Upgrade from 4890

[WU-TANG]GZA · 15 Dec 2010 at 18:19

Hi guys,

Had a couple of threads about this leading up to the launch of the 6900 cards and now they are out.

I have read some of the reviews and threads but not all cos I'm really ill atm and reading lots is hurting my head !!

To sum up:

I game at 1920 x 1080, play L4D, COD BO, BC2 and will game games like Crysis every now and then (if internet is down

).

I was thinking of a few options and would like some advice:

1. Don't upgrade just now and wait a few more months (eeek I've got the itch)

2. 5870 1gb - nice and cheap and great performance and DX11

3. GTX 470 - quite cheap now too, also DX11 and great performance

4. GTX 570 - had read that people were dissapointed with its lack of improvement over the 470 when it came out but maybe people just like to bash things when they come out cos most ppl are saying the same about the 6970 and that the 570 > 6970.

5. 6950 - seems nice and cheap

6. 6970 - also seems cheap as I thought it was going to be more around £400 but I guess with its' performance it couldn't have been that much.

I had thought that £220 would be the ideal spenditure for an upgrade but if either the 570 or the 6970 were highly recommended as a great upgrade for single card use (I doubt I will ever crossfire/SLI) then £300 can be done.

What do you think?

Wu

[WU-TANG]GZA · 15 Dec 2010 at 20:48

Shameful bump

[WU-TANG]GZA · 15 Dec 2010 at 21:08

Reading more and really starting to lean towards the 6950 as it's newer tech and generally matches the 5870 at my resolution.

Not sure why but I like the look of the Sapphire - is that being silly? Should I just go for the HIS or wait for the XFX....

What are the benefits (if any) to the Sapphire - it's a fair bit more expensive is that justified?

Wu

EDIT: Can see the Sapphire on a major competitor for £223 which is a bit of a difference !! I'd rather buy through OcUK but...

Invertigo · 15 Dec 2010 at 21:16

Generally, I would say set a budget and ge the best card that your budget allows. If you could stretch to £270, the gtx570 would be a good buy. It pretty much trades blows with the 6970, maybe coming very slightly ahead. However, current pricing means its also slightly cheaper (MSI card on this week only)

If you don't want to go over £220, then I would say 6950. It outperforms the 470 and as you said, has similar performance to the 5870 and personally I'd prefer to go for the newer tech, even if it is £20ish more. Both these give the option of a multi-gpu setup if you ever want to go that route, and your TX950 is MORE than enough for 2 cards.

[WU-TANG]GZA · 15 Dec 2010 at 21:25

Invertigo said:
Generally, I would say set a budget and ge the best card that your budget allows. If you could stretch to £270, the gtx570 would be a good buy. It pretty much trades blows with the 6970, maybe coming very slightly ahead. However, current pricing means its also slightly cheaper (MSI card on this week only)

If you don't want to go over £220, then I would say 6950. It outperforms the 470 and as you said, has similar performance to the 5870 and personally I'd prefer to go for the newer tech, even if it is £20ish more. Both these give the option of a multi-gpu setup if you ever want to go that route, and your TX950 is MORE than enough for 2 cards.

Yeah I know about setting a budget but at the same time - if the more expensive options aren't really going to make much difference as I play at 1080p then it makes no/little sense to go for them if the 6950 will be fine.
The price difference is about £80 which is about a 40%(pls don't correct me just guesstimate in my head) increase and obviously is not 40% better performance (correct me if im wrong on that).

Yeah I bought the TX950 for the reason of crossfiring 4890 but never bothered and don't really think I ever will xfire.

OK, so you're saying at £220 end 6950 wins and at £270 mark the 570 slightly clinches it (which mimicks the benches I've seen so far)

So now the only question is £220 option or £300 option? I'm leaning towards £220 - just not sure I require more than a 6950 will offer me....

Wu

arc@css · 15 Dec 2010 at 21:29

Hi,

You have the upgrade itch, so you want rather than need, which is fair enough. Just curious to ascertain if the 4890 is performing adequately well.

From early reports it looks as though the 6950 is the best bang for buck though I do agree the 5870 is tempting, despite having 'only' 1gb of vram. As you probably know, depending on the game, but with high eye candy enabled and the sort of res you game at, there will be the odd game that will use more than 1gb of memory, so the 2gb is handy there.

You say £300 is the maximum you're prepared to spend. When looking at the benchmarks, at times there doesn't seem a big enough gap between the 6950 and the 6970 to me, even though (atm) the 6970 is rather well priced. If it were my cash I'm not sure at present if I'd bother to stump up extra for the 6970. Once we get to considering the 6970, the 570 then comes into play..tough call in it?

I see you have an sli / xfire mobo so you could one day add another, if you so wished.

Regarding vendor, I'd personally be happy to take HIS, my card is an HIS and touch wood, has been fine for me.

shaf · 15 Dec 2010 at 21:44

I'm in the same position and have a 4890 too.

I was planning on upgrading to the 6970 but I don't think it is as good as I hoped.

I've therefore decided to wait a couple of months to see what happens. I think.

Invertigo · 15 Dec 2010 at 21:50

If you're looking at the 6970/50, personally I would go for the OcUK cards over the HIS. The warranty is exactly the same, and may as well save a bit of cash!

