computernoob29

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i cant decide between the 7970 and the gtx 670. the games i will be playing is bf3,borderlands 2, cs:go,minecraft,tf2,crysis,skyrim. whichever one i get i will be overclocking. i dont know what the the pros and cons are of either brand as far as exclusive features. i will be playing at 60hz (ill upgrade later) and tearing would probly annoy me, so i dont know if the adaptive vsync feature for nvidia would make it a better choice or not.
 
AMD Pros:
Better Overclocking Potential than Nvidia's current offerings.
Better GPU Compute performance (not too relevant for games right now)
Higher memory bandwidth
More Video RAM (generally not relevant unless running games across multiple monitors)
AMD Cons:
Higher power consumption
Tends to have fewer games that heavily favour them. Skyrim does favour AMD though for this generation.

Nvidia Pros:
Lower power consumption
GPU Accelerated PhysX (for the few games that support it, only game on your list that supports it is Borderlands 2)
Some games such as Battlefield 3 favour Nvidia cards heavily.
Adaptive Vsync (basically turns Vsync off if you go below 60FPS to smooth out the experience better, you'll still get tearing with it turned on, just less of it because your framerate won't exceed 60FPS in less GPU taxing areas)

Nvidia Cons:
Less overclocking potential due to locked voltage control.
Less memory bandwidth (more of a problem for the 660Ti and below, the 670 actually does have adequate memory bandwidth for 1080p gaming)
Usually less Video RAM (once again not relevant right now unless doing multi-monitor gaming.
Very weak GPU computing capabilities compared to AMD's current offerings.
 
Depends on which games you want to play the most. Battlefield 3 and Borderlands 2 will perform better on the 670, though the 7970 might be able to catch up when factoring in overclocking. You won't have GPU accelerated PhysX in Borderlands 2 with the 7970 though. Minecraft, TF2, and CS:GO aren't demanding games and will run the same on either card. Crysis will perform better on the 7970, Skyrim likely will too if you use the high res texture pack, or plan to use lots of mods.

I would personally recommend the 7970 over the 670 due to better overclocking potential, and if GPU computing does start seeing more gaming use, it will be the better card for that. The poor GPU computing performance on the Kepler cards is one of those things that may come back to bite you in the future. Though that might not be too relevant if you plan on switching out your graphics card for a newer one in the next 1-2 years.
 
Your list is very pro-Nvidia leaning, in fact just about all those games will run better on a GTX 670. Of course, since you want to play Borderlands 2, then PhysX is your deciding factor. There is just no big reason to go with the 7970 that's good enough to give up on GPU-accelerated PhysX in that game.

Another factor is Skyrim, a lot of people don't know this, but only Nvidia cards can enable Transparency Supersampling and Ambient Occlusion in that game to greatly enhance graphics with more realistic detail. In the graphic below, AMD cards look like the "Ambient Occlusion OFF" screenshot.

Skyrim-AO-Comparison.gif

http://www.geforce.com/optimize/guides/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-tweak-guide/#19

 
I absolutely LOVE my ASUS GTX680 TOP. I have at least ten games that look best on a GTX680 vs a cheaper card.
http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=71119&vpn=GTX680-DC2T-2GD5&manufacture=ASUS&promoid=1389

That card is $540 which may be above your budget. In my opinion this is still the best single-GPU card on the market today.

I really have to put the nod towards NVidia:
- PhysX
- TXAA (for upcoming UNREAL 4 engine)
- Adaptive VSYNC
- IMO better drivers overall
- AMD is laying off people so will this affect quality of future driver support?

Still, at the $200 range the HD7850 is an awesome card to beat.

*Stay away from MSI for now. There's an article about the problems related to them overvolting cards to overclock creating serious problems.

My advice is either:
a) a Sapphire HD7970 3GB OC card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102982
b) a Gigabyte GTX670 OC card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125423&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=4176827&SID=1pm66ew2eswca
c) the ASUS GTX680 TOP (if your budget permits)

I wanted to recommend the Asus GTX670 TOP for $440 (looks exactly like the non-TOP version) but I can't find it anywhere. It's popular and appears to be sold out.

REVIEW of Asus GTX680 TOP:
*use as reference for both benchmarks as well as Idle and Load Noise Levels.
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/55064-asus-gtx-680-directcu-ii-top-review.html
 
I recommend the 670 or 680 Asus Top over any current card being sold seriously both are that dam solid imo.I am still drooling over the Asus 670 Top wish i could find one in stock I would be all over that Asus 670 TOP for its high factory overclock, cool temps, and really, really quiet fans,heavily modified PCB, with an efficient VRM design to produce low temperatures, improved voltage regulation circuitry, much better Chil controller , specially binned chip and voltage control and monitoring support that you will not find on most other non-reference cards. It looks aggressive to me and indeed is a violent monster.Those are some of the reasons TechPoweUp gives the 670 TOP a 10.0 rating, the only 10.0 rating ever




Quote :


"Overall the ASUS GTX 670 Direct CU II is the best card I ever tested.I simply can't find anything wrong with it." Source - http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GeForce_GTX_670_Direct_Cu_II/33.html :eek: If you can find the Top all bet's are off

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ojas

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Feb 25, 2011
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Probably would say go with the 670 for that set of games. Crysis will run much better on the radeon, however. But if you're thinking of applying 8xMSAA and above then go the AMD route.

BTW, you didn't mention the resolution...

(basically turns Vsync off if you go below 60FPS to smooth out the experience better, you'll still get tearing with it turned on, just less of it because your framerate won't exceed 60FPS in less GPU taxing areas)
Not quite sure what you're trying to say. Adaptive vsync turns vsync on after your refresh rate cap is exceeded, PREVENTING tearing. It's turned off below the cap to prevent stuttering.
I do use adaptive vsync wherever my fps bounces around my refresh rate, and i find that it works well.
 

Hiii

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Jul 25, 2012
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Are not all those extra features that Nvidia has some kind of software?, i think Nvidia is trying to make propietary based features to push AMD out of the market, i guess those features like AO and PhysX are not hardware bounded(AMD cards can emulate them with their actual hardware) or im wrong?
 
PhysX is a proprietary API that Nvidia bought in 2008. Physics calculations can be done on the GPU with a GPU computing API like OpenCL or DirectCompute, but no games have implemented anything like that yet. PhysX really hasn't taken off either, with only one or two games coming out each year that use the GPU accelerated version.

As for Ambient Occlusion in Skyrim, that is a software restriction, either Bethesda chose to only allow it on Nvidia cards (likely due to a payoff on Nvidia's part) or there is no Ambient Occlusion option in Skyrim at all but there is a way to force Ambient Occlusion with Nvidia's drivers. There is no current way to force Ambient Occlusion in games with AMD drivers, making it an Nvidia exclusive feature for now if that is the case.
 

A Bad Day

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Step one: Find what games you prefer

Step two: Investigate which brand of GPUs that the games best run on.

Step three: Compare prices to performance.

OR:

Use the averaged results from Tom's Hardware, AnandTech, Techpowerup, and other respected tech review websites. Pay attention to the comments should a majority call foul on the reviews though.
 

Considering how similar was said of the tessellation chip that ATi put on their 4xxx and 5xxx series and how that fared when the feature was finally introduced, I fail to see how that could possibly be a selling point myself.
 
I consider this like the sprinkles you can get on your ice cream nothing more nothing less however i do like my ice cream with sprinkles :lol:
 

GTX 670. Trust me Borderlands 2 with PhysX enabled is Gorgeous. i have the 670 and it handles all games u listed maxed easily