6950 vs 7850

[2260121]

Hey everyone,

As the title says, i'm trying to decide between the 6950 or the 7850.
Both are about the same price. these are the cards i was looking at :

sapphire radeon hd 6950 2gb,
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102954

Asus radeon hd 7850 2gb,
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121651

I know the 7850 is more power efficient, smaller, newer and that stock vs stock it beats the 6950.
But the 6950 i mentioned has a 2nd bios with the shaders unlocked, included with the card 😀 .
So the question is more 6970 vs 7850 and stock vs stock, the 6970 wins (but consumes a lot more power).
I would use the card mostly for gaming (battlefield 3, Crysis 2, Dirt 3...) on a 720p TV.
The first thing that made me consider the 6950 is the 7xxx issues with dolphin emulator (something i use a lot) 🙁
I know that a 6970/7850 is overkill for gaming at 720p right now but i'm going to keep card as long as i can.

Thanks a lot for your help

 

[devilofdeaths]

7850 because it's newer and i think it preforms better than the 6950

 

[undercovernerd6]

here is a benchmark comparison

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/549?vs=510

 

[skitz9417]

yea it does perform better than the hd 6950 but i go for the one thats cheaper

 

[dalethepcman]

If you don't plan on doing any overclocking, then go with the shader unlockable 6950 as it will outperform a 7850 with the shaders unlocked.

That being said, if you are power conscious at all an unlocked 6950 uses like 50% more power for the same performance at the 7850. Both are excellent cards though and you can't go wrong with either one really.

 

[devilofdeaths]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102998 for $200
or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102954 $190

 

[2260121]

here is a benchmark comparison

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/549?vs=510

Yeah but... http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/509?vs=549

 

[2260121]

That being said, if you are power conscious at all an unlocked 6950 uses like 50% more power for the same performance at the 7850. Both are excellent cards though and you can't go wrong with either one really.

Yeah, i think you're right. Maybe not enough difference (except for power consumption) to worry about it.

 

[2260121]

Would prefer to buy from someone else but that's a pretty good deal :
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3526753&CatId=3669

2 free games for 10$ more !