2 6970 vs 1 7970

[tony245]

Hi , I wanted to know if I should Buy another 6970 and Crossfire it , when their like a little under 300 , or If I should Just upgrade to a 7970 later by summer.(Or Equal Nvidia Card). I get good frames in all of my games maxed , but for skyrim maxed with enb id like to get a constant 60 and I cant do that with my single 6970.. Anway also would the Corsair TX 850w Psu Be enough to handle a CF 6970. I heard it can handle 2 5870's. Thanks


Specs:
His IceQ 6970
8GB Ddr3 ram
i7 2600k
1Tb Hdd
*Asrock p67 Extreme 4 Gen 3*
*Asus V242H 1080p Monitor*
*Haf 932*
*Air Cooled^*

 

[mRt0x1c]

dud Amd video cards really suck do to too bugy drivers and trust me when i tell you NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER do crosfire WITH A RADEON HD if you really want good gaming preformance go for the 580GTX SLI and that will run all of your games on max settings for the next 4 years

 

[venur]

http://media.bestofmicro.com/X/L/320025/original/BF3%20ultra%205760.png

/end thread

 

[venur]

dud Amd video cards really suck do to too bugy drivers and trust me when i tell you NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER do crosfire WITH A RADEON HD if you really want good gaming preformance go for the 580GTX SLI and that will run all of your games on max settings for the next 4 years

assuming he is playing 1080p or less.

 

[gokanis]

dud Amd video cards really suck do to too bugy drivers and trust me when i tell you NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER do crosfire WITH A RADEON HD if you really want good gaming preformance go for the 580GTX SLI and that will run all of your games on max settings for the next 4 years

Fanboi alert..................

 

[larkspur]

The question comes down to whether you want to Crossfire or not. The fact is that 2 x 6970 in Crossfire will beat a 7970. You can see the 6990 benches and realize that 2 x 6970 will bench slightly higher. So your most raw powerful choice is 2 x 6970. It's also sort of cheaper and easier since you don't have to sell your original 6970.

That PSU will be plenty for 2 x 6970. Make sure your motherboard supports Crossfire.

 

[venur]

I'd like to add if you get another 6970 it must be the same brand of the first one otherwise you might be unable to make it work in crossfire.

Also going for crossfire can be a mess sometimes and will be harder to configure then a single 7970.

You might consider buying a used 6990 (its back-order everywhere) and sell your 6970 (or use it in 3x CF if you can make it work).

A 6990 > 7970 and dual GPU work bether then 2 GPU in crossfire, also you don't have to fight for compatibility.

But well if your not going for a 2560x 1600p or bether a single 7970 will last your for years and will be less trouble then working on a cross fire set-up.

CF and sli is realy for those with a 30" monitor or a eyefinity set-up.

 

[vrumor]

dud Amd video cards really suck do to too bugy drivers and trust me when i tell you NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER do crosfire WITH A RADEON HD if you really want good gaming preformance go for the 580GTX SLI and that will run all of your games on max settings for the next 4 years

A fanboi who needs to go back to school no less. Good god that is a travesty of spelling.

 

[swifty_morgan]

you have a faster processor than mine and I can play anything maxed out on a 2gig 6950 with no problem. I don't see you needing to crossfire nor buy a newer card.

as far as 60fps go..... many games run perfectly fine when less than 60fps are met. Don't buy into the proposed "needs" that are posted on the net. What are you running that is giving you so much trouble..... Nothing ?

 

[venur]

you have a faster processor than mine and I can play anything maxed out on a 2gig 6950 with no problem. I don't see you needing to crossfire nor buy a newer card.

as far as 60fps go..... many games run perfectly fine when less than 60fps are met. Don't buy into the proposed "needs" that are posted on the net. What are you running that is giving you so much trouble..... Nothing ?

This is only true if he play a low resolution.

 

[larkspur]

A 6990 > 7970 and dual GPU work bether then 2 GPU in crossfire, also you don't have to fight for compatibility.

6990 is Crossfire on a single card and is typically noisier than 2 x 6970. It still relies on Crossfire compat in games.

A 6990 is stock-clocked @830 per GPU. 2 x 6970 are stock clocked @880 per GPU. In benchmarks 2 x 6970 beats a single 6990 simply due to the higher clocks.

It is recommended to use the same brand of cards when Crossfiring, but it is not necessary in practice. Even a non-reference board will Crossfire with a reference board - the clocks are pegged to the lowest card's default clocks. Of course they can be then increased in tandem.

Otherwise, Crossfire can be a hassle due to small, poorly ventilated cases, inadequate PSUs, buggy drivers and sometimes complete lack of Crossfire support in a game meaning your system just uses one card which really sucks for people who crossfire the lower end cards. So yeah, Crossfire has its issues, but with a decent CPU and a good motherboard for the vast majority of games it works great.

 

[moarmhz]

I've always been a fan of a single gpu instead of sli/crossfire. Always takes a few months it seems for drivers to get optimized when a new games come out it seems. Even then multigpu setups can be buggy.

 

[17seconds]

http://hardocp.com/article/2012/01/17/amd_crossfirex_drivers_opportunity_lost/

 

[venur]

6990 is Crossfire on a single card and is typically noisier than 2 x 6970. It still relies on Crossfire compat in games.

