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Hot, expensive and noisy. Actually I would like AMD to use their performance per watt and performance per mm² leadership to make one single larger chip to compete with nVidias high end.
At GTX 580s power consumption and die size AMD would have a winner. The dual GPU approach is getting out of hand.
He claimed "None Scientific"Quote:
Originally Posted by W1zzard
Quote:
Originally Posted by Caparroz
Read! :up:Quote:
Originally Posted by Caparroz
Page 18 & 19 have a load of games tested with Eyefinity & NVIDIA Surround, with and without AA Enabled. :up:
...actually its not getting out of hand :
certain part of the population doesnt care about noise,power consumption,a $600 price tag as long as they get the "fastest".
...see the nVidia 480 and all the Intel Extreme editions in each processor generation - hot,power hungry and costly:mad:,neither product sold millions of units.
btw AMD knows the dual gpu market well enough since this is not their first dual gpu solution.
if you rely on your entire product line to consist of multi gpu solutions like 3DFX did at the time then youre in trouble.,if you have some "extreme" product which just gives you bragging rights then its completely a different story.
EK's cooling configurator have the full-cover block @ ETA 2/3 weeks for the Asus HD 6990.
In stock in the UK
HIS £474.99 ex VAT (£569.99 inc VAT)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=GX-033-HS
Sapphire £491.66 ex VAT (£589.99 inc VAT)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=GX-257-SP
Nice i was wait on your review.. going to read that now as i have a bit of time .Quote:
Originally Posted by SKYMTL
@Waterflex: That scaling is pretty good.
Considering the prices other cards have retailed for, I don't think $700 is an extreme amount for the performance it delivers.
Remember:
8800 Ultra launched for $850
The X850XT for $675 in 2003
And so on.
u$600 buys you two HD6950, after the infamous HD6970 mod you get the same performance, less noise and less heat for u$100 less (relative to HD6990)
heck, u$20 more buys you two HD6970
HD6990 could be a hit for u$600, but U$700 sounds... well, lets see
This made me lol.
http://paulyd.co.uk/oz/faster.jpg
One question SKYMTL, maybe i have miss it, the games benchmark are so done on 830 ? it's not a problem i was just not find the info at first maybe just have miss it.
I like the card's performance, but I would never buy one. It's just too expensive.
Also, I don't think the 6990 on a 16x pcie slot is a problem at all, as mentioned in earlier posts. And you definitely cannot consider each GPU as using a single 8x slot. That's just absurd. The data is definitely being sent to the interconnect chip. Because of that, it looks like the data is being partitioned out (or doubled, not sure which) to each GPU. It's still the same data from the CPU, but the PLX chip is routing the data each direction. I mean, it's just getting double the processing power, not double the data load.
I can see 2 of these cards working fine in crossfire (quad crossfire I guess) as long as you've got dual x16 lanes. If not, don't bother. I'm pretty sure x8/x8 will bottleneck this card.
All game benchmarks are done at stock speed (830 / 5000) while in the overclocking section we go into the very, very minimal difference between 830 and the "OC" profile of 880.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lanek
There are some other things we go into there as well...like the pathetic overclocks one can achieve without moving the BIOS switch. :up:
Basically, the layout is something like this:Quote:
Originally Posted by Mad Pistol
http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/im.../HD6990-22.jpg
The PLX chip incorporates 48 Gen 2.0 lanes. There are 32 lanes dedicated to the GPU interconnect (16 to each) while the other 16 are used for pathway communications with the PCI-E bus.
With a sandy bridge system at stock and idling, Furmark power draw from the wall peaked around 496W. With the system loaded and running Vantage graphics tests I didn't see above 450W.Quote:
Originally Posted by Manicdan
My sample had that. All ATI cards I've tested have to some extent though. It was most audible in 3DMark03. Everything else I could tell it was there but not near as loud. Considering it happened mostly when pushing 1000-3000FPS (never heard it in game tests that I recall), I don't think it will be a common complaint from most users.Quote:
Originally Posted by [NH]Woxxman
Agreed, plus it will most likely drop as time goes on. It's definitely not cheap, but those that want the absolute best card residing on a single PCB should already know they're going to pay a pretty penny for it.Quote:
Originally Posted by SKYMTL
In case anyone wants yet another perspective, feel free to check out my review at Overclockers. No Eyefinity unfortunately...just no monitors to use for it. You bench with what you have, not what you wish you had. :up:
Ok thanks,Quote:
Originally Posted by SKYMTL
Yes i have see, really interessant, cause this confirm what i was think the voltage on core are set for just under the 880mhz (870), they wanted really set the lower Vcore possible. ... anyway there still the possibility to don't use the switch and OC the voltage manually with 3th party tool if im not wrong. ( i think actual Afterburner is not compatible yet ).
