Debating between GTX 560 Ti or AMD 6950?

[nik11105]

Ok so I have gotten my paycheck for the month of January and I have decided to spoil myself. I have a GTX 460 but its the 768mb version. I would like to be able to upgrade to a tripple(<- did I spell that right?) monitor setup in the future( but thats theroetically speaking of course) so I was looking at two Gpu's

The GTX 560 Ti
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-247-AS&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1341

And the AMD Radeon 6950
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-147-OK&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1752

I find it difficult to decide between these two GPUs.
I like that the 6950 can be flashed to be a 6970, and also it supports 3-way Crosfirex(or is it 2 way is only neccasry?)
To be honest I'm an Nvidia Fanboy but I think that AMD have some really good cards. I will be mostly gaming on thic machine but also photo and video editing. Oh and my specs are:

i7 950 @ 3.7 Ghz
12 GB DDR3 1600Mhz RAM
Coolermaster PSU 850w (not sure which model)
Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R

I have a CM 690 II case with all fan slots filled, so GPU heat wont be a problem.
So O'Holy members of Techspot, please englighten me on which GPU IS better for my needs,
Your faithfully,
Nik11105

 

[Ritwik7]

I personally would pick the AMD 6950 for a multi card setup. Although the performance difference between the GTX 560 and the 6950 is very marginal with the 6950 having a slight edge. Ultimately will come down to personal preference.

 

[Mizzou]

I find it difficult to decide between these two GPUs.

It is a tough call between these two cards as they are very close in performance and each is well suited to either a Crossfire or Sli configuration. There is a bit of give and take for specific games, just check out as many reviews as you can and go with the card that performs best on the games that you play. The only other major consideration is if you are into folding or PhyX in which case the GTX 560 would be the card to go with. Beyond that it boils down to a matter of personal preference as Ritwik7 has already stated.

 

[klepto12]

either way is great there both amazing cards the gtx 560 Ti has some major overclocking head room which can make it perform like a gtx 570 this is something the 6950 can not do. The 6950 is basically a 5870 on a new pcb and uses less power it is faster in most games than the gtx 560 but this is at stock speeds so its really depends on your preference also note that only the 2GB 6950 can be flashed to a 6970 and these cards are around $30 more than the gtx 560.

 

[red1776]

either way is great there both amazing cards the gtx 560 Ti has some major overclocking head room which can make it perform like a gtx 570 this is something the 6950 can not do.

Not really Klep,
from HardOCP:

When we look at performance compared to the Radeon HD 6950, we find that with the video card at its default clock speeds it does not compare. The Radeon HD 6950 is clearly the better option.
When we overclock the Galaxy GTX 560 Ti GC to its limits, only then does it compete with the Radeon HD 6950. While it competes in terms of performance, it does draw an enormous amount of power to do it and requires the fan to be run at 100% while gaming. Also, the highest overclock in the world will not make up for the fact that the Galaxy GTX 560 Ti GC is equipped with 1GB of GDDR5 while the Radeon HD 6950 is equipped with 2GB. When you consider the Radeon HD 6950 can also be unlocked and overclocked, we still lean with the Radeon HD 6950 being the better option.

. So what it means, in essence, is that the GeForce GTX 560 Ti will never honestly catch up to the Radeon HD 6950, cause the GTX 560 Ti is at its limits where the HD 6950 is just getting started.

You have to OC the 560 to is limits to get it to the level of the 6950. Here is the review

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2011/02/01/galaxy_geforce_gtx_560_ti_gc_overclocking_review/3

I am currently building Hd 6950 systems, and it has very good OC'ing headroom.

 

[dividebyzero]

Ok so I have gotten my paycheck for the month of January and I have decided to spoil myself. I have a GTX 460 but its the 768mb version. I would like to be able to upgrade to a tripple(<- did I spell that right?) ( no, you didn't) monitor setup in the future( but thats theroetically speaking of course) so I was looking at two Gpu's

For the prices you have there the 6950 is a no-brainer, although personally I wouldn't really bother with VTX (made by TUL, PowerColor's parent company). With this reference card voltage tweaking is minimal, so you're either limited to:
1. Luck of the draw with overclocking within near-stock voltage
2. Flashing with a 6970 BIOS (should be OK but vRAM may be problematic)
3. Using the custom script from TPU (unlocking the extra shaders to 6970 spec, but keeping the clocks stock and manually overclocking)

This Asus card is £5 cheaper and gives an extra year of warranty and features voltage adjustment.

The GTX560 probably becomes an option if you're 1. likely to be playing a large percentage of DX9 games and/or 2. the kind of person who buys a game on launch day- Nvidia's drivers tend to give at the very least, reasonable performance on launch day (Nvidia's drivers being more more tolerant of bad code), whereas AMD's driver game profiles can still provide the odd Keystone Kop's moment. Otherwise the GTX560 is more in line as competition to the HD6870.

 

[klepto12]

Not really Klep,
from HardOCP:



You have to OC the 560 to is limits to get it to the level of the 6950. Here is the review

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2011/02/01/galaxy_geforce_gtx_560_ti_gc_overclocking_review/3

I am currently building Hd 6950 systems, and it has very good OC'ing headroom.

Well going by the Techspot review of the gtx 560 OC'ed it matches and surpasses the gtx 570 at stock i think that is a little better than a 6950. I just dont like that it uses so much power to do it