Upgrade from ATI 6950

[choccy_bar]

I have a AMD 6950 2GB and wonder if I should upgrade. I mostly play War Thunder, WOT/WOS etc, and a bit of Fall Out 4. What options do I have <£200 and would it be noticeable? I have i7 CPU quad core.

 

[Stuka87]

If you can wait until june, do so. New cards should be out by then. So you can either get them, or get a smoking deal on current generation cards.

For your budget, you should be able to find a 380X, which would be a giant upgrade from what you have now.

What size PSU do you have?

 

[GIS]

What size PSU do you have?

I also have the same GPU as the OP, XFX 6950 2gb.

I'm mostly play League of Legends, but there are few new games I want to play, XCOM2, The Flame in the Flood, The Banner Saga series, and Hard West.

For some reason, when I try to play Hard West on the 6950, my gpu temp gets to 93 degree Celsius, and the fan would spinning like an air blower.

I heard there are some optimization issues going on for Hard West. When I check my GPU load on HW monitor, it says 100% GPU load in game...

So, not sure what's going on with this crazy temp and gpu load, maybe I should re-paste the thermal compound since I have not replace the grease for 5 years since I got the card.

What do you guys think?

 

[DCSRM]

When considering GPU upgrades, it is important you figure out what you want out of the upgrade. Are the games unplayable/crash often? Are you moving to a higher resolution? I increased frame rate your goal?

These questions will dictate when or if you need an upgrade.

 

[Stuka87]

I also have the same GPU as the OP, XFX 6950 2gb.

I'm mostly play League of Legends, but there are few new games I want to play, XCOM2, The Flame in the Flood, The Banner Saga series, and Hard West.

For some reason, when I try to play Hard West on the 6950, my gpu temp gets to 93 degree Celsius, and the fan would spinning like an air blower.

I heard there are some optimization issues going on for Hard West. When I check my GPU load on HW monitor, it says 100% GPU load in game...

So, not sure what's going on with this crazy temp and gpu load, maybe I should re-paste the thermal compound since I have not replace the grease for 5 years since I got the card.

What do you guys think?

If other games are fine, I would not bother pulling it apart. Its most likely the type of load that game is putting on it. If the game has an option for vsync or frame limiting, try enabling that. It should drop the temps down.

 

[RussianSensation]

So, not sure what's going on with this crazy temp and gpu load, maybe I should re-paste the thermal compound since I have not replace the grease for 5 years since I got the card.

What do you guys think?

Regular dust cleaning is key for CPU heatsinks as well as GPU heatsinks. If you clean your parts rarely (i.e., once in 4-5 years), then might as well apply new thermal paste. Factory thermal paste is almost always garbage and even on a brand new 6950, a TIM swap would likely bring temps down 5-15*C alone.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/thermal-interface-roundup-1_12.html#sect0

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/thermal-interface-roundup-2_7.html#sect0

If you have Amazon Prime, it's hard to beat the value of Thermalright Chill Factor 3 for $6 with shipping.

I have a AMD 6950 2GB and wonder if I should upgrade. I mostly play War Thunder, WOT/WOS etc, and a bit of Fall Out 4. What options do I have <£200 and would it be noticeable? I have i7 CPU quad core.

If the card is performing to your expectations, then keep using it as GPUs keep getting cheaper over time. Otherwise, your best bet will be a discounted GTX970, R9 390 or upcoming Polaris 10/11 cards in that price range. Polaris cards are supposed to launch in June, while 390/970 will be discontinued around that time also. So you are almost there.

 

[tweakboy]

Get a 290 that will go well with your system. Make sure drivers are top legit latest drivers.. gl