Should I upgrade to a 6950 or 6970?

[AphexDreamer]

Well thanks to bitcoins I got like 250 dollars and I'm willing to throw in the extra cash to upgrade my GPU.

My current GPU is great (the Asus Matrix ROG 5870) but I know the 6970 can out perform it.

My question is should I just get the 6970 or get the 6950 and flash it to a 6970?

Do they overclock the same? I haven't really been paying attention to the 6 Series so I don't know and could use some advice.

Also if I should get either which one should I get so I can have voltage control/best overclock/ be able to flash it? I love to overclock so that is a must.

Is there like really good Overclock version? Kind of like the Asus ROG Matrix brand?

[hbk123]

Get the 6950 and flash it.

[AphexDreamer]

Originally Posted by hbk123

Get the 6950 and flash it.

Thanks but could you answer some more questions? Please.

[arroyo]

You already have HD5870 so if I would be you I would wait for HD7xxx. You wont see any real performance jump. If you have "upgrade itch" maybe SSD would be a good idea.

[AphexDreamer]

Originally Posted by arroyo

You already have HD5870 so if I would be you I would wait for HD7xxx. You wont see any real performance jump. If you have "upgrade itch" maybe SSD would be a good idea.

Yeah but I have a chance to sell my Asus card. If I wait for the 7 series I probably won't get that much for it.

In fact I might even be able to buy a second 6 series card and cross fire off the money I can hopefully get from my current card.

You get me?

[random]

If you can sell the 5870 then I'd say go for it.

There are some 6970's that fall under or near 6950's price. So if you do find a 6970 that is close then you could play it safe that way. Otherwise grab a 2GB 6950 and hope for the best as not all of them will unlock, also you could always buy second hand 6950 which unlocks for sure.

An average 6950 should be able to clock to 1ghz with 1.3volts or less and a 6970 around 1050 i think..

[AphexDreamer]

Originally Posted by random

If you can sell the 5870 then I'd say go for it.

There are some 6970's that fall under or near 6950's price. So if you do find a 6970 that is close then you could play it safe that way. Otherwise grab a 2GB 6950 and hope for the best as not all of them will unlock, also you could always buy second hand 6950 which unlocks for sure.

An average 6950 should be able to clock to 1ghz with 1.3volts or less and a 6970 around 1050 i think..

Since I'm a bit paranoid I might just play it safe with a 6970 but then again an extra 100 just for 50mhz...

[Aleksander]

If it was for me, it is not worth upgrading it and you have a very good gpu for now.
But if you really want to upgrade, take 6970, cuz a lot of 6950 owner have problems
flashing and even when they flash their cards they take about 2 weeks before they have problems.
Normally the 6950 is worse than 6970 and even when you flashing, you are using a bad sector of the card.
I would strongly recommend stay with 5870
Wait for 8xxx series

[AsRock]

Originally Posted by arroyo

You already have HD5870 so if I would be you I would wait for HD7xxx. You wont see any real performance jump. If you have "upgrade itch" maybe SSD would be a good idea.

+2


Wait it out, your current card cannot be doing that bad.

[AphexDreamer]

Hmm... maybe I can just get the best of both worlds?

Sell my current card and use the money to essentially just upgrade for free? (All in all I would have lost like $100-$170)

I paid $500 for my current GPU.

Assuming I can sell it for $375-$400 it would be just like replacing it with a better card? Right?

If I wait for the 7 series, I will most likely not be able to sell my current card at all or if anything far less than $300 and I'll just lose $500.

Is my reasoning off? This is a tough decision tpu, a tough one indeed. Perhaps if all of TPU told me to wait for the 7 series then I would

[LDNL]

Just wait it out. The itch will be gone soon. Or do what I did; sell the current, get a card thats around 50 bucks that can still run games at med setting and wont loose its value over time. Then sell the 50 dollar card, get the 7 series and be VERY happy that you finally got an upgrade.

[arroyo]

I do not believe that you will get more than 250-300$ for HD5870. Even if it is Matrix version you will not get $375-$400 for it. Trust me. This this price is reserved for brand new HD6970 like ASUS EAH6970 DCII.

[AphexDreamer]

Originally Posted by arroyo

I do not believe that you will get more than 250-300$ for HD5870. Even if it is Matrix version you will not get $375-$400 for it. Trust me. This this price is reserved for brand new HD6970 like ASUS EAH6970 DCII.

My card is really rare. If someone is looking for another Asus Matrix 5870 Platinum they won't find it for the price I'm willing to sell it.

And if you do find its being sold for $600.

[overclocker]

I would what till the 7k cards come out it shouldn't be long, beleave me I want to upgrade but im waiting will something worth upgrading comes out!

[jayc]

It's still a 5870. You won't get the price you want for it. Anyone buying will know that they can get a brand new, faster card for same or less $. However, no harm in trying and reducing the price if there are no takers. There are all sorts of buyers on ebay that might buy it.

More and more 6950s are non reference models now. Which means the odds of you finding a card that still allows you to unlock the shaders is getting rare.
For the small price difference, I would just purchase a 6970.
Alternatively, I'd get 2x 1Gb 6950s and SLI them - greater performance over a single 6970 and similar price point.

1Gb 6950s do not perform any slower than 2Gb 6950s in the current generation of games.
1Gb 6950s also seem to overclock higher than 2Gb 6950s, negating the inability to unlock shaders on the 1Gb variety.

[n-ster]

6950 1GB can unlock too, at least that's what W1zzard said

If you get that much money for the 5870, go for it, but I doubt you would. You could also keep the 5870 to mine bitcoins in the background while you can use your 6950 to mine or play as you wish

[WarraWarra]

Have you looked at 2x6850 or 2x6870 for less than $500 as they run near double the single card performance.

[n-ster]

Originally Posted by WarraWarra

Have you looked at 2x6850 or 2x6870 for less than $500 as they run near double the single card performance.

it is a great combination...

bitcoin wise I'm getting 312.5Mh/s each at 1020 core 344 mem, but both together, after stale shares, seem to get ~600Mh/s

[Lionheart]

TBH I would just keep the awesome HD5870 card bro, but if your like me and you can't help yourself with new shiny hardware I would go with the HD 6970

[Scrizz]

If you want to upgrade get the 6950 IMHO.
you can still get unlockable ones.
I bought on last week and it was unlockable.

up to u though

[AphexDreamer]

Man so many good options so indecisive.

[Gabkicks]

I sold my 5850 for $150 and bought a 6950 1gb for $180 (still 2 to 5 weeks away from being in my hands). but the gap between your 5870 and 6970 is not too large. not really large enough to spend a lot of money on an upgrade. But i understand the itch to upgrade.

the gap is sooo small between the 5870 and 6970...
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2...d[4824]=on

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/294?vs=292

[n-ster]

Originally Posted by Gabkicks

I sold my 5850 for $150 and bought a 6950 1gb for $180 (still 2 to 5 weeks away from being in my hands). but the gap between your 5870 and 6970 is not too large. not really large enough to spend a lot of money on an upgrade. But i understand the itch to upgrade.

the gap is sooo small between the 5870 and 6970...
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2...d[4824]=on

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/294?vs=292

I wouldn't call 15% that small

[Flogger23m]

As others said, just wait until the next generation of cards come out.