Purchasing Help 6850 vs 6870..?

[slorelli]

Hello,
I have decided to go with one of these 3 cards to upgrade my E8500.
Which of these in your opinion is better?

6850

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125353&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=4176827&SID=1nbfxi43mqq67

=130$ after rebate

6850

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127576

165$

or

6870

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131378

140$

Thank You.

 

[Warmacblu]

I am a big fan of MSI. Their coolers seem to perform very well.

 

[toneekay]

I would go with the stronger card... the HD 6870. However, that MSI Cyclone is a hell of a cooler (I had the GTX 460 version and it kept that card COOLER THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE)!

 

[17seconds]

I would go with the cheapest one, the Gigabyte 6850 with the Windforce cooler. It will be much quieter than the MSI Cyclone and just as effective.

I would get the 6850 and overclock it to match the performance of a 6870, rather than buy a 6870. The 6870 has very little overclocking headroom, so an overclocked 6870 won't be much better than stock. The 6850, on the other hand, has plenty of overclocking headroom to match the performance of a 6870.