Looking for a new video card

I'm thinking of getting a Radeon 6770 card. Don't want to spend much cash and from what I've read on most reviews, they're good enough to have WoW on Ultra at over 40fps on average, so spending on a higher end model might be wasted -- or should I wait till MoP is released, as there are rumors of new textures/models for that expansion.

Any thoughts and suggestions?

Klaudandus wrote:I'm thinking of getting a Radeon 6770 card. Don't want to spend much cash and from what I've read on most reviews, they're good enough to have WoW on Ultra at over 40fps on average, so spending on a higher end model might be wasted -- or should I wait till MoP is released, as there are rumors of new textures/models for that expansion.

Any thoughts and suggestions?

While I'm sure they will up the specs a bit with MoP, it is still WoW and has to be run-able on total junkers.

A 6770 is a rebadged 5770, which is slightly slower than a 4890. A 4890, backed by a 3.8 ghz quad core (overclocked q6600 and overclocked 4890, my old system), was not enough to maintain even 30fps(it hovered around 25, playable, but not as smooth as would be nice) in wow cata at ultra in a busy town. This was using 4x AA. If you are willing to drop the antialiasing or some of the shadows, then you can get a 40fps average out of a card like that.

The cheapest 6770 on newegg is currently 117 shipped plus a 20 dollar mail in rebate. The cheapest 6850 is 135 shipped, with a 15 dollar mail in rebate. So a total price increase of 23 dollars, thats the card i would be considering for a low cost gamers card.

Of course the cheapest 6870 is only 20 dollars more than the 6850 (and able to maintain 50+fps at ultra with 4x aa and an i7 at 4.8ghz), and you can keep on moving up the line, so it really depends on how firm a price window you have, but i would say the 6850 is very much worth considering, its a much stronger card than the 5770.

I keep reading that 6770s can maintain ultra settings even in org with a sustained fps of over 30 fps in orgrimmar

Right now I'm using a 6450 (it's what my computer came with)

I would be willing to pony up for a 6870 but would prolly wait till MoP if that's the case, since I figure that a couple of months down the road, they'll be a bit cheaper with the release of the 7000 series.

I just picked up this XFX Radeon HD 6870. The normal price is 189.99, they've got a $20 Rebate & right now there's an instant $20 off if you enter the code so you can get it for as low as $149.99.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150521

Shyrtandros wrote:I just picked up this XFX Radeon HD 6870. The normal price is 189.99, they've got a $20 Rebate & right now there's an instant $20 off if you enter the code so you can get it for as low as $149.99.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150521

The reviews scare me -- they sound like you need after market fans plus the fans that already come with to keep your entire system cool.

Plus the offer they have forces me to choose right now, on the spot as it ends today. =/

Also, it seems I'd need a better PSU -- some of those cards require a 500 watt one, mine is rated at 460

Klaudandus wrote:

Shyrtandros wrote:I just picked up this XFX Radeon HD 6870. The normal price is 189.99, they've got a $20 Rebate & right now there's an instant $20 off if you enter the code so you can get it for as low as $149.99.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150521

The reviews scare me -- they sound like you need after market fans plus the fans that already come with to keep your entire system cool.

Plus the offer they have forces me to choose right now, on the spot as it ends today. =/

Also, it seems I'd need a better PSU -- some of those cards require a 500 watt one, mine is rated at 460

I can definately see why the offer ending today can put you on the spot to either buy now or not, I luckily didn't run into that since the sale started right when I was looking.

I read several pages of reviews before & after buying it and I guess I interpreted the reviews differently.

You're correct about the PSU, I originally considered a 430 since it was on sale but went with the 600 because of this card.

Well, some reviews were saying that the system was cool, even cooler, after the card was installed, others were saying the system was running hotter than before.

I mean, I got the money to splurge on my system if I wanted to (just got 2k back from taxes) but I actually hate spending money.

I guess I'll just hold off till MoP has a release date -- or not.

I can push my current card a bit higher but the fps drops somewhat, and I liked how things looked around orgrimmar with higher settings than what I'm currently playing at (and the only reason why they're not higher is because I like running at over 40fps)

My i7 2700k overvolted and overclocked to 4.8, with a 6870 overvolted and overclocked, with 2 hdds, two roms, 8 120mm fans, a water pump, a fan controller, and 8 gigs of tam uses about 350 watts running 7 threads of prime95 and looping heaven. Was more like 220-250 while playing the old republic.

