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6850 vs 6870

zZSuperNoodleZz

zZSuperNoodleZz

zZSuperNoodleZz

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Joined
6 Sep 2011
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28
Location
UK
I know this question keeps getting asked but I'm just getting more confused over the matter.
I get that the 6850 is better value especially when you overclock it but the 6870 is still better performance wise even at stocks?
Also could my psu even handle a 6870? I keep finding contradicting views on if it could?
And I would like to be able to play BF3 at 1920x1080, I know that no one really knows what will run BF3 but will it be a better bet?
And I'm pretty sure I'd get the Sapphire version of either card as they seem to be good value and a good name.
I've looked at so many benchmarks and reviews but I just keep getting more confused!
Anyone got any ideas?
 
Im not to sure on the sapphire version, but the MSI version of each card (6850 cyclone and 6870 hawk) can overclock like pros.
My friend has matched a 6870 at stock with this 6850, but another friend just edges a stock 6950 with his 6870.

I did have the Asus 6850 a few weeks back, but it didnt like to OC at all so sent it back and buying the MSI 6870 hawk next week.


Id say you could just get away with your PSU with the 6850, but Id upgrade if you plan on heavy OC or go for the 6870.
 
Rik1254 said:
Id say you could just get away with your PSU with the 6850, but Id upgrade if you plan on heavy OC or go for the 6870.
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A 500W PSU should be plenty good for the 6850. The 6850 is very low-power card, and I'm currently running it in Crossfire on a 600W PSU.
 
Rik1254 said:
Id say you could just get away with your PSU with the 6850, but Id upgrade if you plan on heavy OC or go for the 6870.
Click to expand...

125W CPU + 150W graphics card = 275W.

Unless the OP actually thinks he has 225W worth of motherboard, RAM, hard drives and peripherals (I would be surprised if they add up to 80!), his PSU is quite adequate for either card, even overclocked :) (The 6850 is about 25-30W less than its big brother.)


As for BF3 - of course you can RUN it. The question is whether you can MAX it, and that's not the same thing :) I've put my bet on a 6870 giving a mix of medium/high settings at 1920x1200 and looking all around fantastic. "Ultra" settings... are for people who spend more than I do on hardware :D
 
I've got a single XFX 6870 Black edition, it overclocks well and easily runs games at 1920x1080. I used to run it on a 500w PSU with no problems
 
lucarocks92 said:
the gtx 560 beats both of them, would be my card of choice anyway and it's around the same price.
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The only issue is that you two very decent games for free with most 6800's (Dirt 3 & Deus Ex), but only the mediocre Batman with NVidia's cards. The 6800 games bundle easily fetched £25-£30 if sold seperately, making the cards £100 bargains.

Personally, I would get a 6870 in this price range. I own two GTX480's at the moment so no bias.
 
If most people seem to think a 6870 would be okay on my psu I think that's what I'll be going for :)

I do like the look of the MSI 6870 Hawk and the XFX 6870 dual fan Black Edition, and with them already being overclocked I wouldn't have to really mess with anything unless something started to struggle, plus they should have better cooling than the Sapphire. There's also the HIS one with both games, don't really know much about HIS though.

I didn't think you could overclock 6870's much because I'd seen a Sapphire 6870 review and he hardly got anything out of it but it must just have been the card being Sapphire?:confused:

Regarding the GTX 560 forgive me if I'm wrong but I seem to remember hearing that it was the 6870 and the 560ti that were similar not the ordinary GTX 560 and obvs the 560ti cost nearly £200?

And I'm not fussed about maxing BF3, I just got quite paranoid when the recommended was a 6950 and usually recommended means minimum :D
 
Vanilla GTX560's and 6870's are pretty similar for both perfomance and power requirements. The GTX560 will overclock better, but the difference will not really be noticeable when gaming. The GTX560 is really just a slight update of the GTX460.

With it's unlocked shaders, a GTX560 TI is quite a bit faster than both the 6870 and GTX560 vanilla. The problem is that the TI costs almost as much as a 6950, in which case the 6950 is the better buy.

If you have ~£130 to spend, get a 6870. It seems to be the best priced mid-high end card available at the moment. It will play most games at 1920x1080 on high to ultta settings, and those that it cannot you just have to turn things down a notch.
 
Yeah pretty set on a 6870 now it's just which model!
MSI 6870 Hawk (£157.99) = Best cooler, least energy consumption.
XFX 6870 Back edition (around £150). Fastest, Quietest.
There's also the Ocuk one (£129.98) but not too sure how good that would be?
Any other models you guys think would be best please tell me!
 
Anyone got any reviews of the 6850 FLEX 2GB yet? what to know how nicely it runs 3 DVI monitors and if there are any issues?
 
This may help make your mind up, however, the cards are pretty close on the games that matter(Metro,Crysis etc.). I would choose on whether you want what Nvidia give(cuda,physx etc.)or Amd(? ).:D
 
zZSuperNoodleZz said:
I didn't think you could overclock 6870's much because I'd seen a Sapphire 6870 review and he hardly got anything out of it but it must just have been the card being Sapphire?:confused:
Click to expand...

I'm running my XFX Black Edition (reference design single fan) at 1010/1210/1225 using Sapphire Trixx, with no problems at all. I plan on getting another as the scaling is meant to be amazing on these.
 
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