7850 or 7870 for what I want

[NG88]

So I recently built a new computer but I'm using my EVGA GeForce GTX 460 v2 SC that I was using previously in my last build since my 8800GT burnt out. I didn't replace it at the time because I got it not to long ago for a pretty good price. But now I find that my graphics card is whats holding the rest of my new stuff back.

So what I want to do with this is mainly play GW2 at the moment. But in the future I plan on playing Elder Scrolls Online so I want to make sure that what I'm getting will last me into the next couple of years, and that game looks more graphics intensive than GW2.

I'm currently looking at:
7850-
XFX Double D FX-785A-CDFC Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16
XFX Black DD FX-785A-CDBC Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 3.0

7870-
XFX Double D FX-787A-CDBC Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition Black Edition 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16
XFX Double D FX-787A-CDFC Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 -OUT OF STOCK?!?!



So my problem is I was going to get one as a gift since it's really the last thing I need. I was originally aiming for the $200 mark, less if possible. But I see the GHz and people really like them so I was wondering if it's worth it trying to spend the extra money. The first 7870 isn't that bad with the rebate. The one in bold is out of stock and that in my opinion is an amazing deal, but who know's when it'll be back in stock. But since it's a gift I don't want to have overkill on their funds.

I don't plan on overclocking because I don't want to void the warranty, that's why I linked the Black Double D edition for the 7850. Is it worth for what I want to jump up or will the 7850 do what I need just fine? I also play CS:GO but that's not all that intensive but I do plan on playing games like Skyrim. I want to play in 1080p.

Sorry for the wall of text.


Spec:
CPU: AMD FX-4170 @ 4.7GHz
Mobo: ASUS M5A99FX PRO R2.0 AM3+
RAM: Crucial Ballistix Tactical Tracer 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866
PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower XT TPX-675M 675W ATX 12V v2.3 / EPS 12V v2.91
Monitor: ASUS VS248H-P Black 24" Full HD

The reason I want AMD for graphics now is because I feel it would go best with my build.


Thanks for your help.

 

[ASHISH65]

Hd 7850 would be good upgrade from what you have now.hd 7870 would be more future proof for that resolution.if you are getting hd 7850 then simply get 2gb 7850.

 

[Sumukh_Bhagat]

I would wait for Next-Gen.

And after Next-Gen releases, then you can get that 7870 Ghz for even cheaper.

 

[NG88]

Hm, well I see people saying to wait but I don't really want to wait unless it's soon.

On a side note I've been looking into things some more and see people saying the 660 is better. I found this and was wondering if it's better than what I've listed. It's a good price with a rebate I think.
ASUS GTX660-DC2O-2GD5 GeForce GTX 660 2GB 192-bit

 

[lostgamer_03]

Your Fx 4170 is what that is holding your hardware back. Bulldozer sucks so bad at gaming. No matter how much you overclock it.

 

[NG88]

Well it's what I have for now until the next thing comes out if they release it. Intel is just out of this world with prices for a quad core.

 

[lostgamer_03]

Hm, well I see people saying to wait but I don't really want to wait unless it's soon.

On a side note I've been looking into things some more and see people saying the 660 is better. I found this and was wondering if it's better than what I've listed. It's a good price with a rebate I think.
ASUS GTX660-DC2O-2GD5 GeForce GTX 660 2GB 192-bit

performance wise the Radeon 7870 wins with about 5-7%.

Gaming experience?

GTX 660 wins. Physx, TXAA and adaptive vsync will give you better visuals in some of the top games and smoother gameplay.

PhysX

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STi6rNeYZrY

Adaptive vsync

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAiPmazmR_M

TXAA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzOb252sIco

Not to forget FXAA. FXAA can be enabled in some games, such as Skyrim and Borderlands 2. But if you got the new 600 series, you can put FXAA on in every game, every app - Just on anything. FXAA is meant for people with a little lower performance GPU or in very demanding games, that will give you the benifits of some decent AA, but won't drag too much performance.

Here is some videos I made of the performance of my old gaming rig, that featured the GTX 660.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZPAxPEmRi4 Skyrim

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRnKfQaVVwM Far Cry 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VydVtesAkwA The Witcher 2

 

[lostgamer_03]

Well it's what I have for now until the next thing comes out if they release it. Intel is just out of this world with prices for a quad core.

I can only agree, they are very expensive. But if you want the best, you gotta pay for it, right?

 

[ASHISH65]

Your cpu is ok and it performs equal to i3 3220.so you have 3 option to choose hd 7850,7870 and gtx 660.overall in real world performance gtx 660 would be good as it features like physicx and adaptive vsync.but remember buy whichever you want but buy 2gb one instead of 1gb.

