Best eyefinity graphics card

[markillius08]

Hello,

I'm planning on updating my system with an SSD or two, as well as getting a couple new EYEFINITY capable graphics cards to up my AMD system. currently i run 2 XFX 5770's Crossfired. I'm putting my price limit at $1000 total, so please, give me some ideas.

I want this system to scream even louder!

PS: Also, have 8gb ddr3 RAM and 3.4GHZ AMD Black quad core processor.

 

[bystander]

If you are doing eyefinity, and want the best at under $1000, that would mean two 6970's. Not only are they the fastest of AMD/ATI's cards, they have 2GB of vram, which is quite useful for an eyefinity setup, as high resolutions quite often run out of ram when you turn up the settings.

6950's may be a better price to performance option.

That said, if it were me, I'd see how your 5770's perform with the eyefinity setup first, so you can either see if it's enough power, or more likely, get to see the transformation from choppy game play to high performance.

 

[HostileDonut]

Two hd5770's in CF should be able to handle eyefinity. I would try those first. If they do not work, yeah the 69xx series will be enough.

 

[snoogiloo]

Two hd5770's in CF should be able to handle eyefinity. I would try those first. If they do not work, yeah the 69xx series will be enough.

That all depends on what resolution and how high he wants the settings ingame. he can kiss AA goodbye with 5770´s

I would have goten 2x 6970. That would leave u with 260~ bucks to get an SSD for which should be enough

 

[hell_storm2004]

I think you guys are forgetting the beast.... HD5970!!

 

[Derbixrace]

2x 6950s because of 2GB VRAM, awesome scaling, bang for buck, and they are good overclockers.

 

[HostileDonut]

That all depends on what resolution and how high he wants the settings ingame. he can kiss AA goodbye with 5770´s

I would have goten 2x 6970. That would leave u with 260~ bucks to get an SSD for which should be enough

Two hd5770s are pretty good, he might be able to get x4 AA and x16 AF. All I said was try it.

 

[snoogiloo]

Two hd5770s are pretty good, he might be able to get x4 AA and x16 AF. All I said was try it.

'i can see u havnt run eyefinity before i got 5850 CF and i5 750 at 3.5Ghz and i can BARELY run 4x AA, some games i go down to 2x just coz i go too low on FPS

 

[markillius08]

I am currently running the CF HD5770's in Eyefinity. The issues I'm running into is that occasionally after the screens go to sleep, only the outer two come back. I have to unplug the on in the DP running on a VGA to DP adapter from the card, then plug it back in.

I was told it might be a heat issue, which I'm going to look into, but the main thing I want is to get a set up that can let me run games in High or even VERY high settings during eyefinity. I know computers, and how to assemble them, but that's where the line gets drawn. I'm no good at knowing what all the different settings and chipsets and blah blah do and how they function together.


Hell, at this point I'd even consider saying F the SSD and drop it all for eyefinity upgrades.

Also, to answer the Resolution questions, the Res is at 5760 x 1080 - also, the monitors are identical units that only run DVI or VGA unfortunately.

 

[snoogiloo]

I am currently running the CF HD5770's in Eyefinity. The issues I'm running into is that occasionally after the screens go to sleep, only the outer two come back. I have to unplug the on in the DP running on a VGA to DP adapter from the card, then plug it back in.

I was told it might be a heat issue, which I'm going to look into, but the main thing I want is to get a set up that can let me run games in High or even VERY high settings during eyefinity. I know computers, and how to assemble them, but that's where the line gets drawn. I'm no good at knowing what all the different settings and chipsets and blah blah do and how they function together.


Hell, at this point I'd even consider saying F the SSD and drop it all for eyefinity upgrades.

Also, to answer the Resolution questions, the Res is at 5760 x 1080 - also, the monitors are identical units that only run DVI or VGA unfortunately.

What do u have AA set to? AA drains shitloads. when i change between 2x and 4x (or was it 4x and 8x?) in dirt 2 i go from 60~ FPS to 5 FPS

And do u have ur cards overclocked?

 

[bystander]

What do u have AA set to? AA drains shitloads. when i change between 2x and 4x (or was it 4x and 8x?) in dirt 2 i go from 60~ FPS to 5 FPS

And do u have ur cards overclocked?

The kind of drop in performance you are getting sounds more like a lack of vram. With eyefinity and other extremely high resolutions, 1gb is not enough. That's where the 6970/50 has a big advantage, that and more horsepower all together.

 

[markillius08]

What do u have AA set to? AA drains shitloads. when i change between 2x and 4x (or was it 4x and 8x?) in dirt 2 i go from 60~ FPS to 5 FPS

And do u have ur cards overclocked?

Generally, I turn AA down as low as possible or just plain off. As well as V-Sync in most games, because it tends to let the overall gameplay run smoother an a lil bit more accelerated.

I don't have my PC here with me, it's still in my dorm room. Was kinda rushed to get home so I couldn't bring it. Sorry I can't give you specifics.


