Scorbing Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Now that the GTX 560 1GB is out I wonder how it stands up against the HD 6950 2 GB model, especially now since AMD lowered the price of the 6950 today to slap Nvidia in the face. What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
threetonesun Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 The 2GB is probably faster across the board, the 1GB 6950 is a better comparison. Depends on overclocking, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treemonster Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 depends on if the only game you want to play is aliens vs predators. everything else is either too close to call or in nvidia's favour as usual. 560ti is a little weak in dx11 it seems especially in games with tesselation. but for everything it wrecks the 6950's face, or at least that's what the data seems to show. only half way through the HWC review so far though i might have a different opinion later. ofc keeping in mind when you read reviews that in dx11 for tesselation the amd cards do cheat by rendering like only a certain fraction of the polygons, though i don't know if this is noticeable in games. but this is how amd has been able to bypass nvidia in supposed tesselation performance without actually beefing up the hardware dedicated to it much at all. as well you wont read this on english review sites but amd also cheats by lower actual IQ on texture AF that can sometimes create a noticeable shimmering effect on textures, particularly at a distance. now keep in mind i don't have a system with a recent amd card handy to compare how the above effects effective IQ, and the english review sites haven't commented on it much other than to include it in their show case of amd tech features in reviews of amd cards. as for price to performance comparison, i guess i'm going to have to look around newegg and see what the current prices on all of this stuff is right now. i'll note that the last two reviews from HWC i've read the 570 and 6970 have switched places on some games as well, and in alot of cases i'm seeing them neck and neck, and the last time i checked the 6970 was $20 more than the 570. definitely pretty interesting stuff. below the 580 amd and nvidia are effectively neck and neck right now(at first glance), so i won't be surprised if we see another round of price wars, which ofc is great for the consumer as always. i think this graph is kinda illustrative of what i'm seeing here: yeah it's not a game but it's the most punishing dx11 benchmark and the engine it showcases is being used by a few different games currently in development. XIII 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorbing Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 A 560 with 2 GB of RAM...Now that would be sweet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XIII Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Nah, 2GB RAM would only be useful if you play at really high res or have multiple monitors, otherwise, a 2GB card won't perform any better than a 1GB card. You can refer to the above figure as well. But if the 2GB card have the same price and the same RAM specs (speed, bus width, etc...) with the 1GB card, which is not very likely, it is wise to go with the 2GB card...But I would pick a 1GB card but with faster RAM over the 2GB card but with slower RAM any day... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treemonster Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 well that would be useful at resolutions like 2560x1440 where you're really going to want something higher end anyway. but amd's high end cards do pull ahead at 2560x1440 with aa on due to their 2gb of ram(which makes sense). i'm still reading the review but... the 560 does best at 1680x1050 it seems. even at 1920x1200 it starts to fall behind cards with more vram. i'm on the overclock page right now and it seems beastly to OC: which is an unexpected bonus as i think with the higher stock clocks people weren't expecting to to live up tot he 460's OC ability. so for the mid range gamer that likes to OC to high end performance, the 560 is definitely the card to get right now. i'll have more to comment when i read the conclusion and maybe reread some of the review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorbing Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 So let me ask you all this, is this card better than the GTX 560? http://www.compusa.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7091952&csid=ITD&recordsPerPage=10&body=REVIEWS#tabs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treemonster Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 So let me ask you all this, is this card better than the GTX 560? http://www.compusa.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7091952&csid=ITD&recordsPerPage=10&body=REVIEWS#tabs that card is $40 more than the 560 ti after the rebate(i don't like to figure in rebates to cost personally unless they're instant from the vendor type deals). i'm not going to do the math on teh price to performance ratio here. that also seems to be a sale price that ends in 6 days. it really depends on what games you want to play and what resolution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XIII Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Also whether you prefer ATI or NVIDIA... I think you will be happy with either of them unless you are gaming at high res and/or games with a lot of textures. If that's the case, 2GB card is a must. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorbing Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 that card is $40 more than the 560 ti after the rebate(i don't like to figure in rebates to cost personally unless they're instant from the vendor type deals). i'm not going to do the math on teh price to performance ratio here. that also seems to be a sale price that ends in 6 days. it really depends on what games you want to play and what resolution. The games I play are COD and Battlefield BC2. I also plan to get Medal of Honor. I currently play at 1680x1050 but will be getting a new, larger monitor soon so that will probably increase a bit. What do you think I should do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norseman Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 The games I play are COD and Battlefield BC2. I also plan to get Medal of Honor. I currently play at 1680x1050 but will be getting a new, larger monitor soon so that will probably