Graphics HD 6970 or GTX 570 for BF3

My current set up is struggling with Battlefield 3 to maintain a consistent 30fps on low settings, especially on outdoor levels. My current rig is below:

CPU: Q6600 (OCd to 3GHz)
GPU: HD4870 512mb
RAM: 4GB DDR2 6400
Monitor: 24" 1920x1200
HDD: 640GB Seagate 7200rpm
Mobo: Can't remember exactly but a fairly decent board
Soundcard: Asus Xonar 7.1

I'm looking at spending about £300 on replacing the GPU as that's what seems to be the bottleneck. I have narrowed it down to either the HD 6970 or GTX 570, but I'm not too sure which to go with. Since I am using a 1920x1200 resolution the 2GB of VRAM on the HD 6970 makes me think it would be better suited, but the GTX 570 seems to get most recommendations (or generally nVidia over ATI currently) from people on this forum. Which would be the better choice, and any particular manufacturers card?

Thanks,

iKiX

 

6970 is the better card IMO, more memory and is really nearer GTX580 in terms of performance.

 

I personally orders a GTX 570 this morning. I considered the 6970 long and hard. After looking at a fair few bench marks there didn't seem to be a world of difference.

The overall feeling seemed to say the GTX 570 handled AA better which is consistent with Bit-Techs review of the card.

At the end of the day though I got the GTX 570 for 30 quid less than the 6970 model I was looking at.

This might be worth a look: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/battlefield-3-graphics-performance,3063.html

Tomshardware did a huge 30 card benchamrking session on BF3.

I cant speak from personal experience though that will change tomorrow. I'll happily report back my findings. I'm just summarising what information I used to make the same decision.

 

i see...

 

haha I walked into that.... Still its is pretty

Seriously though its a tough decision. It's a considerable amount of money. I'm still voting GTX 570 to help reassure myself I've made the right decision

 

i personally dont know myself i want to hear other people's opinions. especially for the higher resolutions like 2650x1440

interesting about your findings on the AA though

 

Looking from the benchmarks on tom's hardware. It looks like the 570 scales a bit more with AA and the ultra settings.





Looks like the 570 is the one you should get ?

 

yeah this is interesting the benchmarks u linked from tom's

for 2560x1600 @ ultra

nvidia:



ati:

apparently the 6990 was to unstable for them to test?

 

lmao i cant believe you just posted that too

i posted the high resolutions benchmarks though

 

I think it comes down to whether you are going to use traditional MSAA or not. The Nvidia cards handle MSAA a lot better than the Radeon cards in BF3. On the other hand if you are not going to use MSAA and use FXAA instead, the 6970 will give you better frames than the 570. My choice would be the 6970 as MSAA doesn't offer much of a graphics advantage in BF3 IMO.

 

Is there still a supply problem with the 6950,6970 and 6990 or has it restored to normal?

 

Plenty of 6950 and 6970 around, the 6990 is even worse then a GTX 590, most suppliers have seen around 20 all year.

But watch out for constraint on GTX 570 and 580 as they slow down ready for 6xx.

 

Constraint on 580 has hit. So 570 will follow shortly.
Personally I would go for the 570 unless your looking to multi monitor in the future where by the 6970 will be the better bet.

 

According to http://www.hardocp.com/article/2011/11/02/battlefield_3_single_player_performance_iq_review this performance review, basically, if you want traditional AA in BF3 you are going to pay something of a small fortune as a premium. The jist of this is: use Nvidia's FXAA over MSAA. It's just way more efficient and looks almost as good.

What to buy? I've been looking at BF3 and 1920x1200 thoroughly over the last few months, planning to get myself a screen that size and build a PC for a friend running BF3 on both, and honestly, the 570 or the 6970 seem to be OK with MSAA. Personally, I'm trying stats on BIOS flashing a 6950, which I know is hard to do these days, but that would save nearly £70

Note that all other sites save Bit tech seem to think average fps is the most important... not so sure, as long the damn thing never dips below 30 and I can't tell that's fine by me.

I would try to find as many different sites reviewing performance of GPU's in BF3 to get a clear picture too. This test may of been leaner than others.

 

They also do 2.5GB GTX570's.

Sent from my HTC Desire S

 

Yeh..THIS is what I recommend.

I went for a GTX 1.28GB initially but I later changed my mind. The 2.5GB GTX570 is a beast of an awesome card. That much vRAM isn't going to become a bottleneck any time soon, and thats the reason why without MSAA the 6970 kinda gives some perfomance boost with its 2GB vRAM.

The GTX 2.5GB 570 is the best of both worlds, and is only 10-15 more than the 6970. And when it starts floundering in a year/two's time...a good overclock near to the 580 range and a second card will do the trick making this card a great option for lasting your rig for quite a many fun times!!

EDIT: Link to POV 2.5GB GTX

 

Thanks guys, having had a look at both I'm going to go with a GTX 570 but not too sure whether to go with a (2.5gb option with low clock speeds or a 1.3gb option with high clock speeds. I will not be going above 1920x1200 for a good few years but I also don't want to be spending ages over clocking a card. What are your views on the two options?

iKiX

 

im upgrading my card after xmas, as the new 600 and 7000 series will arrive. so thats my suggestion to you

 

2.5GB option will keep you more future proofed, you can overclock the cards quite easily using something like MSI afterburner