Need some advice: 6950 CF or GTX 570 SLI

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refraxion

[H]F Junkie
Joined
Oct 3, 2007
Messages
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Hey guys, I'm about to make the plunge on getting some new cards, which one would be recommended for 2560x1440 play?

Does the 2GB VRAM of the HD6950 play much of a factor? If anyone has any experience with either setup with my resolution can you please chime in on how it runs other games new and old?

Which brand from Nvidia should I be looking at? (Haven't owned an Nvidia card since the 8800 series). I looked at Galaxy because it seems to be the cheapest I can find in Canada.

As for AMD, I'm leaning towards XFX again as I've never had much problems with their cards.. but any suggestions is welcome!

I just need to know roughly what kind of frames I should be expecting in comparison to a single 5870, or even CF 5870 in games. Exactly how bad is 5870 crossfire scaling? If it isnt too big of a jump in performance.. maybe I should just add another 5870 instead?
 
I would probably go 6950 2gb crossfire over gtx570 sli. at 2560x1440 having more than 1.25gb of vram could certainly be helpful running that level gpu power. that power supply is not going to safely cut it though especially for gtx570 sli.
 
i know that the 6xxx cards scale a lot better than the 58xx cards did.

I can't answer the question about frame buffer though with your main rig the 6950s or the 570s will be held back. The biggest question though is what games will you play? Some games like CIV 5 work lots better on NV cuz nvidia will properly do dx11 tesselation multi-threading... I guess we need more info.
 
Sorry didn't update my hardware, I have a Corsair HX850 psu.

Current rig I'm using:

Intel i7 2600k @ 4.5ghz w/ Coolermaster Hyper 212+
Corsair XMS3 Ram (16GB) 9-9-9-24
Corsair HX 850

(I think those are the only things relevant :p)

I play any and all games. I will be playing BF3, and my current games (TF2, L4D2, source games which I can already play very well), D3 (Which I assume should not be very power hungry), Crysis, and any other DX11 title coming out. I like playing FPS, RPG, and RTS. A whole spectrum.
 
6950's especially as you may be able to unlock them and increase performance
 
yeah I still say 6950 2gb crossfire. they are equal to the gtx570 sli at 2560x1440 and you do not have to worry about exceeding 1.25 gb of vram which is easy to do in some games at that res.
 
matteos said:
6950's especially as you may be able to unlock them and increase performance
Click to expand...

Which ones should I be looking for? Are there much issues with current hardware from AMD and cf scaling?

Thanks for the input guys!!
 
Derp just saw your res. 6950 fits the bill but I never liked the pair I had. Driver issues made me swap them out for 570's @ 1080p.
 
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Which 6950's would you guys recommend me getting? Should I bother looking for ones that can unlock to 6970?
 
You can pick up the Toxic if you want to wait forever (lol)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102951

Best factory overclock, good chance of unlocking. There's also this one that supposedly is pretty good (and has a good chance of unlock):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127575

And it's actually in-stock regularly. :cool:

Or, you can try to get some reference ones (possibly already unlocked) used on the FS/FT forum. They tend to go for around $250 or so apiece.

Basically the unlock is entirely a gamble, but if you want to even attempt it it's best to get one with the dual BIOS and switch so at least you can revert back and avoid bricking the card. If it's super important to you to get 6970 performance out of them you'll probably just want to get a 6970, because there's no guarantee that any of them will unlock or hit 6970 clocks.
 
I'm also looking at the Asus EAH6950 DirectCU II 2GB.

With my mother board (Asus P8Z68v-Pro) and case 650D, do you think it is possible to Crossfire those beasts together?

They are three slot cards. Hmm I doubt it will.. well fack.
 
2GB 6950 is the better choice, the 570 is a little faster but Vram is apparently an issue in the BF3 beta without all the graphical options enabled yet, so it will be worse in the retail version. I would try to get the Sapphire Toxic 6950 if you can, it unlocks and runs like a beast with 1536 shaders.
 
MavericK96 said:
You can pick up the Toxic if you want to wait forever (lol)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102951

Best factory overclock, good chance of unlocking. There's also this one that supposedly is pretty good (and has a good chance of unlock):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127575

And it's actually in-stock regularly. :cool:

Or, you can try to get some reference ones (possibly already unlocked) used on the FS/FT forum. They tend to go for around $250 or so apiece.

Basically the unlock is entirely a gamble, but if you want to even attempt it it's best to get one with the dual BIOS and switch so at least you can revert back and avoid bricking the card. If it's super important to you to get 6970 performance out of them you'll probably just want to get a 6970, because there's no guarantee that any of them will unlock or hit 6970 clocks.
Click to expand...

This ^^^ These 2 cards are the way to go. Get 2 of either of them. Make sure to scroll down on newegg and click the coupon for free deus ex game. Also the sapphire dirt 3 eddition card you linked is overpriced and not as good as either of the 2 linked by Maverick
 
Last time I checked the Deus Ex coupon combo wasn't there any more for the Toxic, but I could be wrong...
 
Yeah, I just checked newegg and from clicking on a few different cards it seems like that promo may be over.
 
