Good thing SOW is Nvidia's friendly !

[klem]

Well I have to make a decision today as my new PC is built, awaiting my GPU decision. I've spent the past three days poring over the reviews. I have been steered by the written reviews but this link shows graphically what many are saying.
http://www.pcinlife.com/article_phot...game/total.png
Call of Duty is interesting because I believe it is OpenGL which is IL-2 country but these cards should spank IL-2 anyway. The Directx/3D table at the bottom looks at Directx/3D.

All the reviews are pointing to a couple of general conclusions.

General: the 6970 targets the 570GTX, the 6950 pitches in between the 480GTX and the 570GTX. (btw, the 6970 does not target the 580GTX. That is 5970 and 6990 territory.)

Performance: Below 1900 resolution the 570GTX has the edge on the 6970. However, if Tesselation is in use the 6970 wins (but SoW won't have Tesselation). At 1900 its a bit of a toss-up. Above 1900 the 6970 takes over.

Power and Heat: The 570 edges the 6970 out by something like 30w and 10 degrees under load. One review stated that two 6970s in Crossfire might lead to heat problems if they are very close, depending on the motherboard/ventilation.

Price: Not much between the 570 and the 6970 depending on which supplier/badge you pick.


My position is: 1680x1050 resolution and not likely to change in the next 2-3 years); New PC is overclocked from 3GHz to 4.2GHz so heat is a point to watch; My budget is £300, squeeezable to £350 in a very cause cause.

I am not a fanboy. I was very happy with my ATI 9600GT and have been very happy with my NV 7800GTs. As much as I wanted to believe the hype and buy a shiny new 570GTX-killing 6970, for me it looks like the 570GTX. My only thought is that a few reviewers feel that driver improvements might increase the 6970 performance. I wonder.......

Got to make my mind up in the next few hours and make the phone call.......

[Baron]

Originally Posted by klem

Well I have to make a decision today as my new PC is built, awaiting my GPU decision. I've spent the past three days poring over the reviews. I have been steered by the written reviews but this link shows graphically what many are saying.
http://www.pcinlife.com/article_phot...game/total.png
Call of Duty is interesting because I believe it is OpenGL which is IL-2 country but these cards should spank IL-2 anyway. The Directx/3D table at the bottom looks at Directx/3D.

All the reviews are pointing to a couple of general conclusions.

General: the 6970 targets the 570GTX, the 6950 pitches in between the 480GTX and the 570GTX. (btw, the 6970 does not target the 580GTX. That is 5970 and 6990 territory.)

Performance: Below 1900 resolution the 570GTX has the edge on the 6970. However, if Tesselation is in use the 6970 wins (but SoW won't have Tesselation). At 1900 its a bit of a toss-up. Above 1900 the 6970 takes over.

Power and Heat: The 570 edges the 6970 out by something like 30w and 10 degrees under load. One review stated that two 6970s in Crossfire might lead to heat problems if they are very close, depending on the motherboard/ventilation.

Price: Not much between the 570 and the 6970 depending on which supplier/badge you pick.


My position is: 1680x1050 resolution and not likely to change in the next 2-3 years); New PC is overclocked from 3GHz to 4.2GHz so heat is a point to watch; My budget is £300, squeeezable to £350 in a very cause cause.

I am not a fanboy. I was very happy with my ATI 9600GT and have been very happy with my NV 7800GTs. As much as I wanted to believe the hype and buy a shiny new 570GTX-killing 6970, for me it looks like the 570GTX. My only thought is that a few reviewers feel that driver improvements might increase the 6970 performance. I wonder.......

Got to make my mind up in the next few hours and make the phone call.......

Feels abit "unfair" for us "outsiders" comming in at this late stage trying to sway u one way or the other.

I can only go with what i personally would have choosen and imo u cant go wrong with Evga 570. (remember, drivers for 5xx series is very new to)

Reasently got myselfe a Evga 470 and are extremly happy with it, way cooler than i expected, no noise when surfing (ALL cards are noisy in load) , very good service from Evga (step up program etc). Overclocks like a motherf**er to doesnt hurt either

In the next few months i will proppably use the step up program to get a Gtx570 instead, no hazzel trying to sell of my used 470, just swap and pay the differance and viola

[Flanker35M]

S!

Klem would not go wrong with either card IMO. If he plays titles with PhysX then he should go for nVidia. Otherwise tough cal.

[JG52Krupi]

Originally Posted by Flanker35M

S!

Klem would not go wrong with either card IMO. If he plays titles with PhysX then he should go for nVidia. Otherwise tough cal.

I have played physx games with my 5970 such as mafia 2, the effects where amazing.

[Flanker35M]

S!

Mere gimmicks to me. I will look into it when EVE Online will get the new physics system that possibly uses PhysX or something..but not in a couple of years. For me the game and the plot, how it is done is more important than see a flag waving or some pieces of rock fly around and bounce like they are weightless as usually the ground in games is solid and does not give in as IRL.

And you can use AMD + PhysX..just have to use drivers that have been "enhanced" to bypass the nVidia's code.

[lbuchele]

I´ll probably go for the GTX 580 or the upcoming GTX 590 IF the SOW reviews point to more GPU horsepower.
It´s important to put some money in a really fast CPU too.

When figuring in the cost of a card vs. another card and then adding to the SLI/Crossfire you should take into account the increased power consumption. GPU's these days are not like the Voodoo3's and 64mb Geforce 4's of late 90's early 00's. They are big, and they eat a lot of electricity. Might not be a factor for people who have an apartment or are living at their parent's house, but that adds up over the year, especially if you're one of those gamers who spends a few hours a night gaming and not just having your cards sitting idle while surfing the net.

I'd love to see some kWh usage per month/year for some of those cards. Given the heat they produce they might rival your average TV or small appliance.

[Triggaaar]

Originally Posted by klem

Power and Heat: The 570 edges the 6970 out by something like 30w and 10 degrees under load.

You seem have compared them fairly, but the 570 uses a little more power than the 6970.

AnAnd - Load Power Consumption - Crysis
570 = 361 Watts
6970 = 340 Watts
(I'll ignore Furmark as it's limited, but amd much less)

Hardware Canucks - 1hr 3DMark Batch size test
570 = 337 Watts
6970 = 364 Watts

That's a 48 Watt swing. Watt is that all about?

Now checking Guru3d, which calculates the GPU load:
570 = 213
6970 = 207
And HardOCP, which calculates total system
570 = 454W
6970 = 428W
And BitTech
570 = 330
6970 = 306

[klem]

Originally Posted by Triggaaar

You seem have compared them fairly, but the 570 uses a little more power than the 6970.

AnAnd - Load Power Consumption - Crysis
570 = 361 Watts
6970 = 340 Watts
(I'll ignore Furmark as it's limited, but amd much less)

Hardware Canucks - 1hr 3DMark Batch size test
570 = 337 Watts
6970 = 364 Watts

That's a 48 Watt swing. Watt is that all about?

Now checking Guru3d, which calculates the GPU load:
570 = 213
6970 = 207
And HardOCP, which calculates total system
570 = 454W
6970 = 428W
And BitTech
570 = 330
6970 = 306

Yes Triggaaar, it was Hardware Canuck's figures I noted down. I seem to have overlooked the others
My brain was probably addled by then

For those pointing out the mimimal difference between the 570/6950 I can only say I had to decide where to throw my £300. And I don't throw money easily so I got quite deeply into those small differences

And they are right. Between the two, it probably doesn't matter too much which way you jump if you are only considering "My Position". High tesselation and resolution needs would have pushed me towards the 6970.