HD 6990 Preview/Review

[Chickenfeed]

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. Just tired of people coming into a thread saying omg that fan looks loud..

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.

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 )

[InCredible]

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.

[hurrdurr]

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.

[Eastcoasthandle]

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.

Well said.
I think we should see some scaling improvements in some games but overall a nice card.

[\/icious]

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.

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.

[BababooeyHTJ]

I could only imagine the flaming around here if Nvidia released a $700 card that was this hot and power hungry.

[Macadamia]

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.
Oh yeah I sure would imagine the flaming.

[BababooeyHTJ]

It uses less power than 2 560Tis.
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?

[InCredible]

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?

its definitely the most powerful video card ever as well.

[\/icious]

It uses less power than 2 560Tis.
Oh yeah I sure would imagine the flaming.

560s run around 170w

[Lu(ky]

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?

[RacingTurtle]

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.

Two 6970's will cost the same as one 6990 - so the benefit of having one card with the same power is reason enough.

[bl4ckdr4g00n]

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.

If there's somebody give u a HD 6990 for free, I guess you won't take it. right ?

I have a friend, everyday he goes to school by bus. and guess what he thinks... "Lamborghini is for dumb and stupid people" =))

[hurrdurr]

Two 6970's will cost the same as one 6990 - so the benefit of having one card with the same power is reason enough.

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.

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).

If there's somebody give u a HD 6990 for free, I guess you won't take it. right ?

I have a friend, everyday he goes to school by bus. and guess what he thinks... "Lamborghini is for dumb and stupid people" =))

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.

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.

[RacingTurtle]

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.
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.

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.
I see your point - air cooling might be better with HD6970 CF.

[Johnny87au]

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?

What else you cooling? Should be easily enough if you use good fans such as gts..

[wez]

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.

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).

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.
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.

[LinusTech]

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).

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.

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.

[tnc99]

What about 2x6990 1x6970 in penta crossfire, anyone seen a review with that?

[RacingTurtle]

What about 2x6990 1x6970 in penta crossfire, anyone seen a review with that?

Cant be done? Max 4 x GPUs.

[tnc99]

doh, has only one crossfire connector

[RacingTurtle]

doh, has only one crossfire connector

Not only that, Windows can only use 4 GPU's in 3D mode AFAIK.

[AbortRetryFail?]

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...

I could only imagine the flaming around here if Nvidia released a $700 card that was this hot and power hungry.

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?

560s run around 170w

...

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 ...

I don't think you really read my post...

GTX480 SLI: 668w
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%:



I suspect 2xHD6970s +20% would approach (if not blow past) 700w total system load.

[SKYMTL]

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.

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.

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

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.

Reason 3: 5 display support, which is not present yet on any other single AMD card other than the Radeon 5870 2GB eyefinity edition.

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:

[MrToad]

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