Gaming. Should I just add another 5870 and wait for next gen instead? Just how much of an improvement would 6950 CF bring me in comparison to the 5870 CF? does it warrant the 500+ that I'd be spending instead of picking a used 5870 for 160-180?
 
Was me I would probably look for a deal on another 5870 and have fun dicking around with the CF configuration...but I enjoy that sort of thing. 7xxx cards are coming.

Sorry, I don't have good info on the comparison between the setups...I am running unlocked, OCd 6950 CF and it ripps, (basically 6970 CF).

Reason I asked is that it is interresting that the way the two firms have implemented their solutions they excell at different non graphics operations...AMD stuff will not fold worth a flip, vice versa nVidia hardware is not worth bitmining on.
 
gigatexal said:
ot but @lord_exodia - your sig is hilarious
Click to expand...

Thanks :p That's why my favorite forum in the HARDForum :D

refraxion said:
Gaming. Should I just add another 5870 and wait for next gen instead? Just how much of an improvement would 6950 CF bring me in comparison to the 5870 CF? does it warrant the 500+ that I'd be spending instead of picking a used 5870 for 160-180?
Click to expand...

No, I suggest you get the 6950s now and then sell them when the next gen stuff comes out within the next 3-6 months. 2 5850s will be worth barely anything then. I mean you could sell both and still not be able to afford 1 high end Southern Island or Kepler. Also crossfire scaling sucks on 5800 series. There are also numerous driver issues AMD will not fix on those cards that don't plague Cayman
 
refraxion said:
I'm also looking at the Asus EAH6950 DirectCU II 2GB.

With my mother board (Asus P8Z68v-Pro) and case 650D, do you think it is possible to Crossfire those beasts together?

They are three slot cards. Hmm I doubt it will.. well fack.
Click to expand...

They will fit.

I have this exact setup.

IMG_0545.jpg


This is a good choice due to the 4x DP ports (no tearing using 3x DP monitors in eyefinity). I run them both at 60% fan speed when gaming and they don't crack 70C.
 
Lord_Exodia said:
Thanks :p That's why my favorite forum in the HARDForum :D



No, I suggest you get the 6950s now and then sell them when the next gen stuff comes out within the next 3-6 months. 2 5850s will be worth barely anything then. I mean you could sell both and still not be able to afford 1 high end Southern Island or Kepler. Also crossfire scaling sucks on 5800 series. There are also numerous driver issues AMD will not fix on those cards that don't plague Cayman
Click to expand...

you know, now that you mention it that's right...I never owned any 5xxx cards but I have read plenty of complaints about the CF drivers

listen to him not me
 
Wow can't believe hardly anyone said grab another 5870 used for cheap. I sold my 2 5870's with batmobile coolers and will regret it for a long time I am sure, they were beastly, yes driver bugs but if you read a little and use certain ones for your games it will run like a charm. Have to say though SLI runs flawlessly for me so far.
 
Thanks for the input guys! So instead of adding 2 more 5870's (Tri-Fire) for roughly the price of one 6950 and some change, I should just go 6950 CF? Would it be possible for me to 6950 Tri-Fire on this power supply? Or heat be a huge issue?

ASUS DIrect CUII is pretty tempting.. thanks -Sn1PeR- for the pics! I'm really tempted to get those.. by the way.. can those cards unlock to 6970?
 
refraxion said:
Thanks for the input guys! So instead of adding 2 more 5870's (Tri-Fire) for roughly the price of one 6950 and some change, I should just go 6950 CF? Would it be possible for me to 6950 Tri-Fire on this power supply? Or heat be a huge issue?

ASUS DIrect CUII is pretty tempting.. thanks -Sn1PeR- for the pics! I'm really tempted to get those.. by the way.. can those cards unlock to 6970?
Click to expand...

No your not going to be able to trifire with a 650 watt power supply at all. Each card pulls at the minimum 200watts at load. However 6950 crossfire should beat 5870 trifire and save you from tldr driver bugs and poor crossfire scaling that'll mke you disable your trifire and run a single 5870 wondering why you bothered in the first place.
 
Lord_Exodia said:
No your not going to be able to trifire with a 650 watt power supply at all. Each card pulls at the minimum 200watts at load. However 6950 crossfire should beat 5870 trifire and save you from tldr driver bugs and poor crossfire scaling that'll mke you disable your trifire and run a single 5870 wondering why you bothered in the first place.
Click to expand...

Sorry forgot to mention my new specs:

Intel i7 2600k @ 4.5ghz
Corsair HX850
XFX HD5870
Corsair XMS3 16GB 9-9-9-24
Corsair 650D
 
It would probably work fine. I ran 6950 crossfire on a 650w psu for months with no issue. According to my UPS I needed to overvolt the crap out of them to get my psu drawing much more than 500w.

If this were TPU they would be telling you that you need a 1000w psu. :p
 
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Three 5870s will be at most about 2.5x as fast as one 5870, if/when they work properly at all.
Two 6950s will be about 2.1x as fast as one 5870, and will work pretty solidly.
 
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