6950 or 570... that is the question

[Sean W.]

hey guys,

doing research on my new build to replace my sig rig that i sold, i am so torn between what graphics card to use, i am and AMD fanboy, but the benchmarks dont lie, the 570 pulls ahead in alot of times... BUT a lot of people have had success in flashing a 6970 bios onto a 6950, also the 6950 is about $80 cheaper.... these are the 2 graphics cards im looking at, absolutely HAS to have a non-reference cooler on it, my only demand... so, is the GTX570 worth the extra money? on this build im going to pure stealth, no lights, no LED fans and extremely quiet.



MSI R6950 Twin Frozr II
Newegg.com - MSI R6950 Twin Frozr II Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

or

MSI N570GTX Twin Frozr II
Newegg.com - MSI N570GTX Twin Frozr II OC GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card


and here is my build list:

Case: $35
NZXT Gamma
Newegg.com - NZXT GAMMA Classic Series GAMA-001BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Mothjer Board + CPU: $364
MSI P67A-GD65 + Core i5 2500k
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more!


Graphics Card: $279
MSI R6950 Twin Frozr II Radeon HD 6950 2GB
Newegg.com - MSI R6950 Twin Frozr II Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

Memory: $50
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

Power Supply: $120
CORSAIR Professional Series HX650
Newegg.com - CORSAIR Professional Series HX650 (CMPSU-650HX) 650W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

DVD Burner: $20
Newegg.com - ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - CD / DVD Burners

Hard Drive: $60
Western Digital Caviar Black WD5002AALX 500GB 7200 RPM
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD5002AALX 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

CPU Cooler: $25
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7

Fans: $36
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER R4-S2S-124K-GP 120mm Case Fan

2x: Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER R4-S4S-10AK-GP 140mm Case Fan



Total: $1011

 

[MyGodAL3X]

I don't know about the BIOS flashing but all the stats I saw, show that for gaming anyways, the 570 is better so I would go with that.
Depends on what you wanna do with it.

 

[flipp1234567]

generally, AMD is better than Nvidia and Intel in the bang for your buck, So, if you're willing to dish out extra money for the 570 and get better performance, go for it. no one's stopping you. i would personally go witht he 6950 because of the high performance from the power it consumes and the price.

 

[patonb]

Sorry flip, youre wrong. Each companby has a sweet card at a price, sometimes nvidia wins and other times AMD does.

You should look at the results achieved for the games you play and decide.

 

[Roark]

I started a reply about the cooler having to work overtime since its expecting to cool a 6950, and you just turned it into a 6970, which I thought would ruin your stealth objective.

According to AnandTech the 6950 and 6970 are about the same temp wise at idle, and the 70 is only about 3 degrees higher under load, so the cooler shouldn't start whining at you for that reason.

If you love AMD, then you love AMD. Go for the 6950 and flash that mofo.

 

[Yerfdog]

From what I've seen the 6970 just barely performs better than the GTX 560 Ti, like marginal difference. One frame. (in Crysis, maxed, 1680x1050)


Though in other things the 6970 often pulls a bit further ahead of the 560 Ti.

I'd probably try the 6950 and flash it.

Good luck.

 

[Slaymate]

I would skip the MSI card with the "fancy heatsink" and buy a EVGA with a lifetime warranty, and save the cash. You can always buy an aftermarket cooler later if you need it, and the aftermarket will be better than the solution MSI is selling.

Newegg.com - EVGA 012-P3-1571-AR GeForce GTX 570 HD w/Display-Port (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

 

[Night Fox]

Agreed. My GTX 560 Ti runs at about 68c while on 50% fan...and that's even the Superclocked version. Default is 30%, but I have EVGA Precision and set it to automatically change fan speeds according to temp. 30% is nearly silent, but anything lower than 60% is good for me.

 

[Gusibon]

Keep in mind that if you plan on using this as a htpc you won't be able to get DTS HD or DTS MA out of the GT 570. This can be done with the 6950 and 6970. This was the deal breaker for me choosing the 6970. I have a 7.1 setup in my home theater and this card can process these formats.