On the other hand, in position 2, 975mhz is not so bad ( with default voltage )
About the "noisy pwm"; i have this too with my CFX when i OC the cards for bench, and in 3Dmark03 it's incredibly loud in the 2 first bench, remind me old 56K modems... But nothing in games.
I think it states pretty clear that it’s a "none scientific" test. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by W1zzard
And it would be interested to hear hearing your own experiences with the card? I havent seen anyone else mentioning it yet and AMD hasnt gotten back to us yet about the issue.
Thanks for the input, I don’t know if it’s good to hear that we aren’t the only one's having these problems or if we should get more worried...: PQuote:
My sample had that. All ATI cards I've tested have to some extent though. It was most audible in 3DMark03. Everything else I could tell it was there but not near as loud. Considering it happened mostly when pushing 1000-3000FPS (never heard it in game tests that I recall), I don't think it will be a common complaint from most users.
I find it very strange that high profiled review sites haven’t brought it up though, guess it doesn’t happen on every card at least.
The thing is that I first thought that a water cooled HD 6990 would be pretty sweet. But if the coil whine is troubling with the fan drowning the sounds I can’t imagine how it would feel in a more silent system.
But hopefully it’s just our card that’s a bit more sensitive and that it won’t be that noticeable in normal usage. Guess we’ll find out in the long run. ;)
There were many cases of this and some games where it was VERY bad. AvP and F1 2010 made the whine / hiss particularly audible over the fan noise.Quote:
Originally Posted by hokiealumnus
Strange, I ran AvP too and didn't notice. I've got three Panaflo monsters on the radiator next to the bench station though. They were turned down to barely audible but maybe they overrode it. Perhaps it was so much quieter than high-FPS benches that I didn't notice, which is also entirely possible :shrug:Quote:
Originally Posted by SKYMTL
EDIT - FWIW, I was a little surprised in hearing how loud it was when benching, but I distinctly remember being surprised by the 6970 too. Considering this is essentially two 6970's (with slower memory speed of course), the difference made sense. It doesn't sound great when it happens, but wasn't entirely unexpected after its single-GPU little brother.
Or maybe it is a sample to sample difference.
Can be too PSU difference related ... i don't have it on some models of PSU and i have it on some other.Quote:
Originally Posted by SKYMTL
The most beautiful PCB I have ever seen :)
Touché. :up:Quote:
Originally Posted by SKYMTL
Our coil whine was related to the memory, so some part(s) in the memory VRM did it. Furmark? Not a whine. 3DMark Vantage? Clearly audible. 3DMark Vantage at 1500MHz SDR RAM? Unbearable. To me though, it's quite clear that coil whine is usually something that can bug any card, never seen coil whine across a whole series of graphics cards, but almost always there's a few percent that suffer from it.
But yes, it's a non-scientific test, and funnily enough, the card seemed so loud that the mic picked up a lot of distortion as well, so not the best sound ever, but still gives you a rough idea.
Not sure if you could call it coil whine though since from my understanding the HD 6990 uses a completely digital PWM without the need for coil-cored chokes.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mean Machine
The sound we are all hearing seems to come from the two Volterra modules but then again, it could be resonating from other parts of the card as well.
had that same noise in one 6950.. hate it sooo much !
