Not sure where to put this.... My current specs are: Intel Core I7 950 3.0 GHZ ATI Radeon 5850 OCZ 4 GB PC 1600 RAM I am noticing on the latest titles being released I am not able to runs the games maxed out at 1920x1200 and get anywher near 60 FPS. I am looking to get a newer video card as I weel my 5850 is the bottleneck after looking at the benchmark of top new games at many sites. The two cards I am consdering are: Saphire ATI 6870 http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-DL-DV...2611846&sr=8-2 EVGA Superclocked Nvidia GTX 570 http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Superclo...SMGW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1322611976&sr=8-2 Both of these are in the price range I am looking at. I am debating on which one to get? I want the best performance, but I am also considering that the Nvidia card will allow me to have Physx turned on and only have one card present. So I am really torn between these two. I am ordering from Amazon since I have prime and there is no sales tax. Can you guys help me decide?
This would have been the best sub-forum for this thread: http://forums.guru3d.com/forumdisplay.php?f=10 I recommend the GTX 570. It's faster than the Radeon HD 6870, has PhysX, and won't come with the simply absurd driver problems AMD has been having with new games (BF3, Skyrim, Batman: Arkham City, Rage, the list goes on...). Also, these links might help: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...3901 600083829&IsNodeId=1&name=Radeon HD 6870 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...95515&IsNodeId=1&name=GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) - PR-0927
Also would you agree that it sounds like my video card is the bottle neck? I only get around 40 FPS in towns in Skyrim with everything on high without mods?
Partly, yes. Your CPU isn't slow by any means, but to ensure less of a bottleneck problem, you might overclock it if you're comfortable doing that. Also, if you can get a bit more RAM, definitely do so. Games have been increasingly demanding more than 4GB now (for recommended and maxed out settings). Oh by the way, I DEFINITELY recommend staying single-GPU if you go with the Radeon HD 6870. AMD has been having horrible driver problems, as I mentioned, but their CrossFire driver problems are even worse. - PR-0927
I was under the impression no games come with a 64 bit executeable which makes having more than 4 GB of ram useless?
Not necessarily. Several games do come with 64-bit .exes, but even some which don't recommend 64-bit OSes and more than 4GB of RAM (BF3 for example - and a difference is made by this). I'm not fully knowledgeable on the technical/mathematic aspect of games and 64-bit OSes/more than 4GB of RAM, but from what I've seen, plenty of modern games can take advantage of more than 4GB of RAM. - PR-0927
Definitely the card. The RAM is much less of a "problem" than the GPU. Also, if you're able to, try to get a GPU with more than 1GB of VRAM. I've noticed that on several games (Total War: Shogun 2 and BF3, for example) that 1GB of VRAM has become...somewhat inadequate. - PR-0927
Card. I'm running 4GB ram and have no issues, Skyrim runs like a dream. There is always at least 2.5GB available for a game. If you add lots of hires mods and use the LAA (Large Address Aware) patch to allow the game to use up to 4GB ram, more memory may be needed. Also if you run lots of things in the background and have a lot less free ram, a memory upgrade will help but I doubt this is your problem/main concern. In your current situ, as pointed out, you are CPU limited for sure with Skyrim. Clock your CPU as much as you can and see if you are happy with the result. If not, get a faster gfx card. I recommend the GTX570, I've had my ATI woes too! Edit: agreed with above vram size comment. The 570 has 1.3GB which is much better than 1GB with some modern games. If you do get the ATI card, get the 2GB version.
So the cards I listed they will have 1 GB VRAM correct? Sorry for all the questions, I just want to make sure I am getting the right card.
GTX570 ftw..you don't need to think about it..Faster then the hd6870 it has physx support and slightly better driver support..If you was interested in the hd6970 then i would have went with that.
6870 is only just faster than the 5850. I went from 6870 to gtx480 (give or take 570 performance) and I got a noticeable boost in games.
I realized today I mistyped. The ATI card I am looking at is the 6970. What is better, the 6970 or the gtx 570?
well if you really have money to spend.. i use HD 5870 myself and after using 9600 GT, 7800 GTX and 4600 Ti in the past i would say.. GTX 570 FTW!! good driver, physx and AO in game.
