1 6990 or 2 6970?

Angelz3

Angelz3

Weaksauce
Joined
Oct 30, 2011
Messages
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Hey guys, I was just wondering which would bring me the most power: one Radeon HD 6990 graphics card or two Radeon HD 6970s in sli.
Thanks,
Angelz3
 
They will give similar results if the 6990 is switched to AUSUM mode. Still, 2x 6970 is slightly faster and is usually the better option. Of course, I recommend getting a 6990 and a 6970 and running tri-fire, or better yet 2x 6990 for quad-fire. :)
 
NukeDukem said:
They will give similar results if the 6990 is switched to AUSUM mode. Still, 2x 6970 is slightly faster and is usually the better option. Of course, I recommend getting a 6990 and a 6970 and running tri-fire, or better yet 2x 6990 for quad-fire. :)
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Or 3x6970 TriFire! That is what I have coming here in 3 days :)
 
lol, the point was to get the most power per buck spent... so tri-fire is out of the question. I guess I'll just go with 2 asus 6970s.

By the way, what do you guys mean when you say you can't sli 6970s?
 
Angelz3 said:
lol, the point was to get the most power per buck spent... so tri-fire is out of the question. I guess I'll just go with 2 asus 6970s.

By the way, what do you guys mean when you say you can't sli 6970s?
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because AMD uses crossfire and Nvidia uses SLI.

partially based on that question, I am now curious as to what the rest of your pc specs look like in detail. and also what resolution are you going to be playing at?
 
I currently run two MSI 6970s, they're great. What are your system specs? Also be sure to have a power supply that can provide the power they need, and the necessary adapters.


I had to buy an aftermarket crossfire bridge to space my graphics cards on my rampage 3 extreme (to use both x16 pcie lanes).
 
cannondale06 said:
because AMD uses crossfire and Nvidia uses SLI.

partially based on that question, I am now curious as to what the rest of your pc specs look like in detail. and also what resolution are you going to be playing at?
Click to expand...

I am glad you asked. You realize that I am not very literate in this particular trade, I just have enough money to do as I wish, but still don't like wasting it.

My system specs are:
i7 2600k OC to 4.3ghz (might go a lil higher if needed)
coolermaster v8 heatsink fan
gigabyte z68 mobo
pc power and cooling 950W power supply (actually rated at 1000W)
crucial 64gb ssd for speed
1tb mechanical drive for storage
I plan on running three 23" monitors at 1920 by 1080 each. (all are LED if that makes a difference)
8gb crucial ballistix 1600mhz ram

I was just wondering which graphics solution I should use to gain the best performance at high resolutions.
 
Either way you won't be wasting your money, they are good cards. 6970's x2 ftw.
 
Angelz3 said:
I am glad you asked. You realize that I am not very literate in this particular trade, I just have enough money to do as I wish, but still don't like wasting it.

My system specs are:
i7 2600k OC to 4.3ghz (might go a lil higher if needed)
coolermaster v8 heatsink fan
gigabyte z68 mobo
pc power and cooling 950W power supply (actually rated at 1000W)
crucial 64gb ssd for speed
1tb mechanical drive for storage
I plan on running three 23" monitors at 1920 by 1080 each. (all are LED if that makes a difference)
8gb crucial ballistix 1600mhz ram

I was just wondering which graphics solution I should use to gain the best performance at high resolutions.
Click to expand...
2x 6970s
 
oh and snag another 8gb's to max out the board. At these prices it's pretty much a no-brainer.
 
You should go higher on your clock just because it would be cake on a 2600k The 2500k's are easy to squeeze 4.3 out of. Good luck with the purchase and let us know how the performance is. I am waiting for my PSU to arrive so i can start OC my CPU. Hoping to get 4.3 on my 2500k with a 212+ Im getting temps of 49 max at load :) on stock. And if money truly does not matter to you then go with the dual 6970's, or try your luck at flashing a 6950.
 