prefer a delta screamer noise to a coil whine :)
ya i noticed the same thing with the pair of 6950 (6970's) I had. I noticed it lots in games as well especially in loading screens. I have also noticed it on my 5870. I have never noticed it on my recent Nvidia Cards tho my 480's and 570's have never made a sound (it might be there and just to quiet tho considering my rig is not exactly quiet) I did notice it on my GTX 275 though. Seems to be pretty common on AMD's high end tho.... if you game with head phones though it's hardly a big dealQuote:
Originally Posted by Loque
2 HD 6950 CF (550$) Better than HD 6990 (700$) :up:
AgreedQuote:
Originally Posted by Tha Last Meal
Check out this decent OC from HARDWARE CANUCKS 6990 at 972/5444
http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/im.../HD6990-84.jpg
Radeon HD 6990 THe NEw KING
Radeon > GeForce
Radeon HD 6990 > Nvidia GTX 590
YES RADeon New KING VGA
Available at Newegg Now.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...hd6990&x=0&y=0
I like Hardware Canuck's review. For the simple fact hey tested 8XFSAA (a setting one would expect people to use on these power house cards) as well as measurements of minimum and average FPS in a variety of games (Including Just Cause 2!).
Their temperatures are lower than other review sites, but I see this is because they did a real world test (i.e not the anomaly called Furmark which switches every transistor to on... an impossibility in the real world of gaming etc).
I may be accused of trolling or nVidia fanboyism, but there is no mistaking that the Radeon 6990 is the fastest graphics card in the world (for domestic use of course) full stop. However I am sat here, quite happily using my Single PCB GTX 295 and am wary to upgrade to the Radeon 6990 because of the noise. May sound odd, but my card is not that loud in gaming...
I await reviews of the GTX 590 before I will come to a decision.
If the GTX 590 is within 10% of the 6990, but a lot cooler and a lot quieter then I will elect to go the nVidia route.
To me the noise and heat are big negative factors which mar an otherwise fantastic and wonderful card. Perhaps Sapphire may release a Vapour-X edition?
John
wow for that price i had to buy 3Quote:
Originally Posted by Kensek
Ah I predicted: MSRP indication from AMD is in no way being used by retailers. $770 is just plain nuts.
Hey SKYMTL what card was that you guys used in your review? ManufactureQuote:
Originally Posted by SKYMTL
+1. Presumably they're trying to make some off the required bundled adapters but that's insane. $700 is close to justifiable (though $650 would be better), but there's no way it's worth $770.Quote:
Originally Posted by SKYMTL
AMD Reference Board.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lu(ky
I just ordered 2!!!!! NOT. For less then the price of 2 I could get 3 GTX 580's...Quote:
Originally Posted by SKYMTL
Don't get the negative statements here completely.
Cheapest prices found on Newegg.
Ranked by performance, 580 SLI being the fastest.
6950 2GB Xfire - 540USD
6970 2GB Xfire - 680USD
6990 4GB - 710USD
580 1.5GB Sli- 1000USD
On launch the 6950 was 300USD and the 6970 370USD. Perfectly in between, but both are cheaper now and offer more performance for the money. This is just because the 6990 is completely new. When the 6990 has been on the market for 3 months I am sure it's price will have come to a more sensible level.
But as far as performance goes, throwing my money at a couple of 6950's sounds rather tempting. Starting to near the time where my 4870x2 need's a replacement, it has served me well for 2.5 years. (This card also has the whine.)
Fastest card on the planet. Great card!
Out of those three, pick any two. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnZS
Over here the 6990 is cheaper than two 6970's, so depends where you are located I guess. So its a pretty good deal imo. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Kallenator
But, I would probably go for two 6970's as well if it was the cheaper option.
Unless you go for QuadCF i don't find a reason to get a 6990.
If you want a CF just do it properly and get two 6950/6970's...
Bah, I can only pic two? :(Quote:
Originally Posted by DarthShader
I am greedy and want all three, goodness knows the card will be expensive enough :p:;)
Good point there Joe, just sadly Crossfire is not as widely adopted as SLi, so going for CrossfireX4 maybe a bit more miss than hit....but I can imagine in the games and applications which give plenty of love for 4 GPU's the performance of QuadFire?/CrossfireX4 would be nothing short of biblical.Quote:
Originally Posted by JoeBar
Quad SLi suffers from the same symptoms, albeit SLi is more widely supported and has the backing of decent third party applications such as "nVidia Inspector" so more joy would be had by a Quad SLi user than say a CrossfireX4 or QuadFire user...
It is sad really, considering you are talking about the best part of £1200 on two graphics cards.
