please help,which graphic card to buy

[habs2habs]

hi everyone

please i need your help.

i would like to buy an ATI graphic card but i am confused between:

HD 6850
HD 6870:1GB or 2 GB
HD 6950

i am playing a lot of games such as:

crysis
crysis warhead
crysis2
call of duty(the old games and the new ones)
medal of honor
command and conquer renegade(old game)
pariah
unreal tournament
battlefield 3

i am going to buy the newest call of duty when it come out.

i would like the graphic card to use about 200 watts not 500watts,like other graphic card require.

please,some graphic card have 1GB,some have 2GB,(what is the difference between them in relate of the games

i hope to hear from you very soon

my kindest regards
habs2habs

[GT7R]

Assuming that you CPU and PSU are up to the job, at that budget get a 7850 instead. 7870 will be even better. But it really depends on your other system components.

[Ravenor]

Before I go into any lengthy answer, can you please give us your systems specs, money budget that you are working with?

Plus why only ATI? Nvidia has some great cards out right now?

[GT7R]

Originally Posted by Ravenor

Plus why only ATI? Nvidia has some great cards out right now?

I guess a 660Ti or higher is out of his budget...

[Ravenor]

that's what i'm thinking but you never know

[habs2habs]

Hi Ravenor

my pc specifications:

intel i7 920
6GB memory
ati 4850 graphic card
antec 750 true power PSU
7 case fans
windows7 home premium 64bit

the reason i don't want to buy Nvidia is,they are a lot expensive than ATI.

i live in UK

i hope to hear from you very soon

thank you again

my kindest regards
habs2habs

Originally Posted by Ravenor

Before I go into any lengthy answer, can you please give us your systems specs, money budget that you are working with?

Plus why only ATI? Nvidia has some great cards out right now?

[NyteOwl]

As for the difference in memory size and games, the more video memory available to the GPU the larger the textures and game elements it can hold and manipulate in it's local memory. This serves to speed game play and permit higher quality settings o be used.

A simple rule of thumb is to buy the most powerful card for your needs that fits your budget. Given some of the games, such as BF3, and since you're staying within one brand, start at the top ATI model and work your way down in price until you reach a card that fits your budget. If you want to compare brands, do the same thing for nVidia and then look at the two cards you are left with. Unless you have a specific brand preference, pick the more capable of the two.

[Ravenor]

I would personally avoid the 6850, great card, great price, just not enough horsepower. I would look at the 6870 (not much more in cash anyways about 30 pounds difference on Microdirect.co.uk) and the 6950. I would also however look at the 560 TI version as well as it is in the same price range as the 6870.

Also I found that the brand spanking new 660 TI is about 40 pounds ($242 pounds) more then then 6950($202 pounds), thats with the VAT included and the 660 TI performance is stellar and way beyond that of the 6950. You can also keep the 7850 and 7870 in mind as well.

That all being said, what NyteOwl said is right. Base your choice on the amount of money you have(or can save) and what performance levels you want to achieve in the game you play. Your Power Supply is a very good unit and could power as high as a GTX 680 or 7970HD without breaking a sweat and still have power left over.

If you are looking to save money, I would look at the 6870, 7850, and the 560 TI. Any of these cards will perform well in any of the games you listed.

If you can save or wait a bit more, I would be looking squarely at that 660 TI. The price/performance level is extremely hard to beat. And it does that with A TDP of 150 watts too

[Dzzope]

Biggest piece of advice I can give is look around for daily / weekly deals.. A mate of mine just got a reference clocked 560Ti for £145 new.. (Daily deal a few days ago.. and a damn good one at that)

I generally watch Overclockers.co.uk, Scan.co.uk, ebuyer.com.. not to mention Ebay and amazon... you can save money by going second-hand..
If your going second hand I may be able to help you out myself.. I have a 560TI I'm looking to get rid of when I'm home (Ireland) in early October..

If your interested.. PM me..

[TedShackley]

I used a single 6950 2GB for CrysisWH and BF3 at 1080p. It did all right. Another option might be to get a 6850 which has great performance/price, and then get another one later. 2x6850 beats a 6970 iirc.