Radeon 6950 2GB vs GTX 580

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FoldingZebra

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Hey guys, I am planning a new build. It's been 3 years since I have looked at PC stuff and am now finding myself overwhelmed.
I am trying to decide between the
6950:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150518
And the GTX 580:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130587

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: By the end of the year. Trying to keep it around 1k or less.

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming! Want to run Battlefield 3 and Skyrim at full, and hopefully play som other games in the future.

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: GTX 260; Antec True Power 850W

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS: upgrading Mobo/Ram/Cpu/Video Card Keeping PSU and HDD.

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS:Newegg.com

PARTS PREFERENCES: That's why Im here :)

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe In the future

MONITOR RESOLUTION: (1920x1080)

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I only plan on Running One monitor. Maybe my old one just for screen space while editing videos and things. Would probably start with One GPU, then possibly add another after they come down in price a little.

Any help I can get would be greatly appreciated. I have read a bit about each card, but I don't know what Ill need. If I do what I want for a cheaper card, that would be better. Ill be getting whatever one will suit me though.

Also, Is it bad if the motherboard only uses PCI-e x8?
 
Well the 580 is significantly faster. At 1080p to max out most games for a decent budget I'd say look at CF 6870, 6950, SLI460, SLI470, 560, 570... ehh really depends on overall budget. There's a lot of good options.

A single PCIe at 8x? That doesn't make sense... if it's 8x/8x for a 2 gpu setup then that's ok but I wouldn't get a top end card.

IMO set your budget and head over to the Systems forum, under New Builds and you can get a lot of help with picking parts.
 
There is a big difference in the performance of the two cards you listed, not to mention the price. If you can afford the GTX 580 at $500, I can recommend that. But I think you would be better off with the GTX 570 at $350, which is still better than a 6950.
 

FoldingZebra

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Wow, that card is awesome looking. If money permits when I buy, I will be getting the 580, if not I would get the 570. After looking around, they seem to have fairly close (580 is ahead of course) performance in games. If I did end up with the 570, do you think it could handle BF3 when it comes out? Or would it be better to save a little longer and get the 580?

EDIT: I saw on new egg that Asus has the same type 3 slot card in the 570 too.
 

whemian

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gtx580 is %15faster than 6970
6950 can easily be turned into 6970
After moded to 6970 it can be overclocked upto 970mhz
which will perform very close to stock gtx580

so why spending on 500to GTX580 while 6950 (6970) costs half price?
do you have money growing on trees? i guess not :)
 

FoldingZebra

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That one is a 2GB. So every 2GB will flash to the 6970 than? Guess I am going to need to look at some bench marks. ATI does not have PhysX, is that real bad? How much effect does PhysX have in game? Also, if I were to buy the 6950, then flash it and wanted to add another in the future, how much wattage would the PSU need? (Would be OC the CPU)


 

FoldingZebra

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Cool, I just get worried when buy PC stuff as it's expensive, and don't want to get something that will suck. I only get a new pc every 3 or 4 years, so while not going all out on a 2,000$ rig, I try not to skimp. Thanks for all your help guys, best community out there ;)
 

Carc369

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All reference models flash into a 6970. Some non-reference models flash into 6970. I've personally flashed XFX, HIS, and Powercolor 6950's into 6970s. All were reference models and were successful with no errors.
 
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