 

[dheeraj9933]

well,
gtx 460 is still not as bad as u think, but if u want an upgrade it is your choice.

and u say intel's quad cores are expensive..... so just buy a dual core! your fx 4100
"quad core" is not too better than intel's dual core i3, infact i3 is better at gaming,
bcoz gaming uses performance per core which intel has higher than AMD.
so basically i3 3220 would have been better ,
and AMD uses modules which arent real cores either like intel's hyperthreading, u actually have kind of a dual core with modules.
"NOT a QUAD CORE" if u want details u can use google.

now for the GPU,
a 7850 would do fine too, but a 7870 would do better
now for the nvidia features:
no need to make a HUGE deal out of them.
TXAA - very few games have them, and neither skyrim nor GW2 has it
Phsyx - few games have them and if the developers thought the additional things
were imp. they would have added them to games insted of nvidia only pc's
FXAA- not everyone likes it bcoz it bulrs the image a little bit,
dont know what u would think
Adaptive vsync - well, how difficult is it to turn on vsync??
GPU boost - my fav feature, nothing bad about it.

so your best choices are
GTX660 or HD7870
7870 is a little bit faster in most games.
but they are equal according to me given pros and cons of both Nvidia and AMD.
So choose the one which is cheaper or with a better cooler or your fav brand.
and for the 2gb or 1gb the 660 comes with 2gb in all models
and for the 7870, well the 2gb isn't all that expensive and for 10 or 20$ u'll be more futureproof

I hope i answered all your questions

 

[lostgamer_03]

Your cpu is ok and it performs equal to i3 3220.so you have 3 option to choose hd 7850,7870 and gtx 660.overall in real world performance gtx 660 would be good as it features like physicx and adaptive vsync.but remember buy whichever you want but buy 2gb one instead of 1gb.

I just showed to you in another thread that you're wrong? Why do you keep being misleading to people?

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/far-cry-3-performance-benchmark,3379-7.html

THEY ARE NOT EQUAL!

 

[dheeraj9933]

I just showed to you in another thread that you're wrong? Why do you keep being misleading to people?

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/far-cry-3-performance-benchmark,3379-7.html

THEY ARE NOT EQUAL!

some people cant get over the fact that their Favorite brand is not THAT good
fx 4100 clearly looses to i3 but he wont understand it

 

[lostgamer_03]

well,
gtx 460 is still not as bad as u think, but if u want an upgrade it is your choice.

and u say intel's quad cores are expensive..... so just buy a dual core! your fx 4100
"quad core" is not too better than intel's dual core i3, infact i3 is better at gaming,
bcoz gaming uses performance per core which intel has higher than AMD.
so basically i3 3220 would have been better ,
and AMD uses modules which arent real cores either like intel's hyperthreading, u actually have kind of a dual core with modules.
"NOT a QUAD CORE" if u want details u can use google.

now for the GPU,
a 7850 would do fine too, but a 7870 would do better
now for the nvidia features:
no need to make a HUGE deal out of them.
TXAA - very few games have them, and neither skyrim nor GW2 has it
Phsyx - few games have them and if the developers thought the additional things
were imp. they would have added them to games insted of nvidia only pc's
FXAA- not everyone likes it bcoz it bulrs the image a little bit,
dont know what u would think
Adaptive vsync - well, how difficult is it to turn on vsync??
GPU boost - my fav feature, nothing bad about it.

so your best choices are
GTX660 or HD7870
7870 is a little bit faster in most games.
but they are equal according to me given pros and cons of both Nvidia and AMD.
So choose the one which is cheaper or with a better cooler or your fav brand.
and for the 2gb or 1gb the 660 comes with 2gb in all models
and for the 7870, well the 2gb isn't all that expensive and for 10 or 20$ u'll be more futureproof

I hope i answered all your questions

Vsync is bad because when the fps goes below the HZ of the screen it will lock on a very low framerate.

Example: You have a 60 HZ screen. Usually the FPS goes above 60, so the FPS locks at 60. When in intense fights the FPS drops below 60 FPS and will lock at 30 FPS or at 15 FPS or at 0. It makes lag, and doesn't give smooth gameplay.

Adaptive vsync turns vsync on when above the HZ of the screen and takes it off when going below, so you're not limited to 30 FPS or lower.

Then you might say, "Uuuuh just leave it off or something". But if he does, then he will get microstuttering.

And about your, "some people might not like it" about the FXAA. Oh god, what if he doesn't even like gaming? What if he doesn't like cake? It doesn't matter, it will provide better visuals.

TXAA is new ofc there is only a coupe of big titles using it, but more will come, and it is the best AA out there. AND please don't start about that, "someone might not like it", again.

