GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

Don't sweat it. Honestly, 2.1 and 2.0 are basically the same thing; I just listed it that way to make it look more impressive 😁. You can easily just plug in

So, I've been sitting here staring at these two options, trying to make sense of it all... which one is actually worth my time? Which card is better? It’s one of those questions that seems simple on the surface, but once you start digging into the specs, everything gets messy... So, I was looking back at some old hardware specs today, specifically that Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5670... honestly, it takes me back. It’s one of those cards that really defined an era for a lot of us, wasn't it? Not exactly a powerhouse by today's standards, obviously, but back then... well, you know how it goes. You'd be sitting there, trying to squeeze every last bit of performance out of your rig just to get a decent frame rate, hoping nothing would crash mid-session... It's funny how much we used to obsess over these specific models. Just a thought while I was digging through my old tech notes... ...well, if you ask me, I don't see it going any other way. It’s just one of those things where you look at the options and realize there really isn't much of a choice left... unless you want to deal with the headache that comes with anything else. Honestly, sometimes it feels like we're just circling the drain waiting for a decision to be made for us... anyway, that's just my two cents. XFX ATI Radeon HD 5670... The folks over at Links are claiming that the XFX is the better way to go just because it’s cheaper, insisting the performance is basically identical... or so they say...

They’re absolutely right on that point. Honestly, the only real difference you'll find is the cooler—but since that chip doesn't really run hot anyway, you might as well just go with the cheapest 😉

So, what’s actually the deal with the difference between those XFX cards—the HD 6770 vs. the 5770—other than the fact that the 6770 carries a higher price tag?

James Hayes5 said:What's actually the difference between that XFX HD 6770 and the 5770, besides the fact that the 6770 costs more?

Well, yeah, you nailed it—it's more expensive.

But honestly, it's totally worth grabbing this one instead. 😉

http://www.magazinrs.com/product.asp?...%2D679X%2DZDFC

So, here’s the deal: I’m looking at getting a PCI-E x16 graphics card, and my main goal is to get things running smoothly for titles like Call of Duty: Black Ops and $833 especially
Crysis 2 at full HD resolution. Here is what my current rig looks like:
An AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition processor on an AM3 socket, specifically the BOX version,
paired with an ASRock 870 EXTREME3 motherboard—which features the AMD 870 chipset, AMD SB850, ATX form factor, a 2600 FSB, and supports Dual Channel
along with some DDR3 memory totaling 6GB (3x2GB) from Corsair, clocked at 1333MHz with timings of 9-9-9-24, model CMX6GX3M3A1333C9
Since this motherboard actually supports multi-GPU setups via Crossfire, I was wondering if you guys could give me some advice: should I put all my eggs in one basket and just grab a single, high-end card, or would it be smarter to go with two slightly lower-tier cards working together?

By the way, what kind of power supply are you running?
Personally, I’d much rather have one beefy card than two weak ones. If I were spending that kind of cash, I’d go with this instead:

Power Supply🙂🙂🙂🙂 SEASONIC 620W, SS-620GB, S12 II, active PFC

Good lord 😁
Look, if you aren't asking for much, even a GTX 560 might cut it. That thing can still handle Halo 2 and Black ops at 1080p on max settings. Just an idea if you're trying to save some cash.

If you aren't really feeling the Nvidia vibe, this card from AMD is pretty much in the same ballpark:

Look, I’ll be the first to admit that I don't always follow every single trend—I tend to just drift with whatever feels right at the moment—but if you're asking me to point you toward the absolute gold standard, the heavy hitter, the one card that will actually handle $833 at the highest possible resolution without breaking a sweat, then
is where you need to focus your attention.

boldcanyon14 said:Anyway, what kind of PSU are you running?
I’d rather have one powerhouse card than two weak ones. For that budget, I'd just grab this:

signature 👍

Daniel Alvarez11 said:Here’s the deal: I need a PCI-E x16 card that can handle Call of Duty: Black Ops and Crysis 2 at Full HD. I have about $833 roughly
this much to spend. The build is
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition, AM3 socket, BOX, C3
ASRock 870 EXTREME3 - AMD 870, AMD SB850, ATX, FSB 2600, Dual Ch
DDR3 6GB (3x2GB) Corsair, 1333MHz, 9-9-9-24, CMX6GX3M3A1333C9
Since the motherboard supports Crossfire, should I go for one high-end card or two mid-range ones?

In this price range, my recommendation is definitely ATI Crossfire. You get a better price-to-performance ratio compared to running a single card.

For $0.75 you can grab two Radeon HD 6850 cards, which will outperform the GTX 580 being sold by $1.00 for more money.

Here is a comparison showing Crossfire/SLI performance against top-tier cards:

http://www.guru3d.com/article/vga-charts-spring-2011/7

Your power supply can handle two HD 6850s, and since your motherboard supports dual x8 for the PCI-E 2.0 x16 slots, you'll actually get the full potential of Crossfire—unlike some boards that drop to x16x4 in a combo configuration.

Looking at the data, in Metro, all these cards are struggling around the 2,500 mark and coughing at 28 FPS. With Battlefield 3 and a new Metro coming out soon, expect even lower numbers.

So, I'm looking at running a Radeon HD 6850 in Crossfire...

In your honest opinion, does ATI actually hold the edge over NVIDIA when you start weighing up the raw performance against what you're actually shelling out at the store?😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁

Daniel Alvarez11 said:so we're talking HD 6850 crossfire

Is ATI better than Nvidia when it comes to price versus performance?😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁

It is definitely ATI in this price bracket because the scaling is superior. For example, two HD 6870 cards (which you can find for $0.87) will match or outperform two GTX 560 cards (which cost more in an SLI setup), even though a single GTX 560 is technically the stronger card overall.

However, given your current power supply, I wouldn't recommend going with heavy CF/SLI configurations.

Paul Wright7 said:It’s definitely ATI in that specific price bracket, and if you want to know why, it all comes down to how much better they scale together. For instance, if you were to pick up two HD 6870 cards—which you can actually find for $0.87—they’ll deliver performance that matches or even beats a dual GTX 560 setup, even though those NVIDIA cards tend to be a bit pricier when you factor in the cost of an SLI configuration; however, on a card-for-card basis, a single GTX 560 is technically the superior piece of hardware.

That being said, looking at the power supply you currently have on hand, I wouldn't personally suggest jumping into any heavy-duty CF or SLI setups right now.

it's hardly a bad idea to just grab a 700w power supply

If you're running two HD 6870s, your power supply should be more than enough to handle the load. 👍

It could work, but I wouldn't recommend any overclocking if you go that route.
Beyond the performance boost, two HD 6870 cards actually run cooler than two HD 6850s.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon...firex-review/5

For two HD 6870s, you're looking at roughly $0.87.

Bottom line: if you're running CF/SLI, you need a high-quality case with solid airflow.

Honestly, who cares if you overclock? I actually thought they’d be pulling even more juice, but here I am with a full setup featuring dual HD 6870s and an overclocked i7—which is basically a space heater itself—and I'm only hitting 421W.
http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon...firex-review/4
A bunch of different sites are listing power draw right around 430W, so this level of consumption is totally fine.
They even pointed out that their specific rig pulls about 50 to 100W more than your average everyday PC.
Bottom line: when it comes to the PSU, you're good to go. 😁

2 x

Tyler Howard46, where did the link go?

Actually, now that I'm giving it some thought, one single thing: these XFX cards are loud and run hot as hell, but if you're looking at pure price-to-performance, they're easily the best move—assuming you don't mind that previous 😁