Best PCIe Card For ~$335: Tie
GeForce GTX 570 (Check Prices)
Excellent 1920x1200 performance, Good 2560x1600 performance in most games
| GeForce GTX 570 | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | GF110 |
| Process: | 40 nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 480 |
| Texture Units: | 60 |
| ROPs: | 40 |
| Memory Bus: | 320-bit |
| Core/Shader Speed MHz: | 732 / 1464 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 950 (3800 effective) |
| DirectX/Shader Model: | DX 11/SM 5.0 |
| Max TDP: | 219 W |
The GeForce GTX 570 and Radeon HD 6970 offer exceptional performance for $335. Both cards perform slightly slower than GeForce GTX 460 cards in SLI and Radeon HD 6850 cards in CrossFire,
but they do so without the hassles associated with a multi-card rig (such as micro-stuttering).
but they do so without the hassles associated with a multi-card rig (such as micro-stuttering).
Read our full review of Nvidia's GeForce GTX 570 for more information on this card and its underlying architecture.
Radeon HD 6970 (Check Prices)
Excellent 1920x1200 performance, Good 2560x1600 performance in most games
| Radeon HD 6970 | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | "Cayman" |
| Process: | 40 nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 1536 |
| Texture Units: | 96 |
| ROPs: | 32 |
| Memory Bus: | 256-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 880 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 1375 (5500 effective) |
| DirectX/Shader Model: | DX 11/SM 5.0 |
| Max TDP: | 250 W |
- Radeon HD 6970 Video...
Read our full review of AMD's Radeon HD 6970 for more information on this card and its underlying architecture.
Honorable Mention:
2 x Radeon HD 6850 in CrossFire (Check Prices)
Exceptional 1920x1200 performance, Good 2560x1600 performance
| 2 x Radeon HD 6850 in CrossFire | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | RV970 "Barts" |
| Process: | 40 nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 1920 (2 x 960) |
| Texture Units: | 96 (2 x 48) |
| ROPs: | 64 (2 x 32) |
| Memory Bus: | 256-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 775 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 1000 (4000 effective) |
| DirectX/Shader Model: | DX 11/SM 5.0 |
| Max TDP: | 254 W (2 x 127 W) |
We already know that two Radeon HD 6850s in CrossFire are fast. However, based on our recent exploration of micro-stuttering, there's a fair chance that enthusiasts sensitive to this phenomenon might not be satisfied with the way a pair of these cards behave. If you already know this doesn't affect you, then you're in the clear.
Read our full review of AMD's Radeon HD 6850 for more information on the card and its accompanying architecture.
Honorable Mention:
2 x GeForce GTX 460 1 GB in SLI (Check Prices)
Exceptional 1920x1200 performance, Good 2560x1600 performance
| 2 x GeForce GTX 460 1 GB in SLI | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | GF104 |
| Process: | 40 nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 672 (2 x 336) |
| Texture Units: | 112 (2 x 56) |
| ROPs: | 64 (2 x 32) |
| Memory Bus: | 256-bit |
| Core/Shader Speed MHz: | 675 / 1350 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 900 (3600 effective) |
| DirectX/Shader Model: | DX 11/SM 5 |
| 300 W (2 x 150 W) | |
Two GeForce GTX 460 1 GB cards in SLI or Radeon HD 6850s in CrossFire beat down a single GeForce GTX 570 or Radeon HD 6970 most of the time. While the performance potential of these solutions is very high, keep in mind is that resolutions beyond 1080p may require more than 1 GB of on-board memory for unconstrained frame rates, especially when using high levels of anti-aliasing.
Again, both this pairing and the one above get dropped to honorable mentions as a result of our findings inMicro-Stuttering And GPU Scaling In CrossFire And SLI coverage.
Read our full review of Nvidia's GeForce GTX 460 for more information on the card and its accompanying architecture.
Best PCIe Card For ~$360: None
Honorable Mention:
2 x Radeon HD 6870 in CrossFire (Check Prices)
Great 2560x1600 performance
| 2 x Radeon HD 6870 in CrossFire | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | RV970 "Barts" |
| Process: | 40 nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 2240 (2 x 1120) |
| Texture Units: | 112 (2 x 56) |
| ROPs: | 64 (2 x 32) |
| Memory Bus: | 256-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 900 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 1100 (4200 effective) |
| DirectX/Shader Model: | DX 11/SM 5.0 |
| Max TDP: | 302 W (2 x 151 W) |
Two Radeon HD 6870 cards are also a very powerful combination when paired in CrossFire mode. Just keep in mind that, if you plan to employ resolutions higher than 1080p and high levels of anti-aliasing at the same time, you may want to consider boards with more than 1 GB of RAM.
This solution is also being demoted to honorable mention status based on Micro-Stuttering And GPU Scaling In CrossFire And SLI.
Read our full review of AMD's Radeon HD 6870 for more information on the card and its accompanying architecture.
Source: Tom's Hardware
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