nVidia GTX560 Ti Review
Conclusion
Published: 25th January 2011 | Source: nVidia | Price: £199 @ Aria |

Conclusion
The low to mid-range cards are always a tough thing to sum up. On the one hand you have the attractive pricing which means that we have to take into account lower performance, but the methods in which the cards are cut-down to reach that price-point vary so much that it isn't always easy to decide if the losses are worth the price or if you're giving up too much to be affordable.
Thankfully the GTX560 Ti gives us no such problems.
At stock it's a good performer throughout all of our testing. Considering we run at 1920x1200 and normally with very high anti-aliasing levels the GTX560 Ti still proves playable, but with a slight resolution drop if you're on a 22" monitor, or an acceptance for 4x AA rather than the 8x we test at you'll easily be banging out very smooth performance indeed.
Overclocking though. Overclocking turns the GTX560 Ti into quite a different beast altogether. If it wasn't impressive enough at stock, and it is, then the performance once it's overclocked is in another league. It's not only on a par with its big brother in some tests, but often ahead of the AMD HD6970. The thing that took us completely by surprise is how easily it could be pushed far beyond what we would expect it to be stable at, but without becoming a toaster or deafening your neighbours.
This perhaps needs emphasising, because it really is the definitive example of both how quickly nVidia have turned things around, and how quickly AMD have lost their way. The HD6970 is currently the top of the range AMD card. This GTX560 Ti is the current bottom of the GTX 5 series from nVidia. Price-wise there is a hundred quid between the two, but performance wise they're pretty inseparable in the tests that matter.
There is no question that if you are in the market for a new graphics card, be it an ultra high-end GTX580, a more sensibly priced GTX570, or the stunning value GTX560 Ti we have on test here, that nVidia are the recommended choice in all three brackets now. They deserve huge kudos for not pretending the GTX480 was anything other than what it was and returning to their R&D department with renewed vigour.
We especially need to point out the concave shroud design and how it easily solves the problem of airflow in a dual-card system. We're sure this will be adopted by all the cards soon.
The GTX560 Ti is damn good just at stock, when overclocked it's mind-blowing. Not only is it worthy of the OC3D Gold award, but also our Performance Award for its overclocking abilities. The nVidia GTX560 Ti completes nVidia's domination of the graphics card market.
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Thanks to nVidia for supplying the GTX560 Ti for review. Discuss in our forums.
Most Recent Comments
On maximum in the Crysis Warhead results the stock 560 got 88 frames, but overclocked it got 83 frames.
EDIT: There already is one 880MHz on core, 4200MHz on Memory
Also Theres a GTX 560 ti phantom in 1gb and 2gb coming out which is weird.
i cant beleve the hawx is so cheap 203 at scan wonder what the drectcu 2 is like?
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-gigabyte-gtx-560-ti-super-overclock-40nm-4590mhz-gddr5-gpu-1000mhz-shader-1800mhz-384-cores
first factory OC'd to 1ghz core
deffo a payday treat
msi twin fzer 2 is crazy how thats so cheap
Tom are you gonna be reviewing any of the non-reference cards? Especially the MSI 560 Twin Frozer II?
Aftermarket cards I dont know yet but obviously when they release decent ones we will. Bloody stupid question tbh
Nvidia OC'd
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I’m building a pc for one of my mates and I’m debating whether to go for the 6950 from scan for 227£ or the MSI GTX 560 Ti TWIN FROZR II 1GB for 203£, really confusing because the 6850 has 2GB of memory which is really good with high resolutions and I must admit this review has made me more confused. |
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Fantastic review. There's no reason to buy AMD cards at ALL. We want SLI! Or Maybe 3 monitor gaming? |
Real game changers come when a company invests HUGE dollars into a new fabrication process. Much of Intel's advantage comes from the ability to make 32 nm parts (though it seems that they also excel in other areas - what I call uncore architecture - cache and pipeline management, branch prediction and so forth.) Whichever camp first starts making GPUs based on a 32nm or even 22nm process is simply going to slay the competition.
