Which AMD 6950 2 GB should I get ?

[alexubilla]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Within 30-45 Days.

BUDGET RANGE: USD $180-250.

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: a)Video Gaming (BF3, Crysis 2, MW3) b)Multimedia (1080p Videos, Photos) c)Fraps and Video editing/rendering.

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: EVGA GTX 460 SE 256 Bit and an Antec EarthWatts 750W ATX12V v2.3 SLI / CrossFire Rdy. 80 PLUS BRONZE (Four +12V / +3.3V@25A, +5V@25A, +12V1@40A, +12V2@40A, +12V3@40A, +12V4@40A, -12V@0.5A, +5VSB@3.0A) <---- Not sure if it's important.

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS: CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz (Which can be easily O.C to 4.0 Ghz but, is it really necessary ???)

MOBO: ASUS M4A89TD PRO/USB3 AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard fully OC Motherboard. Awesome.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131655

RAM: (2) of 1 x G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600

Hard Drive: Seagate 7200 RPM 3.0 Gb/s 1 TB

CASE: Rosewill CHALLENGER ( I will purchase a new one if necessary)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153
Dimensions of inside Case: 18.50" x 7.48" x 17.08"

Four Cards I'm looking to buy/want (Mostly looking at all the 6950's but, must be able to flash bios or make it into a 6970) Interested on input about nVidia as well...

a) SAPPHIRE 100312-3L Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102954
b) HIS IceQ X Turbo H695QNT2G2M Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161372
C) SAPPHIRE 100312-3SR Radeon HD 6950 Dirt3 Edition 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102945
D) Any other Ideas ????????????


PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: NEWEGG COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
PARTS PREFERENCES: None.
OVERCLOCKING: Yes
CROSSFIRE/SLI: Maybe
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I was thinking of "MAYBE" a 560ti OC but, it's only available in 1GB right ?

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

http://www.techbuy.com.au/p/175574/EVGA/02G-P3-1568-KR.asp, ridicilous price though.

 

[jonpaul37]

$239.99 with rebate, has dual-BIOS for 6970 shader unlocking
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102954

- or -

$239.99 with rebate, has insane overclocking potential
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127608


In my opinion, it is a toss-up but at the same price point, might want to go with the 6950. I say this as an owner of a GTX 560Ti. I see the benchmarks between the two are usually close but seem to favor the ATI cards.

 

[larkspur]

I like the Gigabyte card for the money, the OC and the cooling: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125385

You also get Dirt if that's what you wanted as well.

Edit: That's a 1gb version though... For a 2gb, I like your choice "b" the: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161372

Missed this in your original post: "must be able to flash bios or make it into a 6970". I'm pretty sure most cards won't do that anymore but try jonpaul37's recommendation above. I'm pretty sure you want to go as reference as possible.

 

[ram1009]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Within 30-45 Days.

BUDGET RANGE: USD $180-250.

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: a)Video Gaming (BF3, Crysis 2, MW3) b)Multimedia (1080p Videos, Photos) c)Fraps and Video editing/rendering.

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: EVGA GTX 460 SE 256 Bit and an Antec EarthWatts 750W ATX12V v2.3 SLI / CrossFire Rdy. 80 PLUS BRONZE (Four +12V / +3.3V@25A, +5V@25A, +12V1@40A, +12V2@40A, +12V3@40A, +12V4@40A, -12V@0.5A, +5VSB@3.0A) <---- Not sure if it's important.

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS: CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz (Which can be easily O.C to 4.0 Ghz but, is it really necessary ???)

MOBO: ASUS M4A89TD PRO/USB3 AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard fully OC Motherboard. Awesome.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131655

RAM: (2) of 1 x G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600

Hard Drive: Seagate 7200 RPM 3.0 Gb/s 1 TB

CASE: Rosewill CHALLENGER ( I will purchase a new one if necessary)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153
Dimensions of inside Case: 18.50" x 7.48" x 17.08"

Four Cards I'm looking to buy/want (Mostly looking at all the 6950's but, must be able to flash bios or make it into a 6970) Interested on input about nVidia as well...

a) SAPPHIRE 100312-3L Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102954
b) HIS IceQ X Turbo H695QNT2G2M Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161372
C) SAPPHIRE 100312-3SR Radeon HD 6950 Dirt3 Edition 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102945
D) Any other Ideas ????????????


PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: NEWEGG COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
PARTS PREFERENCES: None.
OVERCLOCKING: Yes
CROSSFIRE/SLI: Maybe
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I was thinking of "MAYBE" a 560ti OC but, it's only available in 1GB right ?[/quo




Don't get any of them. Get an Nvidia instead.

 

[jonpaul37]

Don't get any of them. Get an Nvidia instead.

Please offer some reasons as to why you state this, otherwise you will be seen as a troll in the eyes of any who view this thread.

 

[punisher 281]

I went with the Sapphire Flex edition. Maxxes out BF3 at 1920 x 1080 with no problems.

 

[dharmenparikh]

frankly speaking get the cheapest one. if you're into silence get dual fan design cards...still cheapest one.

Another option is to get the dual bios ones..I personally own 3x 6950s Sapphire toxic..all unlocked to 6970 with the flip of a switch (literally). I have 2 in 1 system and 1 in another system for my brother. They costed around $270 each but were worth every penny.

 

[Ninja Pants]

+1 to the Toxic, good to see someone mentioned it, only cards that reliably unlock the 6970 shader's due to the non-reference card design and they OC pretty well, if your going to get a 6950, get the Toxic.

Don't get any of them. Get an Nvidia instead.

Reasons being? Recommendations?

 

[dark_lord69]

I've have bad experiences with 2 faulty Sapphire cards.
I would get the HIS...

But personally I like that XFX offers double lifetime warranties on thier video cards.

 

[FtsArTek]

If you're going with single card, ASUS. those cards are cool, quiet, can be overclocked a fair amount, and if you know what you're doing can be unlocked, although there is no bios switch. HIS cards are unreliable and the service isn't good, Sapphire are good but loud in many cases. Toxics are good cards. No point getting an nvidia here, the 560 Ti is OK, but in this price range I prefer the AMD cards.

MSI make OK cards, as do XFX, but for me, I would never go for anything but ASUS from now, becuase I have had such a good experience with them.

 

[spagalicious]

I went with the Sapphire Flex edition. Maxxes out BF3 at 1920 x 1080 with no problems.

I also went with the Flex 2gb. I have two and they unlock perfectly.

 

[Ninja Pants]

I wouldn't recommend the flex unless the OP has or is considering an eyefinity setup, otherwise your essentially paying more for nothing. It is just a reference card with a better (but not great) cooler and built in DAC and clock chip to power the mini-DP output so unless multi-monitor is an option your money can be better spent.

The ASUS cards are great but they are unjustifiably expensive IMO. They really offer nothing over other options, I know the Direct CU II has brilliant cooling capacity but so do some of the other twin fan cards and the factory overclock they come with is pathetic and they cannot be unlocked (unless you can find a first generation card somewhere).

 

[spagalicious]

I wouldn't recommend the flex unless the OP has or is considering an eyefinity setup, otherwise your essentially paying more for nothing. It is just a reference card with a better (but not great) cooler and built in DAC and clock chip to power the mini-DP output so unless multi-monitor is an option your money can be better spent.

The ASUS cards are great but they are unjustifiably expensive IMO. They really offer nothing over other options, I know the Direct CU II has brilliant cooling capacity but so do some of the other twin fan cards and the factory overclock they come with is pathetic and they cannot be unlocked (unless you can find a first generation card somewhere).

I only recommended it because I have it and he said he wanted a card that unlocks and I know this one for sure unlocks and overclocks pretty well. Both mine are running at 910/1400 @ 36 idle and 64 full load with 1536 shaders. I realize its more expensive but I dont have multiple monitors and these are awesome.