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Graphics card upgrade: GeForce GTX 570 or Radeon 6970?

Lee Davies

Lee Davies

Lee Davies

Associate
Joined
7 Nov 2004
Posts
116
Location
Brighton, UK
I'm looooooooong overdue an upgrade (having an XFX Geforce 7800 GT, that finally went capput yesterday), and I'm now looking at what to upgrade to.

My price range is around £300.

I've been looking at the Radeon 6970, and the GeForce GTX 570, and can't decide.

Not intending to start a flame war, but how can one card (GeForce) offer half the amount of RAM, slow memory (that I can see) than the ATI card? Is it because the GeForce has PhysX?

Are there any other cards you'd recommend?

Again, I'm not after a flame war - it's just been a while since I've looked in to graphics cards and my knowledge isn't great. Or indeed, existant.
 
You cant compare the numbers of the 2 cards as they are built with completely different architectures

Performance Comparison

Also you should be aware, its possible to buy a 6950 and "unlock" it to a 6970, see the thread at top of page re this, potentially giving you greater performance for less money, though the price difference is much less now than it was originally anyway
 
Yeah, I've been reading about the different cards and ways to unlock the "lesser" card.

But, to be honest, anything is better than my current card!
 
First thing first...what's the spec for the rest of your system?

Judging that you are coming from a GeForce 7800GT, it does make us wonder if you are using something like a 5 years old PC, and it that was the case, it would be a bad idea to pair it up with a new £270-£300 graphic card.
 
The rest of the PC is fairly modern, upgraded a year ago to Intel i7 2.6GHz and 6GB RAM :)

I just didn't have enough cash to upgrade a graphics card at the same time.

I had hoped it'll last until at least summer - for Skyrim - but it seems the fates have decided to reward me with an upgrade in time for Portal 2...
 
You can get 2 x 6950s which flash to 6970s for £378 if you know where to look :)

Ooooh surely you can strech to another £80 for such a bargain!

I hope me giving a price isn't against the rules it's just they are such a bargain you'd be mad not to if you knew about it.

Obviously 1 is only £190 - 6970 speeds for £190 can't beat it :)
 
hernaldo said:
You can get 2 x 6950s which flash to 6970s for £378 if you know where to look :)

Ooooh surely you can strech to another £80 for such a bargain!

I hope me giving a price isn't against the rules it's just they are such a bargain you'd be mad not to if you knew about it.

Obviously 1 is only £190 - 6970 speeds for £190 can't beat it :)
Click to expand...
Except you are not factoring in the cost a new PSU, as anything less than a decent 750W won't be enough to handle them. And with the Gigabyte GTX480 SOC which is cooler running and quieter than the reference 6950, almost as fast as a GTX580 out of the box now for just £240, people would have to be crazy to get a 6950.
 
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