Wouldn't you like to see a GPU with GTX 570 performance or better, a TDP less than 100 W, and with the overclocking potential we've seen with Sandy Bridge? That would be the logical result of a smaller fabrication process, and one could hope to see that on the market in a year or so.
http://www.anandtech...he-250-market/1
It's like $10 more than the 560 and overclocks seem to be even more beneficial to it than the 560.
http://3dmark.com/3dm11/500728 P5268 560 -but that's at 1050MHz. I don't feel like many 560s are going to be going much past that.
http://3dmark.com/3dm11/404347 P5690 6950 2GB (probably unlocked and overclocked, but still.)
there's not much 560 data to go on right now, and not much 6950 1GB data to go on, but from the 3dmark results search, 6950 results go way beyond anything the 560 results are showing.
So yeah, :[
Somewhat the opposite of what the review concluded with, but that's how it's looking. I know people will still buy Nvidia for things like PhysX though. I would/it's influenced me.
I can still buy two 460's and sli them for the price of one of these.
Actually it's a good time to invest to AMD right now as share prices are fairly low and with introduction of bulldozer def gonna go up.
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I'm sory but I'm disappointed with the price. I can still buy two 460's and sli them for the price of one of these. |
2 1gb PNY's for example would be around £266 shipped, but then u get into the argument of 2 cards vs 1 in terms of power draw and heat SLi scaleing etc
EDIT-just found this silly overclock on AIR Silly Overclock
shame there is no brand,but air is air lol
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No panic AMD is not going anywhere soon. Thing with AMD and nVidia is that nVidia is more focused on GPU's while AMD is larger company with larger profits but as more development areas to invests those profits into. Actually it's a good time to invest to AMD right now as share prices are fairly low and with introduction of bulldozer def gonna go up. |
Hasn't made me feel bad about buying my 570 for £70 more.
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768mb yes 2 1gb PNY's for example would be around £266 shipped, but then u get into the argument of 2 cards vs 1 in terms of power draw and heat SLi scaleing etc EDIT-just found this silly overclock on AIR Silly Overclock shame there is no brand,but air is air lol |
There's a bit of fun to be had with these cards. I'd not view them with the intention of sli'ing them, although you obviously can, as they're in the wrong end of the market (similarly my thoughts to xfiring the mid range AMD cards). Double the bucks can be put towards a better single card option, without any anti-synthetic drawbacks, imo.
..no need to look at the over-priced, under-performing storage heaters with an nVidia badge.
It doesn't really matter, but saying this over and over isn't going to make it true. These underperformers broke all the records of the time. And were tamed by enthusiasts, post the review samples.
It's a nice little cooler the 560 ended up with. Tidy little package.
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Even if they do the gtx 560 ti beats it also and you can get a msi freezer version of the card or a gigabyte oc to 900mhz already for £200 so they have to drop the 6950 to what £180 to make it competitive which in turn they have to drop the 6870 to even lower which I don't see happening. |
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nVidia products have historically (although it's taken as competing for price with competitors) dropped $30-$40 off the price of a new product after a month or so of being on the shelf. We shouldn't see this card as being any different. |
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Good video review on these has made me decide I really need one |
Oh and by the way! Tom, if you really want somebody with a Sabertooth to test these cards I could give them a go
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I'm not glad I got those noisy DirectCUs.. you should hear them while folding.. heck you probably do from over the pond, dude. If you were wondering what it was.. it's no Jumbo, instead it's my 460s folding. But, hey, a couple of months down the line a better card will come out, then a better one, then a better one. That's just how things go |
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my directcus are not loud lol put it on set fan speed when folding its what i do, mine only really get loud above 70% fan |
As mentioned on the last page.. I only paid £70 quid more for my GTX 570 which for the extra 7 - 10 FPS in some of the harsher games can make a big difference.
That said, if I had to buy one now at over £300, then it might be a different story.
Yes the 560 can overclock near to the 570, but then the 570 overclocks up to 900 core with a lil voltage tweak and pulls ahead again.
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A lot of people are convincing me that the 6950 1GB is king of this range. I forgot that was coming out today also (hadn't heard much about it). http://www.anandtech...he-250-market/1 It's like $10 more than the 560 and overclocks seem to be even more beneficial to it than the 560. http://3dmark.com/3dm11/500728 P5268 560 -but that's at 1050MHz. I don't feel like many 560s are going to be going much past that. http://3dmark.com/3dm11/404347 P5690 6950 2GB (probably unlocked and overclocked, but still.) there's not much 560 data to go on right now, and not much 6950 1GB data to go on, but from the 3dmark results search, 6950 results go way beyond anything the 560 results are showing. So yeah, :[ Somewhat the opposite of what the review concluded with, but that's how it's looking. I know people will still buy Nvidia for things like PhysX though. I would/it's influenced me. |
GTX 560 ti 3DMark 11 performance Preset overall score
GPU 3851
3DMarks 4180
metro 2033 High quality settings 4xAA 2560x1600 20 fps
Aliens Vs. Predator (DX11) 4xAA 1920x1080 32.6 fps
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (DX11) 8xAA 2560x1600 37.3
F1 2010 (DX11) ultra settings 8xAA 1920x1080 50.3 fps
F1 2010 (DX11) ultra settings 8xAA 2560x1600 31.3 fps
Radeon HD 6050 3DMark 11 performance Preset overall score
GPU 4877
3DMarks 4483
metro 2033 High quality settings 4xAA 2560x1600 29.3 fps
Aliens Vs. Predator (DX11) 4xAA 1920x1080 37.2 fps
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (DX11) 8xAA 2560x1600 42.5
F1 2010 (DX11) ultra settings 8xAA 1920x1080 63.9
F1 2010 (DX11) ultra settings 8xAA 2560x1600 44.1
Deltas
3DMark 11 performance Preset overall score
GPU 6950 21.1% Faster
3DMarks 6950 6.8% Faster
metro 2033 High quality settings 4xAA 2560x1600 6950 31.8% Faster
Aliens Vs. Predator (DX11) 4xAA 1920x1080 6950 12.4% Faster
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (DX11) 8xAA 6950 12.3% Faster
F1 2010 (DX11) ultra settings 8xAA 6950 21.3% Faster
F1 2010 (DX11) ultra settings 8xAA 6950 29.1% Faster
Overall Radeon 6950 19.25% Faster
With all that said, it should be said that overclocking the GTX 560 ti to 1GHz will close the lions share of that 19.25% performance difference. If we are going to overclock the GTX 560 ti then we must do the same with the Radeon 6950. The 6950 can be bios modded and overclocked into a fully functional 6970. That gives a delta improvement of approximately 18% leaving the overclocked GTX560 ti trailing by very significant margins.
The expected retail price of the GTX 560 ti here in the USA is $250.00. The real price is likely to be about $10.00 more. The Radeon 6950 reference boards can be found for $280.00. that is a $30.00 difference in price or a 10.8% difference in price. So the bottom line is, if you do not overclock you get 19.25% more performance for a 10.8% price increase. If you do overclock you get a < 18% increase in performance for a 10.8% increase in price.
Don't get me wrong the GTX 560 ti is an amazing card especially when overclocked. At it's absolute price point it is virtually untouchable. The same can be said for the Radeon 6950 its just that at it's price point it holds the absolute value for dollar crown. As much progress as Nvidia have made in the last year "and they have made tremendous progress". Nvidia still hasn't figured out how to beat AMD at the value for dollar game. Now, if they were to lower the prices of they're 5xx series video cards across the board. Then the green team would be truly tempting. Maybe they will do just that over the next few weeks. This kind of competition is always good for us consumers.
1. Absolute performance
2. Performance per dollar
The first can be important in environments that have specialized requirements. Rarely found at the consumer level.
The second is with very few exception, the metric by which consumers try to make buying decisions. Even enthusiasts want to get good value form there purchases.
I am not trying to preach or sound put-offish. Hope I haven't sounded like a jack-nozzle. Well I think I might be a fanboy.
I am a fanboy of value, I don't care what label is on the package. Give me great performance at a reasonable price and I will be loyal, until your competition gives me better value.
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Not really, I have owned both Nvidia and ATI/AMD video cards, chip-sets, ect.. My motto could be "to hell with dogma give me metrics". At the end of the day, we pay these companies for performance. There are many ways to measure performance, The standard I tend to be most interested in as a consumer is performance per Dollar. Example for quite a while now Intel has had a lock on high performance CPU's, AMD hasn't been able to touch them in pure throughput. That said, in the case of i7 970 vs t1090, the i7 970 is a whopping 30% faster in highly threaded apps than the t1090 at the same clock. Wow that is a huge performance lead, right? Well the short answer is no. For the price of a basic system using a i7 970 you can build 2 basic systems using the t1090. That means that for the same investment the t1090 produces at least 50% more compute power. The new sandy bridge procs have turned that around so that they are the better value. So what I am trying to say (and not doing a very good job) is there are two performance metrics to consider. 1. Absolute performance 2. Performance per dollar The first can be important in environments that have specialized requirements. Rarely found at the consumer level. The second is with very few exception, the metric by which consumers try to make buying decisions. Even enthusiasts want to get good value form there purchases. I am not trying to preach or sound put-offish. Hope I haven't sounded like a jack-nozzle. Well I think I might be a fanboy. I am a fanboy of value, I don't care what label is on the package. Give me great performance at a reasonable price and I will be loyal, until your competition gives me better value. |
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Nobody here would test at such retarded resolutions and 8xAA with a mid-range card, mate.. At 1080p 560>6970 as well. |
http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/gpu_displays/nvidia_gtx560_ti_review/6
Or where you referring to 2560x1600? If so why don't you expect mid range cards to support those resolution? that is to say a lot of people have dual and triple monitor setups.
If you look at the chart you will see that the 6970 outperforms the overclocked 560 by 10% That is the equivalent to a HD6950 overclocked and bios flashed.
Anyway my point is that the HD6950 is only $30.00 (18.85 GBP) more than the GTX 560 ti. It is in the same price bracket "the mid range" preforms about 20% better on average and only costs 10% more. I don't think it is retarded to expect the maximum performance per dollar. Not to mention having a 2 gig frame buffer is useful for more than just games. The extra 1GB DDR5 of frame buffer alone is worth the extra $30.00 (18.85 GBP).
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It was just personal curiosity don't think to much on the question. Though Do you have multi monitor ? |
Anyway, ya I have 2 LGs at 1680x1050. I would love to check out those new ASUS p246Q pro art monitors. I am building a new rig in march and if they are are not to expensive....That would be a sweet upgrade...
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I'm just curious about whether the 6950 and 6970 where retested with the better drivers on this site as I remember tom mentioning in his video review that while he was reviewing them that there where supposed to be much better drivers out that gave better performance. If it hasnt been done is it possible to test them out and see was there actually any performance increase in them? Only reason am thinking this because of the previous poster commenting on other sites. |
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Gigabyte-GTX-560-Ti-SOC-Becomes-Official-Features-1GHz-GPU-Overclock-180568.shtml
Anyway like I was saying the GTX 560 ti's have forced AMD to lower there prices. You can now find Radeon 6950 reference cards for as low as $269.00 dollars (169.118 GBP) after a rebate. We all know that they can be flashed and overclocked into fully functional 6970's.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131384
My point is all of this churn in the mid market is all kinds of good news for enthusiasts. Now for the low price of $269.00 dollars (169.118 GBP)you can chose between the Gigabyte GTX 560 Ti SOC and the Radeon 6950. If you want PhysX go with the GTX 560. If you want eyefinity (multi monitor setup) and better overall performance go with 6950 overclock/bios flash to 6970. Both options provide excellent value, so pick the features you want, lay your money down and take a sweet ride.
http://guru3d.com/article/gigabyte-gtx-560-ti-soc-review/19
you want 3 screen gaming then the amd is for you.
you want to f@h or use any of the other cuda plug ins or 2 cards for 3d gaming then its nv.
