• 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.

Pros/Cons changing to ATI? & What card for under £200

David_VI

David_VI

David_VI

Associate
Joined
8 Feb 2011
Posts
1,767
Location
Colchester
I did a thread about replacing a monitor and possibly upgrading a card. I now know I can get a new card (as my current one is going in another PC so I have an excuse to upgrade).

Specs atm
i5 2500k @ 4.6ghz
8gb DDr3
w7 64bit
460 1gb (hawx OC edition) - Sadly moving PC ;)

I run two monitors, although at present one is only 1440x900, the other is 1680x1050 (replacing with 1080 soon as its dying).

I was given choices in another thread which I narrowed down to these two..

HIS ATI Radeon HD 6950 IceQ X PLUS Edition 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card [OcUK_Exclusive] @£215 (I think I may just be attracted to this because its pretty and you get a free game, marketing works?)
---OR---
ZOTAC GeForce GTX 560Ti 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card [ZT-50307-10M] @£199.99

However, due to budget constraints (I checked my bank account :(). I'd possibly like to go cheaper but still get a good upgrade from the 460 that will last a while and have 2gb ram (If its actually worth it or needed?)

With regards to ATI, I once had a 9800xt which drove me crazy.. and i've been Nvidia ever since. Is there much change in going to ATI? Is the loss of Physx a loss at all?

Budget = under £200 (stretch to £200/£215 if worth it).

Cheers for your help.
David
 
Last edited:
I have a MSI GTX460 TF2 and am on the lookout for a £200 replacement too. I don't think the NV 5xx or AMD 6xxx are fast enough to justify a 200 quid upgrade from an overclocked 460. The money might be better spent on Kepler or AMD 7xxx mid range cards, whichever offers the best bang for buck.
 
PhysX is used in Batman and..... There was about 2 other games that people actually play... So no it's no loss. :)

The 9800XT was terrible :p The 6950 is a good card, really value for money especially when OC'd a bit like the IceQ / TwinFrzr editions. Can't speak for 560Ti as have no experience with them.

To give you an example, we seem to have pretty similar rigs and with the 6950 I have, I can run all modern games on almost max settings, only turning down settings a bit that you wouldn't notice were missing anyway while playing. On a single 24" @ 1080p.
 
Last edited:
Also. AMD are no worse than Nvidia when it comes to drivers at the moment. Normally I would scold AMD with all of my wrath but the last drivers I used before making the switch back to AMD from Nvidia were truly dire.
 
Going from a 460 to a 2GB 560ti/6950 (if there were no hardware problems using the 460) best sticking to what you know best as they both perform very similarly.
 
The 560ti is winning then, and I get BF3 (although not overly interested in it I do enjoy BF2!).

Is there much loss in not having 2gb Vram?
 
Raw power is always important, but in this day and age VRAM is becoming increasingly just as important within certain games. If you had asked this question a few months ago I (and possibly others) would have said get the fastest card you can within you budget such as the 560 ti 448 or 570. However, now that VRAM is increasingly becoming more popular for certain games, I feel more inclined to say get an 560 Ti 2GB OC version or overclock it yourself as close to a 570 as you can. The bonus is you will have similar performance with better amount of VRAM. Alternatively ATI's 6950 are a good choice also, and any of the ones that are overclocked or can unlock to a 6970 really are the icing on the cake.

Is there also any reason why you can't wait a while longer to save that little bit extra? In the long run it will give you more choices and serve you better I think. Still, given the resolutions you are gaming in, I am sure any of those cards will be more than enough for a while.

Edit: After realising your gaming resolution, VRAM would be less important than say 1920x1080 but I wouldn't take any chances of future games not having an impact on VRAM on resolutions below - when you consider the demand for an increase in game textures in future titles, especially when the PS4 and Xbox 720 release is considered.
 
Last edited:
Secret_Window said:
Raw power is always important, but in this day and age VRAM is becoming increasingly just as important within certain games. If you had asked this question a few months ago I (and possibly others) would have said get the fastest card you can within you budget such as the 560 ti 448 or 570. However, now that VRAM is increasingly becoming more popular for certain games, I feel more inclined to say get an 560 Ti 2GB OC version or overclock it yourself as close to a 570 as you can. The bonus is you will have similar performance with better amount of VRAM. Alternatively ATI's 6950 are a good choice also, and any of the ones that are overclocked or can unlock to a 6970 really are the icing on the cake.

Is there also any reason why you can't wait a while longer to save that little bit extra? In the long run it will give you more choices and serve you better I think. Still, given the resolutions you are gaming in, I am sure any of those cards will be more than enough for a while.

Edit: After realising your gaming resolution, VRAM would be less important than say 1920x1080 but I wouldn't take any chances of future games not having an impact on VRAM on resolutions below - when you consider the demand for an increase in game textures in future titles, especially when the PS4 and Xbox 720 release is considered.
Click to expand...

Very useful reply!
I am moving to 1920x1080 soon, that's why I need to save some money and I could spend £200 if the Vram is as important as you make out, but i'm sure there are other options with 2048gb?

This the only option or is there cheaper without much loss?
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-153-EA
Oh the Zotac one.. Is the difference just the brand?
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-053-ZT

thanks
David
 
Last edited:
Looks like i'm ordering the Zotac 560ti, as I don't know the difference from the EGVA one, plus it has 5 Years warranty and is much cheaper!
 
Generally the HD6950 and GTX560Ti are the same performance in games. Normally the HD6950 comes with extra VRAM so i'd say take that, but you can get a 2GB GTX560Ti for under £200 these days so that point falls over.

If you can be bothered you might be able to find a GTX480/570 or HD6970 for £200 in the MM?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom