NVIDIA GTX 560 series or AMD HD 6950 series?

[King Mustard]

I tend to run games (e.g. GTA4, BC2, BF3, Metro 2033 etc.) at maximum detail at 1680x1050 (I have a 22" monitor) with 2xAA and 2xAF. Core i5-750 and 4 GB RAM.

I have the following GPU options:

NVIDIA GTX 560 1GB (£150)
NVIDIA GTX 560 Ti 1GB (£177)
AMD Radeon HD 6950 1GB (£175)
AMD Radeon HD 6950 2GB (£200)

Thoughts?

 

[Maziar]

Judging from the prices,go with 560Ti.It can max out those games(with the exception of BF3 since it isn't out yet) on 1680x1050

 

[King Mustard]

Judging from the prices,go with 560Ti.It can max out those games(with the exception of BF3 since it isn't out yet) on 1680x1050

Is 1 GB VRAM enough? Considering GTA4 can easily make use of > 1 GB VRAM. Also, games over the next year or two will continue to push the amount of VRAM needed.

Then again, NVIDIA has PhysX technology and apparently superior tessellation performance (used in games such as DiRT 3).

 

[rolli59]

At your resolution all those cards will do well and there will be little to no benefit from HD6950 2GB over 1GB version. Just a matter if the TI or HD6950 are worth the extra in price to you. Here are some benchmarks http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_560_Twin_Frozr_II_OC/27.html

 

[Maziar]

Is 1 GB VRAM enough? Considering GTA4 can easily make use of > 1 GB VRAM. Also, games over the next year or two will continue to push the amount of VRAM needed.

Then again, NVIDIA has PhysX technology and apparently superior tessellation performance (used in games such as DiRT 3).

Yep 1GB is fine on that res.
And no one knows what happens with future games and what requirements will they have.(GTA 4 is an exception,but still it will run fine w/560 1GB)

 

[eyefinity]

Judging from the prices,go with 560Ti.It can max out those games(with the exception of BF3 since it isn't out yet) on 1680x1050

Why pay more for a slower card?

 

[redeemer]

Is 1 GB VRAM enough? Considering GTA4 can easily make use of > 1 GB VRAM. Also, games over the next year or two will continue to push the amount of VRAM needed.

Then again, NVIDIA has PhysX technology and apparently superior tessellation performance (used in games such as DiRT 3).

Dirt series of games have always favored the AMD flavour, meaing it runs a little better on AMD hardware. I would get the 6950 since it gives you the option to flash it into a 6970

 

[King Mustard]

Dirt series of games have always favored the AMD flavour, meaing it runs a little better on AMD hardware. I would get the 6950 since it gives you the option to flash it into a 6970

Not any more. Those reference boards are no longer sold.

 

[anubis44]

I'd go with the 6950 1Gb, based on your current resolution. The 6950 is faster than the GTX560 in many games, and will probably run B3 better, so it'll last you longer. Also, look around, you should be able to find a deal on a 6950 1Gb that makes it closer to $200 Canadian (not sure what that is in pounds).

 

[Maziar]

Why pay more for a slower card?

I wouldn't call it slower,since they run pretty much neck and neck in almost all games.

to OP
My mistake,I first though 6950 1GB costs £200.So since both 560Ti/6950 almost have the same price,go with either you prefer.Both are great

 

[ilysaml]

I wouldn't call it slower,since they run pretty much neck and neck in almost all games.

to OP
My mistake,I first though 6950 1GB costs £200.So since both 560Ti/6950 almost have the same price,go with either you prefer.Both are great

yea i wouldn't call it slower either, as the GTX 560ti and HD 6950 are on par in performance and it all depends on the game from the first degree.

 

[King Mustard]

If I was sure a 1 GB card would be enough, I'd get the NVIDIA GTX 560 Ti 1GB (which is the same price as the AMD Radeon HD 6950 1GB, £175).

However, I am trying to decide whether to spend another £25 up get the AMD Radeon HD 6950 2GB (£200).

It's a tough choice.

 

[ilysaml]

If I was sure a 1 GB card would be enough, I'd get the NVIDIA GTX 560 Ti 1GB (which is the same price as the AMD Radeon HD 6950 1GB, £175).

However, I am trying to decide whether to spend another £25 up get the AMD Radeon HD 6950 2GB (£200).

It's a tough choice.

my advice is to go with the HD 6950 2 GB, the more VRAM will help you in the highest resolutions and VRam hungry games such as Crysis 2 and GTA, besides all the upcoming GPU from AMD 7K series are all equipped with 2 GB VRam and no one knows what will the upcoming games demand.

i wish i could say wait for the new AMD 7K series, they will be 28nm = less power and less heat, 1 GHz GPU frequency, new XDR2 rambus technology wich is said to be twice faster than GDDR5

based on this saying, i would get a GTX 460 or any other GPU that's a little cheap as long as you're gonna play at 1680 and wait for the high end 7K GPUs and grab one

 

[rolli59]

If I was sure a 1 GB card would be enough, I'd get the NVIDIA GTX 560 Ti 1GB (which is the same price as the AMD Radeon HD 6950 1GB, £175).

However, I am trying to decide whether to spend another £25 up get the AMD Radeon HD 6950 2GB (£200).

It's a tough choice.

Here you can see that there is no gain from the 2GB until you go over 1080P resolution http://www.anandtech.com/show/4137/amds-gtx-560-ti-counteroffensive-radeon-hd-6950-1gb-xfxs-radeon-hd-6870-black-edition/5

 

[eyefinity]

The 560 Ti is slower than the 6950. It's not massively slower but it is slower. Cards that are about the same are...

460 1gb vs 6850
5870 vs 560 Ti
6870 vs 470
6970 vs 570

All of these matchups are within 2-3% of each other over a large selection of games.

The 6950 is just fast enough to be considered faster than the Ti (8-10%). Sure the 560 Ti wins a few games, but it loses more, and the losses tend to be a bit heavier.

HOWEVER, at 1680x1050 they are pretty close in performance, close enough to be called on par with each other. It's only at 1080p and above that the 6950 stretches it's legs and starts to pull away.

 

[eyefinity]

If I was sure a 1 GB card would be enough, I'd get the NVIDIA GTX 560 Ti 1GB (which is the same price as the AMD Radeon HD 6950 1GB, £175).

However, I am trying to decide whether to spend another £25 up get the AMD Radeon HD 6950 2GB (£200).

It's a tough choice.

You don't need a 2GB card right now at that resolution. Obviously having a 2GB card gives you a little bit more future proofing and you might decide to upgrade to a larger screen (or eyefinity) later. Would I pay £25 more for it? That's a tough choice but yes I would personally.

If you mean this card - http://www.ebuyer.com/264775-his-hd-6950-iceq-x-turbo-2gb-gddr5-dual-dvi-hdmi-dual-h695qnt2g2m then yes I'd say it's worth it for the cooler, and HiS make the best AMD cards in my opinion.

 

[eyefinity]

the 560ti overclocked to 900-1ghz core will rape the 6950 and give the 6970 a run for its money aswell as hitting 570 speeds.

You seem to have missed the fact that the 6950 also overclocks very well (well past 6970 speeds), and truly does lay a smackdown on any Ti when overclocked.

Read - http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1533/7/

 

[eyefinity]

in 1 game...

http://techgage.com/article/amd_hd_6950_1gb_vs_nvidia_gtx_560_ti_overclocking/4

 

[eyefinity]

Why not check the rest of the games?

The fact is, the 560 Ti at 1Ghz is barely faster than the 6950 at stock. A small overclock on the 6950 puts it back in the lead. Using overclocking for one card and not for the other is the worst argument ever.

 

[eyefinity]

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1533/9/

Check the numbers again, the important one being the grey bar.

 

[Friznutz]

There are previous threads for this. Please search threads before posting right away.
It was closed and answered.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/326988-33-6950

 

[eyefinity]

then how is it i see them trading blows in this legit reveiw article.

one sided fanboyism is wrong pal they are both great cards but price is the difference.

They "trade blows" for one reason. 4 Nvidia TWIMTBP titles are used vs 2 AMD titles.

The fact that they use HAWX 2 shows that it's not the most reliable website too (yes 460 SLI beats 6950 Crossfire).

 

[ilysaml]

for 384-Bit and Eyefinity
simply non of what you're saying is true, both cards are great and similar to each other DEPENDING ON THE GAME
check out this
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_6950_1_GB/15.html
and for eyefinity, check the link you provided at legitreviews simply they are performing depending on the game
and both cards were used at the default clocks, no overclocking occured

 

[eyefinity]

for 384-Bit and Eyefinity
simply non of what you're saying is true, both cards are great and similar to each other DEPENDING ON THE GAME
check out this
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_6950_1_GB/15.html
and for eyefinity, check the link you provided at legitreviews simply they are performing depending on the game
and both cards were used at the default clocks, no overclocking occured

I posted the wrong link that's why.

Here is the one I meant to post - http://techgage.com/article/amd_hd_6950_1gb_vs_nvidia_gtx_560_ti_overclocking/4

 

[eyefinity]

exactly my point thankyou for clearing this ilysaml 😉

That wasn't your point, you claimed that the 560 Ti "rapes" the 6950 when overclocked, which is false.