Stanfiem said:
You should go higher on your clock just because it would be cake on a 2600k The 2500k's are easy to squeeze 4.3 out of. Good luck with the purchase and let us know how the performance is. I am waiting for my PSU to arrive so i can start OC my CPU. Hoping to get 4.3 on my 2500k with a 212+ Im getting temps of 49 max at load :) on stock. And if money truly does not matter to you then go with the dual 6970's, or try your luck at flashing a 6950.
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49C for max temp on stock cooler under full load? um not unless you live an igloo is that possible. even some demanding games will easily push that cpu into the upper 50s and maybe low 60s in normal temp room. use something like Intel Burn Test on maximum and you will be in the mid 70s. heck even a 212 will not keep a stock 2500k under 50C during maximum IBT.
 
cannondale06 said:
49C for max temp on stock cooler under full load? um not unless you live an igloo is that possible. even some demanding games will easily push that cpu into the upper 50s and maybe low 60s in normal temp room. use something like Intel Burn Test on maximum and you will be in the mid 70s. heck even a 212 will not keep a stock 2500k under 50C during maximum IBT.
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Agreed. Run IBT and/or LinX to really gauge load temperatures.
 
Thanks guys! I guess I'll run 2x 6970.

What brands do you guys recommend?
I previously said I was going to go with asus, but if you guys have a better recommendation then I will gladly check it out!

Thanks again,
Angelz3
 
Angelz3 said:
Sick.
Reviews are great, and the card looks awesome.
Will DEFINITELY consider this.
Click to expand...

That IS a bad ass card but if you like that card this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161372 is a better buy. Although, it doesn't have a bios switch, you still have a chance of unlocking the shaders using the bubble gum temp mod. Saves you about $100 too. Personally I'm particular to the sapphire dirt 3 edition with the dual fans but between this card and the same card in 6970 flavor I lean toward the 6950 version and would try to unlock it.
 
Lord_Exodia said:
That IS a bad ass card but if you like that card this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161372 is a better buy. Although, it doesn't have a bios switch, you still have a chance of unlocking the shaders using the bubble gum temp mod. Saves you about $100 too. Personally I'm particular to the sapphire dirt 3 edition with the dual fans but between this card and the same card in 6970 flavor I lean toward the 6950 version and would try to unlock it.
Click to expand...

I agree with you, it is just that a 6950 running o'ced to max can equal the STOCK 6970. It seems you could get much more out of 2 6970s than you could with 2 6950s.
Any thoughts?
 
I think it depends on how much you are willing to spend and how much value per dollar spent you are looking for. The real world differences between crossfired 6970's and 6950's are fairly narrow from what I understand, especially if you are able to unlock the shaders on the 6950's. As these are not reference cards, you are taking a bigger risk in assuming you will be able to do so.

That said, if you want to OC to the limit the 6970's will probably go a bit higher and remain stable. Whether or not you will notice the difference (even if you can't unlock) is debatable.
 
Angelz3 said:
I agree with you, it is just that a 6950 running o'ced to max can equal the STOCK 6970. It seems you could get much more out of 2 6970s than you could with 2 6950s.
Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

Everything with overclocking is a crapshoot. I see people who buy 6970s that can't overclock at all, where my 6950s beat their card's performance. Hell 2 of my friends have crossfire 6970s and can't match my unlocked 6950s even when their 6970s are watercooled. Then I have one buddy with 6970 trifire running at 1080Mhz Core 6000mhz memory on all 3 cards air cooled. Performance between 6970s and unlocked 6950s over 965mhz 5660mhz memory (what I run 24/7) is negligable, Still that buddy with trifire beats my performance because he has 3 cards vs my 2. I haven't seen many 6970s run above 1080 core so your talking maybe an extra 2 fps and that is IF your card overclocks well. It's your call, but had I been in your position.. well you know what I would do, look at my sig ;)
 
two 6970's would be faster and run cooler. but you could always quad-fire that 6990 in the future......

or wait for the 7970, which is supposed to run as fast as a 6990 with considerably less power consumption.
 
Lord_Exodia said:
Everything with overclocking is a crapshoot. I see people who buy 6970s that can't overclock at all, where my 6950s beat their card's performance. Hell 2 of my friends have crossfire 6970s and can't match my unlocked 6950s even when their 6970s are watercooled. Then I have one buddy with 6970 trifire running at 1080Mhz Core 6000mhz memory on all 3 cards air cooled. Performance between 6970s and unlocked 6950s over 965mhz 5660mhz memory (what I run 24/7) is negligable, Still that buddy with trifire beats my performance because he has 3 cards vs my 2. I haven't seen many 6970s run above 1080 core so your talking maybe an extra 2 fps and that is IF your card overclocks well. It's your call, but had I been in your position.. well you know what I would do, look at my sig ;)
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Which brand of 6950s do you have?
I have heard that different brands have different results.
 
