Graphics cards? Help!

[Predator]

Hey guys, really sorry for yet another thread, hopefully someone else will be able to learn from these though!

I have been looking at graphics cards and was set on an ATi 6950 2GB by MSI (Twin Frozr). But then I changed my mind, I saw the 6970's were not much more expensive, so I then looked at a 6970 2GB by Asus (Direct CU) and settled on that. And all was good. However I then moved over to nvidia and was looking at GTX 570's. But then its more money, from what looks like not as much performance (see here: http://www.graphicscardbenchmarks.com/page/table) Please note I do not know if that source is reliable!

I know the new GPU's are coming out soon (today?), but from what I have read they are either going to be alike in performance or too much money for me, I have a budget of £250 but could probably push £280 max which is what the 6970 is, however IF the GPU's come down in price, which from history won't be for a good few months, then all it's going to do is push the 69## into more of a comfortable price range for me as nVidia will probably not shift.

So...herein lies my question! WTF I am confused...I have no idea what I am looking at or what the numbers mean. do I want ram? Mhz? a different mhz? clock speed? I have no idea.

Soo if anyone has an idiots guide, please let me know, all i know is 6990 > 6970 > 6950. And same idea with nvidia.

Basically I want the best set up on a z68 board as I can with £300 MAX. I'm guessing thats going to be a crossfire or sli configuration (from what I have read...not that this means much apart from plugging in two cards and connecting with a 'bridge' - again, i'm just pretending I know what I am on about) Also...passive 3D

[kalniel]

1) Decide what games you might play.
2) Search for benchmarks that show performance in those games or games similar to them.
3) Pick the card that performs best in those games that fits in budget.

It's not as simple as saying AMD are better than nVidia or vice versa, just go by the benchmark numbers (and only compare within the same websites test).

New cards are coming out at the start of next year, reviews this thursday, not sure they will be within budget, but worth waiting to see what effect they have on the rest of the range.

[Predator]

Oh yeah I will definitely wait untill they come out...just in case they are within range. I'll kick myself if I don't wait and they are.

The games will range!

WoW will be played
Star Wars The old Republic
Starcraft The wings of liberty
Dirt 3
Battlefield 3 - Possibly
Diablo 3 - Eventually lol

I am a big fan of MMORPG's but I like driving games like Dirt 3 which is what I'd play in 3D. Shooting games, I like but only play offline, except epic older ones like unreal tournment and operation flashpoint

I know amd/nvidia neither are 'better' I'm just trying to get some understanding!

[kalniel]

Heh so the only game that actually tests the graphics card is BF3 - that makes choosing the card quite simple, just look for BF3 benchmarks

[Predator]

Sweet

Will I be able to run them all on max settings with just about anycard I have mentioned?

The only monitors I can find will run a max of 1920xwhatever it is! So thats my resolution.

[kalniel]

Sweet

Will I be able to run them all on max settings with just about anycard I have mentioned?

Aside from BF3, yes, easily.

[Predator]

Thanks, Toms Hardware seems to be covering WoW and BF3 quite comprehensively I should be working right now! Some things are more important!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I would wait until the new cards are released. You have no real indication of their performance or price so don't pre-judge the issue.

Supposedly the launch is the 22nd with retail availability from the 9th of January.

[Predator]

I'm definitely not writing them off...

I just want something to compare them to when it comes out.

So far its looking like the 6950 x 2 will be fine and perform better than a single GTX 590 for less money plus I can overclock it to a 6970 and then be performing better than SLi GTX 580's!