MSI twin fzr will do that easy
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Driver updates won't improve frame rates too much, it will increase by 3 FPS tops. But if you look at the price difference between the 560 and the 69xx and it's performance, the only reason to get AMD atm is for Eyefinity, if you don't want to play games with 3 or more monitors than Nvidia is the way to go. |
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On a side note what would be faster, MSI GTX560-TI Twin Frozr II Super Overclock or MSI GTX560-TI Twin Frozr Golden Edition. The Super Overclock comes with 950MHz on the core, while the Golden Edition comes with 900MHz on the core. But considering the Golden Edition has a Golden Shroud, would it overclock better? |
Gigabyte 560 SOC = 570
http://guru3d.com/article/gigabyte-gtx-560-ti-soc-review/14
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/components/nvidiageforcegraphicscards/nvidiagtx560tifermiseries/gigabyte/engtx560tidcii2di1gd5gv-n5.html
Not the best price, but still £230 for 570 performance is pretty sweet.
EDIT: Wait isn't that an all copper heatsink?
EDIT: @murphy, copper won't oxidize provided you don't touch it with your fingers...oh boy the entire shroud is copper...use some wipes =D
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Dam, MSI, calling something Golden Edition than covering the thing in copper. RAWR! EDIT: Wait isn't that an all copper heatsink? EDIT: @murphy, copper won't oxidize provided you don't touch it with your fingers...oh boy the entire shroud is copper...use some wipes =D |
Yes, it gets right on the 570 at it's very highest overclock but then overclock the 570 to its limit and it'll just pull away again.
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http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/components/nvidiageforcegraphicscards/nvidiagtx560tifermiseries/gigabyte/engtx560tidcii2di1gd5gv-n5.html Not the best price, but still £230 for 570 performance is pretty sweet. |
Do have to say though, for the money compared to normal non ref cards, the Gigabyte SOC is a very good price.
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Oxidize means exposure to oxygen found in the air nothing to do with fingers though they do contain acid corrodes the copper. Air will slowly reduce quality of the heat transfers though the time it will take and the difference it will have is a little complicated to call. |
EVGA $280.00 (176.23 GBP) free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130610
Zotac $265.00 (166.79 GBP) $7.56 Shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500190
Here are the new prices for the HD6850
HIS $260.00 (163.63 GBP) after mail-in rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161355
Sapphire $275.00 (173.10 GBP)after mail-in rebate card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102914
That's right, let the price wars begin......like I said before, this is going to be great!
May the two big names in graphics beat each other to a bloody pulp in the name of good value. fighters to they're corners....Ding!
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Nvidia won't need to drop prices because they know AMD will need to drop the 6970 to like $300; which they can't, only than it will it make sense price to performance wise. Currently Nvidia just offers way better bang for your buck. |
On a side note, I am a little concerned about Nvidia's ability to compete on price. the big problem is that the GF114 requires 40% more surface area per chip than the Cayman chips. This of course translates into a nearly linear price difference in fabrication costs of the GPU. Worse, once the slightly reduced yields that are achieved as a result of added complexity are factored in, it is not difficult to imagine Nvidia having difficulty going toe to toe with ATI/AMD on price. Hopefully, Nvidia will find a way to compete because as I have said that is great for enthusiasts.
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im looking at a couple new cards, should i go 2 gtx 570's or 2 560's? |
That said, if you are planning on running at 1920x1080 or below then definitely go for the 560 Ti's. The pair will save you approximately $190.00 (119.32 GBP) depending on the currency use. And if you overclock them there will be precious little difference in performance up to 1920x1080. If, as I said, you are planning to run at resolutions beyond 1920x1080 then make no mistake the 560 ti's 1GB frame buffer is not enough. Shame really, because a pair of 560 ti's can be had for $530.00 (332.79 GBP), whereas the pair 570's costs a staggering $720.00 (452.60 GBP). What can you do if you need the larger frame buffer? Well there are the 570's (ouch!). Another option would be to use a single 580. It won't preform as well as the 570's in SLI, but it will handle the higher resolutions and can be had for $510.00 (320.30 GBP) that's 130 quid difference mate. (did I use Quid right?, hope I don't sound like a Jack-monkey).
