Average Performance Analysis
The single Radeon HD 6950 looks fairly weak in average 1680x1050 performance, but superior dual-GPU scaling allows it to nearly catch the GeForce GTX 570. That scaling advantage goes away when three cards are installed, yet even Nvidia’s winning third card is almost useless at this medium resolution.
The scaling results we saw at 1680x1050 are repeated at 1920x1200. AMD’s card is far cheaper than Nvidia’s, so value seekers who game at this resolution will get their best value with a pair of Radeon HD 6950s.
Any Radeon HD 6950 CrossFire solution beats any GeForce GTX 570 SLI configuration at 2560x1600, regardless of whether two or three cards are used. This is probably the only resolution in today’s test that really matters, since a single card will pass most tests at anything less. Additionally, 2560x1600 has a similar pixel count as three 1280x1024 displays, so this is “just the beginning” for anyone planning to run in Eyefinity or Surround mode.