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Quick upgrade for 6870?

If you want double the performance, I would suggest you spend a little more and get a R9 280 or 280x instead. The GTX760 is slower than both, and has only 2gb VRAM and 256-bit memory bus instead of 3gb and 384-bit memory bus of the 280/280x.
 
Thanks for the responses.

arc@css said:
Do you have a decent cpu and psu?

Re : the 760, a good card for a good price.
Click to expand...

I am looking to upgrade in the next few months if that makes any difference to the choice.

Currently have an i5 2500K and XFX Pro 650W Core.

Marine-RX179 said:
If you want double the performance, I would suggest you spend a little more and get a R9 280 or 280x instead. The GTX760 is slower than both, and has only 2gb VRAM and 256-bit memory bus instead of 3gb and 384-bit memory bus of the 280/280x.
Click to expand...

I will take a look at those, is it worth the price increase?

I did expect suggestions of crossfire with my current GPU but it's not great is it?

Thanks again :)
 
wildest_jjk said:
I am looking to upgrade in the next few months if that makes any difference to the choice.

Currently have an i5 2500K and XFX Pro 650W Core.
Click to expand...

They're both fine. No need to upgrade unless you want to, of course.

I wouldn't bother crossfiring your 6870 with another, as you'll still be limited to 1gb of video memory. That particular crossfire set up is not one I've read many good experiences about, anyway.
 
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Thanks again guys.

The R9 280 seems to be a fair bit more in price. At the moment I only have a single monitor as well so surely the 3GB memory is overkill?

Would the GTX 760 be the best upgrade from the HD 6870 for the price?

Thanks :)
 
wildest_jjk said:
Thanks again guys.

The R9 280 seems to be a fair bit more in price. At the moment I only have a single monitor as well so surely the 3GB memory is overkill?

Would the GTX 760 be the best upgrade from the HD 6870 for the price?

Thanks :)
Click to expand...


If you wish to keep the cost down, then I don't think you'll be disappointed at all with a GTX760. At it's normal price, I'd probably recommend the R9 270X, but in this instance it's a quite a bit closer. Although newer drivers for both teams will alter the numbers somewhat, I think this is still a decent enough guide for you to look at for present and future comparisons :

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1041?vs=1038


Edit : sorry to throw this into the mix, but I nearly forgot about this one :

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-162-PC&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1982


Look at the games you play and see what brand gives the better performance. :)
 
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arc@css said:
If you wish to keep the cost down, then I don't think you'll be disappointed at all with a GTX760. At it's normal price, I'd probably recommend the R9 270X, but in this instance it's a quite a bit closer. Although newer drivers for both teams will alter the numbers somewhat, I think this is still a decent enough guide for you to look at for present and future comparisons :

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1041?vs=1038


Edit : sorry to throw this into the mix, but I nearly forgot about this one :

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-162-PC&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1982


Look at the games you play and see what brand gives the better performance. :)
Click to expand...

Thanks again this is a really tough decision actually.

Ideally I want something that will last me and preferably for my new build as well. Just to check are there any new architectures etc for GPUs on the horizon? Any major changes?
 
Nothing new is coming out for a while (end of this year / early next year now). Set yourself a budget and stick to it. That way you can narrow things down more easily. :)
 
wildest_jjk said:
Thanks again guys.

The R9 280 seems to be a fair bit more in price. At the moment I only have a single monitor as well so surely the 3GB memory is overkill?

Would the GTX 760 be the best upgrade from the HD 6870 for the price?

Thanks :)
Click to expand...
Personally I wouldn't get graphic card with just 2GB anymore unless budget is absolutely restricted. Also IMO £170 is still too high in price for a GTX760...I honestly think it should be in the £150 price range instead. Had GTX760 been a GTX670 straight rebrand (plus may be increase clock speed), then I would say it would probably worth the £170 price tag, but the fact is that the GTX760 is further cut down from the GTX670, and is a slower card (hardware wise) with few CUDA cores/stream processors.

Personally, if I want to go Nvidia, I'd much rather buying a 2nd hand GTX670 which is the faster card for around £130 or less.

Also, I'd suggest try to avoid the MSI Gaming/Twin FrozR cooler cards for now as well, as their recent Twin FrozR cooler seem to have fairly high probability on having issue (oil leaking, fans stop working etc).
 
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wildest_jjk said:
Thanks again guys.

The R9 280 seems to be a fair bit more in price. At the moment I only have a single monitor as well so surely the 3GB memory is overkill?

Would the GTX 760 be the best upgrade from the HD 6870 for the price?

Thanks :)
Click to expand...

I can see you are a bit reluctant to pay out for a R9 280. Also if you never intend to game at more than 1080p then ignore the VRAM soothsayers 2gb is fine.
I also do think the 760 is not worth the money. However if you do want to buy it and are happy then it will fit your purpose its just not that future proof.
Personally I would go get a 2nd hand 670 if you can not afford to go over £200 then look to buy the next gen when it arrives or if you have access to the MM then
look for a 7970 which is basically a R9 280.
 
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Thanks for all of the responses.

Second hand is not really a route I would like to go down to be honest. So it would seem that the suggestions would be either a GTX770 or an R9 280X?

Is there an Nvidia equivalent to the 280X? Just curious to have a look at it if there is.

I am tempted now to get the R9 280X this would seem like the best thing to go for. What would be the best brand etc?

Thanks again :)
 
wildest_jjk said:
Thanks again.

So the R9 280X is better than the GTX for performance? It's just basically £100 more.
Click to expand...

The 280X has the same performance as the GTX 770.

Also 2GB is fine for 1080P yes, but why settle for 'fine'? when you can get 3GB and add some future proofing, the 280X also have a 384Bit Bus vs 256Bit on the 770, that pushes the 280X performance over 770 at 1440P or higher should you want to upgrade your screen later, that 3GB of vRam will also come in handy for that.

I have 4GB and a 512Bit Bus on 1080P, completely unnecessary. but i know it can handle it if i up my screen setup ;)
 
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Do you mean 'is the 280X more powerful than the GTX760?' - ...yes, it is, though in some games there will be more of a difference than in others. Here is a rough guide on what the difference might be between them (drivers from both teams will improve performance over time) :

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1041?vs=1038


I would like to add that a couple of the guys made a good point with regard to the MSI issues, which probably explains the price drop.

If you don't want to spend as much as a 280X, then you could go for a 270 or 270X?
 
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