Regarding 6950 vs 6970/570, you're looking at about a 10-15% difference. It's entirely your call if that bit extra is worth the £50 to you

[WU-TANG]GZA · 15 Dec 2010 at 22:03

arc@css said:
Hi,

You have the upgrade itch, so you want rather than need, which is fair enough. Just curious to ascertain if the 4890 is performing adequately well.

From early reports it looks as though the 6950 is the best bang for buck though I do agree the 5870 is tempting, despite having 'only' 1gb of vram. As you probably know, depending on the game, but with high eye candy enabled and the sort of res you game at, there will be the odd game that will use more than 1gb of memory, so the 2gb is handy there.

You say £300 is the maximum you're prepared to spend. When looking at the benchmarks, at times there doesn't seem a big enough gap between the 6950 and the 6970 to me, even though (atm) the 6970 is rather well priced. If it were my cash I'm not sure at present if I'd bother to stump up extra for the 6970. Once we get to considering the 6970, the 570 then comes into play..tough call in it?

I see you have an sli / xfire mobo so you could one day add another, if you so wished.

Regarding vendor, I'd personally be happy to take HIS, my card is an HIS and touch wood, has been fine for me.

Yeah the 4890 does still do the job. I'm thinking of playing BC2 more though and that's quite demanding and I don't like to turn things down.

As I am aware there is nothing else in the reasonably near future, is there?

I know there WILL be new series at some point - but you can't wait forever.

Wu

[WU-TANG]GZA · 15 Dec 2010 at 22:19

So is there really a difference between the brands of gfx cards?

I generally prefer to stick to very well known brands but if it's exactly the same thing but with a different 'badge' then it would be silly.

Considering:

OcUK 6950 £214

XFX 6950 £226

Sapphire £250

What's with the price difference if the warranty is the same?

Wu

Amnesia · 15 Dec 2010 at 22:23

i was in a similar position except i have a 4850....decided to get a 570.
should be fun.

Invertigo · 15 Dec 2010 at 22:52

OcUK are covering the warranties for both the HIS and OcUK cards for the full 2 years. I believe XFX warranties are covered by the reseller too, hence why I would pick the cheapest option, being the OcUK value one

arc@css · 15 Dec 2010 at 22:57

Invertigo said:
OcUK are covering the warranties for both the HIS and OcUK cards for the full 2 years. I believe XFX warranties are covered by the reseller too, hence why I would pick the cheapest option, being the OcUK value one

Yep, forgot about the OcUk value one, get that imo.

[WU-TANG]GZA · 16 Dec 2010 at 10:08

OK - I think I am now leaning towards the 6970. As it's only £50 more tbh and it is a faster card and will no doubt last longer and once overclocked will perform even better.

Overclockers are being undercut massively on these 69-- cards by a major competitor - sorry but I guess I will have to go elsewhere

Sapphire 6950 £250 on OcUK and the Sapphire 6970 is £276 on competitor site !!

EDIT: BAH ! Cannot decide 6950 or 6970 or GTX 570 - for some reason I guess I've turned into an ATi fanboy. Have just loved my 4890 and had zero problems with it whatsoever. Then again, had no problems with my 8800GT before that : D

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-112-MS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1010

or

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-026-HS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1752

or

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-027-HS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1752

Jesus too many releases - too close together - makes it really hard.....

8800GT and 4890 were easy choices at the time, REALLY easy this is hard....cmon people please I need some votes (hopefully from ppl with the cards in question if possible)

Wu

Amnesia · 17 Dec 2010 at 15:49

when i checked the benchmarks from the sites posted in the 6970 thread, the 6970 was a good choice at higher res and the 570 at 1680*1050, so i guess it could depend on what res you play at and how many monitors you need to support.

[WU-TANG]GZA · 20 Dec 2010 at 18:08

Re-starting this thread.

Pay-day has come and gone.

Still unsure what to do:

1920 x 1080 - playing l4d, BC2, crysis 2 when it comes out ofc.

6950

6970

GTX 570

Can spend the £280 mark for 570/6970 but is it worth it? Anyone with any of these cards, your input would be appreciated.

Also - would all of these cards fit in my case/mobo/psu connections? (See sig.)

Wu

DELETED_83755 · 20 Dec 2010 at 18:21

I would spend £220 on the 6950 and save the £50 for the future "upgrade itch".

Xelene · 20 Dec 2010 at 18:25

I know you have the itch, but the 4890 is more than enough for the Source games at 1920x1200 and by the looks of it Crysis 2 will be easier to handle than it's predecessor. Haven't played BC2 so don't know about that.

I'm in a similar boat as you (24" / 4890 / Upgrade urges) and finding it hard to justify an upgrade.

[WU-TANG]GZA · 20 Dec 2010 at 18:32

sldsmkd said:
I know you have the itch, but the 4890 is more than enough for the Source games at 1920x1200 and by the looks of it Crysis 2 will be easier to handle than it's predecessor. Haven't played BC2 so don't know about that.

I'm in a similar boat as you (24" / 4890 / Upgrade urges) and finding it hard to justify an upgrade.

I'm kinda glad someone said this - because deep down I know the 4890 is good enough to last for a fair few more months....

Just those bloody mosquito bites.....

arc@css · 20 Dec 2010 at 18:34

Buy yourself a game and forget about the hardware for a bit. I command you to download Stalker : complete mod this instant!