Graphic Cards Sapphire HD 6950 2GB VS Zotac GTX 560 Ti AMP!

Kilroyquasar

Kilroyquasar

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Hello everyone !

a colleague of mine is upgrading his PC on a budget (25k), and is almost decided on the config, except for the GPU. he isnt a member of any of the tech-forums, hence am searching and writing on his behalf. we've got two offers, namely :

1. sapphire HD 6950 2GB (used, alongwith CD, manual & box; @ stock settings) with 2 yrs of warranty left - 10.6k

2. zotac GTX560 Ti AMP! (new, box-packed, unused; won in the nvidia LAN tournament held at BKC complex; need to confirm about warranty from aditya infotech) - 10k

we both are thoroughly confused in which one to buy. i read that 6950 can help in higher VRAM usage in future games, but the zotac AMP version is shown as better in some benchmarking websites than stock 6950 2GB.

he has a 17" monitor currently, but he would upgrade that too, but wont go for multi-monitor set-up anytime. also, other things worth thinking upon are physx+CUDA plus (may be) better compatibility with 'nvidia' affiliated games, and the allegedly poor driver support of AMD.

some say take the 6950 2GB, some say otherwise.

he would be using his PC only for gaming & movies. this is the proposed config :

Mobo + CPU - Asus P8H61-M-LE + i3 2100

RAM - 4GB DDR3

Cabby - NZXT Gamma

PSU - 500W (something from corsair)

please suggest people. utter confusion prevails !
 
Go for the GTX 560Ti AMP! edition, it will perform decently and as your friend is not going for a multi-monitor set-up it is pragmatic to go for the nVidia card.

Poor AMD driver support is only in productivity applications, in games and related 2D applications they perform at par OR better than their nVidia counter-parts with a lower power draw.

For a head-to-head comparison between the two cards --> http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/293?vs=330.

Also before purchasing this card please tell us the model no. of the Corsair SMPS that your friend has, if it is the CX 500, buy a new more powerful SMPS along with the graphics card. Preferable the Seasonic S12II 520W ~3500/-.

Hope this helps, Cheers!!
 
I would recommend op to go for Sapphire HD6950 2GB over Zotac Gtx560ti amp edition cause of it's reviews and HD6950 2gb is a better performer-http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_GTX_560_Ti_Amp_Edition/27.html

Zotac Gtx560ti amp edition CONS-

Very high power consumption

Noisy cooler in 3D

High temperatures

No low clock profile for idle desktop 2D

Still limited to two active display outputs per card

NVIDIA power limiter system could possibly complicate advanced overclocking

DirectX 11 relevance limited at this time
 
thank you very much both of you for your opinions !

@ alpha17 - what do you suggest in the scenario wherein future games are going to utilise more VRAM ? my colleague wont like to upgrade his GPU in the coming 2-3 yrs atleast.
 
^^ Then the AMD HD 6950 2GB is the best bet, either ways his problem is his CPU ~Core i3 2100, the processor will do well in the game arena for ~1.5 years more after that advancing game engines' will start utilizing the true quad-cores more efficiently so I can say for 2 years OR so the AMD HD 6950 2GB is a good buy.

Also, if you can convince your friend to wait ~2 months more the HD 78** series will be out, pricey but performance wise it will be in the top most echelons with the usual efficiency gains due to migration to a smaller die and lesser TDP consequentially.
 
thank you ! he is open to upgrading processor in future if it proves to give rise to a serious bottleneck, but i talked to him, he isnt ready to wait and invest in the new (and pricey, atleast in the beginning) 7 series of AMD cards.
 
means all of you consider physx & CUDA more or less useless for my colleague's kind-of requirement ?
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Kilroyquasar said:
means all of you consider physx & CUDA more or less useless for my colleague's kind-of requirement ?
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Physx is useless save for a few games.. CUDA is not for gamers
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i absolutely disagree with alpha's first opinion and completely agree with his second.. anyway you look at it 6950 2gb is much better than 560Ti. As far as driver issues go i have had not a single problem with my 6950 at all.. Dont go on driver issues everywhere.. the newer ones are working quite well... and driver issues are more for those with crossfirex.. also more vram is better.. however even the 560Ti 2gb is not as good as 6950 2gb.. The 6950 2gb one also unlocks into 6970 shaders. Also may i point out that the nvidia cards are uber power hungry..

All in all the 6950 is for you.. from price and performance point of view both!!
 
Don't wait for 7800 series, even the 7850 will cost $250 which will probably be like 15k+ in India. And it will perform significantly lower than a 6970, close to the 6950, +-
 
there's an overwhelming majority of people recommending to get the 6950. heck ! i mean there's NO ONE who is advising to buy zotac gtx 560 ti amp over the 6950
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my friend is showing signs of buying the 6950 now
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Kilroyquasar said:
there's an overwhelming majority of people recommending to get the 6950. heck ! i mean there's NO ONE who is advising to buy zotac gtx 560 ti amp over the 6950
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my friend is showing signs of buying the 6950 now
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Click to expand...

i have a 6950 2gb dude and trust me it is an awesome card!! buy it eyes closed
 
A 2gb 7850 will launch around 15-18k and will compete with a 6970 when overclocked. So imo you can consider waiting now that the reviews are out, and a stock 7850 compares with a stock 6950 but costs just as much, but can be overclocked 20-30% with 100% performance scaling
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rite said:
A 2gb 7850 will launch around 15-18k and will compete with a 6970 when overclocked. So imo you can consider waiting now that the reviews are out, and a stock 7850 compares with a stock 6950 but costs just as much, but can be overclocked 20-30% with 100% performance scaling
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thank you very much for suggesting this ! but my friend is on a really tight-budget, and he's getting this used 6950 @ 10.5k only because its falling in his budget....considering other components' prices, he wont be able to extend the budget more to accommodate a new 7850 @ 15-17K. he has decided to get that 6950 this thursday.
 
That's a really great deal, go for the 6950. Even with 78xx series just around the corner, the VFM you're getting in this deal is worth all the investment and it fits in your budget perfectly.
 
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