Angelz3 said:
Which brand of 6950s do you have?
I have heard that different brands have different results.
Click to expand...

I have 1 HIS and 1 MSI, both reference cards, bought right after they came out. The best performing cards seem to be the ones with the best coolers. I like the Dirt 3 6950 from sapphire and the sapphire toxic because they both come with a dual bios switch and when you flip the switch to the right the bios there is written for 1536 shaders. 90+ % of the time they unlock fine. Some GPU's simply will not unlock so it's luck of the draw. I don't think it's a vendor specific thing with the overclocking results, it's more of a ymmv type of thing. Most 6950s should be able to hit 950mhz with a small voltage bump. Usually running 6970 reference voltage is enough (1.175v)
 
If you want to tri-fire later a 6990 is great.

With the stock bios you can put both 6990 gpu's at 6970 speeds, and save yourself a PCI slot in the long run.
 
I went with a 6990, just as fast as 2x 6970 while using less power and only taking up one slot. Loud on air but over clocks like a beast on water. I'm planning to Trifire on the 15th :D
 
Why not wait for the new 7xxx series cards to be released in Q1 of 2012?
 
Carisma said:
Why not wait for the new 7xxx series cards to be released in Q1 of 2012?
Click to expand...

Because AMD hasn't released any information on them yet. Most of the information out there now about them is just a hoax.

Anyway, if they do turn out to be worth anything, I can just sell my 6970s and upgrade.
 
Well I would just go with the 6970's now. I mean, there really isn't much out there that will make you NEED more than a single 6970, unless you are running at very high resolutions. When the new cards come out, then I would just grab another 6970 which will be cheaper at that time. Two of these will out performe any single card that comes out in the next two years at least.

But that's just me. I HATE the way that HIS card looks.. but thats just me personally. I would go with the MSI one.
 
Stanfiem said:
You should go higher on your clock just because it would be cake on a 2600k The 2500k's are easy to squeeze 4.3 out of. Good luck with the purchase and let us know how the performance is. I am waiting for my PSU to arrive so i can start OC my CPU. Hoping to get 4.3 on my 2500k with a 212+ Im getting temps of 49 max at load :) on stock. And if money truly does not matter to you then go with the dual 6970's, or try your luck at flashing a 6950.
Click to expand...

man your 2500k has no HT . thats why you get 100-300 mhz more clock compared to an average 2600k. if the 2600k user disables HT he has a 2500k also but with a cache too.....

for bf3 they say ht makes it stutter.anyway i disabled it for 4.8 ghz to not use internal ppl overvolting.
Intel burn test 57-63 °C with NH-D14 and my case @ around 1.35 vcore and 4.8 ghz .

my core temps differ up to 11°C even after 3 times reinstalling the cpu cooler..they say its common for some sandys..

of corse i use offset so i have 0.84 vcore and 1.6 ghz idle.....
 
spw said:
man your 2500k has no HT . thats why you get 100-300 mhz more clock compared to an average 2600k. if the 2600k user disables HT he has a 2500k also but with a cache too.....

for bf3 they say ht makes it stutter.anyway i disabled it for 4.8 ghz to not use internal ppl overvolting.
Intel burn test 57-63 °C with NH-D14 and my case @ around 1.35 vcore and 4.8 ghz .

my core temps differ up to 11°C even after 3 times reinstalling the cpu cooler..they say its common for some sandys..

of corse i use offset so i have 0.84 vcore and 1.6 ghz idle.....
Click to expand...

Very informative. Thanks. I'll definitely experiment with that once I get my pc all built up.
 
Angelz3 said:
Thanks guys! I guess I'll run 2x 6970.

What brands do you guys recommend?
I previously said I was going to go with asus, but if you guys have a better recommendation then I will gladly check it out!

Thanks again,
Angelz3
Click to expand...

Sapphire Toxic 6950 mod to 6970 :D
 
Angelz3 said:
Sick.
Reviews are great, and the card looks awesome.
Will DEFINITELY consider this.
Click to expand...

I have this card (just got it through that Amazon deal for about $220) and it is indeed amazing. I haven't had time to overclock much yet, but it's completely silent at load (coming from a GTX 470).
 
Im running 3 6970's and it is a awesome expierience to say the least. With current drivers and Cap profile the only game i have that is flakey in tri-fire is Black Ops, well that and Crysis 2 now with the current Cap is slower.
 
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