in this thread. Most people would agree that a small % difference in performance that quite likely won't even be perceptible to the eye is not worth a 33% cost premium. however, for a relatively cost insensitive buyer like the OP, the $60 is quite possibly worth it. then, when he does actual research and discovers that it's more likely to be $40-50, that should (and did) sway him to buy the more expensive card. no conspiracy here, we can all remove our tinfoil hats. And if you want to attempt to paint russiansensation into a "pro-amd" corner, read his posts from last fall where he was raving about his awesome gtx 470 deal(s).

 

[bryanW1995]

Russian; do you think the Antec 650 PSU would be enough to power 6950's in crossfire if I ever wanted to go that route? Apparently that PSU is a 4 rail design, as opposed to the single rail design of the XFX. Does that make a big difference?

antec truepower is not bad, but I would get the xfx at least. If you want to do any overclocking + Dual card I would grab that corsair 750 instead, however.

Hate to bump this thread, but I just found this deal on the new NCIX sales:

PNY GTX 560Ti ~$200 after MIR?

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?s...c&promoid=1293

That seems like a pretty smokin' deal to me. What do you all think?

sorry to throw this on here, but my personal limit of # of posts in a row has been far exceeded already.

personally, I'd spend the $200 for gtx 560ti and $40 for the antec 650w psu. 560ti you could easily sli in the future on that psu as well if you wanted to. $240 total for a rig that you will honestly never notice the fps difference vs a 6950 or 570 anyway.

 

[dpodblood]

Front page updated with my choices. Thanks again everyone for all the help!

 

[RussianSensation]

Front page updated with my choices. Thanks again everyone for all the help!

:thumbsup: Enjoy your new setup.

 

[dpodblood]

:thumbsup: Enjoy your new setup.

Thanks! Now just gotta wait for those SB boards to be re-released to complete the rest of the rig!

 

[bryanW1995]

a recommend from jonnyguru is a big + for me on that psu.