Is the Radeon HD 6990 still worth it

[rishiswaz]

I recently got on and won a bidding war for a HD 6990 for only $200 USD in great condition. But I was now wondering if I should have saved the money and gotten a 7970 or 7990 in the future without replacing my 6870 right now.

 

[dudewitbow]

200$ for an hd 6990 is actually a great deal. it performs extremely well till this day(its just ineffecient with power)

 

[bigcyco1]

That's a beast of a card you scored for the price you paid.

 

[rishiswaz]

well I have to upgrade my PSU before I use it thanks for reminding me I only have a 500W PSU which would die on this card.

 

[bigcyco1]

No problem your very welcome!Lol yeah Its a very power hungry card.On ati's website it recommends a minimum of a 750W power supply. A 750 watter will handle the card just fine.

 

[bigcyco1]

guru 3d recommends a quality 750w psu for single 6990-
http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-6990-review/10
here's a good choice-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207016
if you don't want modular than-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703027
both are good.Just the XFX is semi modular and made by seasonic both will handle your system well.

 

[mogen1000]

$200 good deal but as everyone else said it does use a ton lot of power. The design is kinda bad imo but it can run BF3 70-80+fps ultra i heard. Not much support on it anyways they dont even make those anymore.

 

[17seconds]

With the epic noise level it produces, it never was worth it. Several reviews even put it in their "Not Recommended" category, including our very own Tom's Hardware.

Quotes:
"There’s no excuse for a graphics card to be this loud and, if spinning its cooling fan up to 3600 RPM is the only way to keep the Radeon HD 6990 from overheating, then this product simply isn’t ready for consumption. Because the problem is related to fan speed, there’s a chance an updated firmware could smooth out the way AMD handles heat. Right now, though, there’s no way I’d install one of these things in a gaming machine."
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-6990-antilles-crossfire,2878-15.html

"We experienced more than one thermal shutdown during the testing, and the card didn't even start to be cool until the fan was at 60% or more, by which point our ears were bleeding with 40% further to go."
http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/gpu_displays/amd_hd6990_review/9

"Can be made to wail like a banshee in pain"
http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/graphics/29430-amd-radeon-hd-6990-4gb-graphics-card-reviewed-rated/?page=20

 

[dudewitbow]

its one of the few cards that would probably enjoy low ambient temperatures(alaska?) or a custom aftermarket heatsink addition

 

[bigcyco1]

its one of the few cards that would probably enjoy low ambient temperatures(alaska?) or a custom aftermarket heatsink addition

:lol:

 

[amk1966]

++ on an aftermarket cooler... For what you paid I think you'll still have a great deal.

 

[rishiswaz]

Well an update. I got a new 1250W OCZ ZX PSU and put it in to see how it would be. it spun up to around 80% playing BF3 and if I did not have a headset on I think I would have suffered permanent ear damage. I am going to buy a waterblock and see how that works, I do not have a warranty anyways so why not, but should I keep it on my CPU loop or should I get a 2nd loop just for the card and maybe I could put something onto the VRMs too while I am at it. Right now I have a Zalman reserator and I was thinking of upgrading to a Koolance Exos 2 so should I just buy the exos and use the Zalman for the graphics card? And what company do you guys recommend for 6990 waterblock?