Project Reality Forums

im looking for a new gfx card in the range of ~?200 (~$320 USD) so im thinking a 6870 or 470 both of which are in the same price range.

Ive always owned NVIDIA and like their products and drivers, but im open to ATI. the 6870 has bette core and clock speeds. but the benchmarks are very close, with the 470 slightly leading?

wat do?

Do you play ARMA2/OA?

GeForce GTX 580 Arma II: Operation Arrowhead Performance | bit-tech.net

68xx leads by a fair margin [18% max fps gain, only 2fps higher average though], with 69xx series just around the corner (albeit out of your price range)

im a PR:ArmA2 tester i didnt know that, thats something big to consider thanks. Should i wait for the new 69xx series ?

gazzthompson wrote:im a PR:ArmA2 tester i didnt know that, thats something big to consider thanks. Should i wait for the new 69xx series ?

Well I'm going to be waiting to see what they bring... should be interesting since the 6870 performs almost as well as the 5870 which is a fair amount more expensive...

Also the GTX570 (or equivalent) should shake things up a bit. Buying right before a new generation of graphics cards isn't the best idea IMO. I'd try to hold off until Dec/Jan if I were you so you can evaluate the best performance/$ ratio.

Plus in the next month or two you can be really frugal with your spending, and save up a bit more to put towards the upgrade, meaning you might be able to get the 'next step' in hardware (say the $350-$400 range) which can yield a decent improvement.

Edit: And shouldn't it say like - PR:ARMA Tester under your name?

nope , just 'PR tester'.

i might get a SSD then and wait for these new cards, cheers for the help!

gazzthompson wrote:nope , just 'PR tester'.

i might get a SSD then and wait for these new cards, cheers for the help!

Sounds good, I can't sing the praises of SSDs enough, especially on HDD bound programs like A2, although a 32GB ramdisk would obviously be the best bet

I would recommend at least one of the new 120GB sandforce drives (like the Vertex 2 or Phoenix), although older and cheaper 128GB drives work alright as well. Just make sure it has TRIM under win7 and you're golden.

Just so you know, the 6xxx series is AMD's new 3D graphic series, so you can expect some iffy performance at some points seeing how it's a new thing for AMD, whereas NVIDIA has had 3D technology for years now.
Another note is how ATI cards generally seem to have issues with intense particle effects such as dust clouds, though NVIDIA has it's issues as well (forgot what they were atm, something to do with textures I think?) And as stated above, they should be similar in graphic processing power.
If you're dead set on either the GTX470 or the 6870 then I suggest that you just go with the cheaper of the two. Also be sure to have sufficient cooling, I don't know what's up with the 6870's heat but I know that the GTX470 can get pretty hot, but it shouldn't be a problem if you don't overclock.

whatshisname55 wrote:Another note is how ATI cards generally seem to have issues with intense particle effects such as dust clouds

Hey I'm just curious where you read this or experienced it or whatever?

i've ordered a 6870.
was thinking about nvidia but picked the 6870 cause it sucked less power.

Psyrus wrote:Hey I'm just curious where you read this or experienced it or whatever?

I experience it every time I go into a dust cloud on PR with my 5850 OC'd.
I talked to a guy in my clan who knows a lot about computers and he agreed that ATI's usually have issues with the particle stuff.
We determined that if I turn my AA down to x4 I can go through a dust cloud with only minimal lag, and if it weren't for the nasty dust clouds I could run full max without lag. Luckily you have to look pretty closely to notice the difference between x4 and x8 so it's not that bad when playing.

whatshisname55 wrote:I experience it every time I go into a dust cloud on PR with my 5850 OC'd.
I talked to a guy in my clan who knows a lot about computers and he agreed that ATI's usually have issues with the particle stuff.
We determined that if I turn my AA down to x4 I can go through a dust cloud with only minimal lag, and if it weren't for the nasty dust clouds I could run full max without lag. Luckily you have to look pretty closely to notice the difference between x4 and x8 so it's not that bad when playing.

So it's purely anecdotal? (Not that it's a bad thing, I just wondered if it was a widespread issue that had a thread somewhere). Have you tested the exact same rig with a green card @ the same settings with similar processing power and not had the same slowdown @ 8xAA?

No I haven't. Unfortunately I don't grow a money tree in my backyard so cannot buy one to do tests. I'm pretty sure this isn't a problem with all ATI cards otherwise it would probably be an easy thing to find. Besides, many people who will be noticing these things and bringing them up on the interwebberz would be the ones overclocking, but a solid overclock will eliminate it easily. I have been tweaking my clocks recently and haven't tested in PR yet but I expect to get even less lag in the dust now. Sadly I can't push my card any faster until I get proper cooling in my case (next month luckily). If you want I'll let you know how it goes.

I run a 5770 and have never noticed FPS drops in dust clouds (running fraps all the time). Making buying decisions purely on the basis of anecdotal evidence isn't necessary, there are hundreds of very well done reviews out there that cover the bases.

I went with a 'GTX 470 Superclocked' , Supplied with Backplate & Bracket for improved cooling performance. I have no real reason to be, but i guess im just an NVIDIA fan.. only owned their cards. Was on offer for 200 Pounds ($ 318~)

[R-MOD]BloodBane611 wrote:I run a 5770 and have never noticed FPS drops in dust clouds (running fraps all the time). Making buying decisions purely on the basis of anecdotal evidence isn't necessary, there are hundreds of very well done reviews out there that cover the bases.

Could it just be something with the 5850, or did I actually manage to get crappy luck and buy the faulty card?

Well nvidia has physix which in some games can be good for the processor + delivers some cool effects for that reason only i would buy the nvidia chip i don't care if it's slower with some fps.

whatshisname55 wrote:Could it just be something with the 5850, or did I actually manage to get crappy luck and buy the faulty card?

I've got the 5830, second card as the first one failed, and I've found it to be average at best. Could be just the range of cards but I think I'll be going back to Nvidia in the future.

Wait, are particle effects like dust clouds more dependent on the CPU or GPU?
If it's the former, would it make sense that I lag with a standard clocked i7 930? (I do plan to overclock when I get new fans.)

edit: herp derp