In any case.....
Wouldn't it be great if there was a way to get the price of a pair of 560 Ti's. The performance of a pair of 570's. A large enough frame buffer to handle 2560x1600 without breaking a sweat. The good news is there is a way to do just that. The bad news is your not going to like it. Anyway let me know if you want to know how to get it done.....
I hope this helped
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The 560 Ti's are a way better value, if I where choosing between them I would definitely go for the pair of 560 Ti's. Well hold on a minute what resolution do you plan to run at? I ask because if you are planning to go above 1920x1080 then the 560 Ti's 1GB frame buffer is going to cause some very serious problems. It will begin to slow down at 1920x1200 and will be severely crippled at 2560x1600. Sli will only make the frame buffer problem worse, I am sorry to tell you. That said, if you are planning on running at 1920x1080 or below then definitely go for the 560 Ti's. The pair will save you approximately $190.00 (119.32 GBP) depending on the currency use. And if you overclock them there will be precious little difference in performance up to 1920x1080. If, as I said, you are planning to run at resolutions beyond 1920x1080 then make no mistake the 560 ti's 1GB frame buffer is not enough. Shame really, because a pair of 560 ti's can be had for $530.00 (332.79 GBP), whereas the pair 570's costs a staggering $720.00 (452.60 GBP). What can you do if you need the larger frame buffer? Well there are the 570's (ouch!). Another option would be to use a single 580. It won't preform as well as the 570's in SLI, but it will handle the higher resolutions and can be had for $510.00 (320.30 GBP) that's 130 quid difference mate. (did I use Quid right?, hope I don't sound like a Jack-monkey). In any case..... Wouldn't it be great if there was a way to get the price of a pair of 560 Ti's. The performance of a pair of 570's. A large enough frame buffer to handle 2560x1600 without breaking a sweat. The good news is there is a way to do just that. The bad news is your not going to like it. Anyway let me know if you want to know how to get it done..... I hope this helped |
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thanks for the input oneseraph, i mean at the moment im only running 1920x1200 but 3d surround does look pretty tasty!!! so some new monitors maybe the next big ticket item. and with the 570's i can keep my option open for 3(or even 4) way sli, but DAYM 1ghz clock?!? and 130 quid is a lot of coin for similiar kit(at current res) |
I use a pair of LG's at the moment. Around the end of march, I plan to build a new rig. I am thinking of making the jump to a triple monitor setup. The new Asus PA246Q ProArt Series sound pretty good. Hopefully they won't be ridiculously expensive. In any case, best of luck with your setup.
Cheers
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@CH4PZ 3D surround isn't really mature yet, so 570s would be better, since SLI won't scale too well so the more powerful GPUs will fair better. |
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They will actually have to cut the price so the performance lines up, not in synthetic benchmarks, but also in gaming benchmarks, so a 6970 needs to drop down to a price that's comparable with a 560 if they want remain competitive. |
"At stock speeds" "It walks past the 6950" "walks past the 6970.." I'm not seeing that in any review. Every other review I've read of this card it's a disappointment for it's price. Granted, I'm a US reader and most of these reviews are speaking of the US prices. That doesn't change his assessment of the performance.
I'm a huge Nvidia fan, at the moment. The problems I had with the 5xxx series.. ugh. I don't want to go back to that. Fair is fair however, and the 6950 is the better card. In OC3Ds defense, the charts actually disagree with TTLs assessment in the video. The stock 6970 beats the stock 560 quite handily.
In other words, Nvidia needs to drop the price of the 560 relative to the performance of the 6950.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125362
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127565
I M HAVING A TOUGH TIME ABOUT DECIDING WHETHER I SHUD GO FOR 2 OF EITHER OF THESE OR A GTX 570?I WILL BE GAMING AT 1920X1080



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