Custom PC says GTX560N Ti Twin Frozr II OC PCFormat says HD6950 (Flash HD6970) The thing is I have both, and I am not saying that Custom Pc is wrong... but!! with my HD6950 (Flashed HD6970 +20% voltage) I got a 3d Mark 11 score (Performance) of P5430, and (Extreme) X1803 what do you think? can Custom PC be wrong?
flashing BIOS is similar to overclocking. so don't forget 560 can achieve pretty high speeds with +20% voltage. in fact, many standard factory overclocked cards can beat a 570, able to compete with flashed 6950 perfectly fine. as a product, rather than just compare gaming speeds. the 500 series is better than 6000 series (not counting dual-GPU cards, they are abominations). it's quieter, runs cooler (for top 3 cards at least), overclocks great, the card is shorter for 560 vs 6950, and higher folding efficiency. CustomPC and Bit-tech are not biased towards either company. they bashed 480/470 to hell and back, praised 5870 highly. during that time, they were criticised for favour AMD.
well there is also the fact that if you do flash your 6950 to a 6970 it is not always going to work, can make the card unstable and it voids your warranty, where as the 560 gets very close to the 6950/6970 keeps its warranty and is a little bit cheaper
The 2GB 6950 comes with a dual bios so you will always have the option of going back to the default bios if the flashing to a 6970 becomes unstable. Both the 6950 and 560 are great cards and it just comes down to the features you prefer. By the way, overclockers have the HIS 1GB 6950 on offer this week for £168, which is an amazing price.
Thats a nice deal however in recent times i've personally found myself being more judgemental on the aftermarket manufacturers rather than nvidia vs AMD. I've had a couple of HIS AMD cards now (4770, 5770)and they dont feel like they're up to the standard of others. The bundles are fairly rubbish and stingy, they seemed to be hot compared to other similar cards and there's just something that just felt cheap and nasty about them, something i never had from Sapphire or XFX AMD cards (X800,X1950,5770,6870). The MSI 560 i've recently bought seems to be a much more finished product.
True, but the relative performance difference between a 1GB card compared to a 2GB card in most situations is very small and the 1GB 6950 compares favourably to a 560 performance wise, so the price is particularly tempting for someone looking to choose between a 6950 or 560 at that level of performance.
I must admit that i tend to stick with Sapphire cards as i've never had a problem with them, however the bundle does look impressive for the money (3 games included also!) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-028-HS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1752
I'm looking at the same dilemma. Thinking of going for the 560, performance is very similar whilst costing less. In the past I've found ati drivers flakey in my experience.
I sold stepped down from a HD6970 to a GTX560 and cant tell any difference at 1920x1080. Although i must admit part of the change was because of the new CC and AMD drivers were annoying at the time. Also got very hot and noisy. The MSI Twin Frozr II is awesome 1GHZ core no problem and its cool and quiet. Oh and the last Nvidia card i had was the G3 Ti200 so im no nvidia fanboy.
The problem is that I am getting P5430 and I have not even started to overclock... Under Furmark it is running hot, but its never noisy! But the Twin Frozr II has a nonstock cooler, so I ordered an aftermarket cooler for the hd6950... Once I overclock it, I believe it will be the better card! I am not a fan of ATI control centre, but still I have to admit that MSI Twin Frozr II is getting a spanking!?!?
if you do not plan on gaming above 1080p, a HD6950 2GB is overkill for sure. Stick with a GTX 560. HD6950 2GB (6970 when unlocked) is competing with a GTX480 and close to a GTX570. Still, It is a pretty nuanced argument. I think it is so close Here I have jotted down Some Differentiators: Small card matters: nV GTX560 non-reference (MSI Twin Frozr II ) Drivers: nV Nvidia's offerings are proven, AMD: The 11.3 catalyst driver is solid and will win back supporters in time but is also a matter of personal taste. BIOS level control: AMD HD6950 2GB Twin BIOS and reverting back at the flick of a switch. Tailor your OC and control with Afterburner and flash to firm it up. Multi-monitor: AMD HD6950 2GB eyefinity We could go on, which is better is rather dependent of your needs. Red v Green is a close-call this time around. I think CPC dont like the idea of promoting the BIOS flashing process, but that's just my personal interpretation...
