Help me choose a card! - Page 5

Blacklash · 12-16-10, 08:14 AM

A single 6950 and 570 can both play Metro fine @ 1920x1200 sans DOF.

jkmetal · 12-16-10, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rollo

PhysX and 3d Vision are features that many people desire, that raise the level of immersion greatly in games. I can link to reviews and videos on YouTube that support this, there are now "MLAA revolutionizes gaming!" articles. (only posts about the problems with it on forums)

The only thing AMD has that is comparable is EyeFinity, which is great in it's 3 panel form. I just have serious doubts a single 6970 can drive three 1080P monitors adequately on modern games. I also think I'd rather have two NVIDIA GPUs to drive three panels because they could be 120Hz panels for 3d, and I could have PhysX effects with my 3 panels to raise the immersion in the game. (and ATi has their Display Port limitations as well)

Rollo, this isn't just about games. What if I wanted three displays just for everyday use? A skype display, a tv tuner display and a main display. I would be forced to buy a second 460 right now just to do that. That's a weakness in nv's system. Again, I have three monitors and only a 500w psu. I cannot sli. A lot of people have motherboards that do not allow them to sli. The need for sli is a weakness, no matter how you spin it.

Bios switch? The answer to the question no one outside the AMD RMA department asked. Not many people flash bioses as they can OC cards without doing so.

TDP management? I live in America where my electricity costs eight cents a KWh. So every ten hours I game on a card that uses 100W more than another card, I spend eight cents. Every 1000 hours costs eight bucks. Errr...oh noes? Eight whole bucks! The cost of the tip at lunch or a haircut, pocket change. And yet for years now ATi fans the world over yell about a couple watts of electricity like it was the last straw that put them living in a van down by the river.

A lot of people don't have really beefy powersuppiles, especially those who have brought mass produced consumer desktops. Some people actually care about energy use and their bill. The bill for energy use is not the same everywhere in the united states. Speak for yourself rollo. It breaks down to who can use the cards, without 650+ watt psu.

The AMD feature set IS weak comparatively. There's nothing fan boy about it, it's just a fact.

Nvidia's "feature set" is prohibitively expensive. Surround? Need Sli. Use physx? Need another gfx card with all the space and power requirements that come with it. 3D vision? Special 120hz monitor (buying a new monitor), expensive glasses...

fivefeet8 · 12-16-10, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkmetal

Use physx? Need another gfx card with all the space and power requirements that come with it.

Why would you need another graphics card? PhysX performance on single GTX570/580 seems to be quite good.

jkmetal · 12-16-10, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fivefeet8

Why would you need another graphics card? PhysX performance on single GTX570/580 seems to be quite good.

The physx performance on my 460 is good. I've owned nv all my life and they have great cards. Devils advocate. A second card is best if you want guaranteed 100% performance. Which if you're an enthusiast is a must.

**XDanger** · 12-16-10, 01:43 PM

fps per $ in 2048x1536 is the deciding factor for me ,not cuda / physx / 3D / multi-monitor

By the time any of that other stuff is actually relevant to me I'll be on my next card...

now i dont know again!!! gtx570 IS BACK ON THE TABLE ARRGGHHH!!!

Redeemed · 12-16-10, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XDanger

fps per $ in 2048x1536 is the deciding factor for me ,not cuda / physx / 3D / multi-monitor

By the time any of that other stuff is actually relevant to me I'll be on my next card...

Hmm... that's more demanding than 1920 x 1200. I'd recommend the 6970 simply due to the extra framebuffer. It's tessellation performance is sufficient for any game that'll be coming out in the near future. I mean, we wont really see the likes of tessellation, PhysX, and 3D really take off untill they're common on consoles... and that's a ways off.

So I'd settle for more framebuffer especially considering the resolution you're gaming at.

**MUYA** · 12-16-10, 08:09 PM

I am sure we are helping the OP by really recommending a card for him...by this back and forth drivel!

Atojar; It might be bit early to really say this or that card as the 6970's just launched. You have your reference in the reviews but, issues may crop up later or, optimizations may be made through drivers later (true for AMD and NV)

However, going on your requirement either would be ok to game at 1920 by 1200 with AA and decent AF without compromising too much on the IQ

If you want have an eye infinity setup ..AMD, if you would like physx and 3d vision...Nvidia....if you just want to game either is fine without those "killer" features.

As someone said somewhere there is no futureproof. It will be redundant in a few weeks...or when the next visually stunning but ball breaking game comes out. Make sure you start saving after you splash the cash for the next GPU or CPU or APU or whatever...

fivefeet8 · 12-16-10, 09:28 PM

The OP is comparing a SuperClocked GTX570 to a reference 6970. Performance is going to sway towards that GTX570 in most situations.

