PULLING THE TRIGGER! (About to)

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Edge2500K

n00b
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Apr 23, 2011
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I'm about to pull the trigger on one of a few cards! Help me decide!

MSI 6950 2GB (Reference) - With the possibility to unlock, great value.

MSI 6950 2GB Twin Frozr II - Sexy looks with a very well performing aftermarket cooler for roughly $20 more. Probably unable to unlock shaders. But noise/heat will be on lockdown and I like that.

MSI 6950 2GB Twin Frozr III - Newer revision of their cooler, has some slightly higher factory set clocks, no big deal as afterburner is easy to use. Might perform SLIGHTLY better than the Twin Frozr II for about $20 more? IDK what all changes are made to the actual card in III. It looks a little sexier than the II.

Either from Amazon or Newegg whichever offers the better deal. I see newegg has it listed with the free 3Dmark11 atm. Do you also get that with amazon? Anywho whatchu guys think?

ALSOOOO! I will be getting a 2nd of whatever I get shortly to Xfire them.
 
how about you list the details of the pc you will be putting this card(s) in? also what res will you be gaming at?
 
cannondale06 said:
how about you list the details of the pc you will be putting this card(s) in? also what res will you be gaming at?
Click to expand...

Sorry didn't think it mattered much.

case: Silverstone FT02B (Non windowed)
psu: Corsair AX750
mobo: ASUS P8P67 Pro
cpu: Intel i7-2600K
cpu hsf: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus
memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series (2x 4GB) DDR3 1600 8-8-8-24
ssd1: 64GB Micro Center (ADATA Flash / Sandforce 2nd gen controller)
ssd2: Intel X25-M 120GB
gpu: undecided
optical: undecided
storage: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB, coming soon

I'll be gaming at 1920x1080 until I can find and buy the sexiest 1920x1200 solution, or I may go up to a really nice 30'' monitor if I decide not to go eyefinity.
 
Gulkor said:
judging by his name i would say he has a 2500k SB system.
Click to expand...

HAHAHA XD no actually I've had this name for a very very long time.

I think when it comes down to it... It's do I get the reference 6950 and have the option of unlocking? Which is okay I suppose, doubt I'll be needing it once I xfire these, but then again that would make the xfire that much more BAM! I am a little worried about heat xfiring these. The FT02 has great airflow though.

OR pay $10-20 more for the Twin Frozr II version and have a slightly sexier looking card with some really good temps and be unable to unlock it.
 
Last edited:
Edge2500K said:
HAHAHA XD no actually I've had this name for a very very long time.

I think when it comes down to it... It's do I get the reference 6950 and have the option of unlocking? Which is okay I suppose, doubt I'll be needing it once I xfire these, but then again that would make the xfire that much more BAM! I am a little worried about heat xfiring these. The FT02 has great airflow though.

OR pay $10-20 more for the Twin Frozr II version and have a slightly sexier looking card with some really good temps and be unable to unlock it.
Click to expand...

Me personally, I would go with the cards that have the custom cooling solution rather than a reference design. Remember that unlocking is never garenteed, even if there is currently a 90% success rate. A custom cooling system is going to help keep the various components running cooler, and will also be quieter than the reference cooler setup. A cooler running card is usually going to be more reliable over time, and plus it will also help you achieve more stable overclocks.
 
When it comes to Reference your card will sit @ 90 load, conversely a TF3 will sit @ 65 loaded.

Now think if you have a big OC on your cpu, what card do you want under your CPU? Oh yeah you just said you wanted 2 cards @ some time? That could be a double 90 degrees output into your case and sum out + more heat on the top GPU equaling even more temps on the top card and more accumulated temps on your CPU. Your talking 90+ temps sitting right below your CPU, kinda like an oven for your CPU to use when it gets hungry and needs to fry itself sum scrambled eggs or an omelet. :p Nah just saying maybe that will make your OC less stable in the long run on a CPU with that setup, it will definately become hotter going that way.

Then again maybe you don't CPU OC and want the most Shaders per dollar, because you want the best FPS with CFX without OCing the CPU much if at all. So CPU temps should be fine with a decent case with fans running. Which might be great for a above average budget gaming build.
 
Reference card and unlock. I just got exactly that from MSI. It still runs very cool with no fan tweaks.
 
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1596910 This guy even has the same case as me, the FT02.

Based on this, and what I've seen in the reviews on newegg, the Twin Frozr's cooling style is counter productive when placed closely together in Xfire. Therefore I think my best bet is to go with the reference model. Less money, better cooling in my case, and chance to unlock. Win win.
 
I was just gifted that exact card. It's very well built and I'm very happy with it.It's my first AMD card in quite some time. The last one being the HD4870-512...which had crap for drivers and stuttered more than a drunk.
 
I did it, popped in the $100 amazon gift card and got the MSI r6950 2gb reference, for about $175 or w/e. Going to wait for it to arrive and make sure sizing fits and all, get the rig up and running and get the 2nd one on its way.
 
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