Questions on the HD6950

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Silent Knight

[H]ard|Gawd
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Dec 5, 2010
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So i have a few questions on this one,especially the reference card:

1.Is the reference really loud?Because i got used to non-ref cards for quite some times and i wonder if the infamous vacuum-cleaner noise (on the HD4870) still exists in the HD6950 ref or not.

2.I'm running only on the 21.5" 1920x1080 monitor and not planning on Eyefinity,so would the 2GB version makes any difference from the 1GB version?Beside the higher level of AA which i don't usually use.

3.It's pretty late since the release of the HD6950,can i still unlock the shaders on the reference version if i can find one?

Thanks everybody in advance.
 
1..The cooler is loud .. but the savings you get not buying a HD6970 will help pay for an aftermarket heatsink.

2. Yes it will over the HD4870

3. Yes..
 
After checking some videos on Youtube,i'm pretty sure that i'm going to stick with the non-reference card with custom cooling,the noise on 100% fanspeed of the reference card is just horrible.

On question number 2,i meant is there any significant difference between the 1GB and 2GB model of the HD6950 on 1920x1080,not the 6950 compares to 4870.
 
Check this review out. Guru3D has a line up of cards from a 5770 up to a 6990 using the same settings at 1920x1200, so you can see the difference. The 6950 2GB and 1GB are in those charts. Really doesn't look like a difference. Yet, there could be with upcoming DX11 games later this year and into next.
 
Silent Knight said:
After checking some videos on Youtube,i'm pretty sure that i'm going to stick with the non-reference card with custom cooling,the noise on 100% fanspeed of the reference card is just horrible.

On question number 2,i meant is there any significant difference between the 1GB and 2GB model of the HD6950 on 1920x1080,not the 6950 compares to 4870.
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The fans never reach 100%. It will depend on the ambient temps that you have in the room but I have never seen my fan speeds go over 45% and that's with 6950's in crossfire. So unless you setup a manual profile and set the speed to 100% it's never going to get there. At idle it's virtually silent.

But here are my answers,

1. The 6950 is quieter than the 4870. That's a side by side comparison. I haven't found the 6950 loud at all.

2. I would get the 2GB version. Just in case something does come out that utilises more memory. And you have never used AA before, but, now that you have 2GB video ram you might start turning it on more often.

3. Sort of answering 2 as well, but you cant unlock the 1GB versions of the 6950. Models that you can unlock are becoming hard to find. Make sure you get one with the dual bios switch if you want to unlock the shaders.
 
My 2GB 6950's in Xfire are barely audible even at full load, the temps just don't get high enough.
 
The problem is i would likely put the card on fullload 12 to 16 hours everyday,so i'd want to keep the temp in a reasonable range (70-80 degrees Celsius).In order to do so,i might have to put the fan on high speed so i really concern about the noise (PC in bedroom with another guy).

The ambient temp is about 35 degrees in recent days.
 
Silent Knight said:
The problem is i would likely put the card on fullload 12 to 16 hours everyday,so i'd want to keep the temp in a reasonable range (70-80 degrees Celsius).In order to do so,i might have to put the fan on high speed so i really concern about the noise (PC in bedroom with another guy).

The ambient temp is about 35 degrees in recent days.
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What are you doing that requires full load for so long? Honestly if you are so concerned about temps and noise either get a good cooler that comes with a 6950 or go all out with water cooling.
 
xBanzai89 said:
What are you doing that requires full load for so long? Honestly if you are so concerned about temps and noise either get a good cooler that comes with a 6950 or go all out with water cooling.
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Bitcoin?
 
Silent Knight said:
The problem is i would likely put the card on fullload 12 to 16 hours everyday,so i'd want to keep the temp in a reasonable range (70-80 degrees Celsius).In order to do so,i might have to put the fan on high speed so i really concern about the noise (PC in bedroom with another guy).

The ambient temp is about 35 degrees in recent days.
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Well, don't know what you are going to be doing 12-16 hours every day at full load, maybe bitcoin mining, but when I tried mining for a week I set my fan speed at 45% and my temps never went above 80 degrees. I was mining 24 hours a day.

But, if you are in a room with another person and the computer is on for so long and runing at full load, the heat is going to be pumped into the room. It's going to get very warm very quickly, and you say the ambient temps are already at 35 degrees? Man you are going to roast, even if you get an aftermarket cooler, the heat is still going to be released into the room. It's going to be very uncomfortable.
 
Yeah,i'll use it for bitcoin mining.That's why i so concern about the temp and noise.
But, if you are in a room with another person and the computer is on for so long and runing at full load, the heat is going to be pumped into the room. It's going to get very warm very quickly, and you say the ambient temps are already at 35 degrees? Man you are going to roast, even if you get an aftermarket cooler, the heat is still going to be released into the room. It's going to be very uncomfortable.
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I'm in South East Asia so the ambient temp is already high lol.But as i said,the only concern is the temp of the GPU and VRAM (got some not so good experience with the RAM module on my 4870) and the noise itself.

So i'm still good to go with the reference card?Say with 55-60% fanspeed to keep it under 80 degrees?
 
If the use is primarily for bitcoin mining then you should consider getting a 5870 or 5850 they will both outperform the 6950. Before the bitcoin account was hacked the 5870's were crazy prices, but since that hack the prices have been slowly returning to normal.

But, if you want a more future proof gaming experience than the reference 6950 is a good choice. Everyone has different tolerances for noise levels, so what might be quiet for me might be really loud for you. All I can say is that the noise at 60% isn't annoying, and it's constant so you would get used to it and it shouldn't bother anyone sleeping.

And if you do decide to go for 6950 over the 5870 than you have to get a reference card that is unlockable, because the extra shaders do bring a lot more hashes.
 
I use the rig for mining until BF3 so i chose the HD6950.Also,the price for the 5850 and 5870 is ridiculously high and they are no where to be found.

I know the unlock principal but don't know how to use it lol.I just know that i should get a reference card with dual BIOS just in case thing goes wrong.
 
Update:

I just found the Asus HD5850 Direct Cu with the same price as the HD6950 2GB reference.Some model in the DC lines are running loud and hot,should i take one?
 
Unlocking the 6950 with 1536 shaders will out do the 5850 on top of performing better in games. Go with that 6950.
 
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