Muppet · 12-17-10, 05:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkmetal

Nvidia's "feature set" is prohibitively expensive. Surround? Need Sli. Use physx? Need another gfx card with all the space and power requirements that come with it. 3D vision? Special 120hz monitor (buying a new monitor), expensive glasses...

You only need SLI for surround gaming if you are going to run in 3D. I'm sure it would be the same for ATI if eyefinity runs 3D. Basically 3D cuts your frame rates in half.

Rollo · 12-17-10, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Muppet

You only need SLI for surround gaming if you are going to run in 3D. I'm sure it would be the same for ATI if eyefinity runs 3D. Basically 3D cuts your frame rates in half.

Actually this isn't true- you need SLi to run surround gaming with NVIDIA, but you don't need display port like you do with ATi.

**Roadhog** · 12-17-10, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rollo

Actually this isn't true- you need SLi to run surround gaming with NVIDIA, but you don't need display port like you do with ATi.

Display port > dvi

Muppet · 12-17-10, 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rollo

Actually this isn't true- you need SLi to run surround gaming with NVIDIA, but you don't need display port like you do with ATi.

Really, I didn't know that.

The point that I was trying to make anyway is that if you could game using eyfinity and 3D, you simply wouldn't be able to with one card. 3D is such a graphics hog. The resolution would be to demanding for a single GPU setup in most of todays games.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roadhog

Display port > dvi

Yes I agree. I am hoping Nvidia supports this in the future. It has the bandwidth to support higher than 1920x1080 in 3D.

12-16-10, 08:14 AM	#49
Blacklash 8^9^3 Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Old Vizima Posts: 3,679	Re: Help me choose a card! A single 6950 and 570 can both play Metro fine @ 1920x1200 sans DOF. __________________ Intel Core i7 920 @ 3.96GHz (1.36v)\|Mushkin 998681 XP3-12800 (3x2GB) ASUS TUF Sabertooth (X58)\|ASUS GTX 580 DirectCU II (980\|4604)\|ASUS PA246Q WD VelociRaptor 150GB HD (x2)\|Pioneer DVR-2920Q\|LG GH22LS30\|Klipsch PM20 2.0 SilverStone OP1000-E\|SilverStone TJ10-B\|Thermalright U-120 Extreme\|Win 7 HP x64

12-16-10, 01:43 PM	#53
XDanger Whaaat? Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 5,674	Re: Help me choose a card! fps per $ in 2048x1536 is the deciding factor for me ,not cuda / physx / 3D / multi-monitor By the time any of that other stuff is actually relevant to me I'll be on my next card... now i dont know again!!! gtx570 IS BACK ON THE TABLE ARRGGHHH!!! __________________ 2500K 4.4ghz,P8P67Pro,120gb Force3, 12gb Vengeance,HD6950,TX850v2,W7HP,LaCie Blue 22" crt COMMODORE 64 Silver Label 1Mhz/128D 4Mhz(Z80)

12-16-10, 08:09 PM	#55
MUYA Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Hong Kong Posts: 6,774	Re: Help me choose a card! I am sure we are helping the OP by really recommending a card for him...by this back and forth drivel! Atojar; It might be bit early to really say this or that card as the 6970's just launched. You have your reference in the reviews but, issues may crop up later or, optimizations may be made through drivers later (true for AMD and NV) However, going on your requirement either would be ok to game at 1920 by 1200 with AA and decent AF without compromising too much on the IQ If you want have an eye infinity setup ..AMD, if you would like physx and 3d vision...Nvidia....if you just want to game either is fine without those "killer" features. As someone said somewhere there is no futureproof. It will be redundant in a few weeks...or when the next visually stunning but ball breaking game comes out. Make sure you start saving after you splash the cash for the next GPU or CPU or APU or whatever... __________________ I5-2500k@4.7GHz - MSI Z77A-GD65 - 4GB X2 A-DATA DDR3 1600 - Corsair H100 - Antec Quatro 850W Gigabyte Windforce X3 GTX 680 OC - Dell 24" IPS Intel 320 300 GB SSD - 1 TB Hitachi HDD - 2x 250 GB WD HDD Corsair K90 - Corsair Venegance 2000 Headset - Razer Naga Epic Corsair 600T Case

12-16-10, 09:28 PM	#56
fivefeet8 Ngemu Mod Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Fresno, CA Posts: 1,886	Re: Help me choose a card! The OP is comparing a SuperClocked GTX570 to a reference 6970. Performance is going to sway towards that GTX570 in most situations. __________________ [i7 2600k @4.4ghertz][2x4 GB DDR3 1600][EVGA GTX570 1.280GB SC][EVGA GTX460 physx][Asrock Extreme7 Gen3 Z68][2xSeagate 160 Gb SATA HD raid0][Seagate 250 GB SATA2 HD][Sony Bravia 40' 1080p LCD HDTV][NEC 3520a DVD+-DLw][Windows 7 Ultimate x64][Rosewill 1000w]