ATI... erm, AMD vs nVidia!

[StarBound]

I'd say go for the 6850 if you can get it for under R2k. The card isnt that much worse than the 5850 and should be compareable to a 460gtx.

So your options as a sub R2k card is either a 460gtx (1gb version, the 768mb is bad) or the 6850. As for DE3 and Witcher they are also on console so I wouldnt worry much about an underpowered system.

[Mystical_Titan]

If I had to choose between the 6850 and the 460, the ATI would probably be a better option... but I think the 560 is a better card than the 6850 if my memory serves and it's not too far over R 2,000.

[KALSTER]

If memory serves, you can get a 6850, flash a 6870 BIOS onto it and bang; you have a 6870!

[Mystical_Titan]

Yeah, but isn't that always a risky business?

[StarBound]

If memory serves, you can get a 6850, flash a 6870 BIOS onto it and bang; you have a 6870!

Wrong. It's a 6950 that can be flashed to a 6970.

[Puento]

For R300 more i would go for the GTX 560 here --> http://rebeltech.co.za/index.php?main_p ... ts_id=6862

[StarBound]

http://rebeltech.co.za/index.php?main_p ... ts_id=7131
http://rebeltech.co.za/index.php?main_p ... ts_id=5449

Reasons to go AMD and pay under R2k for performance near that of a 5870 / 560ti. I'd say go for the 6870.

[Mystical_Titan]

The advantge of the 68xx-series is how well they scale in CrossFire... but as a single card? I dunno...

[KALSTER]

If memory serves, you can get a 6850, flash a 6870 BIOS onto it and bang; you have a 6870!

Wrong. It's a 6950 that can be flashed to a 6970.

Damn! Keep getting it mixed up.

[Mystical_Titan]

I'm not happy with my 560s anymore. I want GTX 580 x 2!

[StarBound]

I want a card that uses half the power that the 560ti does, puts out 40C and less heat at max load and produces 4x the framerate that the 580 does in SLI mode. ...but I guess it's not gonna happen

[Mystical_Titan]

I want a card that uses half the power that the 560ti does, puts out 40C and less heat at max load and produces 4x the framerate that the 580 does in SLI mode. ...but I guess it's not gonna happen

At least I keep my desires a bit more realistic...

[StarPhoenix]

@Starbound and MT: But why?

I found a VTX Radeon 6870 going for R2033.70 including shipping over at The Prophecy Shop.
Will have to wait and see if the person who expressed interest in my current card takes it.

[Mystical_Titan]

Why what?

[StarBound]

Because cooler = quieter and less power usage = less billing and faster = more speed XD

[THE_STIG]

Yea, but that was not always true in the bad old Pentium 4 days, where you got processors with a TDP of 110W and the equivalent Athlon had a TDP of half that.

[Mystical_Titan]

I am really liking msi these days.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/msi-gefor ... ng-review/

[StarBound]

I've always liked them since my 440BX board But I've been giving gigabyte a 2nd chance for a few years now. Nothing wrong with them (stupid K6-2 board) but I still prefer MSI for hardware and software support solutions.

[Mystical_Titan]

My fav hardware for gaming is Asus because of their RoG brand.

[THE_STIG]

I've always liked them since my 440BX board But I've been giving gigabyte a 2nd chance for a few years now. Nothing wrong with them (stupid K6-2 board) but I still prefer MSI for hardware and software support solutions.

I have a suspicion that you had the same Gigabyte K6-2 board that I had(A GA-5aa) it was a rubbish board and was slow . It was not until the i440BX board(GA-BX2000) that I changed my mind about Gigabyte and since then have not owned anything else, the only other brand that I would consider is Asus(which is what my first pc had and it still works) also MSI seem quite good these days.

[StarPhoenix]

My very first board was a Gigabyte GA-586 ATV. Their manuals have come a long way since then.


Do any of you know what the guarantee is on Sapphire graphics cards?

[KALSTER]

2 Years looks like.

[Mystical_Titan]

Yo peeps, SLi is coming back to AMD!

http://www.legitreviews.com/news/10584/

[Mystical_Titan]

Hey StarBound, did you see the massive performanace boost the 560s got with the new 270 drivers?

[Smilodon111]

My fav hardware for gaming is Asus because of their RoG brand.

+1 pll issue aside, RoG Dominates.