Wednesday, January 26th 2011
AMD Radeon HD 6990 Pictured Up Close
Here's the Radeon HD 6990 up close. The HD 6990 is AMD's new dual-GPU graphics card that extends the performance leadership held by Radeon HD 5970. The pictures put rest to some speculation surrounding the cooler design. It now appears that the cooler design is similar to that of the GeForce GTX 295 single-PCB, as far as air-flow is concerned. A single long PCB holds two GPU systems on either sides, a centrally-located blower pushes air on either sides. The exhaust from one GPU is sent out of the case, while that from the other is pushed out of the card from its rear portion.
The Radeon HD 6990 uses two 40 nm Cayman GPUs, it packs a total of 3072 stream processors, and 4096 MB of memory between the two GPU systems. It also features a new kind of display output that consists of one dual-link DVI and four mini-DP 1.2. Power is drawn in from one 6-pin and an 8-pin PCIe connector. The card can pair with another of its kind for 4-GPU CrossFireX. It is expected to be released a little later in this quarter.
Source:
4Gamer.net
The Radeon HD 6990 uses two 40 nm Cayman GPUs, it packs a total of 3072 stream processors, and 4096 MB of memory between the two GPU systems. It also features a new kind of display output that consists of one dual-link DVI and four mini-DP 1.2. Power is drawn in from one 6-pin and an 8-pin PCIe connector. The card can pair with another of its kind for 4-GPU CrossFireX. It is expected to be released a little later in this quarter.
124 Comments on AMD Radeon HD 6990 Pictured Up Close
OEMs want to sell cards, plain and simple. They should, you'd expect, include enough adapters.
And while DP is not on every single monitor, it IS featured on many, and those that do have it aren't more expensive than any other monitor...so I fail to see any negatives about DP.
I have 4 monitors with DP. I will more than likely buy at least one of these cards, and should Eyefinity work well with 2 of them, I'll buy two. I really want to play F1 2010 again...
Scaling with 2x 6970 or 2x 6950 is pretty good. I'm waiting for this card to launch before buying into the 6-series...but it's pretty hard to wait.
Just sent my 5870 in for RMA...again...maybe XFX will send me a 6950 in replacement? :laugh:
If moving to more DP connecters on the card also comes with the requirement of included adapters to convert it to DVI or HDMI, then what are the benefits of using DP in the first place over just including DVI/HDMI on the card? So you have the possibility of 3D? Well, that doesn't go away, because there would still be some DPs on the card. Cost advantage? No, DP costs more in reality, both for the consumer and/or the manufacturer.
I understand the push for DP, however on a current product I don't see the need or advantage of 4 DPs at the expense of more widely used connectors. The card would have been more useful in more situations with a DVI, a HDMI, and 2 or 3 DPs.:ohwell:Oh, I very much beg to differ. I've yet to see a monitor with DP that is cheaper or even the same price as monitors available without. What monitors have you found that were the same price with DP? And it is a feature on many? So many that newegg doesn't seem to care a single one that I can find...
Edit: Wait, I found one on newegg. A 23" 1080p LCD for $270. Of course a few monitors away from that was a 23" 1080p LED for $170 or a 24" 1080p LED for $260...but I guess monitors with DP are going for the same price. Perhaps you know a place to get great deals on monitors, particularly DP capable ones, that you could fill us in on?
But me, oh yeah, this product was designed for users like me. I don't care about cost...I want what I want, and am willing to pay for it.
Any high-end SKU is like that. Look at all the other cards...they meet your needs...so clearly they are designed for users like you, and this is not.
As much as you want to pull a bad side to this card, this isn't one. It is what it is, and people will buy it no matter what. DP dongle is as low as $20. No big deal.
Source
I can't wait to see how these card perform, how they do against each other and how they do in crossfire/sli.
As I said, I don't know why anyone would want DP right now. It might show the advantage in the future, but right now, it doesn't. I see people wanting DVI and HDMI far more than DP. I don't see anyone that would be using this card asking that they drop DVI/HDMI in favor of DP.
Yes, DP is a good technology, yes it is going to grow in the future. That's great, include a couple ports. But don't force the majority of your users to use adapters just so you can have an ass load of the new connectors.I think you have the reversed. You think anyone that doesn't say AMD is the best is an Intel/nVidia fanboy. Of course you would probably never think I would disagree with something nVidia did, right?
Of course, you probably never see anyone disagree with Intel or nVidia, you tend to just glance over those comments for some reason...I wonder why...:rolleyes:
And that whole bit about DP being on lesser quality panels is garbage, sry. I've got 4 S-IPS panels here with DP(3xU2311H, + 3008WFP). All Dell high-end LCD's have DP.
Dell U2311H, S-IPS, $250:
accessories.dell.com/sna/products/Monitors_Flat_Panel_Widescreen/productdetail.aspx?c=ca&l=en&s=dhs&cs=cadhs1&sku=320-9270&~ck=bncat&~bk=gr:CategoryRec_default,g:RecentPopular,rk:
I mean, I suppose for pricing, we don't see the same deals, as we are in different countries, but if you are paying more for DP with a good panel, that's purely up to the retailer.
IMO either the reference cooler needs fixed, or 3rd party needs to step up and make a version with a better cooler.
