Another - What to buy thread :(

[olibb]

Well i think the time has come to upgrade my graphics card. I currently have an ATI 5770 1gb. Its lasted me well.

Now im looking at spending around £250 give or take either way.

I have seen that the Nvidia 570 series seems good.

Also the ATI 6970 series around the same price.

My 5770 is very loud on full whack, so i would like it to be a little quieter if possible. (not too bothered, but you know).

I generally play WoW (yes i said it - ill get my coat) and Battlefield 3. I dont play either THAT much just a hour or so a day, and a little more at weekends.

Now from what i gather the drivers on the NVIDIA series seem a lot better, but some of the ATI cards having BIOS issues? Ive always been an ATI man, but is it time to change? - Oh and the resolution i play games is the standard 1920 x 1080.

Thanks for your input guys.

Edit - Nearly forgot......

 

[olibb]

From more research, i can see that a lot of 6950's can be flashed to become pretty much similar to 6970's. Id rather spend less money on one of those if its going to be worth it. - Any thoughts?

 

[arc@css]

Hi,

Before I go any further, I should mention that quite soon AMD will be releasing their next generation of video cards, the 7000 series. If you are happy to hang on for around a couple of months, then one of the mid range models such as the 7850 / 70 might be suitable for your needs.


Anyway, first of all, out of curiosity what is your cpu speed?

A lot of 6950's will not flash to a 6970 anymore, though there are one or two reliable models around such as the Sapphire Toxic that very likely will. If you're thinking of budget as your priority then I think purchasing a 6950 with a non reference cooler should do nicely. It doesn't matter if it doesn't flash / or otherwise via another method function to 6970 standards, simply overclock it instead to make up the 3 or so percent deficit.

Plenty of 6950 owners will be able to suggest what they regard as a quieter model, though this is ultimately subjective. I never had any issues with, for example, the notoroiusly loud and hot ATi 4870X2 when running idle, though when gaming I have always used either ear or head phones since that is when the problem became evident.

I have no experience with the AMD 6*** series, but if I were to buy one today I'd be considering :

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-036-HS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1752

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-128-MS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1752

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-273-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1752

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-274-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1752

I'd probably be leaning towards the MSI and Toxic over the others, particularly the HIS anyway.

 

[olibb]

Thanks for your reply - I apreichate that.

My Cpu is an AMD X4 640 3.0 quad - clocked to 3.8.

Would this cause a slight bottleneck?

Would a 6950 be man enough to run Battlefield 3 on higher graphics at 1080?

 

[Cleeecooo]

Thanks for your reply - I apreichate that.

My Cpu is an AMD X4 640 3.0 quad - clocked to 3.8.

Would this cause a slight bottleneck?
no, but you may see differences on CPU reliant games with a 2500K

Would a 6950 be man enough to run Battlefield 3 on higher graphics at 1080?

yep

 

[ALXAndy]

If you're going 6970 save up £37 more and get the reboxed Lightning deal.

Cooler, quieter, better overclocks and £80 worth of games free. Oh and it's also built like a brick outhouse.

 

[Marine-RX179]

If you're going 6970 save up £37 more and get the reboxed Lightning deal.

Cooler, quieter, better overclocks and £80 worth of games free. Oh and it's also built like a brick outhouse.

But for the price of the 6970 Lightning, he would be better off just grab a EVGA GeForce GTX 570 HD 2560MB