Big mistake to buy a 6950 or 6970 today?

Skidder · 14 Dec 2011 at 13:28

MOOGLEYS said:
Waits for the 7xx benchamrks showing them to be slower than the 6xx series due to 800 million transistors missing....

(Having had an FX53 in the past I was very excited about faildozer - haven't had an ATI GPU for several generations)

ALXAndy · 14 Dec 2011 at 13:40

[WU-TANG]GZA;20792752 said:
Here you go mate:

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2011/11/22/battlefield_3_multiplayer_performance_iq_review

Multiplayer

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/battlefield-3-graphics-performance,3063.html

Single player (sick jet mission, Going Hunting)

According to both of those, it does seem that the 6970 beats the 570 by a noticeable margin and that the 570 is more competing with the 6950.

I was surprised tbh, not sure if it's the VRAM or not but still surprised. Happy though

It's vram mate honestly, 100%.

The reason the 570 would suffer dips and spikes is because of vram and not what's going on at the helm of the card (the core). The 570, core wise is a more powerful card than the 6970. I mean, my 295 is a more powerful card than both. But, the 295 is absolutely bloody useless for BF3, even when you have two.

As I say man, vram is now a serious issue. It's because of DX11 being a very poor API. I mean, it uses textures, nuff said. I'm not an expert on the subject but I know that anything done in DX11 could be done far better using something like OpenGL. Example - an Ipad has a GPU from 1998, the NEC PowerVR. Have you seen some of the games on the Ipad? like RAGE?

Sure, they ain't no BF3 beater, but for what they are given to run on (1ghz cpu 256mb ram and a 13 year old GPU) they are absolutely incredible.

I think what's happening now is people want games to look better because they were kinda stuck in a rut for about three years. GRID is an example, a stunning game that's old. Sadly it seems that the only way to make them look better is to pump them full of enormous textures that then need to be throw around. Crude.. Very crude.

I remember the revolt against DX when it came out for Windows 95. People were up in arms as it is seriously slow compared to other methods. Sadly like Windows it has become mainstream and the most popular. Most probably because of laziness if I'm honest.

[WU-TANG]GZA · 14 Dec 2011 at 15:50

ALXAndy said:
It's vram mate honestly, 100%.

The reason the 570 would suffer dips and spikes is because of vram and not what's going on at the helm of the card (the core). The 570, core wise is a more powerful card than the 6970. I mean, my 295 is a more powerful card than both. But, the 295 is absolutely bloody useless for BF3, even when you have two.

As I say man, vram is now a serious issue. It's because of DX11 being a very poor API. I mean, it uses textures, nuff said. I'm not an expert on the subject but I know that anything done in DX11 could be done far better using something like OpenGL. Example - an Ipad has a GPU from 1998, the NEC PowerVR. Have you seen some of the games on the Ipad? like RAGE?

Sure, they ain't no BF3 beater, but for what they are given to run on (1ghz cpu 256mb ram and a 13 year old GPU) they are absolutely incredible.

I think what's happening now is people want games to look better because they were kinda stuck in a rut for about three years. GRID is an example, a stunning game that's old. Sadly it seems that the only way to make them look better is to pump them full of enormous textures that then need to be throw around. Crude.. Very crude.

I remember the revolt against DX when it came out for Windows 95. People were up in arms as it is seriously slow compared to other methods. Sadly like Windows it has become mainstream and the most popular. Most probably because of laziness if I'm honest.

But only with MSAA applied, agreed? EDIT: Looking at that the 6950 1gb Vs 6950 2gb even AA doesn't differentiate them.

Are the benchmarks on this wrong?

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

Durzel · 14 Dec 2011 at 16:07

Is 3 weeks an actual launch or a paper launch?

Personally I'd just buy whatever is fastest at the time you want to use it. I'd only really care about waiting if it didn't inconvenience me at all, but even then when you factor in day 1 price gouging and scarcity I'm not sure you're saving a whole lot really, at least from a stress point of view.

Semple · 14 Dec 2011 at 16:15

I bought myself a 6950 on Sunday.

