Nvidia or AMD? HD6950 or GTX 560 ti?

[Nyt]

I want something that will last; the MSI Twin Frozr III edition is definitely one of the cards at the top of my list, along with the ASUS EAH6950 DCII ( 3 PCIe slots). I don't care about the size, as I told red1776, my motherboard supports crossfire with X4 and X16 or so I've observed from research. If it was X8 and X8 I might think about it some more, but...

 

I'll focus on the MSI Frozr III edition and ASUS EAH6950 DCII; leaving out the Dirt 3 Edition because it's cooling system probably isn't in the same league as MSI and ASUS.

 

 

 

So do you think the MSI Frozr III will overclock better than the ASUS EAH6950 DCII? And yes, I will definitely be overclocking.

 

You also said this: "I couldn't even reach 950mhz and 2350mhz on my DCII next to my EVGA at 970mhz and 2400mhz due to temps (DCII vents in-case) while I can now reach 1000mhz and 2470mhz on both."

 

By "both" do you mean the MSI TFIII and the EVGA or...?

 

I'm leaning towards the MSI HD6950 TFIII right now; mainly for it's size, overclocking capabilities, and low noise level.

 

Thanks for all the replies, very helpful.

 

by both I mean that I can now reach 1000mhz and 2470mhz on both of the EVGA's I had while when I had a DCII and a single EVGA I couldn't reach that as the heat was too high.

Do not go for the DCII , If I had to get a single card it would be the TFIII . The cooling is just amazing while allowing extra space for cool air to be stored and it will oc like a dream

Oh and the DCII's fan whine as you reach high fan speeds is just annoying ...

[red1776]

I disagree with Nyt on this one. From the Geeks3D review:

 

But this big cooler does its job very well: even under highly stressed situation like FurMark 1.9.0 burn-in test, with overclocking settings, the noise level of the cooler is very very low thanks to ASUS DirectCU cooling technology.

 

under FurMark burn-in test, the VGA cooler DirectCU II remains quiet! This is great:

there’s no perceptible difference between idle and full load.

 

This is also what i found when working with this card as well. If the triple slot cooler is an issue for you then its moot, but if not I would consider it right along side the MSI versions of the 6950.

[Nyt]

I mean high speed as in 80%+ not the stock fan profile which is pathetic

I just think its stupid to get a 3 slot card that is hotter than a 2 slot card (TFIII) IMO

 

Read this TFIII 6950 review : http://www.guru3d.com/article/msi-r6950-twin-frozr-iii-power-edition-oc-review/22

[red1776]

Its not though. In the review I quoted the temp was higher than the 63c load of the TF, but they used a 'game load' the review I am referring to was a 'Furmark load' (big difference) ans it topped out at 79c

 

With default settings (GPU @ 810MHz, Vcore @ 1.100V), the total power consumption of the testbed stressed by FurMark (FurMark settings: 1920×1080, fullscreen, Burn-in mode, dynamic background, no AA, no postfx) is 337W with a max GPU temperature of 79°C.

P = (337-110) * 0.9

P = 204 watts

 

They do not have a DCII version in the Guru review to do an apple to apple comparison, i will see if I can find one for our OP.

 

 

** I am surprised you didn't jump on 'Smartdoctor' ...it works...but afterburner is much better IMO.

Edited July 10, 2011 by red1776

[momosmokey]

Dang, this is going to be difficult decision. I can get either card, but, if possible, I'd like to get the one that overclocks the best and is QUIET.

 

I was looking at the pictures of both cards and noticed that the ASUS appears to have 4 x standard display ports and 2 x DVI, but no HDMI. Am I wrong about this? From what I've seen of the MSI TFIII, it has 2 x DVI and 1 x HDMI.

 

I'll keep researching these two cards. Let me know what you guys find.

 

Thanks

Edited July 11, 2011 by xxmastermushxx

[hermes09]

Dang, this is going to be difficult decision. I can get either card, but, if possible, I'd like to get the one that overclocks the best and is QUIET.

 

I was looking at the pictures of both cards and noticed that the ASUS appears to have 4 x standard display ports and 2 x DVI, but no HDMI. Am I wrong about this? From what I've seen of the MSI TFIII, it has 2 x DVI and 1 x HDMI.

 

I'll keep researching these two cards. Let me know what you guys find.

 

Thanks

You are right. Wait, did you not even care about Display Port?

[Prunes]

Since I'm a proud owner of an Asus GTX 560 TI DCII, I thought I'd give my 2 cents about the card and what I've experienced with it.

