New Graphics Cards

jpd1977uk · 21 Jun 2011 at 15:35

I'm looking to buy a new Graphics Cards. I have £180 MAX (Inc VAT) to spend.

I've been looking at this one
HIS ATI Radeon HD 6870 ICEQ X TURBO 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card

Any ideas on what to get?

Current System:
XFX ATI Radeon HD 4890 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (Current Card)

OCZ StealthXStream 2 600W Power Supply
OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter
Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache
Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit
Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H AMD 880G (Socket AM3) microATX DDR3 Motherboard
AMD Athlon II X4 Quad Core 640 3.00GHz
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit

Malk101 · 21 Jun 2011 at 15:43

Why not go for a 6950, price range is about the same (bit of postage) and slightly faster than a 6870:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-255-AS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1752

Or maybe:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-130-MS&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1341

Not sure if you can flash the 6950 to 6970 performance on the Asus cards someone else will probably tell you.

KMpuggy · 21 Jun 2011 at 15:44

I would say try and stretch it a little more and get a 6950 for £200.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-128-MS

Saying that i did pick up and asus one for £175 last week off that auction site, with the bios switch and unlockable to a 6970.

=XDC=FluphyBunny · 21 Jun 2011 at 19:13

6950's are the sweet spot if you can save a bit longer. They are starting to crop up second hand on the bay if you fancy your chances.

jpd1977uk · 15 Jul 2011 at 14:53

Right,I've narrowed it down to a choice of 3 card. Max budget still £180 Inc VAT.

Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 6950 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
£179.99 inc VAT

HIS ATI Radeon HD 6870 ICEQ X TURBO 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
£179.99 inc VAT

MSI ATI Radeon HD 6870 OC HAWK 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
£149.99 inc VAT

Im looking to buy sometime next week...

CptMorgans · 15 Jul 2011 at 20:17

Read some excellent reviews for the MSI 6870 Hawk, a great card at that price point, especially as it's MSI's top 6870, I've seen a lot of people getting ridiculous OC's out of them.

Although I'd certainly be tempted by http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-128-MS.

schnipps · 15 Jul 2011 at 20:23

The 6950 anyday over the 6870 http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/290?vs=331

Jony27 · 15 Jul 2011 at 20:34

have you considered the GTX 560Ti ?

bru · 15 Jul 2011 at 23:05

when a guy come on and says he has £180 max why oh why does everybody suggest dearer cards

two good choices the 560ti or 6950 1gb both available for £180

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/331?vs=330

Jony27 · 16 Jul 2011 at 00:05

i think everyone suggests a dearer card is because they may think its worth it to spend just a little more

daveash · 16 Jul 2011 at 11:59

560Ti, great cards for the money, in budget and they OC like a beast. /thread

shadow_boxer · 16 Jul 2011 at 12:09

+1 for GTX560Ti or save a bit more for a 2GB 6950.

HIS ATI Radeon HD 6870 ICEQ X TURBO isn't really very good value for money unless you really want all 3 games bundled. A 6870 can be had for more than £50 cheaper albeit without the games.

rankftw · 16 Jul 2011 at 12:48

Another vote for 560Ti, I've owned that card and it's super duper awesome.

Game · 17 Jul 2011 at 10:33

in a similer situation as you but with a 4870 vapor x keep being tempted but with the 7 series amd cards looming
and the next big grapics intense title i want to play being battlefield 3 at the end of oct i keep thinking waiting might be a good thing

lanzarobbie · 17 Jul 2011 at 10:54

imho i think its worth waiting.

jpd1977uk · 17 Jul 2011 at 11:49

I've got a bit more cash to spend (£200 Inc VAT max), and was thinking of this one...

Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 6950 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card

Your thoughts?

Jony27 · 17 Jul 2011 at 11:56

yup,definately go for it

. the MSI Twin Frozer III Power Edition was on offer for £200 until yesterday, you should try and overclock the CPU to prevent any bottleneck, if any.

jpd1977uk · 17 Jul 2011 at 12:06

Jony27 said:
yup,definately go for it . the MSI Twin Frozer III Power Edition was on offer for £200 until yesterday, you should try and overclock the CPU to prevent any bottleneck, if any.

Think I will, but I'll see what it is like when playing GTA 4 ect...
the rest of the hardware I'm getting is
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor
Asus P8P67 LE Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION **
Corsair Vengeance Blue 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev 2 CPU Cooler
Microsoft Windows 7 Bundle - Home Premium 64 Bit
- Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache
Samsung SH-S222AL/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA Lightscribe ReWriter (Black) - OEM

Jony27 · 17 Jul 2011 at 12:08

oh i thought you were going to go for the spec in the OP, and make sure you get the low profile vengeance as the normal ones might get in the way of some heatsinks.
you have a solid spec there.

jpd1977uk · 17 Jul 2011 at 12:13

Jony27 said:
oh i thought you were going to go for the spec in the OP, and make sure you get the low profile vengeance as the normal ones might get in the way of some heatsinks.
you have a solid spec there.

I've been looking around, the RAM is this one...

Hope the Graphics Card will be ok in my current Antec 902 Nine Hundred Two Ultimate Gaming Case and my current PSU, Corsair TX 650W ATX SLi Compliant, will be enough....