GPU advice for new build. 570 vs 6970 2gb

[sparklepubes]

First off these are the other parts I'm getting:

2500K
Asus P8P67 Pro
8 GB Gskill Ripjaws RAM
Corsair HX650w PS
WD Caviar Black 1tb HD
OCZ Vertex 2 80gb SSD


Now I'm torn on graphics cards. I mostly play WoW, HoN and SC2.
I use two monitors, both running at 1920x1080, one for the game, other with vent/facebook etc open, and very often streaming a video.
Now I'm deciding between two cards in the same price range:

GTX 570 1280 MB
vs
some variety of 6970 at 2GB

My main question is which card will be better for me for the price. Is running two monitors (especially streaming video on one) make it worthwhile to go for a card with the larger GPU RAM, or is it useless and just go for the faster card (gtx 570). I've seen some benchmarks for the 6970 at 2gb beating the GTX 570 in wow at 1920x1080, but it was only from one source so not completely convinced as to which card.

So TLDR
570 GTX vs 6970 at 2gb
2 monitors both at 1920x1080, game on one, video on other. Which is better!?

Advice much appreciated

[BicycleMafioso]

For WoW, there's no difference.
Both will be bottled by the CPU.

Two screens are not enough to warrant the higher VRAM unless you play on both. Since you don't. Eh. It'll help.

Buy the cheaper. I'd get the HD6970.

[Asmekiel]

or is it useless and just go for the faster card (gtx 570)

Everywhere I look, the 6970 has higher clocks

For the actual performance, they're pretty much equal. In some games the 570 has 5 more FPS, sometimes it's the other way around.

[BicycleMafioso]

Everywhere I look, the 6970 has higher clocks

Higher clocks aren't really comparable unless within the same GPU IMO (except memory).
My GTX460 clocks higher than most stock GTX580, but I sure don't expect to beat it in performance :P

[Deleted]

Both of those cards will be able to run the games you mentioned on Ultra on crazy FPS, so i wouldn't worry about it. Eventho CrossfireX tends to be superior in most games compared to SLi, however that may change in the future.

Hell, even a 6850 could run SC2 on ultra for decent fps.

The difference between Nvidia and ATI is that Nvidia has other memory interface. ATI works with a 256bit memory interface whilst Nvidia works with a 384bit interface. ATI makes up for this difference by clocking theirs higher and giving it more memory.

[sparklepubes]

In terms of future proofing (more VRAM and xfire>sli) does a 2gb 6970 sound better then? And which brand would people recommend? Thanks

[Deleted]

In terms of future proofing (more VRAM and xfire>sli) does a 2gb 6970 sound better then? And which brand would people recommend? Thanks

Sapphire is good. However see my earlier post about the differences between Nvidia and ATI cards. Only looking at the clock rate and VRAM is quite silly tbh.

Since both cards are very good on their own, just go with the cheapest one and get yourself a nice victory meal after the purchase.

[Deleted]

I have an identical build to yours (with the exception off SSD) and my 2500k is at 4.5 GHz but i run SC2 on extreme no problem and WoW on ultra with high shadows and 8x ms np too
Having never tried the 6970 i can not provide a comparison however i can recommend the 570.
gl buying

[BicycleMafioso]

In terms of future proofing (more VRAM and xfire>sli) does a 2gb 6970 sound better then? And which brand would people recommend? Thanks

Eh. Brand doesn't matter. The AMD-card is better if you want to run Eyefinity, obviously. VRAM has little benefit outside such huge resolutions. Crossfire-aspect, sure. I'd go cheapest. MSI is the brand of the card I'd choose. Or Asus.

Both of those cards will be able to run the games you mentioned on Ultra on crazy FPS, so i wouldn't worry about it. Eventho CrossfireX tends to be superior in most games compared to SLi, however that may change in the future.

Hell, even a 6850 could run SC2 on ultra for decent fps.

Well, those games are CPU-bound games. Anything above a GTX460 or a HD5770 should be availible to cap it out from a GPU pov.

[Deleted]

6950 softclocked is the same as the 6970 but cheaper. I panicked when my PC recently died, rushed out and bought a 6970. Wish I had got a 6950 instead.

[BicycleMafioso]

6950 softclocked is the same as the 6970 but cheaper. I panicked when my PC recently died, rushed out and bought a 6970. Wish I had got a 6950 instead.

You've heard misinformation, I'm afraid. It's wrong. You made a good purchase.

