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Man...480 or 5950 >.<

Hady

Hady

Hady

Associate
Joined
14 Dec 2009
Posts
75
Hey guys im having some real trouble deciding which card to buy, I did some research and thought that the best card to buy would be the GTX 480 out on pre order atm (£195), after some thinking I changed my mind cancelled and ordered an ATI 6950 (£205) with the intention of unlocking it to a full 6970.

Do you guys think I have made the right choice?, Sorry if this question has been answered before in previous threads but im finding it a little difficult to find definitive answers.
 
480 needs more power but is ultimately faster.

...yes I know that most 6950's will flash and run at/close to 6970 speeds but GTX480's generally overclock much better than 6970's anyway.
 
If there is any difference between the 6950 with shaders unlocked and overclocked, and the 480 overclocked, both on stock coolers, it will be negligible.

I went for the 6950 also, amidst fears of power consumption and noise of the 480.
 
6644kp said:
6950 cos it can unlock and is a current gen card but it really doesnt matter which one you choose
Click to expand...
They are both current gen / DX11 cards. GTX480 is a partially disabled GTX580 in the same way that 6950 is a partially disabled 6970. The 580 offers no new features over the 480. Infact, the 580 should really have been called the GTX485, like the 6800's should have been 6700's and the 6900's should have been called 6800's etc...

6950 @ stock = GTX560 @ stock
6970 @ stock (or fully unlocked 6950) = GTX570/GTX480 @ stock
6970 overclocks by ~10% / GTX570 & GTX480 overclock by ~20%

Overclocked the 480 is faster than an overclocked 6970 within almost every game at most resolutions. 6950's do not tend to overclock as well as 6970's making them even slower when overclocked. Period.

AMD pushed the 6970 close to it's limits so that it could match the GTX480. The only benifits the 6900's have are the 2GB fram buffere and Eyefinity, but these is only useful at extremely high resolutions or when using 3 or more montors (which excludes 99% of people). For those using 1920x1200 or lower, the GTX480 is better value, so long as your PSU supports it.

For £195 or thereabouts nothing comes close to the GTX480. Out of the box it provides single GPU performance that can only be beaten by the GTX580 at twice the price. It offers GTX570/6970 performance for £70 less, and you do not have to flash or tinker to get it.

If cool and quiet running is critical, best avoid both the 480 and 6900 cards as they can get annoying under load. The GTX560 & 570 cards run cooler and quieter and offer decent performance.
 
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Some of the newer 6950's cannot be unlocked. It seems AMD may have bolted the stable door and laser cut the shaders on recent batches.
 
555BUK said:
6950 @ stock = GTX560 @ stock
6970 @ stock (or fully unlocked 6950) = GTX570/GTX480 @ stock
6970 overclocks by ~10% / GTX570 & GTX480 overclock by ~20%

Overclocked the 480 is faster than an overclocked 6970 within almost every game at most resolutions. 6950's do not tend to overclock as well as 6970's making them even slower when overclocked. Period.
Click to expand...

I don't agree with your overclocking analysis of the 6950 fully unlocked and @ 6970 stock voltage. A lot higher than 10%. It's 20% including the voltage increase, 25% overclock for a little more voltage as I can reach 1Ghz on the core. But, 10% on stock voltages for the 6950 and 10% for the stock voltage of the 6970.

The average 6970 overclock is 950/975 which I also get with 1.175v and unlocked shaders.

Also 6950s don't overclock as well as 6970s?. I disagree again. 6950 at 1.1v vs 1.175v of the 6970. Of course the 6950 is going to have a limitation :p.

So by what you've wrote so far, the GTX 480 will overclock on average 20% without a voltage increase?. If this is true then that's a deal breaker for me but if you would have to have better cooling or to add voltages to reach that 20% overclock then it seems to be that you've been less than accurate in your assumption.

I'm not looking for a debate. I just don't agree with what you've wrote due to owning this card and messing around with overclocking and voltage play.
 
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