In serious need of helping chosing a graphics card!!!

[Georgio1990]

Hi all hope all is going well

I am basically looking for a graphics card for bf3 that is best bang for the buck! After weeks of reading i have come across people mentioning the 6950's being the best for the money, also with the fact its 2gb ram as i heard bf3 is Vram hungary. [Looking at the MSI 6950 TFIII power edition]

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...56&subcat=1752

However, there is also the 560 ti 2gb version of the msi which has got me thinking!
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...14&subcat=1341

Im just so confused on between the two i dont know what to order ! I found Nvidia 570 graphics card going for 245 but im worried on the 1.2 vram as i strongly belive in 'Future proofing'. I would strongly appreciate any advice thanks!

[Hoonigan]

I'll ask all the usual questions then we can hopefully spec you a graphics card.

What resolution do you game at? The higher your res, the more VRAM you need, generally.

What's the spec for the rest of your computer? CPU + RAM mainly..

Do you have any need for any of the extras that NVIDIA offer or could you happily go with ATI? If there's no preference between the 2 camps then I'd suggest ATI, even though I've gone with the Green team myself.

the 6870/6950 or the GTX560 are the best "bang for buck" atm.

And most importantly, what's your budget?

[Georgio1990]

I'll ask all the usual questions then we can hopefully spec you a graphics card.

What resolution do you game at?

What's the spec for the rest of your computer? CPU + RAM mainly..

Do you have any need for any of the extras that NVIDIA offer or could you happily go with ATI?

the 6870/6950 or the GTX560 are the best "bang for buck" atm.

sorry i forgot!
1920X1080P
i5 760 and 4 gb ddr3 ram

I dont know why but im kinda leaning towards the 6950 due to me having a slight chance of unlocking it as well as my mobo having a xfire slot so in the future i can buy another one. However the 6950 is 15 pounds more.

[Hoonigan]

Well here's some benchmarks for 1920x1080 for AMD and NVIDIA





Although, please bear in mind, that is the "Going Hunting" benchmark, which is, by far, the least demanding on GFX cards...

[Georgio1990]

Well here's some benchmarks for 1920x1080 for AMD and NVIDIA





Although, please bear in mind, that is the "Going Hunting" benchmark, which is, by far, the least demanding on GFX cards...

thanks for the great reply mate helped me alot! But the 6950 put performs the 560 ti quite a bit, however, the 560 is not the 2gb version i presume? On the other hand, the 6950 is pretty much on par with the 570 looking at that chart. Also the 6950 is the power edition so that will help the fps boost.

[Hoonigan]

The 6950 and 570 are pretty much identical on them charts.

If you're looking at the 570/6950, I'd go for the 6950, although, personally, I'd go for the GTX570, but that's because I prefer NVIDIA cards.

Also, it's probably worth looking at Scan, seeing as you can get free next-day postage with them

[Georgio1990]

The 6950 and 570 are pretty much identical on them charts.

If you're looking at the 570/6950, I'd go for the 6950, although, personally, I'd go for the GTX570, but that's because I prefer NVIDIA cards.

Also, it's probably worth looking at Scan, seeing as you can get free next-day postage with them

totally true i prefer my nvidia cards been using them for years. Only chosing a 6950 due to me having a xfire mobo so in the near future i can easily buy a second hand cheap one in mint condition and pop in another! Love the fact that its 2gb so in the future i wont have to worry. Im deffiently going to scan, i remember scan selling the 6950 TFIII for £210 a couple of weeks ago now its £232

[Georgio1990]

Change of plan! Iv gone for the Asus 570 as it is only £10 more
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/31280...-dvi-i-dp-hdmi

Performs better than a 6950 and the Vram should not be an issue in bf3.

[Hoonigan]

Change of plan! Iv gone for the Asus 570 as it is only £10 more
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/31280...-dvi-i-dp-hdmi

Performs better than a 6950 and the Vram should not be an issue in bf3.

Should be a very good card for your needs

I use a GTX580 with 1536MB of VRAM, while gaming at 2048x1152, and I don't think I've ever been anywhere near hitting the VRAM wall.

I hope everything goes to plan for ya

[Georgio1990]

Should be a very good card for your needs

I use a GTX580 with 1536MB of VRAM, while gaming at 2048x1152, and I don't think I've ever been anywhere near hitting the VRAM wall.

I hope everything goes to plan for ya

hehe thanks mate Whats the average vram you use in bf3 then?

[Carr0t]

Change of plan! Iv gone for the Asus 570 as it is only £10 more
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/31280...-dvi-i-dp-hdmi

Performs better than a 6950 and the Vram should not be an issue in bf3.

That's a beast of a card o.0 Is it common to see triple slot solutions these days? I've been shying away from cards i've seen where it looked like it might be triple slot but I couldn't be sure. Does the fact it takes up 3 slots make it hard to find a motherboard that would accommodate it in in an SLI solution? (Not that it matters in your case I realise, i'm just wondering).

[Hoonigan]

hehe thanks mate Whats the average vram you use in bf3 then?

I couldn't tell ya to be honest, how do I check?

[Georgio1990]

That's a beast of a card o.0 Is it common to see triple slot solutions these days? I've been shying away from cards i've seen where it looked like it might be triple slot but I couldn't be sure. Does the fact it takes up 3 slots make it hard to find a motherboard that would accommodate it in in an SLI solution? (Not that it matters in your case I realise, i'm just wondering).

lol idd a beast of a card I dont think its common to find a 3 slot but i think its a 3 slot due to asus beliving it allows 50% more coolling or something, making it very clockable! In SLI terms you got to deffiently check your mobo. In my case i checked if its compatable with a antec 300 case and it is YAY !

[Georgio1990]

I couldn't tell ya to be honest, how do I check?

I know msi afterbuner allows you to see your vram usage

[Carr0t]

I know msi afterbuner allows you to see your vram usage

Will that bit of its functionality work on a non-MSI card, even if the overclocking functionality doesn't?

[Carr0t]

Hmm. I've downloaded Afterburner and installed it on my system to test what I could monitor. I can't see anything mentioning VRAM, but a quick Google suggests that that is because it's not supported on any of the AMD cards. Oh well :-/ Dunno if it's supported specifically on MSI AMD cards.