A 6990 is stock-clocked @830 per GPU. 2 x 6970 are stock clocked @880 per GPU. In benchmarks 2 x 6970 beats a single 6990 simply due to the higher clocks.

It is recommended to use the same brand of cards when Crossfiring, but it is not necessary in practice. Even a non-reference board will Crossfire with a reference board - the clocks are pegged to the lowest card's default clocks. Of course they can be then increased in tandem.

Otherwise, Crossfire can be a hassle due to small, poorly ventilated cases, inadequate PSUs, buggy drivers and sometimes complete lack of Crossfire support in a game meaning your system just uses one card which really sucks for people who crossfire the lower end cards. So yeah, Crossfire has its issues, but with a decent CPU and a good motherboard for the vast majority of games it works great.

yes 2x 6970 will have a little more FPS then a 6990 but will suffer ton more of microsttutering wich won,t be seen on a conventional FPS.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-stutter-crossfire,2995.html


having 60fps with a 6990 will be smooth compare to a 65fps on a 2x 6970 set-up shown by normal FPS parse.

edit: nvm I got the wrong link I'll try to find it and re-post it

 

[Computer guy]

dud Amd video cards really suck do to too bugy drivers and trust me when i tell you NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER do crosfire WITH A RADEON HD if you really want good gaming preformance go for the 580GTX SLI and that will run all of your games on max settings for the next 4 years

You are very very miss lead and informed Fan Boy http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/crossfire-sli-3-way-scaling,2865.html

 

[larkspur]

yes 2x 6970 will have a little more FPS then a 6990 but will suffer ton more of microsttutering wich won,t be seen on a conventional FPS.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-stutter-crossfire,2995.html


having 60fps with a 6990 will be smooth compare to a 65fps on a 2x 6970 set-up shown by normal FPS parse.

I don't think you understand that a 6990 is Crossfire. It uses Crossfire the same way that 2 x 6970 would. If microstuttering was an issue with the high-end cards then it would be very very similar in a 6990 as it would be 2 x 6970.

I can understand your argument for the single GPU 7970 since there is no Crossfire involved. But you need to read about the 6990 as your above statement doesn't jive. Read this page comparing a 6870 X2 with 2 x 6870: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-stutter-crossfire,2995-4.html

They are very similar.

 

[tony245]

Hi , Thanks for all the replies , Sorry I didn't mention it above , But im Using an Asus v242H 1080p Montior. I also Have a HAF 932 , so i have good ventilation. I understand that the 6970 x 2 Is more powerful on the 7970 but what im not getting is people are saying CF Is only good on 30"inch Monitor(edit: Resolutions over 1080p) or Multiple monitors .. SO If I get 2 6970 , using this monitor, I won't gain performance ? I'm Only Leaning towards CF because its cheaper for me , but im also turned off about it with the micro stuttering and Issues with new games..

 

[swifty_morgan]

which leads me back to my original reply......... why would you think about either ? you don't need it.

 

[venur]

which leads me back to my original reply......... why would you think about either ? you don't need it.

Depend on your resolution, for a 720p well a 300$ is more then enough for a few years. At 1080p a 300$ still pretty good. For 2560x 1600p you need some bether GPU and for a 3 monitor set-up a a 6990 can run BF3 on ultra but no aa for 4AA you need something more powerfull.

 

[inerax]

I have dual 6950's 2gb each. Flashed them to the 6970.

Amazing cards!

Drivers are fine, 0 probolems at 1080p.

If you can find the xfx 6950 2gb with the bios switch that is what i would get.

 

[Tavo_Nova]

well you don't need 3 monitors even when you use quad fire 7970, the question is,
-if you got the money?
-are you willing to burn it for self satisfaction and some performance?

if both are yes then go grade x2 6970's, i have both, and tested it, and currently when i get back home i'll be building my new quad fire setup on 3960x but only using 1 tv at 1920x1080, so people ask why i use quadfire? it doesn't matter whether you need it or not, same with people, they play games using 3930k or 3960x, when they don't even need those extra core but they buy so because of many other reasons, same with you, just base it whether you got the money and your willing to spend, if so go ahead, but i assure you, so long as you got good case airflow and maybe some watercooling(if you use it) then go ahead, crossfire is good so long as you got nice aircooling even without LCS, but if you intend to go with tri-quad fire you might need to look at LCS, although i have a system using aircooling but on a tri-fire setup and still works nice, also depends on your room temp, lets say you got great case and great water cooling but you live in the middle of the desert with bad room temp then it won't be easy

me<--- why crossfire/tri-fire-quad-fire/sli/3way-sli/4way-sli
-i can afford it
-willing to burn money for self satisfaction and whatever comes with it

solved ^_^

 

[bystander]

Wow, lots of bad info from a couple posters.

A 6990 is in crossfire, it has the same draw backs as two 6970's and a few of it's own.

You don't have to have the same brand to crossfire and they don't have issues. Though there could be limitations how how well MSI Afterburner will work with them, if you like to use that software. (They won't let you control the fan profiles individually with MSI Afterburner).

If you read through the microstuttering article, you'd notice it was not a problem with the high end cards, such as the 6900's.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey