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Which 6950?

Bdonedge

Gawd
Joined
Jun 10, 2010
Messages
969
Debating at which brand to get a 6950, what luck have you guys had with certain brands? I also heard of a "display not working" bug with the 6950, do those still exist? thanks
 
Never heard of that bug. I'd personally say XFX, Gigabyte or MSI. Just avoid the single-fan 1GB XFX cards.
 
I've had two reference Sapphire cards (i.e. where Sapphire have nothing to do with their manufacture) - both of them still work.
Between me and friend we've also had five Sapphire non-reference cards. One worked (and it's fan is on the way out). Personally I think Sapphire's build quality is pathetic. They don't even test their $1200 cards before leaving the factory.
 
I've heard the same thing about xfx as well though. I've been very hesitant on going with that company
 
I'll recommend the sapphire toxic, or the MSI Twin Frozr 3 Power edition if you can find a good deal on them, and find them in stock. ;)
 
Sapphire makes the toxic version, so is sapphire a good choice?

Never bought one of their products but from what I've seen they are okay. The toxic seems to be the card everyone is after currently. Newegg can't seem to keep them in stock long enough for you to even buy one since they came out. Either way, if you don't need tech support and are savvy enough to handle your own problems shy of a RMA most companies are the same. Usual 2 week turn around, although there is a nighmare and heavenly scenario that pops up from time to time about each company.
 
Never bought one of their products but from what I've seen they are okay. The toxic seems to be the card everyone is after currently. Newegg can't seem to keep them in stock long enough for you to even buy one since they came out. Either way, if you don't need tech support and are savvy enough to handle your own problems shy of a RMA most companies are the same. Usual 2 week turn around, although there is a nighmare and heavenly scenario that pops up from time to time about each company.

Thank you for the response! And I've heard the same thing, and in theory if I have to deal with a RMA process I want it to be smoothe. Has anyone dealt with a Sapphire RMA?
 
The toxic seems to be the card everyone is after currently. Newegg can't seem to keep them in stock long enough for you to even buy one since they came out.

Much to my chagrin. I've been waiting for like a week trying to get one of these. I'm confused as to why supplies are so low on 6950s in general.
 
I just got my system up and running with this Gigabyte 6950-OC 1GB.

Gigabyte 6950-OC on Newegg

I love it, the fans are very quiet and keep the card nice and cool. Keep in mind, they don't vent the air outside the case.

Also, if you really want to overclock, this card will really limit you unless you want to attempt a BIOS flash or something. It does not give you access to PowerTune to increase the voltage, so your OC will be limited to stock voltages, even though the cooler could handle a lot more.
 
I'll recommend the sapphire toxic, or the MSI Twin Frozr 3 Power edition if you can find a good deal on them, and find them in stock. ;)

I have the MSI Twin Frozr 3 and it owns, can't complain its very quite and the temps stay relatively cool too :D
 
Are you planing on just dropping it in and playing games? or are you wanting to tweak/oc/unlock?

I've read just about everywhere that the second batch of reference PCB 2gb 6950s are the best for unlocking, as they still have the dual BIOS, and they are pretty much software-gimped 6970s. I purchased the vanilla 2gb 6950 and unlocked it to full 6970 specs in 15 mins, one boot.

If you're planning to just drop it in, try the sapphire toxic, or the 2gb ASUS DCUII (the three-slot one.) Those are bitchin' cards, but because they use custom PCB + BIOS, they don't unlock the same as ref cards.
 
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I'd suggest the MSI Twin Frozr III or Asus DirectCU II (if your case has room for it).

I have a DCII 1GB model,unlocked and stable @910MHz.
 
I'm using both an XFX 6950 2GB and an ASUS DCII 2GB in CrossFire. I like the XFX double lifetime warranty, as it means that card has a lot more resale value (unless XFX craps out like BFG did). Having said that, my XFX card has been RMA'd twice this year already.
 
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