Which Graphics Card?

[JAGX02]

Radeon 6850-~$180
GTX 460-~$200
Radeon 6870-~$240
GTX 470-~$250 (Sparkle or Gigabyte version)


But, for an extra $50-70, I can snag a GTX 470. What will get me the most bang for my buck? I also am unsure of the Sparkle brand?

Oops I forgot to post it... that might be useful info!

CPU: Intel Core i5-760

Processor: Gigabyte UD3

GPU: ???

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) (Model F3-12800CL7D)

PSU: CORSAIR 850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 80+ Certified

Cooler: Tuniq Tower 120 Extreme Universal CPU Cooler

Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Full Tower ([W]240 x [H]560 x [D]560 mm)

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5"

Gaming (SC II) and pretty much everything else from word process to you tube. I want it to last before I have to throw down another few hundred for another GPU, but I'm worried about the heat issues with the 470. I'm not sure if I should get the Sparkle or Gigabyte or throw down an extra $10 for another brand?

[The Wise Monkey]

Check out this comprehensive review from Anandtech about the new 6850/6870: http://www.anandtech.com/show/3987/amds-radeon-6870-6850-renewing-competition-in-the-midrange-market

[RickyTick]

It's a little confusing, but don't make the common mistake in thinking the 6870 is a replacement for the 5870.

For me, it's a toss up between the Radeon 6870 and the Nvidia GTX460 1gb.

[JAGX02]

Check out this comprehensive review from Anandtech about the new 6850/6870: http://www.anandtech.com/show/3987/amds-radeon-6870-6850-renewing-competition-in-the-midrange-market

That's a good amount of data, but I'm confused by it tbh... Half of the results show each card performing better in one area, but worse in another, and then it throws in stats from the GTX 470 and OC editions of the GTX 460 only occasionally so it's all swirling around in my head :confused:

I really can't judge I guess till' I see some OC editions of the 6850/70 and I'd also have to retrieve the specific benches for the 470 I wanted to compare and then 460 as well. AHHHH! I need at least a quad-core brain to process all of it lol.

Like, the OC 460 sometimes performs as good as the stock 470, and then the stock 6870 is a little better than the stock 460 but below the OC 460 and stock 470 now I'm dizzy... and in one test the 470 (and OC 460)>480 lol omg!

Radeon 6850-~$180
GTX 460-~$200
Radeon 6870-~$240
*GTX 460 OC-~240*
GTX 470-~$250 (Sparkle or Gigabyte version)

UPDATE:

It seems that the stock 470, stock 6870, and OC 460 all perform very similarly, and can be found within $10 of each other. By default, I would likely eliminate the 470 due to heat/power/noise complaints... I guess I can research more into the 6870 design when info becomes available. And also, I'd like to see the OC ATI cards too!