Need another card!

[istouche]

So, I'm running a i7 2600k @3,4ghz, 8GB RAM, on a Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 if I remember correctly.
I currently have a Powercolor 6950HD, and I want to switch back to nvidia.
I have a budget of 225$ approximatively,
I don't want to SLI just now, maybe in few years.. who know !?

I play games that vary from LoL and CS:S to FarCry3 and Planetside2. Some CoD here and there aswell.
I have 2x27 inch monitors both at 1920x1080.
So I'm looking for cards with 2 hdmi output or 1 hdmi and 1 mini displayport.
Can you find me the best card possible for my budget kind sirs ?
Also, I'm in Canada.

 

[Novuake]

If you spend just $225 you would be DOWNGRADING or at best SIDEGRADING from the HD6950.

Wait and save up a little longer, the HD8xxx and GTX7xx are coming out this year anyway.

 

[larkspur]

The only nvidia card in your budget is a GTX 660 such as: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130826

However, it's just one tier above the 6950 making it a weak upgrade (you want to go up at least 3 tiers): http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html

Your most valuable option is to find a used 6950 (check Ebay, etc) and CrossFire them since that will give you much more performance for less money than a GTX 660 (and it is a real upgrade). Make sure your PSU can support two 6950s though. If you aren't interested in CrossFire then just stay with the 6950 until the next series of cards comes out. $225 won't get you something that is good enough to be worth the upgrade over your 6950. But if you insist on changing cards, then your $225 budget limits you to a GTX 660.

 

[istouche]

I sold my second 6950HD just today, I'm tired of AMD.
I've had problems over problems with them, and putting them in Crossfire simply doubled the problems.
I've had several nvidia before, and always loved it.
I don't really care if it's a HUGE upgrade, just a slight improvement would be perfect.
Let's say I could pay up to 250$ then, what could I get ?

And question about some cards being "Ti", does it really matter or is it something that I shouldn't even consider ?

 

[Novuake]

The "ti" just means its better than the normal GTX660. And its quite a bit better too.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500268

I would suggest getting that for a little more than 250$.

 

[maxinexus]

Sell your 6950 add $225 you get ~$370 You can get GTX670 or better yet 7970.

 

[jokyteddy]

To be honest, a single GTX 660 or even GTX 660ti is gonna struggle a bit with dual monitors. You might need to down the graphics settings in game a bit to get a stable playable frame rate. If I were you, I would get GTX 660 SLI or a single GTX 680.

 

[Azn Cracker]

I think a single GTX 670 is the best for your budget (including the money you got from selling old card). It would be a worthwhile upgrade from the 6950

 

[Novuake]

To be honest, a single GTX 660 or even GTX 660ti is gonna struggle a bit with dual monitors. You might need to down the graphics settings in game a bit to get a stable playable frame rate. If I were you, I would get GTX 660 SLI or a single GTX 680.

With invisible money? LOL

 

[istouche]

I only use one of the monitor to play, the other one is for Teamspeak/skype/movie/music and whatever.

I sold one of the two card I had today, and my budget is still max 250$.
I will sell the other one when I get the nvidia, and that will probably cover the 250$.
So I won't have to pay from my pockets, and only from the resell of the AMD cards.

And Cracker, that 670 is over 300$..
Novuake, I just don't understand how a little card like the Ti models can be as good as the bigger one ? It's a mystery

 

[Novuake]

I only use one of the monitor to play, the other one is for Teamspeak/skype/movie/music and whatever.

I sold one of the two card I had today, and my budget is still max 250$.
I will sell the other one when I get the nvidia, and that will probably cover the 250$.
So I won't have to pay from my pockets, and only from the resell of the AMD cards.

And Cracker, that 670 is over 300$..
Novuake, I just don't understand how a little card like the Ti models can be as good as the bigger one ? It's a mystery

What do you mean little? The ti version is USUALLY larger in size(more cores, larger PCB) than the normal one.
So GTX660ti is greater than the GTX660.

If you compare the 2 cards purely in specs you can clearly see which has better hardware.

http://www.hwcompare.com/13296/geforce-gtx-660-vs-geforce-gtx-660-ti/

The GTX660 ti is actually based on the same chip (GK104) as the GTX680 and GTX670. It has just been severely crippled with a smaller memory bus, fewer active SIMs and a overall less cores.

The GTX660 is based on the lower range GK106 chip.

 

[EzioAs]

@Novuake

Please avoid using HWCompare. It doesn't translate to actual real world performance. Use Anandtech's Bench instead.

 

[Novuake]

@Novuake

Please avoid using HWCompare. It doesn't translate to actual real world performance. Use Anandtech's Bench instead.

Really? You must be joking? Using HWcompare for cards in a specific generation from ONE manufacturers is very useful to convey which card is actually better.

As I stated, I used HWCompare to JUST COMPARE the HARDWARE differences between the GTX660ti and GTX660.

If your only input is to criticize me on such a trivial thing. Why are you on this forum?

I am fully aware that HWCompare is not the best site to compare "real world" performance, but for the ACTUAL purpose I used it, it was perfect.

EDIT : Another thing. The Anandtech Bench does not provide the GPU hardware(cores, memory interface, etc) configs for each card. So it would NOT have serve the purpose. Think and read before you criticize if you don't mind.

 

[EzioAs]

@Novuake

I was just trying to point out to you that showing those specs to people isn't really the best idea. While for the same gen it may not be a bad idea, why not just use anandtech's bench or even benchmark from reviews to show actual performance difference? I am not trying to criticize you, just to let you know.

 

[Novuake]

@Novuake

I was just trying to point out to you that showing those specs to people isn't really the best idea. While for the same gen it may not be a bad idea, why not just use anandtech's bench or even benchmark from reviews to show actual performance difference? I am not trying to criticize you, just to let you know.

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man how to fish and he will eat for the rest of his life.

I was attempting to teach him how to interpret the raw DATA considering these 2 cards so that he could see the physical difference(other than just "size") and maybe in future interpret them himself.

There is method to my madness. Always.

 

[istouche]

Well thanks for the answer everyone, and I will go with a gtx660Ti.

Good luck to all of you in your gaming and pc modding!

 

[istouche]

Best answer selected by istouche.