ATi were "supposed" to have been announcing the 7xxx series cards last week and nothing came of it. So for them to be released in 3 weeks is pushing it. Maybe towards the end of January possibly end of February.

Also as plenty of people have said, new cards come with high prices. So you could end up waiting till jan/feb to spend extra on a card for a slight performance increase.

malthus · 14 Dec 2011 at 16:28

I would wait trust me you will regret not waiting in a month.

OCDStevo · 14 Dec 2011 at 16:30

I've also just purchased a 6950 this weekend, the new cards will be here Jan maybe Feb, may have low volumes (new process, not sure if there are any issues with it) WILL have early adopters tax....

So, i'll use my new card until middle of next year, then look at what is out there then as the NV cards will also be out.

MOOGLEYS · 14 Dec 2011 at 16:34

malthus said:
I would wait trust me you will regret not waiting in a month.

Do you work for AMD ? Same thing was said about Bulldozer...

I doubt any future releases until the new consoles come along will struggle a 6950/70. Unless you game at uber res then I would imagine a 6950/70 is a safe bet.
It also seems as a new card comes out the older ones get hard to come by and demand a premium. Look at the 5850's they were £99 for a while and now demand this nearly second hand.

Skidder · 14 Dec 2011 at 16:39

Still haven't made a move as have been too busy to place order. I'm not going to be benchmarking, at least I don't want to. I got sucked into that around the time Crysis was out and knocking out great benchmarks is a very ephemeral pleasure and costly! I do think a 6950 would probably provide what I need for the mo and I could enjoy setting up and getting everything in order over christmas. Oh well will sleep on it

[WU-TANG]GZA · 14 Dec 2011 at 17:06

Skidder said:
Still haven't made a move as have been too busy to place order. I'm not going to be benchmarking, at least I don't want to. I got sucked into that around the time Crysis was out and knocking out great benchmarks is a very ephemeral pleasure and costly! I do think a 6950 would probably provide what I need for the mo and I could enjoy setting up and getting everything in order over christmas. Oh well will sleep on it

January 9th confirmed release date, supply will be low prices will be high. End of January should get more stock nd ease on prices.

Gibbo from OcUK just said as much on the other thread.

Might as well wait to see benchies

chaotic_uk · 14 Dec 2011 at 17:09

[WU-TANG]GZA;20797489 said:
January 9th confirmed release date, supply will be low prices will be high. End of January should get more stock nd ease on prices.

Gibbo from OcUK just said as much on the other thread.

Might as well wait to see benchies

would not hold my breath tbh in the first 4 months of release price will remain high , just look at the fx cpu's and the price jump

[WU-TANG]GZA · 14 Dec 2011 at 17:19

chaotic_uk said:
would not hold my breath tbh in the first 4 months of release price will remain high , just look at the fx cpu's and the price jump

I hope not

I'd maybe get a 7970 or if everyone offloads their 6970s maybe pick up another for CF

~>Dg<~ · 14 Dec 2011 at 19:10

ok gibbo has just pointed out in the other thread and like i said before dont expect the cards that compete with the 6950/70 to be out before feb march and wont be much cheaper

so basically not january (high end in jan). so basically youre gunna wait 3 to 4 months or play whatever you want now . at worst youre gunna lose about 40-50 quid for a same speed card

7850-7870

the bigger cards are way over price budget.

what gibbo just said

In fairness the 6950 2GB still the card to get, as its replacement that offers same performance but consumes less power will probably not show face until Feb/March and the cost will be similarish or at best £50 less but it could be no less, to early to predict as such.

The current GPU's have had a very good life as the 6950 2GB has been a great card, hence its sales strength.

nvidia 570 gtx arnt lowering wither and once sold out they will remain sold out.

so if you in the 150-200 quid card markey just buy now and enjoy

Skidder · 14 Dec 2011 at 21:46

~>Dg<~ said:
ok gibbo has just pointed out in the other thread and like i said before dont expect the cards that compete with the 6950/70 to be out before feb march and wont be much cheaper

so basically not january (high end in jan). so basically youre gunna wait 3 to 4 months or play whatever you want now . at worst youre gunna love about 40-50 quid for a same speed card

7850-7870

the bigger cards are way over price budget.

what gibbo just said

In fairness the 6950 2GB still the card to get, as its replacement that offers same performance but consumes less power will probably not show face until Feb/March and the cost will be similarish or at best £50 less but it could be no less, to early to predict as such.

