BF3 etc. GFX purchase advice

[vkcelik]

Hi. I think its about time to upgrade my HD 4670 card to something new I want to play BF3, AC4, Diablo 3, Skyrim and other new games at the highest detail levels.

I live i Denmark where everything is pricy so dont get surprised by the prices of the card

Im am considering the following cards:
MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti Twin Frozr II/OC
ASUS GeForce GTX 560 Ti TOP DirectCUII
both $314

MSI N560GTX-Ti Twin Frozr II 2GD5/OC
$350

Sapphire TOXIC HD 6950 2GB
MSI R6950 2GB Twin Frozr III Power Edition/OC
both $412

Which one(s) would you recommend? Should I go for the GTX 560 Ti 1GB, GTX 560 Ti 2GB or the potentially unlockable HD 6950 2GB cards? Are the 6950s worth the extra money? Will 560Ti be sufficient for BF3 etc. with maxed out graphics?

Additional info:
OVERCLOCKING: Why not
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Yes but later on
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080

Thanks for your time

[MatTheCat]

Originally Posted by vkcelik

Hi. I think its about time to upgrade my HD 4670 card to something new I want to play BF3, AC4, Diablo 3, Skyrim and other new games at the highest detail levels.

I live i Denmark where everything is pricy so dont get surprised by the prices of the card

Im am considering the following cards:
MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti Twin Frozr II/OC
ASUS GeForce GTX 560 Ti TOP DirectCUII
both $314

MSI N560GTX-Ti Twin Frozr II 2GD5/OC
$350

Sapphire TOXIC HD 6950 2GB
MSI R6950 2GB Twin Frozr III Power Edition/OC
both $412

Which one(s) would you recommend? Should I go for the GTX 560 Ti 1GB, GTX 560 Ti 2GB or the potentially unlockable HD 6950 2GB cards? Are the 6950s worth the extra money? Will 560Ti be sufficient for BF3 etc. with maxed out graphics?

Additional info:
OVERCLOCKING: Why not
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Yes but later on
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080

Thanks for your time

Obvioulsy the 6950 and 560 Ti are similarly performing gfx cards. I would say that for any new card upgrade, the 2Gb flavour is a must and dont let anyone tell you otherwise. However, since BF3 is your main concern, if BFBC2 is anything to go by, then the ATI cards perform slightly better than the Nvidia counterparts.

I believe that going by the stunning looks of some of the visuals in BF3, that it will take the next generation of gfx cards (single GPUs) before anyone can truly max that game out. Providing your CPU/RAM/MOBO is up to scratch (i.e. overclocked i7 2xxxK series), (anything less than 4 cores and BF3 starts to struggle), then I would imagine that with any of the above cards you will get the game running pretty good, albeit with the odd graphic settings compromise made here and there in order to preserve frame rates.

[Darkleoco]

I would have to recommend the MSI Twin Frozr III 6950 2 GB, I have two Twin Frozr II 6950's and could not be happier, they are nearly silent even on full load and keep excellent temperatures, not even breaking 65 C in FurMark tests.

[LordJummy]

Also recommend the MSI Twin Frozr II/III 6950 2GB models. They are excellent cards that surpass the 560Ti's in performance, quality, and overclocking. They are extremely quiet, reliable, and they look downright beautiful. Not to mention the unlocking and excellent overclockability they have.

In my opinion it's a no brainer.

[FierceRed]

Originally Posted by Darkleoco

I would have to recommend the MSI Twin Frozr III 6950 2 GB, I have two Twin Frozr II 6950's and could not be happier, they are nearly silent even on full load and keep excellent temperatures, not even breaking 65 C in FurMark tests.

Those are pretty impressive temps, especially under FurMark. Don't these cards dump the hot air into the case though, rather than expelling it with a Blower?

Do you notice any increase in overall Case temps or ambient temp when running FurMark for an extended period?

Originally Posted by LordJummy

Also recommend the MSI Twin Frozr II/III 6950 2GB models. They are excellent cards that surpass the 560Ti's in performance, quality, and overclocking. They are extremely quiet, reliable, and they look downright beautiful. Not to mention the unlocking and excellent overclockability they have.

In my opinion it's a no brainer.

Have the Twin Frozr II and III been spared the post-discovery neutering AMD did to the 6950 models rolling out of the factories that removes the ability to unlock them to 6970s? I'm curious because I thought AMD itself had jurisdiction over that rather than MSI, and it would be interesting if Twin Frozrs were super rare and coveted for MSIs willingness to play ball with enthusiasts... might even replace my 5850s if that's the case.

[LordJummy]

Originally Posted by FierceRed

Have the Twin Frozr II and III been spared the post-discovery neutering AMD did to the 6950 models rolling out of the factories that removes the ability to unlock them to 6970s? I'm curious because I thought AMD itself had jurisdiction over that rather than MSI, and it would be interesting if Twin Frozrs were super rare and coveted for MSIs willingness to play ball with enthusiasts... might even replace my 5850s if that's the case.

I can't say for sure what percentage of the cards are unlockable or not. I can say that so far the Twin Frozr II 6950 2GB has proven to be unlockable, reliable, quiet, and high quality. It's my favorite overall card, because it is a 6970 for about $245-250 with an excellent aftermarket cooler, etc.

Darkleoco followed my advice and got two of them recently, and I know he is absolutely LOVING that decision.

[Octopuss]

Originally Posted by MatTheCat

anything less than 4 cores and BF3 starts to struggle

There is official information from the developer that the game can use more than two cores?

[xBruce88x]

they recommend a quad core cpu from what i've read about min and rec. requirements

[1Kurgan1]

Originally Posted by Octopuss

There is official information from the developer that the game can use more than two cores?

Frostbites always been good with using the extra cores, even seen good usage across my 6 core.

And add another 6950 to the camp, mines a reference, but unlocked the shaders, bumped it to 1.2v and 951/1451 and it just demolishes, didn't have a problem with anything before unlocking and OCing, but now it's a monster for the price.

[FierceRed]

Just for the record, I'm using an i7 920, and whenever I come out of BF3, Process Explorer shows my 8 threads being used close to 100%. Don't know the exact number, but definitely the high 90s.

These days if a game says a quad core is recommended, it's best not to wonder if it actually uses them. It does.