John
I've ordered mine from ebuyer. £539 for the Powercolor, its the reference board and in 2/3 weeks EK will have the block for it and it'll be silent!
I wonder AMD or Nvidia would ever release cards just for the watercooling guys; i.e. just a PCB and no useless, loud cooler that'll be ripped off as soon as it's out the box?
Bulk hardware is sadly a thing from the past, the closest we can come to this today are the water cooling ready graphic cards. :(
The market is too small for this I am afraid, but it's not really a problem imo, because when we sell our hardware the chances are that the buyer would want it air cooled.
Nice purchase, however not meaning to troll on you, but I would have waited a couple of weeks, nVidia's Dual GPU Flagship is due for release on the 22nd of March.Quote:
Originally Posted by RacingTurtle
Even if you do not want to upgrade to an nVidia card, the chances are it will bring the 6990 price down to the £500 or just under mark.
Enjoy your new card :D
By the way eVGA still make water cooled cards, just a shame that someone doesn't do it for ATi :(
John
"On launch the 6950 was 300USD and the 6970 370USD. Perfectly in between, but both are cheaper now and offer more performance for the money. This is just because the 6990 is completely new. When the 6990 has been on the market for 3 months I am sure it's price will have come to a more sensible level. "
This however, never happend with 5970 :clap:
Fix your post, I noticed by accident that you actually quoted me :p:
Oh, I didn't know that, but I kinda blindly expect it. Are you 100% sure about this btw? =)
Sorry my bad!Quote:
Originally Posted by Kallenator
In my country Denmark, the price actually went up in beginning of 2010, and it never drop since.
You seem to be right, although there has been a lot of weird price changes in this product.Quote:
Originally Posted by tnc99
Here is a price graph from several Norwegian distributors:
(XFX Radeon HD 5970 2 GB Black Edition)
http://www.prisguide.no/produkt/114807/prishistorikk
(Sapphire Radeon HD 5970 2 GB)
http://www.prisguide.no/produkt/114806/prishistorikk
I have a feeling though that this has more to do with remaining stock that the suppliers is trying to earn money on rather than following any sensible market change.
HD 6990 Reviews
http://www.overclockers.com/amd-rade...s-card-review/
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/artic...rd-Review/1213
http://www.kitguru.net/components/gr...sfirex-review/
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/392...iew/index.html
HD 6990 CrossFireX Reviews
http://www.hardwareheaven.com/review...roduction.html
wow been missing out on alot of sweet updates on this forum, now the 6990!! Wonder what nvidia has to offer.. bet it will eat the 6990 in terms of performance.
All cards are goneQuote:
Originally Posted by Kensek
I don't think so. AMD is being held back by TDP limitations. Nvidia will no doubt be the same way. The only way Nvidia is going truly beat AMD on this is by breaking the PCIe spec for power.Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnny87au
Newegg has a couple of cards in stock at the moment.Quote:
Originally Posted by onethreehill
omg sapphires stickers r so fluggly
rasta chicas ja mon
http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggIma...102-927-02.jpg
wish they had the stock Amd stickers those look awesome
Quote:
Originally Posted by tbone8ty
Awesome... Dreads!
Agreed but for me they have been very very reliable and great overclocking cards.. 5850, 5970, and now my new 6990 in route.. :yepp:Quote:
Originally Posted by tbone8ty
wish they had the stock Amd stickers those look awesome
lolQuote:
Originally Posted by killerxp100
:D
Hey guys any reviews with a 6990 + 6970 in crossfire yet??
isn't this thing significantly louder than the loudest video cards ever made? how is this ownable? will anyone keep it once they hear it?
What you said really did not make any sense all video cards have fans depending on what setting you have them on I would say 40% or higher they are all loud.. I have a 5970 1 foot away from me on a tech station and in 1 day when I get my 6990 it will replace it, same fan but the hot air flow is going both ways now. I plan on water cooling it when a block comes out. The only video card fans I find to be very quiet are the MSI Twin Frozr II Thermal Design fans very very quiet up to 70% speed.Quote:
Originally Posted by bamtan2
No, completely fair comment :) Just got tired of waiting you know? Skipped the last few releases so didnt want to keep waiting!Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnZS
I mean what I'd like to see is cards being released with just the naked PCB - this would then get you the option to fit whatever waterblock/aftermarket aircooler etc on. Not these 'EVGA FTW' cards that charge an extra £200 for a prefitted block!
OMG my card is getting raped ;(
If my card gets 54FPS on BFBC2 on 1920X1080 with max.. no way i can run BF3 max on that resolution specially on DX11 ;(
Atleast it owned in the power consumption area.
No.Quote:
Originally Posted by bamtan2
Depends on measuring methods and individual perception. Guru3d wrote:
For the card in IDLE we measure 38 DBa which hardly can be heard really. And fully stressed... 46~47 DBA. Now that might sounds (and is) on the high side but I really do need to make a remark here. Explaining sounds pressure is a hard thing to do. Sometimes 44 DBa can be annoying and 46 pretty acceptable. That's the case with the R6990 as you are not hearing the fan whirring or anything, no it's pure airflow that you hear. So while the card obviously is noisy, it's not at a frustrating level.
http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-6990-review/12
Low frequency airflow hum is something I personaly can live with. It's higher pitched squealing which annoys me. So please refrain from trolling till you actualy heard or tested one and made a comparision to other "loud" cards. :yepp:
Here: ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Lu(ky
http://www.hardware.fr/articles/822-...s-records.html
Quote:
Originally Posted by tnc99
This ^^
Price only went up on the 5970 after launch.
And its probably safe to say the reference board is the one you'll want for best quality, so grabbing one early on is often the best way to go with these cards. Sure there will be good custom cards as well, but the good ones also carry a price premium.
Then you must be half deaf already man :P.I have MSI Twinfrozr II ,and its "quietish" up to 40% but still clearly audible.Quote:
The only video card fans I find to be very quiet are the MSI Twin Frozr II Thermal Design fans very very quiet up to 70% speed.
I bought it on the premise its going to be quiet, but moving from accelero S1 rev2 with two 120mm fans @700rpm, its loud.
Waiting for the ones with Accelero cooler. Should level off in pricing by then.
you got to also understand different scenarios. He may have a case that deals with sound a bit better, or the case is further away making it rough to hear or his house is generally louder then yours. I know i had a twin frozr gts250 and my comp sat about 2-3ft away and typically it wasn't heard during gaming. On hotter days yes but even this is in an open case with no panels on it..however usually my ceiling fan was on and it would be the noisiest thing in the room, when its off the card is a bit more audible definitely being the loudest thing in the case but no where near as loud as a stock reference design setup.Quote:
Originally Posted by XRL8
Thanks the 6990 + 6970 looks like a great CF combo... :up:Quote:
Originally Posted by Gilgamesh
So you are telling me the GTX560, GTX 570, and GTX580 cards are not loud? Is that what you are trying to say.. No offense but all freaking air cooling cards are loud.. This is why I water cool them.. I find it funny when all of the Nvidia fan boys come on here and tell me not to buy a video card because the fan is to loud... :rofl: :ROTF: Enought talk about the freaking fans already.. Look at the GTX590 kind of looks like the same setup... But I am sure the fan will sound silent to you..Quote:
Originally Posted by XRL8
I have 2x HD6950@6970 (and very satisfied :up:), but a I think that 3 gpus Crossfire is real overkill under 2560x1600 if not 3x FullHD EyefinityQuote:
Originally Posted by Lu(ky
i honestly have no idea how you got ^this out of what he said..Quote:
Originally Posted by Lu(ky
all he was saying is that the twin frozr(a card you said is quiet up to 70% fan speed) isn't quiet...thats all.
I see a couple of guys come on here to complain about the fan? If you go back a couple of threads you will see them. I am sorry if I took it on him.. Just tired of people coming into a thread saying omg that fan looks loud.. Like I am going to change my mind on buying one..Quote:
Originally Posted by InCredible
Whats wrong with expressing distaste of loud cooling solutions? You mention you watercool so you must have an appreciation for this? Not everyone wants to resort to more exoctic ( and expensive ) cooling options.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lu(ky
There is no doubt a 300+ watt part will be loud ( more so than the norm of course ) but the quality of said noise is another thing all together so the readings in the reviews are only part of the story. I'm sure some of the lower volume hs/fans are more annoying than some of the higher volume ones ( just as with case fans )
i do agree with lucky though, hearing people try to pick at things wrong with this when most wouldn't buy it no matter what. And like Chicken said with something this powerful comes heat..and to keep it at a dual slot cooler you have to do something to keep it cool, usually this means faster fan which in turn equals louder. Its expected with these honestly. However on another note i will say this is probably the MOST impressive dual gpu solution yet. Since dual gpu cards have been out not ONE dual gpu card actually competed against the own manufacturers highest single gpu in xfire/sli and was right on par with it...That in it self is very impressive imo and i would most definitely grab one if i was willing to spend that amount of money on a card right now.
This must be the dumbest card ever (and yeah, so is GTX 590 if it too is like that). There is not a SINGLE reason as to why you should pick this over two 6970's.
All of AMD's previous dual GPU cards, especially 5970, enjoyed a substantial discount over their single GPU counterparts (5870 CF: $800, 5970: $600). This doesn't.
They also weren't cards that operated at power levels that made the card look like it was designed with the sole purpose of causing trouble. This most certainly is. (a single card drawing 500W when overclocked?)
In addition to all this, this card seems to have a thundering loudness, far beyond 480 and 5970; that will simply necessitate usage of headphones. Don't say BUT REAL GAMERZ USE HEADPOHNES LAMER LOL because I will kill you.
Apart from people looking to get FOUR Cayman XT's... can someone point out a SINGLE reason why you shouldn't get a 6970CF (or hell, even a 6950CF) over this? Much more evenly spread power, faster speed and much less noise?
No doubt 590 will be like this too, and unless it does have a discount, my thoughts about it are exactly the same.
Well said. :up:Quote:
Originally Posted by InCredible
I think we should see some scaling improvements in some games but overall a nice card.
I would totally rock this( or the 590) card in a m-itx setup if i had the money. It would be one badass system. One can dream lol.Quote:
Originally Posted by hurrdurr
I could only imagine the flaming around here if Nvidia released a $700 card that was this hot and power hungry.
It uses less power than 2 560Tis.Quote:
Originally Posted by BababooeyHTJ
Oh yeah I sure would imagine the flaming.
At how much more money? How much more power does this draw than GTX295, 4870x2, and 9800gtx? Is this not the most power hungry video card ever?Quote:
Originally Posted by Macadamia
its definitely the most powerful video card ever as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by BababooeyHTJ
560s run around 170wQuote:
Originally Posted by Macadamia
I will get mine tomorrow but I thinking of buying a 6970 card, but I only have a 1000W PSU I may need to move to a higher end 1200W... Also do you think 2 x Swiftech MCR220-QP rads in a loop can cool one 6990?
Two 6970's will cost the same as one 6990 - so the benefit of having one card with the same power is reason enough.Quote:
Originally Posted by hurrdurr
If there's somebody give u a HD 6990 for free, I guess you won't take it. right ?Quote:
Originally Posted by hurrdurr
I have a friend, everyday he goes to school by bus. and guess what he thinks... "Lamborghini is for dumb and stupid people" =))
Actually, it is enough reason AGAINST, if you actually think about it. It draws the same power albeit through a much smaller area than the CF; causing temperatures to rocket and requiring the usage of a state-of-the-art cooler that makes a hundred times more noise than anything that is on the market.Quote:
Originally Posted by RacingTurtle
It really doesn't make sense. It is slower than 6970CF, it is much more hotter and makes much more noise... it needs to be substantially cheaper than it to make sense... but it is actually the SAME price.
Once again, NO ONE can give me a reason why 6970CF is not by all means possible the better choice (except for 3x - 4x CFX users).
I don't think you really read my post... you probably stopped at the first sentence. I am not saying its performance isn't good. I am saying that relative to AMD's own offering, 6970CF, or even 6950CF; this card makes so little sense.Quote:
Originally Posted by bl4ckdr4g00n
It is not a difference between a bus and a Lamborghini. It is the difference between two Lamborghinis, one being substantially better, yet costing the same as the other Lamborghini.
Maybe we should clarify perspectives: I'm going to watercool this card, so buying 1 card and 1 block (instead of 2 x cards + 2 x blocks) will save me about £50/£100. So for my needs, its great and makes sense.Quote:
Originally Posted by hurrdurr
I see your point - air cooling might be better with HD6970 CF.
What else you cooling? Should be easily enough if you use good fans such as gts..Quote:
Originally Posted by Lu(ky
Its a two slot solution instead of four, some prefers this, some dont. Not to mention two sandwiched 6970's will run very very hot as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by hurrdurr
Its also a very interesting card, they are really pushing it design vise. Some value this more than others.
Price, in many places the 6990 is cheaper than two 6970's. Saving 100 bucks, that you could put towards, for example an SSD. Not to mention if you are going to watercool the card/s, the savings add up quickly.
Going Eyefinity? well thats another 100+ bucks saved on the active adapter alone. Thats ~300 bucks potentially saved for the right user.
If you can get two 6970's for a cheaper price, and dont care how many slots the setup requires, and are not really interested in the rest of its features , then yes its probably the better option. And thankfully no one is forcing you to buy these cards, take a moment and think whats best for you, and let other people make up their own mind on their purchases.
IMO its good to have options, and this is exactly what AMD are giving us.
:up:
Reason 1: 2 slots vs. 4. This matters to me. I have a sound card, NIC, and OCZ Revodrive X2 in my rig. I don't have a ton of extra room for random PCIe cards.Quote:
Originally Posted by hurrdurr
Reason 2: The cost comparison breaks down for users who will be water cooling the cards as full cover blocks for dual GPU cards are only marginally more expensive than full covers for single GPU cards, so this single card with a water block on it is now a cheaper solution that takes up less space
Reason 3: 5 display support, which is not present yet on any other single AMD card other than the Radeon 5870 2GB eyefinity edition.
What about 2x6990 1x6970 in penta crossfire, anyone seen a review with that?
Cant be done? Max 4 x GPUs.Quote:
Originally Posted by tnc99
doh, has only one crossfire connector :(
Not only that, Windows can only use 4 GPU's in 3D mode AFAIK.Quote:
Originally Posted by tnc99
Quote:
Originally Posted by hurrdurr
Quote:
Originally Posted by BababooeyHTJ
Quote:
Originally Posted by BababooeyHTJ
Quote:
Originally Posted by \/icious
GTX480 SLI: 668wQuote:
Originally Posted by hurrdurr
GTX580 SLI: 620w
HD 6970 CF: 564w
GTX570 SLI: 556w
HD 6990 OC: 544w
GTX470 SLI: 541w
GTX560 SLI: 496w
HD 6990: 491w
HD 6950 CF: 470w
HD 4870x2: 459w
Best I can (or will) otherwise do is a single HD6970 + 20%:
http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/w...50-powerup.jpg
I suspect 2xHD6970s +20% would approach (if not blow past) 700w total system load.
I don't see your point? Every other thing you mentioned above is a single slot device which works off of an x4 PCI-E slot at most. If you have a properly designed motherboard, there should be more than enough space for all of those with plenty of space to spare for dual single GPU cards.Quote:
Originally Posted by Linus@ncix
Maybe if the cards were selling for AMD's SRP but that isn't the case. Right now we are seeing price premiums of $30 - $70 over SRP which makes the HD 6990 more expensive no matter which way you look at it.Quote:
Reason 2: The cost comparison breaks down for users who will be water cooling the cards as full cover blocks for dual GPU cards are only marginally more expensive than full covers for single GPU cards, so this single card with a water block on it is now a cheaper solution that takes up less space
Actually, ANY AMD card can do that but it takes DisplayPort 1.2 equipped monitors. A single DP 1.2 connector can be used to daisy chain three 1080P monitors or two 2560 x 1600 together from the same source. Like this:Quote:
Reason 3: 5 display support, which is not present yet on any other single AMD card other than the Radeon 5870 2GB eyefinity edition.
http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/im...HD6800-214.jpg
In my case it makes sort of sense...
I have a micro-ATX board (Rampage III Gene), using this I can actually plug an Areca controller on the other x16 slot.
Waiting to see how much the waterblock for this card goes for (to see if it's a substantial saving over 2 x 6970 blocks) and on the GTX 590 to compare price/performance/waterblock availability and price...
Once I have all the relevant data I'll see :)