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Old Dec 25, 2011, 10:58 PM   #1
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Upgrading For BF3

I think my Single HD 5870 is slowly starting to struggle to run BF3 on Ultra with no msaa. What would a solution be to increase the performance by around 30%-50% and not paying no more than £250-£300. Xfire? New Card? Tri-Fire? OC'ing?

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Old Dec 25, 2011, 11:00 PM   #2
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System Specs

List your system specs.
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Old Dec 25, 2011, 11:05 PM   #3
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List your system specs.
AMD Phenom II x4 970 @4.0ghz (Cooled with H70)
MB: GA-990XA-UD3
2x4gb Vengence ddr3 (Oc'ed somewhere between 1600-1900mhz)
XFX HD 5870 @900/1300
120gb Corsair SSD
700w PSU
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Old Dec 25, 2011, 11:09 PM   #4
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A 2nd 5870 will help and possiblly be the cheapest option but your PSU may not handle it.
Otherwise, grab a GTX 570, HD 6950/6970.

The rest of your system is fine.
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Old Dec 25, 2011, 11:11 PM   #5
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A 2nd 5870 will help and possiblly be the cheapest option but your PSU may not handle it.
Otherwise, grab a GTX 570, HD 6950/6970.

The rest of your system is fine.
So would another HD5870 be the best choice for performance?
I found a nice 900w psu with 4x6-pin power connectors for gpus.
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Old Dec 25, 2011, 11:12 PM   #6
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What resolution is your monitor?
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Old Dec 25, 2011, 11:13 PM   #7
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Depends on the price you pay for the second card + PSU
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Old Dec 25, 2011, 11:14 PM   #8
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What resolution is your monitor?
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Depends on the price you pay for the second card + PSU
1920x1080 22inch im looking for a solid 60fps maybe with msaa if possible.

Ive seen HD5870 New on ebay for around the £140 mark, the psu is £60.
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Old Dec 25, 2011, 11:17 PM   #9
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What is the brand/model of your current PSU and the ebay PSU? Provide a link if you can. I'm thinking you would be better off with a HD 6950 or the 570.

This looks to be a good deal: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=GX-123-MS (Granted I have no idea about prices in the UK)
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Old Dec 25, 2011, 11:19 PM   #10
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What is the brand/model of your current PSU and the ebay PSU? Provide a link if you can. I'm thinking you would be better off with a HD 6950 or the 570.
The new PSU Xenta 800W PSU 13.5cm Fan | Ebuyer.com

Whatever the GPU upgrade im buying a new PSU the one i have at the moment was bought in a retail park near where i live because my old one exploded.
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Old Dec 25, 2011, 11:21 PM   #11
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Be careful with the PSUs. First exploded, second bought from retail park and now this XEnta which I never heard of.
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Old Dec 25, 2011, 11:22 PM   #12
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This looks to be a good deal: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=GX-123-MS (Granted I have no idea about prices in the UK)[/QUOTE]

That cards spec looks brilliant, i think bf3 need the 2gb of vram, i suppose that would out perform a hd5870 in xfire oc'ed to 900/1300?
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Old Dec 25, 2011, 11:24 PM   #13
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Be careful with the PSUs. First exploded, second bought from retail park and now this XEnta which I never heard of.
I know bit of a dodgy history, it has the 80plus efficiency which i have read is something to look for, am i right?
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Old Dec 25, 2011, 11:24 PM   #14
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That cards spec looks brilliant, i think bf3 need the 2gb of vram, i suppose that would out perform a hd5870 in xfire oc'ed to 900/1300?
For BF3 in particular, yes. ..and you get Dirt 3 for free.
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Old Dec 25, 2011, 11:25 PM   #15
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I don't think it will outperform the 2 x 5870 but close. Same goes for the GTX570, NV handles better the BF3 MSAA but you will not get with either cards 4MSAA vsync on 60 FPS all the time.
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Old Dec 25, 2011, 11:28 PM   #16
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Just a suggestion but you might be better off with a 6950 2GB Twin Frozr III with Dual Bios switch and overclocking it/attempting to unlock the shaders, it will easily go past 6970 clocks and it would save you a bit of money if you want a better psu.
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Old Dec 25, 2011, 11:29 PM   #17
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For BF3 in particular, yes. ..and you get Dirt 3 for free.
I sometimes play gta but that is so badly ported i wont bother considering it, in te details of that card you recommended it says a 6-pin (which can be done via molex adaptor) can the 8-pin power connector be done via molex?
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Old Dec 25, 2011, 11:33 PM   #18
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Hey, there's 2 games there! Deus Ex also, great game. Would be good to list some specs of your current PSU.
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Old Dec 25, 2011, 11:38 PM   #19
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Just a suggestion but you might be better off with a 6950 2GB Twin Frozr III with Dual Bios switch and overclocking it/attempting to unlock the shaders, it will easily go past 6970 clocks and it would save you a bit of money if you want a better psu.
The better PSU isnt a must, i am into overclocking and in the hd 6970 it says it has a potential of 1000+mhz core and more processing core, but looking at the reviews it says it comes with £80 worth of games and its cheaper than some gpus same model without games, it would be rude not to use that to my advantage.
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Old Dec 25, 2011, 11:40 PM   #20
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Hey, there's 2 games there! Deus Ex also, great game. Would be good to list some specs of your current PSU.
Arrgh, i havent got the box but my pc is always open, by specs you mean? Cables? or Amps?
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Old Dec 25, 2011, 11:40 PM   #21
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The better PSU isnt a must, i am into overclocking and in the hd 6970 it says it has a potential of 1000+mhz core and more processing core, but looking at the reviews it says it comes with £80 worth of games and its cheaper than some gpus same model without games, it would be rude not to use that to my advantage.
True True if you end up getting it you will certainly have as much power as you need especially when overclocking.
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Old Dec 25, 2011, 11:45 PM   #22
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True True if you end up getting it you will certainly have as much power as you need especially when overclocking.
Thanks for your input i need as much help as possible, am i right you have a 6950 with a mem clock of 1420! thats amazing do you think that 6970 could reach the specs you oc'ed to and may beyond?
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Old Dec 25, 2011, 11:47 PM   #23
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Thanks for your input i need as much help as possible, am i right you have a 6950 with a mem clock of 1420! thats amazing do you think that 6970 could reach the specs you oc'ed to and may beyond?
It depends my Twin Frozr II 6950's OC Edition have a stock voltage of 1.2v which is higher than that of standard 6950's and its what I am currently using for my overclock so I have not even started to push the voltage to improve my overclocking yet. If the 6970 Twin Frozr III has an increased stock voltage then it should easily reach the same clocks and probably 1000/1500 without much trouble as well.
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Old Dec 25, 2011, 11:52 PM   #24
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It depends my Twin Frozr II 6950's OC Edition have a stock voltage of 1.2v which is higher than that of standard 6950's and its what I am currently using for my overclock so I have not even started to push the voltage to improve my overclocking yet. If the 6970 Twin Frozr III has an increased stock voltage then it should easily reach the same clocks and probably 1000/1500 without much trouble as well.
I'm right in thinking if i wanted to really push it i could increase the voltage?, i think i have my eyes set on the HD6970 2048MB Twin Frozr III, im just waiting on my question about the 8-pin power adaptor via molex so i didnt have to replace my PSU.
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Old Dec 26, 2011, 12:01 AM   #25
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I personally get a 6870x2 like here
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