Nvidia 560GTX-TI versus Radeon 6950 2gb - Thoughts

[jearle]

Hi all,

Been deliberating on which of these 2 cards to go with, Im upgrading my current Radeon HD 4890, tbh I have been less than impressed with the card.

Going to be mainly playing MMOs and looking to run them smoothly on high settings at 1920 X 1080.

The 6950 is only ~ 20 bucks more of an investment so curious what people opinions are on these 2 cards?



Thanks,

[Xuvial]

For MMO's, GTX560 Ti.
Any other GPU-heavy FPS games, HD6950.

I don't think MMO's will ever come around to using the 6950's huge 2gb buffer.

What was wrong with your 4890 btw? It's a relatively powerful card and should be able to run most MMO's easily.

[wombinator04]

The benchmark results are almost the same. But I'd get a 560 Ti. I the recommend MSI N560GTX-TI Twin Frozr II
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127565

Also, If your mainly going to play MMO's, make sure your CPU Is good enough. Because If It Isn't good enough, your graphics card won't do much. MMO's are cpu Intensive games.

[OhpUldum]

Basing my opinion from the Anandtech bench I would have to say the 2GB HD6950 would get my nod.

Few of my outside factors would be the extra VRAM from the HD6950 would come in handy running dual monitors while gaming otherwise for a single monitor setup the additional 1GB of VRAM would be a bit wasteful. In any event they really are very similar cards with one taking the edge on the other depending on the program or game being ran. However based off the bench at Anandtech HD6950 (1GB version) has more wins on the bench.

[DeltrusDisc]

First of all, here's a comparison of both, I suggest checking out the whole chart:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Produ...33.234.235.238

So obviously that's the 1GB version of the 6950, they don't have the 2GB version available, however the 2GB is honestly probably going to be something you don't need for most MMOs at 1920x1080, unless of course you want AAx16 but I know Rift mostly maxed out does not use all of the RAM available on my MSI 560 Ti Twin Frozr II 1GB version. Not to mention, the 6950 typically runs hotter than the 560 Ti, but of course, that's reference edition, I think. A good MSI Twin Frozr II or Asus DirectCUII will keep the cards pretty cool, even under heavy use. If you have an extra $20 lying around and you've enjoyed your time with your Radeon, you could stick with them, or if you want to come to the green side of the video, we're always welcoming, too. :P

[jearle]

Thanks for the feedback!

I am currently running a Radeon HD 4850 not 90, that was a typo and i haven't revisited in a while to correct.

Unfortunately I play MMOs with the wife and it is all I currently have time for. I wish I could dive into some other stuff but it wont be happening methinks.

Basically looking to upgrade for the new Star Wars MMO and want a smooth experience, especially in PvP.

The 4850 I have does not do well in games like Rift where Rifts would have 20+ people in close vicinity. And I definitely can't run TOR on the setting I would like to.

The processor in my PC is AMD Phenom x4 945 3.0 ghz.

I am leaning towards the 560ti right now the Twin Frozr looks good although the reviews have some scary sides to them.

---------- Post added 2011-10-27 at 04:45 PM ----------

The benchmark results are almost the same. But I'd get a 560 Ti. I the recommend MSI N560GTX-TI Twin Frozr II
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127565

Also, If your mainly going to play MMO's, make sure your CPU Is good enough. Because If It Isn't good enough, your graphics card won't do much. MMO's are cpu Intensive games.

Shows that one as being sold out, wierd.

[DeltrusDisc]

I am leaning towards the 560ti right now the Twin Frozr looks good although the reviews have some scary sides to them.

My review is full of 100% love for the TFII 560 Ti! Very good video card. It does not suck a lot of power at all and it really chugs out great gaming!

With me also being a Rift player (granted not at 50 yet, so 20 people close by is a rare occurrence) but it has not had any trouble yet!

[jearle]

I noticed they have a 2gb version of 560 ti for 30 bucks more. If I were to switch to playing at 1900 X 1200 <different monitor> would it be better to go with the 2gb?

[DeltrusDisc]

It would certainly give you more room, especially if you wanted to 100% max out all graphics, AA and what not takes a fair chunk of video RAM. It would definitely come in handy as well if you ever wanted to play a game like Witcher 2 or BF3, for example.