Guys, I have been pondering over upgrading my EVGA GTX295 (dual PCB) for a month or so now. Don't get me wrong the 295 has been rock solid and is still going strong but I just fancy something newer. What would be a nice upgrade and something that I will see a noticeable difference? I game at 1920x1200 and have a second 19" monitor hooked up to. Cheers
Well I was hoping to get the best bang for buck card. I havent got the funds for a GTX580 or 590 so am looking at the GTX480. However I dont want to settle for the 480 if I am not going to see an improvement. Therefore I will keep my GTX295. I suppose I can sell my GTX295 inc. water block to partly fund the new card. So in answer to your question I suppose a hundred quid on top of what I'll get for my GTX295 (Oh and I'll need a water block for the new card)
If yo are not going for a GTX580 then next rung down I would take a serious look at the Red Team. stock HD 6950 2GB cards are going for a song right now... <$270 US or <200GBP on scan. Why go AMD? You are buying a premium card which in one easy step you can flash your card vBios (unlocking all 1536 stream processors, bumping voltage, tightening ram timings ) to create true a full-fat 6970 except with a 6 and 8 pin pci-e connectors and this is simply a non-issue with a decent PSU. My VisionTek card is running rock solid at 910/1350Mhz.Remember they are dual bios cards. So you can slide the switch across to return the card to 6950 operation. The only downside with the 6950 is that under torture-testing (read: furmark), the fan will spin up to generate hairdryer noise-levels... but since you will be water-cooling... the stock fan will not be an issue. It should be a good fit, and 2GB Vram gives you a nice overhead moving forward for future titles.... sworks i7-2600k 4.8Ghz @1.375v | Corsair H70 Noiseblocker NB12 push/pull | ASUS P8P67 | Corsair HX650w | 8GB DDR3-1600 | HD 6950 2GB unlocked 910/1375 | Deskstar 7K3000 3TB HDD
best bang for buck in the mid/high end are GTX 480 - £180-200 2GB Radeon HD 6950 (Rev.1) - Flash to 6970 - Circa £195-205
GTX 560 SLI pulls ahead of a GTX 580 in most cases so just something to bear in mind maybe. I would go with a GTX 480 though
I've been looking at the ATi 6950 which can be had for the same price as a GTX 480. The fact you can flash them to a 6970 is tempting me also. I would ofc be getting two of them for CF What yer reckon guys?
flashing the 6950 to a 6970 is no certainty, but at least you can't brick the card what with the dual bios's, but if you water cooling I'd either go with one of those flashed or a 480, if your water cooling I'd say theres no point of looking at a 560, unless you only have limited radiator size
As post #4, I can only repeat that you won't be disappointed with a flashed/unlocked 6950. If it is toss-a-coin time between two premium cards at the same price GTX 480 v HD 6950, then I suggest you go with the latest generation card for feature-set / power-draw / subsequent driver-refinements improving performance etc... with a true reference 2GB card, I think the 6970 flash is a very-good-bet (hey my success rate is 100%) and I am no betting man. As the thetrashcanman states, the 6970 flash is no certainty, but what is? - the odds are very favorable... good luck and keen to hear which choice you plump for... tbh you won't be disappointed whichever way you go.
Someone said in another forum that there are no more 6950's you can buy that allow you to flash the bios on them, so if thats the case I would have to pay for the 6970 which are a little more expensive than a GTX 480.
Any 2Gb card should have dual Bios, they have a few on scan, you could always ring up and ask them if its the one your after
I have gone for the GTX 480 route as it seems the best bang for buck to me. I also managed to get hold of a couple of cheap XSPC Razor GTX 480 waterblocks so it was a no brainer really. I have a few questions though: - 1. I dont really want to re-install windows when I get my new GTX 480, I am assuming it should be ok to remove my old GTX 295 and install the GTX 480 without having to do an awful lot other than maybe re-install Nvidia drivers? 2. If I was to install a second GTX 480 for SLi I am assuming it doesnt matter what brand? i.e an Asus one coupled with a MSI one lets say. 3. I am assuming the above waterblock will fit any GTX 480 as I have read stuff about reference design etc... ta
Yes you can mix the brands if you like. Also as long as the waterblocks you bought are reference then they will fit reference GTX 480's.
