Sapphire 2gb 5850 vs 6950 2gb?

[Anastrophy]

Hello,
I have a
ASUS P7H55-M PRO motherboard running a

Intel Core i5-650 Clarkdale 3.2GHz 4MB L3 Cache processor with

4gb CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333.

I just recently bought
SAPPHIRE Toxic 100282-2GTXSR Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 2GB 256-bit Video card,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102889

and it hasnt even shipped yet, but I'm now looking at the

Sapphire 100312SR Radeon HD 6950 Video Card - 2GB.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102914&Tpk=Sapphire%20100312SR%20Radeon%20HD%206950%20Video%20Card


Since I only can have 1 video card until I upgrade the mobo, should I cancel the order on the 5850 and get the 6950? I play crysis and other games like that, and I want to know WHICH ONE to pick and WHY.

Thanks so much in advance, I can't find a clear comparison between the two.

 

[Emperus]

If you can then by all means go for the 6950.. Its a newer card, equally powerful (may be more too) and can also be unlocked to a 6970..

 

[beltzy]

The 5850 is not a bad card- I've got 2 (1gb version) of them in crossfire. However, you're far better off just paying the extra $45 and getting the 6950. The crossfire scaling is unbelievable. Pay a little more and go for it!

** The 6950 is physically the same card as a 6970, just the BIOS has part of the card turned off. It comes with a physical switch to swap between the factory settings and a flash-able BIOS. You can download a BIOS flash from Guru3d.com and turn your 6950 to a 6970, giving you a lot of extra performance! Plus you always have the option to flip the physical switch back to the factory bios.

IMO it's a no brainer. Go with the 6950. Flash the bios if you're comfortable with that (I've read that some warranties even allow for this- you probably want to research that a bit first)-- if not then don't flash. When you upgrade your mobo in the future you can add a 2nd card and the 6950 is really outstanding in crossfire! Pull the trigger quick though before your order ships Let us know what you decide on and how it works out.

 

[jyjjy]

The HD6950 is slightly faster than the HD5870 and can be unlocked into an HD6970. It would be the better choice in any case but the unlocking make it the obvious choice IMO.

 

[Anastrophy]

Newegg was out of the card, so i ordered it from eio.com

It's new years eve, theyre not open, so ill have to try to get a hold of them on monday. It's been a while since pc gaming, i havent had a pc for 2 years, so i just had to catch up. I never had an nvidia card, but for some reason, I just like ati.

The ati/amd duo seems like a good business move, but to what i understand, its unfortunate any core i7 can dance circles around the highest amd cpu, so I have to keep it an intel build and spend a little more.

If i upgraded my memory from 4 to 12 gb, would that cause a huge speed increase for the entire system, including my games?
Whatever I can do for those almighty fps.

 

[jyjjy]

No, especially for gaming more than 4gb is rarely useful.
Newegg has plenty of HD6950s in stock;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709%20600083901%20600095873&IsNodeId=1&name=Radeon%20HD%206950