increase a bit. What do you think I should do? The 6950 without a doubt. A couple of FPS on one system does not tell you the full story of the card. What other hardware do you have in your system? As the drivers become more mature for the 6950 I think it might even create more room for performance gains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XIII Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 They are pretty much the same IMO for your usage. You can refer to the above graph as well. You seem to lean toward the ATI so you should go with that. I used to hate ATI for their crappy drivers but not any more. Recently, their drivers are quite optimized as well (and you can always install 3rd party drivers) so either ATI or NVIDIA is a good choice at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorbing Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 The 6950 without a doubt. A couple of FPS on one system does not tell you the full story of the card. What other hardware do you have in your system? As the drivers become more mature for the 6950 I think it might even create more room for performance gains. Look at my signature. That is my hardware. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treemonster Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Also whether you prefer ATI or NVIDIA... I think you will be happy with either of them unless you are gaming at high res and/or games with a lot of textures. If that's the case, 2GB card is a must. i really think it depends on on the card, i think 1.5gb card(480 or 580) does pretty decently at 2560x1440 in most games. going multi monitor gaming(ie nvidia surround or amd eyefinity) it's kind of a toss up, but the review on that i saw 580 sli beating 6970 cf by a fair margin. but it also costs quit ea bit more. in that kind of scenario i think people willing and able to spend that kind of money are going to go for the very best anyway. The games I play are COD and Battlefield BC2. I also plan to get Medal of Honor. I currently play at 1680x1050 but will be getting a new, larger monitor soon so that will probably increase a bit. What do you think I should do? COD is going to run at over 60fps maxxed out on either card, same with MoH. in your case though you just bought a 460, returned it for a 6850 iirc and then returned that for a 460 OC. i think if you're doing all of this from teh same store they are going to flag you for abusing their return policy. either way i don't think either is worht upgrading to from your current video card. not even worth the trip to teh store or waiting for the package to arrive let alone the price premium over what you have. The 6950 without a doubt. A couple of FPS on one system does not tell you the full story of the card. What other hardware do you have in your system? As the drivers become more mature for the 6950 I think it might even create more room for performance gains. they're basically neck and neck in teh game he plays that matters, but one costs like $50 more before rebates. as for maturing drivers, the 500 series has just as much room to grow, and the 400 series is still getting performance increases from driver updates. i won't comment further on nvidia drivers vs amd drivers except to say i don't like the monthly driver release at any cost paradigm from amd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norseman Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Look at my signature. That is my hardware. i would go with the ATI for a few degrees cooler system, quieter overall and still receive killer performance. Should you decide to get a larger monitor or use your monitors in a dual monitor setup the additional VRAM might be a nice thing to have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorbing Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 They are pretty much the same IMO for your usage. You can refer to the above graph as well. You seem to lean toward the ATI so you should go with that. I used to hate ATI for their crappy drivers but not any more. Recently, their drivers are quite optimized as well (and you can always install 3rd party drivers) so either ATI or NVIDIA is a good choice at this point. I have used Nvidia all of my life. Never had a single issue with them. I did have a bad experience once with an ATI card but for some reason I get the feeling that Nvidia's quality has always been better and that their drivers are much more solid. I could be wrong, maybe I am wrong. I am not too much of an expert when it comes to video cards so excuse my ignorance, if any. I just want a card that will play Battlefield, Medal of Honor and COD without problems. I don't care if I have to pay $300.00 for it as long as it works and it doesn't matter what brand it is. The dilemma now is: Which one to get. I got the GTX 460 4 days ago and the Compusa people said I can go back and exchange it if I want so I am trying to decide what to get or if I should keep my 460. Help! :D They have the 2GB 6950 model for $300.00 at CompUSA right now. The GTX 560 is $250.00, but online purchase only. Not at the stores. The 6950 is available at the stores. My dilemma is if the 6950 2GB model worth the extra $50.00? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treemonster Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 They have the 2GB 6950 model for $300.00 at CompUSA right now. The GTX 560 is $250.00, but online purchase only. Not at the stores. The 6950 is available at the stores. My dilemma is if the 6950 2GB model worth the extra $50.00? imho? not at all. they're basically giving the same performance in the most punishing game you play. and that performance shouldn't much more than the card you have currently, unless you plan to OC it further, in which case, the 560 is obviously the better option purely on performance alone. EDIT: i don't know what shipping costs are like in the US or from compusa, but if it's anything like canadian online vendors you could ship the 560 overnight and it would still come out cheaper than the 6950 from teh store. EDIT 2: do you plan on attempting to unlock the 6950 2gb if you get it? that may give it the edge in performance, but again you're going to need to decide that for yourself and while the unlock rate for the 6950 2gb is pretty damn good, and it matches the more expensive 6970 when OCed to those clocks, the 560 can OC to higher levels for cheaper with less work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorbing Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 