The current GPU's have had a very good life as the 6950 2GB has been a great card, hence its sales strength.

nvidia 570 gtx arnt lowering wither and once sold out they will remain sold out.

so if you in the 150-200 quid card markey just buy now and enjoy

thanks

Karateyid · 14 Dec 2011 at 22:09

I'm sure there will be a few people who will ditch their existing 'decent ' cards for the shiney new 1s.

Buy now and the. Potentially get a cheaper 2nd hand to xfire them

AMG · 14 Dec 2011 at 22:36

Guys I think OP would be quite silly if he waits, becasue these new cards won't be out till like march next year ( example) now OP said around this time of year he HAS the time to game, so what the point of a HD7XXX or a new gen Nvidia when its just going to be wasted for the rest of the year, yes fine it may be used from time to time, but no enough to warrent spending £300 on it is it?

these are good cards we are talking about and they won't stop being good cards just becasue they are being replaced.

So OP I think you should, becasue you can enjoy your investment now rather than wasting it and than they are out dated anyhow, I mean you may look back and regreat not buying them and wasting a lot of money on something you just can't use yet.

Remeber product life cycle GPUs tend to get replace every year or so. and things change so you may not be able to enjoy them anymore, its best to enjoy it now, while you have the time/ funds.

Yes fine waiting isnt wrong, but noir is buying them, in ops case buying what is needed now is better imo as they can be enjoyed now and in the future.

madtoady · 14 Dec 2011 at 23:37

I would definitely wait, even if it is purely for the price drops that will happen. I myself am waiting to see what the new cards retail at and how they compare price wise and performance wise when compared to the 6xxx series.

lrlcr · 14 Dec 2011 at 23:41

Personally I've got a 6950 2gb now and it struggles at 1440p so I'll be upgrading to a 7950/7970 to avoid crossfire and to watercool

The only other option would be a 580 1.5/3gb but i'll need to check the vram usage.

kissenger · 14 Dec 2011 at 23:46

tommybhoy said:
@kissenger, You better star out all of the 'bull....' or you'll get a yellow!(you too [WU-TANG]GZA)

Sorry mate but the bit-tech b/m is not a true indication proper in-game gameplay it's a scripted b/m , :

'Instead we opted for a FRAPS-recorded, 90-second scripted sequence at the start of the campaign's fourth mission - Going Hunting. '

@[WU-TANG]GZA, Yes totally agree, ultimately it's a moot point depending on what card of the two you have, it's six and half a dozen of both and you wouldn't even notice the difference between the two anyway in game!

Can't wait to hear your excuse for this one:

Also, just to point out, none of the things you linked to show a direct comparison of the two cards. The Hardcop one shows the 570 with 10 more fps (albeit without HBAO, but that wouldn't account for 10 full fps).

Edit: also like to hear your rationalisation around two other independent results showing the 570 beating the 6970 in BF3...

kissenger · 14 Dec 2011 at 23:56

[WU-TANG]GZA;20792752 said:
Here you go mate:

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2011/11/22/battlefield_3_multiplayer_performance_iq_review

Multiplayer

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/battlefield-3-graphics-performance,3063.html

Single player (sick jet mission, Going Hunting)

According to both of those, it does seem that the 6970 beats the 570 by a noticeable margin and that the 570 is more competing with the 6950.

I was surprised tbh, not sure if it's the VRAM or not but still surprised. Happy though

Just took a proper look at those. Do you want to reconsider that statement?

^That's taken from the link you gave. People really should read the things they link to before they make these types of comments.

GTX 570: 49fps on ultra.

6970: 44fps on ultra.