Of course I ad to try and overclock the card. I mean, I'm a member of OCC after all. And what I've reached so far is 1000MHz core and I think it was 2400MHz memory. That was then tested in furmark with fans going at 95% and it reached mid 60's in a room with an ambient temp of about 25 degrees. The thing is that I could overclock it even higher, if I wanted since I had lots of extra volts to give it. I think I was only at about ~1.050 volts, and the max is 1.150. (can't wait till the Danish winter comes with it's lovely sub-zero temps (open window all day = high OC's ))

I'm sure the 6950 outperforms it, but so far it's been doing real good allowing me to run all at max in Metro except for AA. Can't remember what that was at.

Just my 2 cents.

 

Ps. my daily OC is at 950MHz core and 2150MHz memory with fanspeed not exceeding 40%, which keeps the GPU fan noise lower than my CPU and case fans.

[momosmokey]

Since I'm a proud owner of an Asus GTX 560 TI DCII, I thought I'd give my 2 cents about the card and what I've experienced with it.

Of course I ad to try and overclock the card. I mean, I'm a member of OCC after all. And what I've reached so far is 1000MHz core and I think it was 2400MHz memory. That was then tested in furmark with fans going at 95% and it reached mid 60's in a room with an ambient temp of about 25 degrees. The thing is that I could overclock it even higher, if I wanted since I had lots of extra volts to give it. I think I was only at about ~1.050 volts, and the max is 1.150. (can't wait till the Danish winter comes with it's lovely sub-zero temps (open window all day = high OC's ))

I'm sure the 6950 outperforms it, but so far it's been doing real good allowing me to run all at max in Metro except for AA. Can't remember what that was at.

Just my 2 cents.

 

Ps. my daily OC is at 950MHz core and 2150MHz memory with fanspeed not exceeding 40%, which keeps the GPU fan noise lower than my CPU and case fans.

 

Wow, nice. Like I said, tough decision.

 

I want to get a Galaxy Nvidia GT430 and pair it with my HD 6950 to get physx, I'm not sure I'll have enough room with the ASUS HD 6950 DCII; I'm not actually sure I have enough room as it is. Do you think an Antec 300 case could support that card?

 

@hermes09: I'd like to have HDMI, otherwise I'll need a display-port to HDMI converter. If the ASUS DCII outperforms the MSI TFIII and fits in my case with a Galaxy Nvidia GT430, I could overlook that "issue".

Edited July 14, 2011 by xxmastermushxx

[Speedway]

ASUS overclocking FTW......I'm not biased either

[Prunes]

ASUS overclocking FTW......I'm not biased either

+1

[momosmokey]

...but what are your guys's reasons for "not being biased toward ASUS." I like that you feel ASUS is a good quality supplier, but do your ASUS HD 6950's OC well? Are they quiet; do you have the stock HD 6950's?

Edited July 16, 2011 by xxmastermushxx

[troy198687]

I'm going to be getting some money doing yard work for my family; I'm 16 so it's not so easy for me to get a "job." Anyway, I want to get myself a graphics card. And being who I am, I don't want something low-end. I may not be able to afford an HD 6990 or GTX 580, but I'm willing to splurge on an HD6950 or 560 ti. I'm looking at spending around $300. At that price though, it better be impressive.

 

These are a number of HD 6950's and GTX 560 ti's I've been looking at:

SAPPHIRE 100312-3SR Radeon HD 6950 Dirt3 Edition 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

MSI R6950 Twin Frozr II OC Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

 

ASUS EAH6950 DCII/2DI4S/2GD5 Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

 

MSI N560GTX-TI Twin Frozr II/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

ASUS ENGTX560 TI DCII TOP/2DI/1GD5 GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

 

MSI R6950 Twin Frozr III PE/OC Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

MSI N560GTX-Ti Twin Frozr II Golden Edition GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

 

MSI N560GTX-Ti Hawk GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

I've pondered whether I should get a stock HD 6950, so I could unlock it. The only problem with that is the noise the stock cooling makes and the limited overclocking ability. I'm considering simply buying the best card I can for overclocking.

I haven't done too much research on the GTX 560 ti's. I've heard the HD 6950's beat them in raw power though. I'm also seen statistics that the GTX 560 ti's perform better (FPS) in most games over the HD 6950.

 

So I come to you all for advice, I look forward to your replies.

 

Hi,

 

I would suggest MSI GTX 560 ti hawk Twin Frozr III oc. I recently bought this card and its awesome able to play METRO 2033,Lost Planet 2, WItcher 2 on Very High setting but as per the expert reviews

and benchmarks AMD 6950 beats NVIDIA GTX 560 ti in few games and few games NVIDIA beats AMD.. But this time i opt for NVIDIA bec card is OC out of the box and look awesome.

 

Cheers....