imho? not at all. they're basically giving the same performance in the most punishing game you play. and that performance shouldn't much more than the card you have currently, unless you plan to OC it further, in which case, the 560 is obviously the better option purely on performance alone. EDIT: i don't know what shipping costs are like in the US or from compusa, but if it's anything like canadian online vendors you could ship the 560 overnight and it would still come out cheaper than the 6950 from teh store. EDIT 2: do you plan on attempting to unlock the 6950 2gb if you get it? that may give it the edge in performance, but again you're going to need to decide that for yourself and while the unlock rate for the 6950 2gb is pretty damn good, and it matches the more expensive 6970 when OCed to those clocks, the 560 can OC to higher levels for cheaper with less work. No OC. I don't like to alter things so I will leave it at the clock speeds it comes with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treemonster Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 then the 560 ti hands down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norseman Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 http://www.infonec.com/site/main.php?module=detail&id=455839 Hands down. Synthetic benchmarks are nothing against real world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XIII Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 I have used Nvidia all of my life. Never had a single issue with them. I did have a bad experience once with an ATI card but for some reason I get the feeling that Nvidia's quality has always been better and that their drivers are much more solid. I could be wrong, maybe I am wrong. I am not too much of an expert when it comes to video cards so excuse my ignorance, if any. I just want a card that will play Battlefield, Medal of Honor and COD without problems. I don't care if I have to pay $300.00 for it as long as it works and it doesn't matter what brand it is. The dilemma now is: Which one to get. I got the GTX 460 4 days ago and the Compusa people said I can go back and exchange it if I want so I am trying to decide what to get or if I should keep my 460. Help! :D They have the 2GB 6950 model for $300.00 at CompUSA right now. The GTX 560 is $250.00, but online purchase only. Not at the stores. The 6950 is available at the stores. My dilemma is if the 6950 2GB model worth the extra $50.00? If you have no problem with NVIDIA so far, I would recommend to go with NVIDIA. The only thing I don't like about NVIDIA is that they usually consume more power than their ATI counterpart. In this case, the ATI costs $50 more and gives maybe only 1-3% better performance in some specific scenario and if you don't overclock, then I agree with treemonster, NVIDIA would be your best bet... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treemonster Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 http://www.infonec.com/site/main.php?module=detail&id=455839 Hands down. Synthetic benchmarks are nothing against real world. what synthetic benchmarks? \ i've posted benchmarks from real games or from an engine demo that's going to be used in real games. you'll never see me post a synthetic benchmark, and i almost always post benches from HWC alone because i they have a methodology i trust that i find goes above and beyond other review sites in several ways, and their conclusions and opinions lack the bias of other review sites. i've posted benches from the most demanding game he plays at the resolution he currently uses and the resolution he plans to upgrade to in the future, and all 3 of those graphs show both cards performing neck and neck with at most 1fps difference between them, where the 560 ti comes out as the winner in price to performance ratio. he's looking at the prices on teh vendor he's linked because that is where he's hopping from. and while i don't know what their shipping prices are, i doubt the 560 is going to come out more than the 6950 will come to at the store after shipping. as well you linked a canadian website when he's clearly in the US. and it's on sale until tomorrow. If you have no problem with NVIDIA so far, I would recommend to go with NVIDIA. The only thing I don't like about NVIDIA is that they usually consume more power than their ATI counterpart. In this case, the ATI costs $50 more and gives maybe only 1-3% better performance in some specific scenario and if you don't overclock, then I agree with treemonster, NVIDIA would be your best bet... in the 500 vs the 6000 generation, nviida is winning for power efficiency and heat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Singh400 Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 560ti is a little weak in dx11 it seems especially in games with tessellation.Not according to this review.The GTX 560 Ti gives the 460 a spanking at every resolution, and it ekes ahead of the more-expensive Radeon HD 6950 card once greater levels of tessellation are thrown in. I personally am looking very closely at the 560Ti, I need want an upgrade, and this looks perfect. Unless the 6970 comes down in price... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norseman Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 I don't see why you are so passionate about this, treemonster. To each their own - but not every system runs as quickly as the other - even if they have the same parts. We don't know the speed of his ram for example. What if he has a slow CAS RAM? We're talking many FPS!!! :s ^^ You know what I mean. Anyways - if the OP likes Nvidia, has a well ventilated computer and the $$$, buy one and you should be happy either way. I thought there were some benefits to the faster bus / memory of the 6950. Regarding the video card I posted.. it is one of my suppliers and I thought I would just post a link. I thought you guys had better prices on video cards... $301.97USD buys you: http://www.ncixus.com/products/57653/GV-R695D5-2GD-B/Gigabyte/ $277USD buys you: http://www.ncixus.com/products/58303/N560GTX-TI%20Twin%20Frozr%20II%2FOC/MSI%2FMicroStar/ In the event you want to go with higher res or multi-monitor, heavy encode/decode with GPU, etc... the extra ram might be beneficial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViperAFK Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Didn't you just buy the 460 lol? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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