Dual 5970's?

[garpizzle]

Hello Toms,
This question is aimed at those of you who may have some input into running dual 5970's. I have one already and I game at 5760x1200 in most instances. I've tried oc'ing this card with little success. Anyway, is there anyone running 2 of these? Performance is pretty adequate in most cases, although, at this resolution I'm not maxing anything newer out. I'm wondering if it would be better to just wait until the next gen of cards, or go for gusto and try out quadfire. The goal would be High Settings @ Crysis, Ultra @ Dirt 2 and w/e else I can throw at it.

System Specs:
I7 920 @ 4.0ghz
HIS 5970
EVGA X58 LE Mobo
6GB C.Dominator Ram
1000 watt Silverstone PSU
Cooler Master Cosmos <Scythe 140mm Fans, yet still runs too hot>
3 X Dell 24 in. Displays in Eyefinity <2 U2410's 1 2408WFP>
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b82/jwood63/2010-04-20002049.jpg

 

[frazik]

if your not concerned about the money then why not .. if nvidia does release a gtx 400 card that is faster than 5970 its NOT going to be by a mile and it will cost around the same price as the 5970 , or maybe a bit higher..
But personally, if i had that card i would think it is enough to last a good long time before it loses the top spot, even then its probably not going to be knocked out of the top 5 for a long time to time ; I don't own this card so im not sure how much greatness it has, but according to benchmarks this card is overkill for most of the games already out , and probably good enough for the long run.
A card that would significantly beat this for the money you pay may not come out in a while.

well this is some background info, hope it helps.

Although, theres one thing... i though ATI advertised 5970 as "overbuilt" as in being one of the most overclockable cards out there.

maybe since your running with 3 monitors another card might help but i don't know if there is a great improvement in performance.

try looking up some bench marks im sure there are some.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i7-870-1156,2482-8.html

Oh, and here is a similiar thread :

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/282741-33-benefits-dual-5970-single

 

[frazik]

here is a benchmark link:
http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-5970-review-test/23

 

[frazik]

There is a comment on the thread i gave a link to saying that dual 5970 may actually reduce the framerates and decrease overall performance. it may be from some kinda problem with the eyefinity. it was from a guy who already experienced it>

so maybe you should just stick to one of those beasts

 

[garpizzle]

Hmmmm...Yeah, maybe I'll wait till the drivers mature more.

 

[rofl_my_waffle]

How are you overclocking the cards?

Voltage, clock speed, memory speed, temps? Are you using stock cooling?

 

[wa1]

I guess a single HD5970 just enough for now...
But, since you can afford an expensive card like that then why not, add another HD5970, it will last longer, very long term...

 

[Atotalnoob]

I didn't look at the benchmarks, but the 5970's run at lower performance to 5870's. Just thought I'd add that.

 

[Atotalnoob]

no doubt you'd run everything at max, but if you are benchmark obbsessed, I'd go with dual 5870's, depending on who you buy them from, you may be able to go with 3.

 

[garpizzle]

I already have a 5970 so buying 3 or 4 5870's would be out of the question.

As far as OC'ing on the 5970, I tried it a few times, but couldn't get stable results even on a very modest oc <25 mhz bump> so I kind of gave up on it. Temps didn't increase much on the card, so IDK why it won't OC well...although I haven't tried it since 10.3. Yes, the card is stock cooling and the case is all air <coolermaster cosmos 1000>. The case is mediocre cooling, gpu temps are usually between 55 and 61 idle / 70 - 85ish under load. Ambient room temp is around 80 F, while case temps stay around 42 idle, 60 under load.

Those benchmarks are about 3 catalyst driver updates old, so I'm not really sure they are a good indicator of current.

 

[Raidur]

Since you cannot OC your cards you pretty much have a 5850X2. Maybe a 3rd would tickle your fancy?

 

[Atotalnoob]

Try buying one of those fans off of Newegg, they cost like 5 dollars ( including shipping) max. They help a TON!