Which graphics card should I get?

Discussion in 'General Hardware' started by deltatux, Jul 20, 2011.

  1. deltatux

    deltatux Guest

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    GPU:
    GIGABYTE Radeon R9 280
    Hey guys,

    It's that time again, it's summer, and it's upgradin' season. Well, I'm deciding between at least two graphics cards:

    XFX Radeon HD 6870
    http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=15180BD4700
    Pros
    • Double lifetime warranty and rather painless (costed me $30 in shipping to California though)
    • GPU cooler sucks air in and pumps heat out the back
    • Standard size for Radeon HD 6870 at 10" long.
    Cons
    • The XFX letters in the vent looks flimsy and I'm afraid it might pop out and may get stuck inside the GPU causing problems
    • May not be overclocking friendly, my current Radeon HD 4850 isn't.
    • Noisier due to smaller fan.

    ASUS Radeon HD 6870
    http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=10530BD9927
    Pros
    • Factory overclocked
    • cooling pipes looks good
    • like how the PCB is built
    Cons
    • Warranty is a ?. ASUS does have a Canadian repair centre about 10 blocks from where I live but I have no clue if they accept GPU repairs or not.
    • Sound card may be blocking the fan since it's located near centre
    • Due to overvoltage, GPU may be drawing more power than my PSU can deliver.
    • Card is not standard length, it is 11" long.

    My budget is C$200 and NVIDIA is not out of the question (I have looked at EVGA's GTX560), but my most important thing is a balance between price, performance and power consumption. Fermi just plainly uses too much power and I don't want to change my PSU unless I absolutely need to since it's running fine right now.

    I'm not a fan of the dual fan designs because they look funny and I'm afraid they might draw more power than needed. That and the fact I have no clue if my sound card has enough clearance. Best that I don't need to move the sound card, but if I must then I would do so.

    I plan to order it next week since I'm getting my paycheque.

    Thoughts? I'm open to any suggestions.

    deltatux
     
    Last edited: Jul 20, 2011
  2. Chillin

    Chillin Ancient Guru

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    There was a pretty good deal on Newegg recently for a Zotac GTX 560 for $150 MIR, slightly faster than a 6870, so this deal is a keeper if it's still around.
     
  3. mf2385

    mf2385 Banned

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    GPU:
    EVGA GTX 690
    Save up a bit more money and get a gtx 560 ti man, they are beasts.
     
  4. deltatux

    deltatux Guest

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    I'm not willing to spend more than $200 man, got other things to pay off than just a single GPU right ;)?

    As for the Zotac, how's the warranty like? Also, is it a good manufacturer?

    Lastly, issue I have with NVIDIA is that Fermi eats a lot of power, not sure if my 500W PSU can handle even the 560 without hiccups or what not.

    deltatux
     

  5. mf2385

    mf2385 Banned

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    EVGA GTX 690
    Well then it's your decision a gtx 560 is better then one of those too and you can get one for $200 or less.

     
  6. deltatux

    deltatux Guest

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    iight, thanks for the input.

    If anyone has any input I'm open to any as well.

    Cheers,
    deltatux
     
  7. Chillin

    Chillin Ancient Guru

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    The Zotac GTX 560 has an issue with running very hot. Sadly enough the modified heatsink/fan shroud actually runs hotter than the default Nvidia spec.
     
  8. deltatux

    deltatux Guest

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    GPU:
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    Hmmm, so Zotac is out of the question ... any other fielders?

    I've looked through the GTX 560 reviews and it looks like it's quite on par with Radeon HD 6870. How is the power consumption on the GTX 560? Also, I'm looking at the EVGA cards, anyone dealt with their warranty system before?

    I originally wanted to go with the Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 because there's almost no flaws in the card, except for the warranty. I talked to their Canadian representative and they told me that not only do I have to send it to their Canadian authorized service centre, but the service centre doesn't process the repairs themselves and have to send the card to Hong Kong which is another $40 (might be cheaper for me to give my card to my parents since they go back and forth between Toronto and Hong Kong 3 times a year >.>").

    Any other thoughts or suggestions :)?

    Cheers,
    deltatux
     
  9. JEFFRO503

    JEFFRO503 Guest

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    Damn Delta.... I could have sold you this one for really cheap! >> http://s1234.photobucket.com/albums/ff407/Jeffro503/?action=view&current=100_0928.jpg

    It's got custom fans and stuff....the guy who built it says it's worth more than the black one above it which has never been modified!


