Replacement for 6870

[DJ_Bucho]

My friend has been running a Sapphire HD6870 1GB for a good number of years now and has come to the conclusion that i's about time he upgrades.

He was looking at a 270X as that was within his budget of about £140 (although he was looking at buying it from "The rainforest company" as he had £20 worth of vouchers to use. I pointed him to overclockers and recommended he went for at least a R9 280 as the step up from the 6870 to a 270X wasn't 'that' big a jump, but he 280 would have been a very nice step up for him.

He said he wanted to wait until the 22nd of the month as it's his birthday then and should be getting some cash for that. But does anyone have any suggestions as to what card he should be looking at. He's always gone AMD, but that's mainly because of price, so if anyone has any suggestions they'd be greatly received.

I think he wanted to buy new, but I'm trying to persuade him to go 2nd hand as he'll get a lot more for his money (although he's not on overclockers, and I don't have access to the Members Market yet

 

[Doomedspeed]

270X = 7870

7870 = 6950(sih). So you're right its not much of an upgrade.

280 = 7950

7950 = 6970+, a much bigger upgrade.

You can get one for £150 too.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Powercolor Radeon R9 280 TurboDUO 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £149.99
Total : £159.59 (includes shipping : £8.00).




Though like you say secondhand you could get a GTX 680 (nearer to £200 but not far off) or a 280X/7970.

 

[DJ_Bucho]

Yeah you can get some cracking 280's, that MSI card he missed last week was an absolute steal at £149.99, shame he didn't have the money at the time.

I however don't think he'd go for that Powercolor 280, he currently has a Sapphire Card and I think he sees Powercolor as a sort of cheap make (which in fairness I guess it kind of is compared to the likes of Asus, Sapphire and Gigabyte etc).

 

[Doomedspeed]

I suggest you remove the MM talk.. (just in case).

I however don't think he'd go for that Powercolor 280, he currently has a Sapphire Card and I think he sees Powercolor as a sort of cheap make (which in fairness I guess it kind of is compared to the likes of Asus, Sapphire and Gigabyte etc).

They are but there like Asrock (motherboards) they are a cheap brand but have recently started making some cracking products. Powercolour won't disappoint.

MSI Gaming (especially AMD cards) have had Oil leak (from the fan bearing) issues recently, so bare that in mind.

On that budget, id certainly look at the secondhand market.

 

[DJ_Bucho]

They are but there like Asrock (motherboards) they are a cheap brand but have recently started making some cracking products. Powercolour won't disappoint.

MSI Gaming (especially AMD cards) have had Oil leak (from the fan bearing) issues recently, so bare that in mind.

On that budget, id certainly look at the secondhand market.

Thanks very much for the advice 'Doomedspeed', very much appreciated
Is there an equivalent Nvidia card in that sort of price bracket? and if so what's it's performance like compared to AMD's offering? I suspect for the kind of money he's willing to spend, he'd be better off sticking with AMD as it'd give me greater performance

 

[Doomedspeed]

Thanks very much for the advice 'Doomedspeed', very much appreciated
Is there an equivalent Nvidia card in that sort of price bracket? and if so what's it's performance like compared to AMD's offering? I suspect for the kind of money he's willing to spend, he'd be better off sticking with AMD as it'd give me greater performance

Nvidia Wise you're looking at a GTX 760, which is pushing the budget to £170.

Really its no better than the 280, its actually a downgrades GTX 670 vs the 280 as a standard 7950.

280 wins it for me.

 

[DJ_Bucho]

Nvidia Wise you're looking at a GTX 760, which is pushing the budget to £170.
Really its no better than the 280, its actually a downgrades GTX 670 vs the 280 as a standard 7950.
280 wins it for me.

Thanks mate, I'm actually quite glad you said that, as I said to my mate a R9 280 was pretty much the best he could get for his money. I'll relay all this information to him and see what he says. He's got a week till his Birthday anyway, so hopefully overclockers will have a cracking deal on a 280 by then