AMD Radeon hd 7850 2GB or GTX 560 ti 1GB

[domiges]

Hi everyone,

I am planning in building my first gaming rig, and i need some advice for the Graphics card. I was looking at different webshops and found out a AMD Radeon hd 7850 (OEM) with 2GB has the same price as a eVGA GTX 560 ti with 1 gb here in the Netherlands. They both go for about 200 Euros (250 dollars). My big question is, does that 1 GB make any difference? Which one is better? here are some links to the Graphicscards:

Radeon hd 7850: http://www.waeplus.co.uk/product/316434/AMD-Radeon-HD-7850-OEM---2-GB-GDDR5---PC (this is a european model, so i couldn't find any american links)

GTX 560 ti : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130604

i am planning to buy the Intel core i5 2500k (sandy) or the 3750k (ivy), and i saw that it is better to use AMD cards with AMD processors and Nvidia cards with Intel Processors, is that true?

sorry for my english

 

[Rustyy117]

Hello

The memory amount (2GB vs 1GB) isn't a big deal unless you are playing games at high settings at a large resolution.

Out of the two card's you've mentioned the HD7850 is slightly faster, but only just.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/549?vs=547

If both are roughly the same price I'd opt for the HD7850.

 

[unksol]

1GB vs 2GB doesn't make much difference at 1080p. it does at higher resolutions, and might in the future. but that doesn't really matter, the 7850 is a much better card. And the 560Ti is last Gen. 7850 wins hands down if they are the same price.

 

[gam0reily]

Just to clear any doubt, at stock speeds, a reference HD 7850 is SLOWER than a gtx 560 ti.

But with a little OCing (not much actually), a 7850 easily outperforms a gtx 560 ti, with at least 3-4 fps gr8er in any game.

Plus, the 7850 draws less power, even after OCing.

Also, u will easily get a 7850 in future for crossfiring, but the supply of 560 ti is limited I guess.

 

[Rustyy117]

Just to clear any doubt, at stock speeds, a reference HD 7850 is SLOWER than a gtx 560 ti.

But with a little OCing (not much actually), a 7850 easily outperforms a gtx 560 ti, with at least 3-4 fps gr8er in any game.

Plus, the 7850 draws less power, even after OCing.

Also, u will easily get a 7850 in future for crossfiring, but the supply of 560 ti is limited I guess.

I wouldn't say a HD7850 is generally slower than a GTX560 Ti, it may be slower in a few games but is faster in most (see my Anandtech link).

 

[bigcyco1]

Look at the non-reference 560 Ti designs, factory OC'd to 900 Mhz. Among them you will find several models that have upgrade dPCB's and beefed up VRMs. The ones w/ 7 phases or more and the special coolers have been known to top 30% overclocks over the reference card speed.

http://www.pureoverclock.com/review.php?id=1201&page=17

"There is only two even worth checking out IMO"


Asus DCII Cu TOP 900Mhz - 7 phase VRM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121425


Gigabyte OC 900Mhz - 7 phase VRM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125363

The R7850 performance is about the same as the 560 Ti 900Mhz for about $20 to $30 more

 

[gam0reily]

@omgitzfatal, I am seeing some reviews from techpowerup.com, and those guys reviewed it when the 7850 came out new. Maybe driver fixes have improved it.
but with even slight OCing, a 7850 is clearly the winner.

 

[larkspur]

The 7850 is the card to choose. If you've read the Tom's review on the 7970 ghz edition you know that the 12.7 driver (not available yet) improves performance a ton (at least on a 7900 series). And of course it is expected that the performance improvement will be shared on other GCN based cards (7700 series and 7800 series). So the benches you are seeing now will improve.

The 560ti is a fine card, no problems there, but it's arch is much more mature and unlikely to see major driver improvements like GCN will. We're still waiting for something more affordable from Kepler which should make choices like this a lot harder.

 

[krazyjamus]

7850. It is faster than the 560 Ti in most situations, runs cooler, uses less power, is more over-clockable and has 3-monitor support.

I'm not sure why there are people saying the Ti is better. The 7850 is more appropriately pitted against the GTX 570.

 

[dudewitbow]

The 7850 is the card to choose. If you've read the Tom's review on the 7970 ghz edition you know that the 12.7 driver(not available yet) improves performance a ton (at least on a 7900 series). And of course it is expected that the performance improvement will be shared on other GCN based cards (7700 series and 7800 series). So the benches you are seeing now will improve.

The 560ti is a fine card, no problems there, but it's arch is much more mature and unlikely to see major driver improvements like GCN will. We're still waiting for something more affordable from Kepler which should make choices like this a lot harder.

Amd updated the site either yesterday or the day before to publicly release the 12.7 drivers

http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/windows/Pages/radeonaiw_vista64.aspx

 

[spentshells]

Anandtech shows the 7850 being a decent amount ahead in most games but really just get whatever is cheaper

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/549?vs=547

 

[computerboi]

If prices are same or comparable then get the 7850. It's a newer generation and faster. Compared here: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html

Memory doesn't matter unless you are playing at very high resolutions. 1gb is fine for 1080p.

 

[Gelatinous Abomination]

1GB vs. 2GB is insignificant at 1920x1080. It would only make a difference at higher resolutions, such as 2560x1600. However, the 7850 is noticeably faster overall. So, the 7850 is a better choice.

 

[antfactorys]

i should go for the 560 ti, simply because it's way more powerfull and wil run next gen games

 

[Gingeforlife]

Just a quick mention, The Asus versions of the 560ti can make quite a bit of fan noise when in use. Its not a huge problem I am currently using one but once the fan kicks in it is noticeable!