1920x1080/1920x1200 - VRAM?

[Secret_Window]

Well, BF3 has been a true eye opener for a lot of people regarding VRAM usage. And also a lot of what people have been saying for months regarding 1GB of VRAM really not being ideal for upcoming games certainly seems to be more true than ever.

I wasn't too bothered about my 1GB limitation when I bought my 6870 in the January sales because I have a 1680x1050 screen and I have rarely seen any game require more than 1GB of VRAM. However due to the fact that I have plans for a new monitor on the horizon that will be using 1920x1080 or 1200 in resolution, it would seem my 1GB of VRAM will not be managing future games so well, as well as games released soon.

I have been somewhat happy with the performance of my 6870, it has served well but there a few things why I would like to change it despite my concerns for VRAM:

Default cooling fan sucks
Doesn't handle Crysis as well as I'd like (still can't appreciate that game graphically without excess heat from my card and it chugging along)
GTA IV unplayable due to stuttering (could be VRAM issue or ATI drivers unsure)
Metro 2033 doesn't handle tessellation very well and I really would like to use it.
Anti-aliasing always takes a hit performance wise with this being ATI - but again is it a VRAM limitation?!

There are a few more to be added but it has never been as impressive as my old 8800 GTX which I had before - that card handled everything right up to when I bought my 6870. I guess in that regard it was always going to take a lot to top that old card.

So after never quite being satisfied with my 6870, I wanted to use this opportunity to look for a better card for higher resolutions in gaming. I know I will need to upgrade my PSU and will decide on which is best in another thread if need be.

Edit: Budget around £370 but would prefer to spend less so I can use that towards my monitor budget.

Another thing, I am not keen on crossfire or SLI - I'd prefer to have a single card to avoid problems!

Or do you think I am crazy and should wait until next year for next gen? Bear in mind my above points though.

thanks

 

[Secret_Window]

I have been looking at the GTX 580 but the same issue arises with that regarding VRAM - is 1.5GB of VRAM enough for upcoming titles?

So I have been looking at the 2.5GB GTX 570 cards but are they really worth £300? I also looked at the 2GB GTX 560 but how much faster would this be over my 6870 to warrant the cost? The ATI 6950 unlocked to a 6970 is another attraction but I'm put off again with ATI issues which I have had with my current card - will it improve GTA IV for me or remain the same? It's a bit of a deal breaker for me with GTA IV as I love that game and I haven't been able to play it since having my 6870.

 

[Secret_Window]

Thing is, reason for me even looking at lesser cards than the GTX 580 is because it has jumped up in price by quite a bit. Cheapest one on OcUK is £367! and for about £300 I can get a 2.5gb GTX 570 and for a bit less I can get a 2GB 6970.

Re ATI:
Do any of your friends with 6950/70s have problems with GTA IV? It's seems so random with ATI and GTA IV. Some people with 6950/70s play it absolutely fine maxed out with no stuttering then others with those cards and 6870s like mine, have extremely bad stuttering no matter what driver or graphical settings we use. The only ATI cards I think that are guaranteed to perform well in GTA IV are the 5850/5870s since they can go back to earlier catalyst drivers before the suttering was introduced or so I am led to believe.

Damn! Why does everything have to be so complicated!

 

[Secret_Window]

Ok, it is down to 3 cards:

AMD 6970 2GB - £280ish
Nvidia GTX 570 2.5GB - £280-300
Nvidia GTX 580 1.5GB - £350+

What will definitely help my decision is the comparison of these cards in 1920x1080 in BF3 in Ultra. I have been reading the 6970's have actually been doing better in some ways than the GTX 580 simply because of VRAM. I can't find very much info about the GTX 570 2.5gb performance however, other than in this thread.

It's gonna take a lot of persuasion I think to justify the cost of the GTX 580 1.5GB, unless the performance really is quite a bit better.

 

[Secret_Window]

Well, let's just say not near the prices of the 6990 as previously stated. Will edit first post.

 

[Secret_Window]

If I was in your shoes, I'd be seriously considering the 570 2.5gb, 560 2gb or a 2gb 6900 series card from AMD. I'd buy sooner than later, who knows how long you could be waiting? Even if something does hit the shelves in a few months rather than the currently 'projected' six months for high end models, it wouldn't make one the above cards a poor second best.

Then it would have to be either:

570 2.5GB £280-300
6970 2GB £280-95

I can't be bothered with trying the unlocking with the 6950 for less and the lottery of getting one to work, plus I don't trust myself.

According to some review sites the 6970 looks better in some things but again could that be attributed to the fact the 570 they were comparing it against had VRAM limitation with its 1.3GB memory? It would be interesting to know how a 2.5GB version would compare...

EDIT:

This is an interesting review of a 570 2.5GB (from a German review site), it's overclocked to 810mhz though but still provides a good comparison:

http://www.hardwareluxx.de/index.php/artikel/hardware/grafikkarten/19292.html

Seems like the 6970 is still faster than the 570 in a few things. Hmm.

 

[Secret_Window]

Given how next gen cards are coming out next year and will no doubt be even better for the latest games, I think I might settle on something cheaper like this. I should be able to easily overclock that to 900Mhz and beyond to match GTX 570/6970 speeds in theory.

Or do you think I should just spend the more money and just go for the best?

My only dilemma with going for the best right now and how steep some of the prices are for top cards, is that I am wasting money, as its value will have decreased a lot by next year and I will have lost a considerable amount if I decided to sell it on for a next gen card.

I am still very undecided though, but that MSI card seems a safe bet so far.

 

[Secret_Window]

Hmm. I'll wait and see how the prices go this week for the GTX 570 and 580 and then depending on that, get whichever seems like the best deal.

Would a 700w PSU be more than enough for a GTX 580?

 

[Secret_Window]

I'm really edging towards the 1.5GB GTX 580 at the moment but weighing up my options still. The GTX 570 seems a good buy.

 

[Secret_Window]

Ok, I have narrowed it down to two cards (both MSI!):

MSI GeForce GTX 570 OC Twin FrozR III Power Edition 1280MB

MSI GeForce GTX 580 OC Twin FrozR II 1536MB

I still cannot make up my mind whether it is worth spending the extra for the GTX 580 or not.

 

[Secret_Window]

Well, I'm getting a new monitor to go with either of these cards which will probably be the Dell UltraSharp U2312HM which is 1920x1080.

 

[Secret_Window]

I still can't decide!