EDIT- For the record, some reference-based PCBs on the 6950-2GiB-version was flashable to be a 6970, although that had inherited flaws, such as bricking, shorting out or just not getting enough power because it's having a double six-pin instead of six/eight-pin.
Also, the memory was coded differently.

[Deleted]

In terms of future proofing (more VRAM and xfire>sli) does a 2gb 6970 sound better then? And which brand would people recommend? Thanks

Get 2 6950s - The toms hardware best gpus for the money guide even suggests as much.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...70,2935-4.html
"
The new Radeon HD 6950 offers similar performance to AMD's previous-generation single-GPU flagship, the Radeon HD 5870. A pair of these cards in CrossFire are a force to be reckoned with, as the scaling of AMD's Radeon HD 6900-series is significantly improved versus some of the company's previous efforts.


There's another reason to consider this model. Many folks have had luck modding this board into a fully-functional Radeon HD 6970 through a firmware update. If you can pull that off, the value of the 2 GB Radeon HD 6950 seems pretty clear."

---------- Post added 2011-06-19 at 01:17 AM ----------

You've heard misinformation, I'm afraid. It's wrong. You made a good purchase.

Not to sound rude but I would trust an industry standard hardware site over pretty much anyone else.

[Xuvial]

In terms of future proofing (more VRAM and xfire>sli) does a 2gb 6970 sound better then? And which brand would people recommend? Thanks

I'd go with the Twin Frozr version if you can find it, or DirectCU II if that 12" thing will fit in your case. Hands-down the best non-reference coolers for that card.
For standard cooling good ol' Sapphire is always great

2gb vRAM *should* futureproof better assuming AMD keep their drivers in check.

[BicycleMafioso]

Not to sound rude but I would trust an industry standard hardware site over pretty much anyone else.

Not to sound rude, but I wouldn't trust TomsHardware with anything. They are to computer hardware what Wowinsider was to the wow-community; Happy amateurs with no in-depth clue.
Rough generalization, of course.

Chances are if you bought a 6950 2GiB today, even if you could find a reference-model, you still couldn't flash it. Because they've fixed that in an earlier revision.

[coldfiredragon]

If you look at the bench marks the 2 cards are almost identical.

Buy the one you can get the better buy on.

[kailtas]

Anandtech Benchmark 570 vs 6970


Theire pretty much dead even.

[Iceleet]

I've got the 570, but the only difference between them is the temperature with the stock cooling, the 570 works cooler and quieter, so in my opinion it has the upper hand on the 6970.

[exekution]

My advice would be simple: Nvidia.

Note: I am not an nvidia fanboi, I currently own a 5830, 5850 and a 6970.

I am a network tech, and freelance doing IT house calls for extra cash. I've been getting a lot of calls since the 5 series came out, from gamers (ironic huh?) having odd crashes related to their GPU's. I've even experienced it a lot myself.
The issue is, the ATI display drivers tend to crash a lot under heavy load, ofc the OS recovers and nothing is damaged, but its a large hassle, especially if it happens repeatedly to you.
The two cards are solid boards, the 570 is a great mid-high range card, as is the 6970, but I've never felt that ATI did a big enough improvement from the 5 series to justify a re branding and a slightly smaller die

In the end I would go with what is the best deal, but I'd recommend buying XFX if your going to go the ATI route, my XFX 5850 recently had some issues, the heat sink was fault, and was able to get a new card, not refurbished, immediately. As always they are a decent company, but in the end I would recommend the nVidia 570.

[Deleted]

Not to sound rude, but I wouldn't trust TomsHardware with anything. They are to computer hardware what Wowinsider was to the wow-community; Happy amateurs with no in-depth clue.
Rough generalization, of course.

Chances are if you bought a 6950 2GiB today, even if you could find a reference-model, you still couldn't flash it. Because they've fixed that in an earlier revision.

Yes hence why they get invited to tour the Intel labs as opposed to you or I....

[BicycleMafioso]

Yes hence why they get invited to tour the Intel labs as opposed to you or I....

Hence why Wow insider got to do interviews with people working at Blizzard? -.-' Being awful != being popular.
Companies want to be seen by all people, even those who read Toms.
I've been to Asus-sweden, doesn't mean I'm VIP.
I'd trust Sweclockers.com above anything else, and they disagree with Toms on those points.

And so would I, regardless. The best deal for the OP is a 6970.