That dell monitor is $280 in the states, that actually is still pretty comparable to an IPS panel without DP, so I'll give you that point.It isn't about being able to afford it, I can afford it, that doesn't mean I like spending money that I don't have to.
I mean, your points are valid. It does kinda suck, that eyefinity is restricted to DP usage. But at the same time, I am glad that it's DP now, and not something that they will have to upgrade in the future. When eyefinity is really ready for prime-time(or we get much higher-res panels), they will have years of experience with DP
But, with nVidia...you got to buy a whole second card. I'll take DP rather than the second card.
I'll take the second card and drivers that don't suck. :D
Nvidia wants you to buy multiples of thier product.
Amd wants you to spread the wealth around to other companies.
I personally don't have much issue with AMD drivers. both multi-monitor solutions have a fwe driver bugs, but software itself is a much larger part of nVidia's solution, and as such, in my mind, has a higher chance of failure.
I've been trying to build a rig for racing games with three monitors, wheel and such for some time. Still waiting for the right VGA for it. I am hoping the 6990 is it...but that doesn' exclude nVidia fro mthe options..time will tell.
And really, that's what I am comparing for purchase. NV vs ATI, for multi-monitor use, and of course, with decent framerates. Seem 6990 is gonna come before a dual card from nV...but you never know.
And again, my issue isn't with eyefinity requiring DP on a single GPU card, that as I said is a necessity. My issue is that I don't see it to be a necessity to have 4 DP ports on this card, especially not with at the expense of DVI or HDMI. And again, I'm not saying leave DP off completely either, I'm glad they have it, and are using it, and are moving it mainstream, however I just don't think it is to the point where there should be more than 2 on each card and they should be leaving off other more popular connectors to get more than 2.
I mean, if that's all you can come up with that is bad about this card, i think they are doing pretty good. I can overlook the extra DP port(s)...heck, I only need three myself! :laugh:
And guess what...becaues of timing issues, DP and DVI together for multi-monitor use just plain old sucks balls(even nV isn't mixing display output types). I haven't bought 68xx or 69xx just because of that..from my expereince with eyefinity, you need three native DP ports. 3x DVI just isn't possible with AMD's solution, and I accepted that many moons ago when I bought my monitors.
Because, in the end, you are very right, this is two cards in one...and only eyefinity really needs that sort of grunt. Seems to me that it'd be like the eyefinity6 card, except they left the single DVI for those that will use a single monitor.
I mean, I haven't been talking about the multistream DP boxes and daisy-chainable monitors being the only viable solution for eyefinity for months for no reason. Seem like AMD kinda listened, because I much prefer the right number of DP ports than a completely seperate box, that most likely, would have sold for $99 or better...I paid that for the DP-DVI adapter already.:laugh:
Again I'll say it. Not everyone that has the money to burn is willing to spend it on unnecessary things.That is exactly why I said this is going to be a beast of a card. The DP issue isn't a deal breaker by a long rung, I never said that, I just said I would have preferred a different configuration.
As you said, you really only need 3 for eyefinity. That is my point. Why use 4? I've said this serveral times I believe now, why didn't they just use 3 and include an HDMI or Mini-HDMI port in place of the 4th DP? That makes more sense to me than 4 DPs and a single DVI.See above. How many times do I have to say I'M NOT SAYING THEY SHOULD REMOVE DP COMPLETE. I don't know where you have gotten that idea.And as I have said, there are many different ways this could have been handled, including stacking the DPs in a 2x2 arrangement to make room for other ports. I believe they probably could have done this without even blocking any of the vent. And that is only if they wanted to use 4 DPs. If they only wanted 3, they could have stuck an HDMI or mini-HDMI in place of the 4th DP.So you think that 4 DPs and one DVI is the right number of DPs and a better configuration than 3 DPs, and HDMI port, and a DVI?And again, there really isn't a reason that they couldn't have just used 3 DPs a DVI and a HDMI. You could still do eyefinity with the 3 DPs. And I'll say it again, and for the last time, it has nothing to do with the money for the adapter, the point is that it isn't necessary if they just put slightly more thought into the design.
I mean, I understand this card isn't for you, so why are you even posting in the thread?
You can get waht you want, and probably the same functionality, by buying 2x6970. Those have exactly what you need, and probably, more grunt to boot.
Me, I've moved on to Micro-ATX. I want a single card that can do it all, including run all of my monitors at once. I'm not gonna use the 4th monitor to game on, but for monitoring tools, teamspeak, messenger, and IE, most likely.
And to get that all to work, and not have any timing issues that lead to corruption, I need 4 ports. I need 2GB per GPU. I need F1 2010 @ 60fps.
This card should do all that. This is MY card. Everything I've posted here on the forums that i want, this card has. Everything you want...
Is in a different product. They got you covered, too...and likewise, everyone else.
what I'm more interested in is Nvidia's well kept secret answer, and how it is performing and priced against this card. the midrange price war is stunning at the moment, everybody wins. it would make my day if the high end competiton is as invigorating.
You don't run eyefinity, so you don't understand the problems. I do, and as such, the card makes sense.
The general public doesn't need this card, nor do they run eyefinity. I do. Flagship cards are never meant for the masses, because the masses cannot afford this card. Me, I've bought every high-end card for the last 10 years. It's all here(and elsewhere) on the forums. I expected all of this, and you didn't.:laugh: