Which graphics card?

2011-06-19 21:14:34

#1

eusgen: Nugget; +402|7046|Jupiter

I am currently looking to purchase a new graphics card for a PCI express 2.0 MB setup. I am positive a 1GB 256 bit graphics card will do just fine. My problem is I want to make sure I am getting the best bang for my buck. I am not the most understanding when it comes to what is better than the other. I really just compare numbers on newegg and which has the best core clock/streaming processors/effective memory clock.

From what I have been researching for the past week. This MTX 460 GTX Hawk Talon is only $175 (+40 MIR = only 135!!). A similar version http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6814127510 looks more expensive and has worse specs at almost $200

I really want to snatch this while it looks like a great price and good specs. Just looking for some criticism before I waste my hard earned cash.

Thanks!

2011-06-19 21:18:09

#2

GR34: Member; +215|6798|ALBERTA> CANADA

6970. i has. i love.

2011-06-19 21:26:42

#3

eusgen: Nugget; +402|7046|Jupiter

GR34 wrote:
6970. i has. i love.

Are they all PCI 2.1?

And at their price (300-350) I might as well just SLI 2 of the cards I initially wanted anyways right? What are the advantages or disadvantages of a 1gb+1gb SLI over say the single 2gb card?

Last edited by eusgen (2011-06-19 21:28:38)

2011-06-19 21:34:13

#4

max: Vela Incident; +1,652|6821|NYC / Hamburg

Not all mobos will do SLI
GPU memory size generally doesn't matter
What PCIe version the card / mobo is doesn't matter. Anything will work with anything

_{once upon a midnight dreary, while i pron surfed, weak and weary, over many a strange and spurious site of ' hot xxx galore'. While i clicked my fav'rite bookmark, suddenly there came a warning, and my heart was filled with mourning, mourning for my dear amour, " 'Tis not possible!", i muttered, " give me back my free hardcore!"..... quoth the server, 404.}

2011-06-19 21:40:22

#5

Little BaBy JESUS: m8; +394|6402|'straya

What is your budget?

As for the disadvantages of SLI/crossfire. The increase in performance depends a lot on the game and the drivers. On some games you might only see a 20% performance increase, on others you might see a 80% increase. Problems can also arise with drivers and certain games/ programs not "liking" dual cards. Dual cards also use a lot more power and require a better/more expensive power supply. Also, depending on your case there can be airflow/overheating problems (overcome by buying better cases/better coolers on the cards). You also generally need to fork out more money for a good performing SLI/crossfire compatible motherboard.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/292?vs=314

As you can see in this benchmark SLI GTX460s do outperform the HD6970 in most games, but you can also see the increase in power usage, noise and temperatures. You've just got to weigh up the pros/cons of each.

Last edited by Little BaBy JESUS (2011-06-19 21:41:11)

2011-06-19 21:47:32

#6

Jaekus: I'm the matchstick that you'll never lose; +957|5432|Sydney

If you're considering a 6970 over SLI/crossfire, get the 6970. You then only have to worry about a single card, and down the track you have the option of crossfiring it with another 6970.

2011-06-19 21:49:27

#7

CC-Marley: Member; +407|7082

Used to think my 4870x2 was the bomb.

2011-06-19 23:41:49

#8

unnamednewbie13: Moderator; +2,053|7025|PNW

eusgen wrote:
I really want to snatch this while it looks like a great price and good specs. Just looking for some criticism before I waste my hard earned cash.

Thanks!

Without saying much else, the plain GTX 560's are the same price. ~$50 more for the 560 TI's. I usually don't consider mail-in rebates, because you don't always get them. And even with the rebate, AMD cards offer some heavy competition at that price range.

2011-06-20 07:51:54

#9

Finray: Hup! Dos, Tres, Cuatro; +2,629|6042|Catherine Black

Jaekus wrote:
If you're considering a 6970 over SLI/crossfire, get the 6970. You then only have to worry about a single card, and down the track you have the option of crossfiring it with another 6970.

2011-06-20 09:08:57

#10

eusgen: Nugget; +402|7046|Jupiter

So I'm just dumb and PCI Express 2.1 is supposed to work in 2.0 slots? I am confused.

2011-06-20 09:18:39

#11

alexb: <3; +590|6193|Kentucky, USA

eusgen wrote:
So I'm just dumb and PCI Express 2.1 is supposed to work in 2.0 slots? I am confused.

A 2.1 PCIEX will work in a 2.0 slot... it will just run at 2.0. A 2.1 will run in a 1.0 slot too, and so forth. They are backward compatible.

2011-06-20 10:06:42

#12

eusgen: Nugget; +402|7046|Jupiter

alexb wrote:
eusgen wrote:
So I'm just dumb and PCI Express 2.1 is supposed to work in 2.0 slots? I am confused.
A 2.1 PCIEX will work in a 2.0 slot... it will just run at 2.0. A 2.1 will run in a 1.0 slot too, and so forth. They are backward compatible.

Oh thank you. I was trying to find a 2.1 mobo but i guess I was just not searching the right criteria on newegg cause I didn't find any lol.

2011-06-20 11:56:18

#13

alexb: <3; +590|6193|Kentucky, USA

There isn't a performance difference between 2.1 and 2.0, and if I'm not mistaken, the difference between 2.0 and 1.0 is not noticeable.

2011-09-20 11:34:11

#14

eusgen: Nugget; +402|7046|Jupiter

Okay it is time to buy this bad bitch and I still havn't decided on which one to get, HELP BF2S! I really want to spend less than $200 on the card and get best performance. Will spend up to $250ish though if you can convince me.

2011-09-20 14:07:12

#15

Little BaBy JESUS: m8; +394|6402|'straya

Under $200 your best option would be a HD6870

such as this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6814102948

If you raised your budget, the next best option would be a HD6950

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6814161368

That said, the HD6870 is a nice card, whether the HD6950 is worth it really depends on what games you want to play and at what resolution.

2011-09-20 14:12:44

#16

eusgen: Nugget; +402|7046|Jupiter

Little BaBy JESUS wrote:
Under $200 your best option would be a HD6870

such as this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6814102948

If you raised your budget, the next best option would be a HD6950

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6814161368

That said, the HD6870 is a nice card, whether the HD6950 is worth it really depends on what games you want to play and at what resolution.

what you think about this one? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6814150563

2011-09-20 14:15:33

#17

Little BaBy JESUS: m8; +394|6402|'straya

eusgen wrote:
Little BaBy JESUS wrote:
Under $200 your best option would be a HD6870

such as this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6814102948

If you raised your budget, the next best option would be a HD6950

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6814161368

That said, the HD6870 is a nice card, whether the HD6950 is worth it really depends on what games you want to play and at what resolution.
what you think about this one? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6814150563

That's a good card, but you really don't need the 2GB version unless you are running a very high resolution (above 1920x1200). But it's your money and if you want to spend the extra on the 2GB version then by all means go for it, it's a nice card.

2011-09-20 15:11:19

#18

RTHKI: mmmf mmmf mmmf; +1,741|6990|Cinncinatti

got the xfx 6870, works great; cant max crysis 2 in dx11 but meh

2011-09-20 17:43:33

#19

eusgen: Nugget; +402|7046|Jupiter

But would the 2gb model help with 2 monitors? Or would 1gb be ok?

2011-09-20 18:24:51

#20

eusgen: Nugget; +402|7046|Jupiter

Little BaBy JESUS wrote:
eusgen wrote:
Little BaBy JESUS wrote:
Under $200 your best option would be a HD6870

such as this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6814102948

If you raised your budget, the next best option would be a HD6950

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6814161368

That said, the HD6870 is a nice card, whether the HD6950 is worth it really depends on what games you want to play and at what resolution.
what you think about this one? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6814150563
That's a good card, but you really don't need the 2GB version unless you are running a very high resolution (above 1920x1200). But it's your money and if you want to spend the extra on the 2GB version then by all means go for it, it's a nice card.

So would 2gb be good for a dual monitor setup?

or would this be better? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6814150523

Last edited by eusgen (2011-09-20 18:28:13)

2011-09-20 21:24:55

#21

eusgen: Nugget; +402|7046|Jupiter

On another note, do I have to SLI video cards? Could I run one 8600gts and a 6870? Could I run a 8600gts and a 560ti? how would that work and does it need to be "SLI" (I have never done this)? I want to run 2 monitors and am wondering the best way to keep performance on one monitor while using the other to watch temps, surf webz, etc.

2011-09-21 04:04:29

#22

Camm: Feeding the Cats.; +761|5221|Dundee, Scotland.

eusgen wrote:
On another note, do I have to SLI video cards? Could I run one 8600gts and a 6870? Could I run a 8600gts and a 560ti? how would that work and does it need to be "SLI" (I have never done this)? I want to run 2 monitors and am wondering the best way to keep performance on one monitor while using the other to watch temps, surf webz, etc.

you have to have two of the same graphics cards. you couldn't run an 8600gts and a 6870 because the 8600 is nVidya and the 6870 is amd. You can use the 8600gts in conjunction with a 560ti to do physx, but only a handful of games support it.

remember - crossfire = amd
sli = nVidia

you can run two monitors off of on card. any more than that and you need two cards if nvidia, unless you get a 590, or an amd card.

i run three monitors, my primary for gaming, a secondary coming off of my 460, and a tertiary coming off of an old 8400gs

for a fatty you're a serious intellectual lightweight.

2011-09-21 08:49:48

#23

eusgen: Nugget; +402|7046|Jupiter

So my motherboard is
(2) PCI Express 2.0 x16 - 2: (x16, x4)

I could use a 560ti in the x16 slot for gaming, and the 8600gts in the x4 slot for surfing, etc.? Thanks again Camm.

2011-09-21 10:06:17

#24

Camm: Feeding the Cats.; +761|5221|Dundee, Scotland.

eusgen wrote:
So my motherboard is
(2) PCI Express 2.0 x16 - 2: (x16, x4)

I could use a 560ti in the x16 slot for gaming, and the 8600gts in the x4 slot for surfing, etc.? Thanks again Camm.

doest really matter where you stick the other one, as long as you put it in a pcie slot

for a fatty you're a serious intellectual lightweight.

2011-09-21 11:50:02

#25

eusgen: Nugget; +402|7046|Jupiter

Camm wrote:
eusgen wrote:
So my motherboard is
(2) PCI Express 2.0 x16 - 2: (x16, x4)

I could use a 560ti in the x16 slot for gaming, and the 8600gts in the x4 slot for surfing, etc.? Thanks again Camm.
doest really matter where you stick the other one, as long as you put it in a pcie slot

Cool thanks again, just ordered http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6814130604

BF2S Forums Which graphics card?

GR34 wrote:

eusgen wrote:

Jaekus wrote:

eusgen wrote:

alexb wrote:

eusgen wrote:

Little BaBy JESUS wrote:

eusgen wrote:

Little BaBy JESUS wrote:

Little BaBy JESUS wrote:

eusgen wrote:

Little BaBy JESUS wrote:

eusgen wrote:

eusgen wrote:

Camm wrote:

eusgen wrote:

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