A lot of games uses PhysX and it does a MAJOR difference - depending on the game.

 

[lostgamer_03]

some people cant get over the fact that their Favorite brand is not THAT good
fx 4100 clearly looses to i3 but he wont understand it

I'm freaking out

I can't get over people that doesn't have experience with the current situation or any kind of statistic supporting their statement. Ofc there is some exceptions, where the answer is so clear that no one would argue against it. BUT FOR REAL MAN, YOU'RE SO RIGHT.

 

[dheeraj9933]

Vsync is bad because when the fps goes below the HZ of the screen it will lock on a very low framerate.

Example: You have a 60 HZ screen. Usually the FPS goes above 60, so the FPS locks at 60. When in intense fights the FPS drops below 60 FPS and will lock at 30 FPS or at 15 FPS or at 0. It makes lag, and doesn't give smooth gameplay.

Adaptive vsync turns vsync on when above the HZ of the screen and takes it off when going below, so you're not limited to 30 FPS or lower.

Then you might say, "Uuuuh just leave it off or something". But if he does, then he will get microstuttering.

And about your, "some people might not like it" about the FXAA. Oh god, what if he doesn't even like gaming? What if he doesn't like cake? It doesn't matter, it will provide better visuals.

TXAA is new ofc there is only a coupe of big titles using it, but more will come, and it is the best AA out there. AND please don't start about that, "someone might not like it", again.

A lot of games uses PhysX and it does a MAJOR difference - depending on the game.

why will FPS lock at 30?? if u have proof that vsync locks to as low as 15FPS u can give it to me

and about FXAA, it does blur the image a little bit and not everyone likes it and FXAA is not for better visuals it is for better performance foe less performance hits.

maybe i was a bit wrong about TXAA.
and for Phsyx.......... in 2012 how many games u can name that had Nvida only Phsyx?

 

[lostgamer_03]

why will FPS lock at 30?? if u have proof that vsync locks to as low as 15FPS u can give it to me

and about FXAA, it does blur the image a little bit and not everyone likes it and FXAA is not for better visuals it is for better performance foe less performance hits.

maybe i was a bit wrong about TXAA.
and for Phsyx.......... in 2012 how many games u can name that had Nvida only Phsyx?

Everything is in my first post.

All the games using physx. Linustechtips explaining adaptive vsync. Just everything.

Bluring edged lines is the meaning of any AA. So, that is what FXAA does.

And here is your FXAA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmeNz0NTvFQ

 

[NG88]

Hey guys thank you all for the responses!

So I do understand that Intel if far superior to AMD at the time in terms of performance but I won't be buying new parts when I already bought this stuff. That would mean replacement Mobo and CPU. On top of that a ridiculous price tag. I got what I could afford. Hopefully AMD releases new stuff for AM3+. Also the upgrade from my old Intel Core 2 Duo that's like 5 years old was a well worth it upgrade. Hell maybe I'll save up for the 8core at some point since that seems to be on par with i3. But judging by that graph for Far Cry my CPU really isn't all that bad and mine is overclocked higher.

On another note, I do like all the pros with upgrading to a higher end Nvidia card. A lot of the stuff sounds pretty cool and worth while. I guess my next question would be, I don't play any games using PhysX and don't plan on it anytime soon since the games that use it I'm not really interested in.

The games I play us the Havok engine, so would the Nvidia still be better on that engine or would AMD work out better for it? Also wouldn't the smaller bus on the 660 be worse for what I'm trying to which is processing lots of people and stuff on a screen? I'm not sure if anyone is familiar with Guild Wars 2 at all or their WvW.

Also I know my 460 isn't all that bad but I could use something better.

 

[dheeraj9933]

the 7870 and gtx 660 are almost the same with 7870 a bit better as i already said.
and dont be sad about the small bus on the 660 it is not a problem,
the speed is determined by bus width and the mem. speed which nvidia has higher.
AMD may win by a small margin but not and issue.
so it is just your choice do u like the 7870 or the 660 try to find some good offers in your area.
and pick your favorite or cheapest one or with more free games!!

 

[dheeraj9933]

a few bench's to help u out
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/Catalyst_12.11_Performance/23.html

 

[NG88]

Best answer selected by NG88.

 

[NG88]

Thanks for all the help guys. Seriously couldn't have done it without you. I think I'll be going by whatever I can find the best deals on. Think I'm leaning more towards AMD since it goes with the rest of my build even though I'm sad to part with EVGA and Nvidia who know's maybe a EVGA 660Ti will come on the market for cheap (doubtful). I think I'll find a 7870 for cheaper than a 660 so prob go with that.

Thanks again guys and have a wonderful new year!

 

[dheeraj9933]

Happy to help