The Next Step from a HD 5770 HAWK?

[Believer]

I have a relatively new system, built the spring of this year. Here are the specs:


Mainboard : MSI P67A-GD65 (MS-7681)
Chipset : Intel Sandy Bridge
Processor : Intel Core i5 2500K @ 3300MHz
Physical Memory : 8192MB (2 x 4096 DDR3-SDRAM )
Video Card : ATI Radeon HD 5700 Series
Hard Disk : SAMSUNG HD752LJ ATA Device (750GB)
Hard Disk : Western Digital WD1002FAEX-007BA0 ATA Device (1000GB)
DVD-Rom Drive : HL-DT-ST BDDVDRW GGC-H20L
Monitor Type : ASUS VH236H - 23 inches (HDMI)
Network Card : Realtek Semiconductor RTL8168/8111 PCIe Gigabit Ethernet Adapter
Operating System : Windows 7 Professional Professional Media Center 6.01.7601 Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
DirectX : Version 11.00
Windows Performance Index : 5.9 on 7.9


My question is this: when Battlefield 3 and Skyrim roll out of production, I want to be able to handle them, and handle them very well. I want a new GPU.

I have been eyeing the HD 6950 2GB since it is within my budget of ~$250. My question is - what is the best path to take from here?

I had considered getting another 5770, but I'm trying to think long-term. The pro of getting another Radeon in my mind is the use of Crossfire. I want something that can handle 1920x1080 HD.

So, please hit me with your suggestions! Thanks!

 

[Sn1PeR]

I have been eyeing the HD 6950 2GB since it is within my budget of ~$250. My question is - what is the best path to take from here?

If I were to buy a GPU right now that is exactly the path I would take. I've been very happy running 2x 6950 2GB's in CF for a while now.

 

[Killer_BaBomB]

My friend just built a new intel system, he got a sandy bride but it's an i7. He is running a GTX 560, we put it on my wifes 42inc HDTV, and the bf3 beta ran smooth as can be on ultra.

 

[a pet rock]

At that price point, I would go with the 2GB 6950. On the nVidia side, your option would be the GTX560 Ti and at only 1GB VRAM it seems silly. Games like BF3 are taking advantage of more VRAM, might as well get some now. Oh, and don't buy a plain non-Ti GTX560. It's an OC'd 460 and is just a waste of money considering the 6850 at ~$130 outperforms the 460. Hell, I'd rather buy a 460 and OC it myself to a 560 than pay nVidia to do that.

 

[Celtic]

6950 is actually better then the GTX 560. But personally I'd wait until the next family of graphics cards which shouldn't be too far from now. The GTX 6xx series will be sometime before the end of the year and from what I understand AMD won't release their 7xxx series till early Q1 of 2012 Shame really..

But both will be sporting the new 28nm chips.

So I'd wait until at least the GTX 6xx series comes out. If they have a card that performs well that is under the 300 mark I'd pick that up. If not then you have choices from the 5xx family that will be lowered in price, at that point two GTX 560 Ti's (Probably near 149-170 maybe) would be awesome.