Buy 6950's now or wait?

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Mar 20, 2010
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Rumor has it that AMD is releasing a revised version of the 69xx series cards that (for the 6950 at least) will remove the ability to BIOS flash them to unlock the rest of the shaders but improve other aspects.


Rumor also has it that the GTX560 is coming later this month. Though it seems limited at 1GB frame buffer so might be a non issue, at least until non reference cards appear


This is my question, I had originally planned on getting two 6950's, flashing them with the 6970 BIOS to unlock the rest of the shaders.

With this planned revision (possibly) would it be best to buy now, to guarantee you get a version of the card that isn't unflashable or maybe wait to see what the GTX560 does in terms of price/performance but take the chance of getting a 2nd revision 6950 if I you go that route?


I will be gaming at 1920x1200 primarily (until I add a third monitor for Eyefinity/NVSurround)
 
I'd buy a 6950 now. I'm also considering whether to upgrade to a 6950 CF and flash them to 6970.

EDIT: I just ordered a pair of XFX 6950s from Amazon. Not in stock, but I wanted to get them at $309 before the price hikes kicked in. :D
 
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I would buy now. The update is likely to remove the ability to flash to 6970 and they are switching from expensive VRM's to cheaper ones to save money. As a customer I would buy before they do this.
 
i think the 11.1 drivers are going to be huge for these cards
 
I'm in a similar situation. Looking to get a card for a budget Eyefinity setup (5040x1050) once SB is released. I'm considering the same 6950 path though perhaps only one card for now. The $200 5870 deals currently available are very appealing as well, even if they don't scale quite as well in crossfire. Does the 2GB VRAM make a substantial difference? I've had a hard time finding comparisons of these cards in non-crossfire configurations at Eyefinity resolutions.

I'm thinking I may opt for the 5870 deals and use the savings for next-gen cards, skipping the 6950 entirely. Perhaps one can have their cake and eat it too. :p
 
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I do believe AMD did this as a publicity stunt to garner some attention for the 6900 line. It will certainly not last, as it would highly cannibalize 6970 sales. Yes there might be some nice non reference cards coming out, but you are really taking your chances waiting.
 
I would buy now. I am not an AMD fan but after my experience with the GTX 460 that I helped my buddy install (cheap, flimsy card, no offense, and it's a stripped down Fermi) I wouldn't hold out for the 560.
 
AMD MIGHT axe the ability to flash the cards.

But I'd highly doubt that at this point. They know these types of niche things sell cards to enthusiasts, and thats who is gonna buy the volume of these cards within the first 90-180 days. They also know how much enthusiasts recommend to friends. THey might not buy the best but if their good words result in 2-3 low/mid range sales. Then AMD benefits as much / more with keeping it in and giving them something for end users to horn toot their name around about, than anything.

I.E. its as much a marketing gimmick now as it would be anything. Hence Intel and their unlocked CPU's.
 
If you want unlockable 6950s then definitely buy now before they nerf this ability. The nonreference cards will definitely not unlock because AIBs tend to use cheaper parts on those in order to trim costs.
 
Rumor has it that AMD is releasing a revised version of the 69xx series cards that (for the 6950 at least) will remove the ability to BIOS flash them to unlock the rest of the shaders but improve other aspects.


Rumor also has it that the GTX560 is coming later this month. Though it seems limited at 1GB frame buffer so might be a non issue, at least until non reference cards appear


This is my question, I had originally planned on getting two 6950's, flashing them with the 6970 BIOS to unlock the rest of the shaders.

With this planned revision (possibly) would it be best to buy now, to guarantee you get a version of the card that isn't unflashable or maybe wait to see what the GTX560 does in terms of price/performance but take the chance of getting a 2nd revision 6950 if I you go that route?


I will be gaming at 1920x1200 primarily (until I add a third monitor for Eyefinity/NVSurround)

Look at performance. The 6950s are slightly slower than the gtx 570s to dead even with them depending on what reviews your looking at. The gtx 560 will not be faster than the gtx 570. It wouldn't make any sense from a product stand point.

The gtx 560 is rumored to be 1gig of memory. At higher resolutions that will limit you greatly .

You can take a 6950 and make it faster , even if you can't unlock to a full 6970 you can move performance closer to it by simply unlocking the disabled units in the chip
 
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