But again, let me reitterate. It's probably a pipe dream, but I want to be able to run on High/Very high settings in eyefinity for most games. I know that the output will vary depending on the game and what all i'm doing in the background and a lot of other stuff, but I know that my 5770's, while nice for what they are, can't do that. Thus I'm torn between what to get. I've bee looking at the 6870's, and they seem fairly nice. the XFX model even has a double liftime warranty if I buy it from newegg.

But I just don't see it being able to run say crysis, or crysis 2 on high in eyefinity. But hell, maybe I'm wrong.

Any suggestions?

 

[snoogiloo]

Generally, I turn AA down as low as possible or just plain off. As well as V-Sync in most games, because it tends to let the overall gameplay run smoother an a lil bit more accelerated.

I don't have my PC here with me, it's still in my dorm room. Was kinda rushed to get home so I couldn't bring it. Sorry I can't give you specifics.


But again, let me reitterate. It's probably a pipe dream, but I want to be able to run on High/Very high settings in eyefinity for most games. I know that the output will vary depending on the game and what all i'm doing in the background and a lot of other stuff, but I know that my 5770's, while nice for what they are, can't do that. Thus I'm torn between what to get. I've bee looking at the 6870's, and they seem fairly nice. the XFX model even has a double liftime warranty if I buy it from newegg.

But I just don't see it being able to run say crysis, or crysis 2 on high in eyefinity. But hell, maybe I'm wrong.

Any suggestions?

donno about crysis coz i havnt played it myself.

But crysis 2 is very doubtful if ur gonna be able to play on high/very high and if ur able to that would be with AA turned off.

But 6870CF would be able to run most games in high/very high settings (most with some AA also).

 

[bystander]

But again, let me reitterate. It's probably a pipe dream, but I want to be able to run on High/Very high settings in eyefinity for most games. I know that the output will vary depending on the game and what all i'm doing in the background and a lot of other stuff, but I know that my 5770's, while nice for what they are, can't do that. Thus I'm torn between what to get. I've bee looking at the 6870's, and they seem fairly nice. the XFX model even has a double liftime warranty if I buy it from newegg.

But I just don't see it being able to run say crysis, or crysis 2 on high in eyefinity. But hell, maybe I'm wrong.

Any suggestions?

For what you want, and the budget you gave, 6950's are the way to go. Not only are they faster than 6850's, they have 2gb of vram. The experiences you are having of AA crippling performance is not due to lack of power, but due to lack of ram. 6850's are also using 1gb of ram and will also have crippling performance once you turn the settings up.

 

[markillius08]

For what you want, and the budget you gave, 6950's are the way to go. Not only are they faster than 6850's, they have 2gb of vram. The experiences you are having of AA crippling performance is not due to lack of power, but due to lack of ram. 6850's are also using 1gb of ram and will also have crippling performance once you turn the settings up.

Well if I was to go with the 6950's, why not go all out for the 6970's?

I'm not familiar with price, but is that the only issue?

 

[bystander]

Well if I was to go with the 6950's, why not go all out for the 6970's?

I'm not familiar with price, but is that the only issue?

You can, it does cost more to do so. The main reason people suggest the 6950 over a 6970 is the 6950's overclock very well to the point it nearly equals a 6970, where as the 6970 doesn't overclock much more.

 

[bystander]

I found some benchmarks for eyefinity with these cards: http://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/zardon/sapphire-special-edition-hd6970-and-hd6950-cfx-multi-screen-review/20/

 

[markillius08]

I found some benchmarks for eyefinity with these cards: http://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/zardon/sapphire-special-edition-hd6970-and-hd6950-cfx-multi-screen-review/20/

Excellent Point, and thanks for the comparison stats. You have a suggestion of preference? Saphire or XFX?

All I've used so far is XFX. But Saphire has some good stuff from what I've heard.

 

[bystander]

I have no opinion between them. All I know is Saphire did have the Vapor-X cards, which do have better cooling, but only those specifically listed as Vapor-X are using that cooling method.

Oh, did you see the Crysis benchmark? With the 6970's in crossfire, it could handle gamer settings. Pretty impressive. Metro 2033 faired quite well too.

 

[markillius08]

I have no opinion between them. All I know is Saphire did have the Vapor-X cards, which do have better cooling, but only those specifically listed as Vapor-X are using that cooling method.

Oh, did you see the Crysis benchmark? With the 6970's in crossfire, it could handle gamer settings. Pretty impressive. Metro 2033 faired quite well too.

This is what i'm thinking right now.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102914&cm_re=radeon_hd_6950-_-14-102-914-_-Product

Will run me Probably $650 - $670 w/ tax.

Which would leave me with between $350 - $330 for an SSD or two. Probably barely manage one high capacity one with that.

Again, still thinking about the XFX one though,cause it has that double lifetime warranty. So if it ever konks out, i'll be covered. But the Saphire one comes with a DP adapter, and that way I'll KNOW that it will work versus my current ones which ATI said would function, but i still have doubts.

Comments?

 

[bystander]

How is a double lifetime warranty better than a single lifetime warranty? (I don't honestly know.)

Both are good brands, so if you find the double lifetime warranty more valuable, then I'd get the XFX.