XFX 6950 or 6970?

HD 6950 or HD 6970?

  • HD 6950

    Votes: 47 74.6%

  • HD 6970

    Votes: 16 25.4%
  • Total voters
    63
M

m0ore4ustin391

n00b
Joined
Feb 15, 2009
Messages
41
So I have decided to go with AMD over nvidia this time just to try them out, been with nvidia for my entire life so time to try something new (not to say i dont like nvidia cards). Also, I would like to run tripple monitor one day and want to have the option instead of being forced to buy a 2nd card.I want to go with XFX due to the warrenty they offer just like EVGA so its between 2 cards.

My question is... Is it really worth the $70 more for the 6970 vs the 6950? What am i getting for my $70 besides a higher clock rate?

HD 6950
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150518

or

HD 6970
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150517&Tpk=xfx 6970
 
More shaders as well as the clock speed. Still, a lot of 2GB HD6950s will unlock to 6970s. If you're willing to try that, then definitely 6950.
 
My 6950 doesn't lag in any game I try. I max out quality at 1680x1050 and full HD on my tv when I stream AVI's. Only reason I went with the 2GB of ram was due to me streaming video to my TV.

P.S. I haven't seen GPU temps in GPUZ logging go over 65*C in the logs.
 
I don't get why you need 2GB to stream video?
Not surprised the GPU isn't getting hot, it isn't working very hard. At that resolution with that CPU, you could own an HD6850 instead and still see basically the same performance.
 
samuelmorris said:
I don't get why you need 2GB to stream video?
Not surprised the GPU isn't getting hot, it isn't working very hard. At that resolution with that CPU, you could own an HD6850 instead and still see basically the same performance.
Click to expand...

I meant that I use my 42" tv as a monitor to play movies via HDMI.
 
I have the xfx 6950, and I changed bios to 6970. Seemed ok benching, but would hard lock in games at 6950 speeds. I then went with the shader unlock 6950 bios only, and oc the card a bit in ccc. I have run it a week like this with no lock ups. I consider it an underclocked 6970 now.
 
The only card to stay away from is the MSI R6950 Twin Frozr II since it Cannot be unlocked to a 6970.
 
samuelmorris said:
Yeah, you don't need 2GB for that, you don't need more than 256MB to do that...
Click to expand...

Oh sorry. I figured for the resolution I run on the HDTV's I would benefit with the AA and AF I run on my games. I do a lot of work travel and always take my PC with me. I can't go months without playing games so I just hook my pc up to the TV's in my hotel rooms so I don't need to take a monitor with me.
 
If you want to run a single display the 6950 will likely over power ANYTHING you run across. Plus you can unlock the XFX (They are ref design).

BUT... If you are looking at and can drop the cash for 3 displays to run eyefinity you should really consider the 6970 for the extra horse power. Because an unlocked 6950 to 6970 is still not as fast as a real 6970.
 
ratedm said:
Oh sorry. I figured for the resolution I run on the HDTV's I would benefit with the AA and AF I run on my games. I do a lot of work travel and always take my PC with me. I can't go months without playing games so I just hook my pc up to the TV's in my hotel rooms so I don't need to take a monitor with me.
Click to expand...

I think your terminology is what is throwing people off. Using an TV as a display and streaming video are different things. Streaming video would be like playing movies from a remote location.. i.e. a local server or over the internet, like from hulu.com and that doesn't require large amounts of ram on your video card, its more processor dependent than anything. However, with the standard resolutions that you find on HDTVs you don't really need a 2GB card to run most games at 1900x1080 even with AA and AF enabled. The extra memory helps primarily for AA and AF in multiple display setups were the resolution is higher than standard HDTVs. You purchase should future-proof you a bit should newer games coming out require more ram to keep things smooth with those settings enabled.
 
Get a 6950 and unlock it. Unlike other cards, the 6950 and 6970 have dual BIOSs, so you can't destroy them by BIOS flashing. Therefore, you have nothing to lose by trying to unlock a 6950.

Even if you couldn't unlock the 6950, I still think it's a better deal than the 6970.
 
masterosok said:
I think your terminology is what is throwing people off. Using an TV as a display and streaming video are different things. Streaming video would be like playing movies from a remote location.. i.e. a local server or over the internet, like from hulu.com and that doesn't require large amounts of ram on your video card, its more processor dependent than anything. However, with the standard resolutions that you find on HDTVs you don't really need a 2GB card to run most games at 1900x1080 even with AA and AF enabled. The extra memory helps primarily for AA and AF in multiple display setups were the resolution is higher than standard HDTVs. You purchase should future-proof you a bit should newer games coming out require more ram to keep things smooth with those settings enabled.
Click to expand...

Yeah getting to use AA and AF is pretty nice considering I never had a card that could really handle it very well before this one. When i stream stuff it's off my local NAS, not an internet streaming site via browser.
 
I'd go for the real thing 6970. But aren't they coming out with Black Edition of 6970?
 
I went with a pair of XFX 6950's. I will probably keep these until the PC dies or until I sell them for food.

I initially went with them because of them being close to the performance of the GTX570 while being $60-70 cheaper. Then when you unlock them, theyre supposedly a little better than the 570. I have yet to unlock mine since theyre overkill for me at the moment. I plan on doing eyefinity with 3 ASUS VH236H 23" monitors.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top