HD 6950 CF or GTX 570 SLI? GTX 580?

[Zak_M]

Ok... now I have a few posts on here already, I'm building a gaming PC in a couple weeks and will finish in sept. Now, I'll be playing at 1920x1080. I'll play a ton of different games... Elder Scrolls, Mass Effect, Battlefield, Call Of Duty 4, Counter Strike, free games, Battlefield 3 and so on.

The CPU will be an i5 2500k
RAM will be 8GB DDR3 1600Mhz
The motherboard will be a
Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD4-B3


Should I get 2 HD 6950 1 GB's ($259.99 x2 = $519.98)

2 GTX 570's ($349.99 x2 = $699.98) which as you can see is roughly $100 more per card.

Or

Single GTX 580 = $499.99


My research I've conducted has suggested that the 1GB and 2GB versions of the HD 6950 make absolutely no difference in performance at 1920x1080, sometimes from what I saw the 1GB beat the 2GB at this resolution. I also saw they perform very closely to the GTX 570(s) but are only $520 as opposed to $700.

Then, we have the single GTX 580, which is $500 currently. Should I get the Crossfire setup with the HD 6950's, the SLI setup with the GTX 570's, or a single GTX 580 and add one down the line.... because currently the HD 6950's beats the GTX 580 by ALOT and it's about the same price depending on what the prices are for different brands here.

So, guys, what should I do?

[supaflyx3]

cfx 6950 hands down

[GT7R]

From personal experience, CF drivers are usually a pain in the @$$, but when they do work, the 6XXX cards' scaling rocks.
At 1080p I would say go for 570's, as 580's won't give you such a benefit. Or try your luck with 6950's. :)

[supaflyx3]

I'm sorry, but what was the point of that post? It didnt really have any direction, pretty much brings the OP back to his original question.

[The RealRollo]

You don't have 560Ti Sli, this would be a more direct competitor at this price point than the 570 SLi.

Of the three choices you put out there, I'd probably do the 6950s. (but I'd take the 560Tis over them to have PhysX and 3d flexibility)

[_dangtx_]

6950 all the way,or one right now maybe a second later

[trayton]

Somewhat for the op and somewhat for me how do you know which 6950's unlock to the 6970's?

Thanks! Best of luck op I'd probably do the 6950's as well but I'd probably start with 1 as that will be fine and then wait for prices to drop a bit for a 2nd!

[GT7R]

Originally Posted by supaflyx3

I'm sorry, but what was the point of that post? It didnt really have any direction, pretty much brings the OP back to his original question.

In this case I'm not trying to decide for the OP, but explain to him the advantages/disadvantages here and give him a better view & knowledge to decide :)

[Soultribunal]

6950 Crossfire was a nightmare for me.
Driver issues beyond driver issues. I would avoid the 6XXX series and go nVidia 5XX series.

ST

[Kommie986]

Originally Posted by Soultribunal

6950 Crossfire was a nightmare for me.
Driver issues beyond driver issues. I would avoid the 6XXX series and go nVidia 5XX series.

ST

Are driver issues for the HD6000 series widespread?