Flashing the 6950: Which brand to buy? or just go nVidia?

Hi everyone,

Planning to build my first ever Desktop PC on a $1500 budget.

I've heard that you could overclock an HD 6950 to a 6970 to noticeably improve my gaming experience.

Does anyone know which brand would be the best to do this?

I was also considering a nVidia card but I've read that the 6950 would be the best value for its price especially if I can flash to 6970.

Thoughts?





Approximate Purchase Date: Computer to be running by January 2012.

Budget Range: ~$1500 (would consider $2000 if a rig is available that would fit all of my needs).

System Usage from Most to Least Important:
1) Programming, Web Surfing, Using Office products
2) Gaming: Skyrim (Max), League of Legends (Max), Modern Warfare 3 (Max), Battlefield 3 (Best possible).
3) Watching Movies.


Parts Not Required: OS, speakers, mouse, keyboard


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: ebay.ca, ncix.com, canadacomputers.com, canadacomputers.com, tigerdirect.ca.

Country: Canada

Parts Preferences: Good Quality – low maintenance – good cooling – parts that will last - and are quiet.

Overclocking: Maybe – in 5 or so years.

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe.

Monitor Resolution: 1024x768 – Planning to purchase higher resolution monitor next year or during boxing day.

Additional Comments: I prefer a PC that will have components that would last. I’d also like a pc that is quiet, and won’t burn me when I touch it.

I plan to use this PC for the next 10 years (upgrading along the way whenever necessary).

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This is what I’m currently planning to get:
1x ASUS AMD Radeon HD 6950 (EAH6950 DCII/2DI4S/1GD5) 1 GB GDDR5 SDRAM PCI Express (found for ~$250 for one card = ~$500-$600 for two).
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produ [...] 0HD%206950

Intel Core i5-2500K BX80623I72600K Unlocked Processor
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicat [...] CatId=6991

You could get the toxic version which is already flashed...

Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102951