    On a serious note , I wish I could give you some feedback on the two 6780's I had ( still have one ) But I didn't get a chance to run them. From the sounds of it , they are a great card for the money. The weird thing is , with it being a 6xxx series card , you would think it would walk on a 5870....but it doesn't from all the benches I have seen.

    I think they act a lot like the newer GTX560 , compared to the GTX480.....the 480 seems to be a more powerful card by quite a ways and runs right with the 580 in some games. Still expensive as hell though.
     
  10. deltatux

    deltatux Guest

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    lol, what a hack-job that was, I still feel bad for you having to deal with that retard.

    Anyways, AMD did announce before the 6000 series came out that they have shifted their numbering schemes. What used to be the x800 series cards will now be x900 series cards. So it makes sense that now the GeForce GTX560 competes with the Radeon HD 6870 and the Radeon HD 6870 isn't any faster than the 5870 (they're on par tbh).

    deltatux
     

  11. JEFFRO503

    JEFFRO503 Guest

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    Delta....have you heard any rumors on anything with the 7XXX series cards? I know that 6990 dual GPU card has been out for a little while , I was thinking we would start seeing some leaks on the 7XXX cards before to long.
     
  12. Chillin

    Chillin Ancient Guru

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    Here's the deal with a GTX 560 vs 6870. The GTX 560 is slightly faster overall and uses less power under load, however uses much more energy in idle. The GTX 560 also runs slightly cooler (on average) under load and idle, however this is very dependent on the voltages and coolers.

    So to sum it up, if the price is the same or with $15, go with the GTX 560. Otherwise the 6870 is an excellent choice also.
     
  13. deltatux

    deltatux Guest

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    Latest word is that both AMD and NVIDIA are delayed to 2012 due to TSMC having issues with the 28 nm half node, just like what happened with 40 nm.

    Care to provide some links please?

    So other than Zotac which is off the list due to the issue stated above, what other manufacturer other EVGA do you recommend? (EVGA cards cost more than $15 atm esp. after factoring in shipping from NewEgg.ca as other stores are like out of stock period on EVGA GTX560s.)

    Cheers,
    deltatux
     
  14. Chillin

    Chillin Ancient Guru

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  15. maleficarus™

    maleficarus™ Banned

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    GPU:
    ASUS GTX460 800/1600/4000
    Honestly deltatux, I would suggest you just go buy a GTX460 from Asus. OC it and you will have a GTX560 for around $140 bucks at CanadaComputers...this is exactly what I did and am very happy with it. The fan even under load only runs 40% which means you never hear it. My temps at idle are 35 to 40C and underload while hard-gaming some BC2 is the high 60's. You can't go wrong with this Fermi card man...seriously...I run my GTX460 at the exact same out of box 560 speeds!
     

  16. deltatux

    deltatux Guest

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    GPU:
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    Which GIGABYTE card are you referring to?

    Are both the GTX 460 and 560 share the same specs (in terms of ROPs, shader cores and etc.)?

    deltatux
     
    Last edited: Jul 20, 2011
  17. maleficarus™

    maleficarus™ Banned

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    GPU:
    ASUS GTX460 800/1600/4000
    Yes. Everything is the exact same. Only difference is the core/shader/memory speeds. The GTX560 is simply a GTX460 overclocked. If you head-over to CanadaComputers website, you can see the price difference is around $50 to $100 bucks depending on the brand...
     
  18. Chillin

    Chillin Ancient Guru

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    The GTX 560 uses the GF114, the GTX 460 uses the GF104; the GF114 has many improvements over the GF104.
     
  19. deltatux

    deltatux Guest

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    Ok, now the only issue with that idea is that, the GTX 460 seems to use more power than the 560 at a much lower clock speed. That and the fact that overclocking isn't guaranteed as we all should know. I only have a 500W PSU, I'm not sure if overclocking the GTX460 would be such a good idea.

    deltatux
     
  20. maleficarus™

    maleficarus™ Banned

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    GPU:
    ASUS GTX460 800/1600/4000
    Look at my specs. 500w also, no issues whatsoever with overclocking. I have an Antec 500W earthwatts. And even though there technectly different "cores" between these two cards like Brute pointed out. There the same really...Notice how he didn't post any real links to a difference? He claims "many improvements" but can't seem to link to any of them. Why? Because frankly there isn't any...

    As for overclocking? Well as you know there is never a for sure. But the ASUS model using the same DirectCU cooling as the 560 series so it stands to reason that most if not all will OC like mine as well...
     

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