Video Card Dilemma

[Killora]

Having a hard time deciding between two cards, and would like some opinions to help.

PC specs:

Intel Xeon 1260L @2.5ghz (4c/8t)
8gb 1333mhz CL9 ram
XFX HD 6770 @980/1340
Kingston HyperX 120gb
FSP300-60GHS PSU
SG05 case

My 6770 is beginning to not cut it as i upgraded to a 1080p monitor recently. While i can play games fine i have to sacrifice some visuals for it.

I currently play a large variety of games. At one point i'll get back into playing WoW but atm it's mainly; Guild Wars 2, BF3, Diablo 3, StarCraft 2, F12012, Need for Speed Shift 2/The Run/Most Wanted, and Dirt 3.

Right now i'm trying to choose between the following cards;

Asus GTX 650 TI boost

and

Sapphire HD 7850

Keep in mind power is a concern, because i live off the power grid. I rely on Solar Panels + a Battery bank and a generator when the sun refuses to come out for more than a day or two.

I'm a little stumped. Power consumption matters and i like to overclock.

Which of these would have the greatest overclock headroom at stock voltages? And would changing voltages exponentially increase power consumption (mostly rhetorical but -how much- is more of the question here)?

Also, from what i've seen, the 7850 generally uses less power than the 650 TI boost, and the 7850 is fairly even with the 650 at stock clocks in performance, in a lot of games.

[Deleted]

this is what i've found on the power usage from both cards on alternate tech speccs.

650Ti boost (SC);
Aansluitingen
6-pin PCIe
1
Max. Verbruik
115 Watt
Max. toegestane verbruik (PowerTune limiet)
134 Watt

7850 (OC sapphire one)
Aansluitingen
6-pin PCIe
2
Max. Verbruik
150 Watt
Idle verbruik (2D/Desktop)
12 Watt
Verbruik Lang-idle (Display uit)
3 Watt

i'd pick the 650Ti boost if power is the main focus together with blizzard games. (although both cards are likely mostly limited by cpu clocks, won't be much though)

[Killora]

Sorry about that i put what games i play in the OP now. Forgot to add that .

Also, i think those are peak values rather than averages. Peak usually isn't much of a problem in the grand scheme of overall power consumption.

is that 650 TI boost the EVGA superclocked one? because i believe they increased voltages for that particular one.

[Deleted]

Sorry about that i put what games i play in the OP now. Forgot to add that .

Also, i think those are peak values rather than averages. Peak usually isn't much of a problem in the grand scheme of overall power consumption.

is that 650 TI boost the EVGA superclocked one? because i believe they increased voltages for that particular one.

well the 7850 having a requirement of 2x 6pins for power kinda gives away that under normal loads it uses more power.
stock cards don't come with voltage tweaks iirc. (not even if factory overclocked)
best they usually have is a minor voltage tune option to get to 1,2V peaks for nvidia cards and i think it's similar for AMD cards.

[Killora]

well the 7850 having a requirement of 2x 6pins for power kinda gives away that under normal loads it uses more power.
stock cards don't come with voltage tweaks iirc. (not even if factory overclocked)
best they usually have is a minor voltage tune option to get to 1,2V peaks for nvidia cards and i think it's similar for AMD cards.

The particular 7850 i linked only requires 1 6 pin connector.

GTX 650 TI boost techpowerup

theres some more power consumption numbers for the 650 TI boost. The 7850 is there too but i have a feeling that's reference, but still a potential reference point.

650 TI boost Anandtech

The difference seems to reflect on anandtechs as well.

this is a bit confusing as these reviews seem to contradict what you linked.

[Deleted]

turns out i linked the speccs for the 7850 1Gb Vram version
still they seem to be using pretty similar wattage for load. (unless the +- average 10W difference is worth it for the performance loss)

[Killora]

turns out i linked the speccs for the 7850 1Gb Vram version
still they seem to be using pretty similar wattage for load. (unless the +- average 10W difference is worth it for the performance loss)

They are, but while the 7850 is a little slower in some games, wouldn't it's overclocking headroom pull it ahead of the 650 TI boost, even overclocked?

I mean, i'm just trying to get an idea here, i don't mean to argue, i'd just like a second opinion to help me decide :P. Being a broke teenager and all, $170/$185 is a lot, so minimizing loss is a good idea.

I have 0 power issues in the summer, most of my power issues is in the winter where it's snowing all the damn time. So overvolting can allow a dynamic in that respect.

Also, does the 650 TI boost even have voltage control? I haven't been able to get any concrete answers for that.

[Deleted]

They are, but while the 7850 is a little slower in some games, wouldn't it's overclocking headroom pull it ahead of the 650 TI boost, even overclocked?

I mean, i'm just trying to get an idea here, i don't mean to argue, i'd just like a second opinion to help me decide :P. Being a broke teenager and all, $170/$185 is a lot, so minimizing loss is a good idea.

I have 0 power issues in the summer, most of my power issues is in the winter where it's snowing all the damn time. So overvolting can allow a dynamic in that respect.

Also, does the 650 TI boost even have voltage control? I haven't been able to get any concrete answers for that.

with flashes bios both can be overclocked pretty far.
i think stock the voltage control for the 650 is up to 1,2V peaks (+38 offset)
also pretty sure i've stumbled across a review of all brands for the 650Ti boost. (they had some beastly overclocks on some of those)
when both cards are overclocked similar i'd still think it would at best make the gap between the cards smaller. (doubt the 7850 would surpass it unless it's heavy oc vs stock orso)

[Killora]

Hmm, after reading some Overclocking some people have done to the 650 TI boost i think i'm going to go with that. It was also my original choice and either way both are good cards.

Thanks for the help Shroud.

[holyevil44]

beware of nvidia card atm if you plan to overclock you will be f in the rear end whit green light that is what its happening to me whit my msi 670 pe atm fucking sucks balls

[Danno]

beware of nvidia card atm if you plan to overclock you will be f in the rear end whit green light that is what its happening to me whit my msi 670 pe atm fucking sucks balls

Eh? OCed my 670s fine and same with a 650 I put in my sister's build.

I'd go with the 650 Ti Boost as well.

[holyevil44]

Eh? OCed my 670s fine and same with a 650 I put in my sister's build.

I'd go with the 650 Ti Boost as well.

depands wen you got it nvidia put a lock on voltage and a lock on the power target to 114% you can still overclock but it sucks thanks nvidia green light.

[n0cturnal]

depands wen you got it nvidia put a lock on voltage and a lock on the power target to 114% you can still overclock but it sucks thanks nvidia green light.

You just had bad luck in the silicon lottery, my card runs at 1372MHz without the need of voltage modded bios, with voltage mod I can run it a bit higher.