Soldato
- Joined
- 10 Aug 2006
- Posts
- 5,207
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
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
Last edited: