• Competitor rules

    Please remember that any mention of competitors, hinting at competitors or offering to provide details of competitors will result in an account suspension. The full rules can be found under the 'Terms and Rules' link in the bottom right corner of your screen. Just don't mention competitors in any way, shape or form and you'll be OK.

Best graphics card for around £200

dave_beast

dave_beast

dave_beast

Soldato
Joined
21 Sep 2009
Posts
5,267
Location
London
It's a minefield out there!

Currently running a XFX5750 512mb on a 19" 4:3 1280x1024 monitor which runs most games I play at mid to high detail AA, AF etc.

I'm looking for a new DX11 card to power my new Samsung 23" 1920x1080 monitor.

Currently in the running so far

1. GTX470 for £184 ish
2. ATI 6870 for £194 ish

Or suggest an alternative (Will be watching MM like a Hawk :cool:)

Rest of system
CM Storm Scout Case, Intel Q9550 @3.48ghz, 4GB Crucial Ram, SSD, Raptor, OCZ 550w PSU etc derp
 
I'm edging towards the 6870 as it's next gen, but don't know whether to wait for the Nvidia 570? Only thing that's a doubt in my mind is that the Nvidia 570 series will be around the £300
 
Just a matter of weighing up the usual heat / power etc. Both you listed perform about the same.

GTX 470 can still be had for around £175 if you shop around!
 
470 for pure performance or 6870 for efficiency. The 550W PSU in your sig will be pushed very hard by a 470, and for you the 6870 is best.
 
Even if you do not buy another motherboard/cpu for another year, if you are going with one that does Xfire/SLI, I would definitely go with the 6870 if you are interested at all in a dual GPU configuration. There are multiple threads on comparing the two, but I do not think that I would ever rate the slight possible performance gain of the 470 SLI considering 6870 CF is so close and runs so much more efficiently.

When looking at it just in the context of what you have, I would be more comfortable with the 6870 considering your PSU - if you want to OC anything then it might be sorely stretched.
 
dave_beast said:
True, but definitely next gen power requirements compared to the 470?
Click to expand...
The extra 100W or so of power consumption during gaming is not exactly gonna break the bank though. If people got a good enough PSU, and don't mind the extra noise and got good case cooling, the GTX470 has the edge over the 6870 when it comes to overclock vs overclock.

So as I always say, GTX470 or 6870 is really down to what the buyer prefer more.
 
Hmmm having a look at these reviews here and the 6870 seems to be better than the 470 overall including the performance by a bit in pretty much all of the games tbh (at stock clocks though):

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/10/21/amd_radeon_hd_6870_6850_video_card_review/

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/11/16/asus_eah6870_video_card_review/

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/HIS/Radeon_HD_6870/

http://www.guru3d.com/article/his-radeon-6850-6870-review/

http://www.guru3d.com/article/gigabyte-radeon-hd-6870-review/

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3987/amds-radeon-6870-6850-renewing-competition-in-the-midrange-market

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2010/10/22/ati-radeon-hd-6870-review/1

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru.../37286-amd-radeon-hd-6870-hd-6850-review.html

Why do people recommend the 470 if the 6870 is better for just about everything, costs less as well :confused:, unless of course they are going to be overclocking the 470 or/and just don't like ATI and will only buy it if it's by nvidia.
 
The two cards are that close together in performance, if not requiring sli/xfire in the future, go for the cheapest out of the two.
 
I'd go for the 470 even though I prefer ATI in general. As long as the heat/power issue doesn't bother you the 470 is a little bit cheaper and apparently overclocks better
 
Stanners said:
Most of the results are that close it is not worth bothering about. Are you an ATI fanatic ?
Click to expand...

:rolleyes:

Well actually it beats it by a quite a bit in some games likewise for the 470. But for the majority the 6870 still beats it.

And the 6870 is a much better card when it comes to the heat, noise and power than the 470, oh and costs less than a 470.

Also to say by a small amount, it's not worth bothering about, have you forgotten that where on a forum where people upgrade their cards from 2x480, 2x5870 or even just from a single 480 or 5870 to a 580 or to even 2X580 just to get a few more FPS even though they are probably getting over 70FPS for games maxed out :rolleyes: or is it that they get a better benchmark/higher number in benchmark programs :rolleyes:

So can you please explain to me how I am being an ATI fanatic by posting a simple true question? :rolleyes:

Maybe I should ask you, are you a nvidia fanboy, that is getting upset by those reviews because the 6870 is better than the 470 overall :rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
Personally I'd say the 6870 is the way forward.

Nexus18 said:
:rolleyes:

Well actually it beats it by a quite a bit in some games like wise for the 470. But for the majority the 6870 still beats it.

And the 6870 is a much better card when it comes to the heat, noise and power than the 470, oh and costs less than a 470.

Also to say by a small amount, it's not worth bothering about, have you forgotten that where on a forum where people upgrade their cards from 2x480, 2x5870 or even just from a single 480 or 5870 to a 580 or to even 2X580 just to get a few more FPS even though they are probably getting over 70FPS for games maxed out :rolleyes: or is it that they get a better benchmark/higher number in benchmark programs :rolleyes:

So can you please explain to me how I am being an ATI fanatic by posting a simple true question? :rolleyes:

Maybe I should ask you, are you a nvidia fanboy, that is getting upset by those reviews because the 6870 is better than the 470 overall :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

You realize posts like these gets you suspended right? We're all sick to the back teeth of people like you and him.
 
KNiVES said:
You realize posts like these gets you suspended right? We're all sick to the back teeth of people like you and him.
Click to expand...

Well ravenxxx2 and co seem to get away with it a lot then don't they :rolleyes:, don't think any of them have been suspended since the the 580 release considering some of the comments by both parties.

Also none of my posts at all in the past month have been trolling or posting crap about the brands etc. and I am fed up with all the trolling etc. and have posted it a number of times in the past 2 weeks in threads asking for something to be done amongst other posts trying to state a fair and reasonable argument for waiting for the 69xx series or buying the 580 now.

And plus can I ask what is wrong with my post? It is simply just stating the truth with a simple question.

I asked a simple question posting facts (with about 7 review sites backing me up) and get a reply pretty much calling me an ATI fanboy, sorry but for what? For just stating the obvious unless people are so blinded by their passion for a certain brand and so you expect me not too reply at all :rolleyes:

And for one I am not a fanboy. I have owned both nvidia and ATI cards and have never had any problems with them, I buy what suits me best when it comes down to price/performance amongst other reasons unlike some people in this forum :rolleyes:

Honestly can't post anything at all in this forum now a days with out getting jumped on and attacked by certain people, can now see why some people left these forums and joined other ones :rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
I'm thinking with the greater power requirements of the 470, it's probably best to go along the 6870 route with my current PSU, which is adequate for 1 GPU. The extra I pay for the ATI will probably be saved on my electric bill after about a year ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom