AMD Radeon HD6950/6970(Cayman) Reviews

[xlink]

it wasnt meant to, but it ended up being so

it was meant to be a sidegrade. Check the transistor budget... about 25% fewer transistors. It was meant to achieve around the same level of performance.

if it were meant to be an upgrade, transistor count would have gone up. check how the 6900s have an increased transistor count

[seanx]

it just keeps changing ....6950 for $318 now
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...56&subcat=1752

obviously retailers and suppliers are still catching up to the new releases yes ?

[seanx]

this site shows that 5870 and 6950 are basically level with a slight edge to 6950
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/201...-6950-review/9
its good times , 2gb ram will probably be more "future-proof" + better tech on 6950 than over 5870 , seems I've convinced myself to go 6950 lmao

[seanx]

the analysis is quite informative too
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/201...6950-review/11

and the conclusion is even more interesting, they indicate that GTX560 will have to be Nv s' way of meeting this card ( aside from ati own 5870 imo)

[tajoh111]

The topic of discussion was the 6870, if you go back and read of what you quoted from xlink.

Your right, my bad.

Ahh dammit. For some reason when I see 6870, I still think of cayman for some reason.

[seanx]

it just keeps changing ....6950 for $318 now
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...56&subcat=1752

obviously retailers and suppliers are still catching up to the new releases yes ?

ha ha they have changed the price already .... now its $348

...therefore back to 5870 !

[SKYMTL]

Anyone else trying to bench 6970 subzero and hitting issues with screen corruptions below 5C?

You're not the first one to report this.

[andos]

So I just sold my 5850.

Getting a 6970 soon! Just curious what brand to get, HIS or Powercolor? which is better?

I was gonna get an ASUS but ASUS are out late with their cards this time.

Should I wait, or get either HIS or Powercolor?

EDIT: I'm waiting for the ASUS EAH6970, since they've got a all-aluminum shroud instead of the plastic reference one!

[Lanek]

I have got X1950XTX's ( GDDR4). HD4870, 2x 5870 from HIS, and all was great overclockers and never fail to me ( even when i was push OC on them like ) .
on 10GPU easy from HIS, only one have need a RMA ( after i push this card too much, one GDDR chips have die ) .

But maybe im just lucky . And all my gpu's since 2004 have been watercooled. + normally all reference boards are the same, only the price change and this is due to distributors stock and price they can do to the shops for xx numbers of pieces.

[andos]

I am pretty sure HIS is a good vendor, since they have been partner with ATI for about 15 years or something.

[ripken204]

it was meant to be a sidegrade. Check the transistor budget... about 25% fewer transistors. It was meant to achieve around the same level of performance.

if it were meant to be an upgrade, transistor count would have gone up. check how the 6900s have an increased transistor count

that was because they were stuck at 40nm.
originally they wanted 32nm, in which case things would probably a lot different right now... there is just so much they can do at 40nm.

[Chickenfeed]

Customer service with HIS in North America is worse than bad ( they outsource support for their products in NA and the company doing so is ran by useless people who would make subpar crash test dummies ). I have nothing good to say about their company. Don't waste your time and money with those jokers. Hint: I don't like them.

If HIS and Powercolor are your two options, take the Powercolor ( at least they will respond to their customers in some capacity )

[tbone8ty]

yeah i have a HIS 6870 and it was been fine no issues..haven't tried there customer service because i havent had to yet...(knock on wood!)

if i were u id would go with XFX just because of the double lifetime warranty

[Johnny87au]

that was because they were stuck at 40nm.
originally they wanted 32nm, in which case things would probably a lot different right now... there is just so much they can do at 40nm.

Kinda good there on 40nm though, price/performance is great so atleast amd did something great! Not much of a hype from performance but who cares Antilles is around the corner!!

[ripken204]

Kinda good there on 40nm though, price/performance is great so atleast amd did something great! Not much of a hype from performance but who cares Antilles is around the corner!!

ya hopefully Antilles is a worthy replacement for my 4850X2.
even on a 27" screen i can max out just about any game.

[SoulsCollective]

ya hopefully Antilles is a worthy replacement for my 4850X2.
even on a 27" screen i can max out just about any game.

Size's got nothing to do with it. Unless it's an oddball screen, 27" isn't an more demanding than 24" or even 23", because both will be (probably) 1920*1200/1080.

[ripken204]

Size's got nothing to do with it. Unless it's an oddball screen, 27" isn't an more demanding than 24" or even 23", because both will be (probably) 1920*1200/1080.

2560 x 1440

[CedricFP]

lol

You can really max out any game? That's pretty good and maybe puts things into perspective with regard to the new card releases.

[ripken204]

i didnt say any, i said just about any.
there are always those few games that push the limits.

[SoulsCollective]

2560 x 1440

Oddball all right.

Dell?

[Loque]

Oddball all right.

Dell?

we're not that odd !

think there's another one from apple that uses the same panel..

and yeah at high res there's no need to increase AA to crazy levels, can play every game available without a problem maxed out, think will pass this gen, or add a third card if I see one used for sale cheap :p

look at those prices.. so much for cheap :|

[ripken204]

another U2711 lover hehe, best screen i have ever used
and you are definitely right about AA, 4x is the highest i ever need to go

[Heinz68]

Overclock3D HD6970 Crossfire Review

Same as other review pointed out, the HD 6970 performs great in CrossFire.

In this review the the HD 6970 CF competed well against the GTX 580 SLI in most games, specially in the average and minimum frames, and winning in the Crysis Warhead.

I was surprised the HD HD 6970 CF was faster than GTX 580 SLI in Unigine Heaven 2.1

The GTX 580 SLI cost $300 more, $740 vs $1040 (40% more expensive). Guess what I am going to buy.

Not really, I'm waiting for the HD 6990, hopefully close in performance but even less expensive. Just hope it's not going to be too much gutted.

EDIT
The calculation was done, based on today Newegg lowest prices.

[zalbard]

ya hopefully Antilles is a worthy replacement for my 4850X2.
even on a 27" screen i can max out just about any game.

Weird, we seem to be playing very diff games, then...

[hurrdurr]

Overclock3D HD6970 Crossfire Review

Same as other review pointed out, the HD 6970 performs great in CrossFire.

In this review the the HD 6970 CF competed well against the GTX 580 SLI in most games, specially in the average and minimum frames, and winning in the Crysis Warhead.

I was surprised the HD HD 6970 CF was faster than GTX 580 SLI in Unigine Heaven 2.1

The GTX 580 SLI cost $300 more, $740 vs $1040 (40% more expensive). Guess what I am going to buy.

Not really, I'm waiting for the HD 6990, hopefully close in performance but even less expensive. Just hope it's not going to be too much gutted.

EDIT
The calculation was done, based on today Newegg lowest prices.

seriously, I see you're playing on 1080p, which games require a SECOND 6970 or 580?