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New video card required?

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mjw21a

Member
Joined
Sep 29, 2004
I've just purchased a Yamakasi Catleap Q270 SE on eBay and the general concensus is that the video card in my sig won't be sufficient to run Battlefield 3 at the almost Ultra (Everything ultra, but 2x MSAA & motion blur off) settings I'm currently on as 2560x1440 is harder on the card than 1920x1280.

What is the minimal AMD video card I can use to us BF3 on these settings, though possible with MSAA turned off?
 
At the very least I would think you'd want a 2GB card - I would shoot for something like the 78X0 or the 79X0 series. The higher resolution you go (and holy crap that is high resolution), the greater amount of VRAM you will need.
 
Don't run Xfire, as rescuetoaster said, you need more VRAM as resolution increases. And that's no little resolution. Aim for some 78x. But VRAM as big as possible. Aim for 2GB at least.
 
Damn, I think I'll just wait for the next gen of video cards and lower my detail settings to high in BF3. The current gen costs too much for the performance level required. I can't justify more than $250 on a card. :shrug:

EDIT: Actually this card here is about $260 so within my price range and has 2GB RAM..... What do you reckon. It also appears that it may be marginally faster than my current card too.

Do you think it'll handle BF3 on Ultra at the res I want?

http://www.umart.com.au/pro/products_listnew.phtml?id=10&id2=248&bid=2&sid=89029
 
The 7850 has 2gb VRAM, a "slightly" higher memory bandwidth, lower pixel fill rate, but higher texture fill rate. If I remember right Pixel fill rate deals with higher resolutions.
 
^^^ What does that translate into? Will it handle BF3 better on high or better quality settings?
 
Honestly besides getting more Vram, I don't think those two cards are that different. Should still help though, not sure it's worth paying for it though.
 
Yeah I know..... I'm just wondering whether the additional memory will makes much of a difference In what settings I can run in BF3....
 
I easily pass 1GB Vram at 1980x1200 - I reckon it would make a drastic difference at that resolution. I upgraded from a HD5970 2GB (2x1GB) to a GTX680 - overall their performance is in the same class (similar vantage score) but the difference was night and day for me in BF3, I would constantly get stutters with the HD5970 as it just didn't have the memory necessary. I had to run it on medium/high with the 5970 just to get stable FPS, now running on the ultra preset.

Also the HD7850 should have more overclocking potential than your current card. I think you should wait anyway and see if you are happy with your current card, if not you could see how much it would actually cost to upgrade - selling the HD6870 will surely net you a good fraction of the cost.
 
My current 1GB 6870 will run 1980x1200 on ULTRA settings no worries at all however this was only possible when you have at least 8GB RAM. With my current 16GB running at about 2080mhz it runs perfectly. Seems to use the main system memory to make up for lack of VRAM.....

If I have to drop settings to HIGH to play that should be ok. ULTRA tends to only add detail which distracts you from the enemy anyway. Looks prettier but makes everyone more camouflaged because the surrounding have more detail.
 
Ok, have the new screen. I've BF3 set at 2560x1440 on Ultra for most settings, though I've turned off most of the AA stuff. It's almost fast enough.

What would be my best option. Get a second 1GB HD6870 and Crossfire it ($199) or replace it with a 2GB HD7850 ($269). Would I see much of a difference either way?
 
I run the same resolution. It's around 80% more pixels than 1080p. So you'd effectively need that much more power to run it at the same settings at the same frame rate. (Perhaps not perfectly scaled like that.. But it can't be too far off).

Few hints; At this resolution; on a 27 inch screen, the pixel density is quite high. You don't need AA/MSAA/FXAA at all. Trust me lol.

The HD 7870 2GB would be the MINIMUM you'd want to upgrade to. But frankly to run BF3 at ultra at this res; you're looking at a HD 7950/70 honestly. If you can stand everything on High; you'd be sweet with a HD 7870 (which is very similar to GTX 580 performance). Oc's better and uses less power too.

But; xfiring is NOT the way to go. BF3 maxes out 1gb VRAM at 1080p. How do you think two cards with still 1GB vram will go at 2560x1440? =). Absolutely horrible lol.

I'd go a minimum 7870 2GB; but honestly you're looking at the big boys for this resolution.. I had HD 5850; changed to the 580 specifically for this monitor. (580 was the fastest single card out at the time). And the HD 5850 is right behind the 6870.. So.. ya. You'll need to make a little bigger jump than that my friend =(.

HOWEVERRRR. I'm talking about a heavy map. Or MP. Single player; you should be fine with 7870 or 7850.. The 7850 performs short of a 6970 by default; though once OC'd you'll find it'll beat out a 6970 and a GTX 570.. 7870 is like 1% behind a GTX 580; and has 500MB more VRAM. And OC's very well.. :shrug:
 
I run the same resolution. It's around 80% more pixels than 1080p. So you'd effectively need that much more power to run it at the same settings at the same frame rate. (Perhaps not perfectly scaled like that.. But it can't be too far off).

Few hints; At this resolution; on a 27 inch screen, the pixel density is quite high. You don't need AA/MSAA/FXAA at all. Trust me lol.

The HD 7870 2GB would be the MINIMUM you'd want to upgrade to. But frankly to run BF3 at ultra at this res; you're looking at a HD 7950/70 honestly. If you can stand everything on High; you'd be sweet with a HD 7870 (which is very similar to GTX 580 performance). Oc's better and uses less power too.

But; xfiring is NOT the way to go. BF3 maxes out 1gb VRAM at 1080p. How do you think two cards with still 1GB vram will go at 2560x1440? =). Absolutely horrible lol.

I'd go a minimum 7870 2GB; but honestly you're looking at the big boys for this resolution.. I had HD 5850; changed to the 580 specifically for this monitor. (580 was the fastest single card out at the time). And the HD 5850 is right behind the 6870.. So.. ya. You'll need to make a little bigger jump than that my friend =(.

HOWEVERRRR. I'm talking about a heavy map. Or MP. Single player; you should be fine with 7870 or 7850.. The 7850 performs short of a 6970 by default; though once OC'd you'll find it'll beat out a 6970 and a GTX 570.. 7870 is like 1% behind a GTX 580; and has 500MB more VRAM. And OC's very well.. :shrug:

This.
 
Hmmmm, I'm thinking I'll just have to drop screen res until 7950/70 level performance hits the $200-$300 mark. Just not willing to spend more than this. I'll drop my settings to high.
 
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