If your 460watt is decent quality, it will run most any single cpu system with a 6870.

tullock wrote:My i7 2700k overvolted and overclocked to 4.8, with a 6870 overvolted and overclocked, with 2 hdds, two roms, 8 120mm fans, a water pump, a fan controller, and 8 gigs of tam uses about 350 watts running 7 threads of prime95 and looping heaven. Was more like 220-250 while playing the old republic.

If your 460watt is decent quality, it will run most any single cpu system with a 6870.

Well, my PSU is the one that came with my Dell XPS 8300

Shyrtandros wrote:

Klaudandus wrote:

Shyrtandros wrote:I just picked up this XFX Radeon HD 6870. The normal price is 189.99, they've got a $20 Rebate & right now there's an instant $20 off if you enter the code so you can get it for as low as $149.99.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150521

The reviews scare me -- they sound like you need after market fans plus the fans that already come with to keep your entire system cool.

Plus the offer they have forces me to choose right now, on the spot as it ends today. =/

Also, it seems I'd need a better PSU -- some of those cards require a 500 watt one, mine is rated at 460

I can definately see why the offer ending today can put you on the spot to either buy now or not, I luckily didn't run into that since the sale started right when I was looking.

I read several pages of reviews before & after buying it and I guess I interpreted the reviews differently.

You're correct about the PSU, I originally considered a 430 since it was on sale but went with the 600 because of this card.

How is the card running for you so far?

I'm torn between

http://www.amazon.com/SAPPHIRE-Radeon-6 ... lectronics

and

http://www.amazon.com/XFX-Radeon-MINIDP ... roduct_top

My old sapphire videocard still runs like a charm in my older computer -- but I've never used XFX, so any advice is most welcomed.

Those cards are both to reference afaik so should be similar in performance. Either go with what you know (Sapphire) or whatever is cheaper (XFX). My buddy has a HIS 6870 and runs WoW at ultra, although I don't think AA is maxed, and sees pretty continuous 55-60 FPS except when doing things like LFR where he occasionally sees framerates around 30 FPS for short periods. This is on a newer machine coupled with an i5-2500k.

Somewhat relevant Cataclysm benchmarks from December 2010(performance guide?):
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/world-of-warcraft-cataclysm-directx-11-performance,2793.html

Edit: After reading those benchmarks I checked to see if my roomate is still using DX9 instead of DX11 which is the case. So that should increase the FPS significantly considering he has a good CPU. Will update with results.

Gab wrote:Those cards are both to reference afaik so should be similar in performance. Either go with what you know (Sapphire) or whatever is cheaper (XFX). My buddy has a HIS 6870 and runs WoW at ultra, although I don't think AA is maxed, and sees pretty continuous 55-60 FPS except when doing things like LFR where he occasionally sees framerates around 30 FPS for short periods. This is on a newer machine coupled with an i5-2500k.

Somewhat relevant Cataclysm benchmarks from December 2010(performance guide?):
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/world-of-warcraft-cataclysm-directx-11-performance,2793.html

Why are the 5870s performing better than the 6870s in those benchmarks?

Also, what do you guys think of

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... llFullInfo

Klaudandus wrote:Why are the 5870s performing better than the 6870s in those benchmarks?

Short answer: AMD had a brain fart in naming their cards?

Long answer:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-6870-radeon-hd-6850-barts,2776.html

Klaudandus wrote:Why are the 5870s performing better than the 6870s in those benchmarks?

Also, what do you guys think of

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... llFullInfo

The Radeon's are generally better options at pretty much every price point at the moment. /shrug

I have a ATI Radeon 1GB PCI-E HD 5770 Video Card Sitting in my hands right now, not being used. It's my bosses from when we bought this Piece of shit dell, and upgraded the Vid card to a Quatro 2000D. I can talk to him and see if he'll sell it to you for cheap, If you're interested in a new card still.

Aww, I just bought the Saphire 6870 one. it was on special at 161.99 with an instant discount coupon and ups 3-day guaranteed free shipping.

I did that just yesterday actually

Mm bad timing haha.

Aubade wrote:Mm bad timing haha.

You know the sad part? The 5770 smokes my current video card, a 6450.

Klaudandus wrote:

Aubade wrote:Mm bad timing haha.

You know the sad part? The 5770 smokes my current video card, a 6450.

If you can get your money back on it, I could probably get it to you for less than 100.