Should I hold out for a 7950, or go with a 7850?

[MageVortex]

Ok, here's the situation. I have two 1080p monitors, and don't plan on getting a third anytime soon.
My 5750 GPU is not able to keep up, and is having problems playing Skyrim at the resolution and with the mods i want. So i know i'm goign to have to upgrade for the future games, but i'm not sure which upgrade i should go for. If i get teh 7850, i know it's OC"able to nearly 7870 levels, and i'm ok with learnign how to and doing that. But on the same hand, i don't want to have to upgrade for at least 2-3 years....

So, considering that 1080p is the highest the card will have to push, will the 7850 be more than adequate for my needs, or should I hold off for the 7950..? I'd just get the 7950 straight out, but that may require a PSU upgrade (not sure), and convincing the wife to let me spend 250-300ish won't be easy, whereas I could potentially get away with $180ish without too much headache
Let me know if more details are needed
Thanks!

 

[jerm1027]

Ok, here's the situation. I have two 1080p monitors, and don't plan on getting a third anytime soon.
My 5750 GPU is not able to keep up, and is having problems playing Skyrim at the resolution and with the mods i want. So i know i'm goign to have to upgrade for the future games, but i'm not sure which upgrade i should go for. If i get teh 7850, i know it's OC"able to nearly 7870 levels, and i'm ok with learnign how to and doing that. But on the same hand, i don't want to have to upgrade for at least 2-3 years....

So, considering that 1080p is the highest the card will have to push, will the 7850 be more than adequate for my needs, or should I hold off for the 7950..? I'd just get the 7950 straight out, but that may require a PSU upgrade (not sure), and convincing the wife to let me spend 250-300ish won't be easy, whereas I could potentially get away with $180ish without too much headache
Let me know if more details are needed
Thanks!

With the release of the 660-Ti, it has forced AMD to lower prices on the 7870. I'd go with that, if possible. They can be found for under $250, which was reserved for the 7850. I'd particularly recommend the HIS model.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161404

The cooler on this has been praised for phenomenal cooling as well as quite operation. This allows for a lot of OC headroom, which should give it 7950-class performance. The blower style fan takes in cool air from both sides vs only one cool air intake from traditional blower style coolers. Also, it doesn't raise temps inside the case since the majority of the heat is exhausted out of the back.

The downside to this cooler is that it is effectively a 3-slot design.

 

[refillable]

Well I have to agree with the post above, take the middle route, buy the 7870 and OC it to the 7950 levels. I also like the HIS card posted above, but if you have problems with the size of the card, I recommend this instead:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102983

 

[MageVortex]

I don't recalol having heard of HIS before....XFX i know, saphire, etc, but HIS...they are new to me. Have they been around for a while?

 

[jerm1027]

I don't recalol having heard of HIS before....XFX i know, saphire, etc, but HIS...they are new to me. Have they been around for a while?

They produce Radeon graphics exclusively. The company has been around since 1987
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hightech_Information_System
http://www.hisdigital.com/us/about.shtml

HIS - Hightech Information System Limited is an internationally acclaimed graphics cards company. Time and time again, HIS were compared and tested by hundreds of worldly renowned critics. The results are phenomena, HIS have proven to offer far superior, cooler, quieter, and faster graphic cards than any other leading rivals. Up to the fourth quarter of 2011, HIS has won over 1300 awards with AMD graphic solution from major media worldwide. HIS is being recognized by providing performance leading and award-wining products: IceQ, IceQ X and Turbo Edition.

HIS was established in 1987 with the mission to produce the highest quality PC products in the industry. Besides strong devotion to excellent products and services, HIS has been conducting business with the aim to "Glorifying God". Honesty and integrity are the two key principals of how HIS are conducted. Ethical business practice has been an everyday commitment to our clients, vendors, and investors.

Headquartered in Hong Kong, and with sales offices and distribution networks in Europe, Middle East, North and South America, Asia Pacific Regions; our worldwide customers benefits from efficient and localized services. HIS's manufacturing facility in China is managed by a team of professionals with expertise in quality control and production planning. Working with world-class clients, HIS has been consistently meeting high quality standards and fulfilled volume order in short lead-time.

HIS is proud to be AMD's Authorized 1st Tier AIB Partner, Certified Partner and Launching Partner. Long term and favorable relationship with AMD, enable HIS to work closely with AMD to promote the HIS AMD Graphics Board; and to strive for best value on the marketing and sales of HIS AMD Product Line.

In Sept 2003, HIS incorporated the state-of-the art Supreme Cooling Technology in the award winning HIS 9800Pro IceQ, which caught the attention of worldwide media. Since then, HIS IceQ series and the latest IceQ X series has been the limelight in the market for its outstanding performance and features over the other rivals.

Today, HIS continues its avid commitment to quality product and service. HIS is certain to be Your Choice of Graphics Board Supplier.

 

[cybersheep]

That HIS cooler is considered to be one of the best cooling solutions out right now, its quiet and extremely effective, the only downside is the size (3 slot)

 

[MageVortex]

oh, so kinda like the MSI Twin Frozr cards, just...HIS
Is there a PSU size you guys recommend to go in line with this card?

 

[refillable]

Are you looking for the Twin frozer card? Take a look at this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127662

I know it is out of stock and it is $20 more, but hey, maybe you're interested?

As for the PSU, A decent 500W PSU is recommended, but you can take a better decision by buying a PSU which can support this card crossfired. Here is what I recommend:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021

If you are out of budget then this is what you should get:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151094

 

[MageVortex]

I frequent a site called Slickdeals, i'm sure you've all heard of it, and i was actually justl ooking at a deal they posted for a 7850, and saw about 2-3 posts bashing HIS's customer service department as being horrendous, along the lines of ASUS horrendous.
and no, i wasn't looking for a Twin Frozr, i was just relating the product you all mentioned with one that I am a little more familiar with (read: have seen 2-3 different deals posted on SD that discussed it).
Going with the 7870 seems to add a good $50ish to the price over teh 7850. Is it really worth that premium?

 

[refillable]

Yes going $50 more for the 7870 is worth it. The performance gain is pretty much good for the only extra $50 you pay.

If you don't trust HIS or ASUS, you might go with sapphire, people say their customer service is decent.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102983

Just noticed that the MSI card with TF III cooler is stocked back and now $260:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127662&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=4176827&SID=1lqfghmahq70j