AMD Radeon 6870 1GB vs GTX 660 OC 2GB

[awesomemn]

I have a 1st gen Core i7 system with 16GB DDR3 RAM and a Sapphire AMD Radeon HD 6870 1GB GDDR5, Dual LED monitors at 1080p, runs good. I game casually, mostly MW3, Black Ops 2, BF3 once in awhile. I was looking at a upgrade but am not sure the performance difference vs. price would be worthwhile.

Sapphire AMD Radeon HD 6870 1GB GDDR5 vs. MSI Geforce GTX 660 OC Twin Frozr 2GB GDDR5 $220

For $220 am I going to get a substantially noticeable improvement? If not, what about just upgrading to a AMD 7770 for $110? Or keep my 6870 and wait for the 680 or whatever other high priced card comes down. I mostly am a graphic/web designer, game maybe 8 - 10 hours a week at most.

I would kind of like to run 3 monitors but the 6870 will not, I think the 7770 will ?

Thanks!

 

[iam2thecrowe]

yes, it is a worth while upgrade to the gtx660. a 7770 is slower than the 6870. the 680 high prices wont come down that much, they will just realease the newer 7xx series and you will be able to get a more powerful mid range card that will be as fast as a 680. if you want to run 3 monitors for gaming, the 7770 is certainly capable of doing it, but performance will be poor. you should be able to run 3 monitors from a 6870, but again, not good performance. a 7950 or gtx670 would be the minimum to game comfortable across 3 monitors, even then they would struggle in some games.

 

[awesomemn]

I have the GTX 660 OC here now, am just debating whether to return it for my $200+ back.. If there will be a noticeable improvement over my 6870, in adobe or gaming, I'll keep it. If its like a 5%-10% improvement, then no its not worth it to me. I run dual displays, the 3rd one would just be a desktop for emails to come in while gaming.

I have gotten frequent BSOD's with my AMD when they update.

 

[awesomemn]

I see I can get a Radeon 7850 for $190.. would this be a better choice than the GTX 660 OC? The Radeon is about$20 cheaper after rebate.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

no, the 7850 is slower than the 660