Upgrade from 5870

[geon106]

My 5870 is broken and need a replacement. what should i go for, 6970 at £225 or £355 for a 7950? Which would be better value and a worthy replacement

 

[beejjacobs]

What res do you play at? What PSU make/model do you have?

 

[the1gooner]

If you are gaming at a maximum of 1920x1080 then I reckon a 6970 will be more than sufficient.

Though if you wait a couple of weeks then the 7870's should be released for about the same price.

 

[geon106]

I game at 1080p

I have a 700W PSU which has coped fine with the 5870 for the past year.

The games I play are just things like BF3, Skyrim, FSX.

If the 7950 is worth the extra £175 i'll get it, but if not i'll go for the 6970. Sadly I need a card by the end of next week

 

[cmndr_andi]

Hi there,

Is your card still covered by warranty by any chance? If it is you can send it off and get a free replacement (they will likely give you a current gen card of similar performance like a HD 6870).

If not and you need an immediate replacement then I would go with a HD 6970. For £240 these are good cards, offer a bit of performance jump compared to a HD 5870 and double the VRAM - something which games like BF3 just eat up.

 

[Deleted member 66701]

Hi there,

Is your card still covered by warranty by any chance? If it is you can send it off and get a free replacement (they will likely give you a current gen card of similar performance like a HD 6870).

6870 would be a DOWNGRADE from a 5870.

Do you want a card of similar performance and a bit extra ram? If yes the get a 6970.

Want a faster card? If yes then get a 7950/7970.

As you need a card by the end of the week the "wait for kepler" or "wait until the 79xx prices drop" arguments are meaningless.

personally, I'd get the 7950 if I were in your position.

 

[cmndr_andi]

6870 would be a DOWNGRADE from a 5870.

As I said, they have similar performance - if you see here in a range of games the two cards trade wins in different tests.

It's certainly not a move I would make if I wanted an upgrade in any form - but if a manufacturer offered me a free one of these if my 5870 broke then I would probably take it.

 

[geon106]

6870 would be a DOWNGRADE from a 5870.

Do you want a card of similar performance and a bit extra ram? If yes the get a 6970.

Want a faster card? If yes then get a 7950/7970.

As you need a card by the end of the week the "wait for kepler" or "wait until the 79xx prices drop" arguments are meaningless.

personally, I'd get the 7950 if I were in your position.

What about the 6950?

I would prefer a boost in performance given that i'm paying more than what I paid for the 5870 just over a year ago if possible. I don't mind spending more IF the performance per £ is worthwhile.

Talking of just over a year ago, I purchased the item online from a well known site named after a river from a 3rd party seller. So i'm not sure if covered by warranty, i've heard XFX offer a 2 year warranty, some say lifetime warranty but right now in the ticket I have with an XFX technician he just keeps asking if i've tried various things. He hasn't mentioend a replacement or repair so far.

Are any NVIDIA cards any better for my needs by any chance? As I like both ATi/AMD and NVIDIA the same.

Going to Overclockers straight from work this afternoon so will pick up one of the cards mentioned

 

[beejjacobs]

What about the 6950?

I would prefer a boost in performance given that i'm paying more than what I paid for the 5870 just over a year ago if possible. I don't mind spending more IF the performance per £ is worthwhile.

Talking of just over a year ago, I purchased the item online from a well known site named after a river from a 3rd party seller. So i'm not sure if covered by warranty, i've heard XFX offer a 2 year warranty, some say lifetime warranty but right now in the ticket I have with an XFX technician he just keeps asking if i've tried various things. He hasn't mentioend a replacement or repair so far.

Are any NVIDIA cards any better for my needs by any chance? As I like both ATi/AMD and NVIDIA the same.

Going to Overclockers straight from work this afternoon so will pick up one of the cards mentioned

If its in warranty, get a replacement or whatever you can. Worth seeing what happens with that before deciding what to replace it with.

 

[geon106]

Thanks for all your advice guys

When i finished work i went to OCuK and got the Gigabyte OC 7950 card at £380 odd.

Runs great

 

[beejjacobs]

Nice