BF3 killed my GPU!!Need a good replacement.

starmanwarz · 21 Nov 2011 at 17:07

That's right,my 8800GTX died.I was getting 90+ degrees while playing BF3,all settings at low.I had it for exactly 4 years,it has served me well!

Now I need to get a new GPU and I need to get it fast.I will not upgrade anything else at this point,maybe next year but it is not very possible.I know that my CPU may bottleneck a new GPU but I have to live with that.

What I want is a card that will last for at least 3 years,maxing out most games.I have narrowed it down to 4 cards,

1.6950
2.6970
3.570
4.580

I believe that these cards will be quite future-proof.Which one would you get at this point,with my current hardware?I will be ordering tomorrow.

DamoTourettes · 21 Nov 2011 at 17:27

Wait for the AMD 7000 series in January. They're gonna belt everything else off the park.

kissenger · 21 Nov 2011 at 17:30

I would get a 560Ti if I were you, but out of those cards listed I would get a 6950. But it all depends on what prices you can get.

starmanwarz · 21 Nov 2011 at 17:34

Would a 560 ti be good enough?For some reason they feel low end to me...

Nevakonaza · 21 Nov 2011 at 17:35

Out of those choices id get the 6950 2gb,The 6970 isnt worth the extra over a 6950 imo,I think he 580s are expensive.

Karateyid · 21 Nov 2011 at 17:41

DamoTourettes said:
Wait for the AMD 7000 series in January. They're gonna belt everything else off the park.

He's said he needs the card now

.. Out of the choices the 2gb 6950 is a good choice.. Unless u get something cheap and nasty til January and then get a 7xxx series

koooowweeee · 21 Nov 2011 at 17:43

none of them cards will last 3 years. not maxing everything anyway

starmanwarz · 21 Nov 2011 at 17:49

It doesn't have to be a card from the list,I am open to suggestions.I am already considering a 560 ti,but as I said it feels low end to me,at least compared with the others.

Edit.I forgot to mention that I will be gaming at 1920*1080 and I am not interested in multi monitor setups.

koooowweeee · 21 Nov 2011 at 17:57

Get the best you can afford then add another down the line.

Your cpu could do with a upgrade as well. But your card needs a upgrade first.

BluSky · 21 Nov 2011 at 18:00

It is also worth noting that some 6950's can be flashed to 6970's bios to unlock the extra cores etc. I dont know if that only applies to reference cards though. 6950 or 560ti would probably be your best bang for buck though. Then you could pick up a 7000 series early next year

DamoTourettes · 21 Nov 2011 at 18:02

koooowweeee said:
none of them cards will last 3 years. not maxing everything anyway

This

Marine-RX179 · 21 Nov 2011 at 18:13

Now would be a VERY bad time to get mid-range card, as the new cards are around the corner, and as soon as they hit the shelf, the price of the current mid-range cards will hit EOL price and the value pretty much take a free fall.

IMO, you should just grab one of those 8800GT that are being sold in the members market for just £20~£25 delivered to tide you over, and then when new gen cards arrive, get a £200~£300 card then. They will definitely last you much longer than cards like 6950 2GB.

Owenb · 21 Nov 2011 at 18:14

You could go for a 2nd hand card to keep you going until the the first 28nm cards arrive which should increase the longevity of the card. Should get a similar price for the 2nd hand card in a few months.

Randomface74 · 21 Nov 2011 at 18:18

by any chance did you update your graphics drivers "for bf3" and infact it's the new drivers that killed off your card?

drunkenmaster · 21 Nov 2011 at 18:30

You've been using a 8800gtx on low, you can buy a 580gtx now for £350, and in 3 years be playing games on low settings, while eating 250W, and having more noise than you need to.

Or you can buy something cheapo like a

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-171-OK&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=2077

or a second hand something off the MM, or spend £120 on a 6850, hold on (with either super cheap and same graphics quality, or cheap and WAY better than you had), then in a month bag a 7950 for £200.

So you could buy a 580gtx for £350, or a £50 card to hold you over for 6 weeks, then spend £220, on a card that will be 50-60% faster than a 580gtx...... uses quite a bit less than half the power, lower noise, more memory, etc, etc, and have spent significantly less money. The card will last MUCH longer than any other option and you can even sell whatever card you buy short term, to make probably 2/3rds of that money back again anyway.

Buying high end now is the worst value thing you can do, especially in terms of wanting to keep the card for as long as possible.

But then lets look at the gpu situation, your 8800gtx is out of warranty and now worthless, and you've been playing at low res for how long since you got it?

If you bought a 7870 for £150, then sold that in a year, and bought a 8780 for £150, then a year later bought a 9870 for £150, each time selling the old card for £80-100, you've have spent, maybe £250 TOTAL, for a new gen card once a year, and at NO STAGE ever played in anything less than pretty damn high settings? You would also ALWAYS have a warranty so always be able to get a replacement if the card dies.

There is no need, and no value in holding on to cards long term. CPu's/mobo's can take hours to install and then hours getting windows back where you want. Gpu, 2 minutes to take one out, 2 mins to put a new one in, 5 mins to download driver and install. Sorted.

Buy value in gpu's, not long term.

If I were you I'd be looking at a 5850/460gtx second hand on the forum, then in 2 months looking for a 7870 type card.

kissenger · 21 Nov 2011 at 18:40

starmanwarz said:
Would a 560 ti be good enough?For some reason they feel low end to me...

Speaking from experience BF3 will run at 50-60fps with everything on ultra and at 1080p, but with FXAA instead of MSAA on a 560Ti paired with a stock speed Q6600. Well that's what I was getting on the single player campaign anyway. I'd expect with an OC'd Q6600 you would be able to get that same kind of performance on multiplayer maps, albeit with a slight drop in FPS on some of the larger 64 man servers.

There is nothing between a 560Ti and a 6950 in BF3 and all other games for that matter. If a 560Ti is low end then so is a 6950...

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2011/11/10/battlefield-3-technical-analysis/4

RoEy · 21 Nov 2011 at 18:46

drunkenmaster said:
There is no need, and no value in holding on to cards long term. CPu's/mobo's can take hours to install and then hours getting windows back where you want. Gpu, 2 minutes to take one out, 2 mins to put a new one in, 5 mins to download driver and install. Sorted.

Ha ha not when it's watercooled it doesn't.

RoEy

Jakus · 21 Nov 2011 at 18:46

Before You do anything Sort out Your cooling !! 8800GTX was a relatively cool running Card and It would last forever like the rest of them if kept under 70c

As said, Bad time to buy now, I would go S/H , I doubt the new cards will be as good as We all hope but they will be better for sure.

If You have to get something now go with a ref design GTX570. The current best would be a GTX580 but honestly a disappointment over 570 performance wise and twice the price !

starmanwarz · 21 Nov 2011 at 19:59

8800 a cool card?it never was,in fact it was one of the hottest cards backed then iirc.

Thanks for the replies guys.Getting a 2nd hand GPU is probably the wisest choice,but I dislike used hardware and the idea of getting a card just for a month.

I will probably order a 570 TFIII and be sad when next gen comes out.It is unfortunate that my card died now

starmanwarz · 21 Nov 2011 at 20:27

billysielu said:
by any chance did you update your graphics drivers "for bf3" and infact it's the new drivers that killed off your card?

Yeah I updated the drivers the day BF3 was released I think,don't know if there are even newer drivers.Why?Are you saying that the new drivers have killed my GPU?!