AMD 6990 or AMD 7970

[happy]

Hi guys,
Which one should I get based on the price per performance. I also have a Corsair HX 750W. The 6990 has 4GB vRam vs 7970s 3GB vRam. Should I worry about the heat for the 6990? The 6990s price is just to hard to pass up and I just wanted some opinions.


AMD 6990: $420
AMD 7970: $430

Thanks

[the54thvoid]

Consider the occasional problem of crossfire profiles. The 6990 is just two 6970's on a stick. The noise and power consumption of the 6990 will be greater. The 6990 will perform better in 'most' situations but driver wise a single card is always better.

I moved from a single GTX580 to a single HD7970 (albeit watercooled). I'm very happy with the performance increase.

If it were me and you're going down new card route, I'd get a custom 7970. Once overclocked to comparable levels they trade blows equally with 680's (though consume more power).

If you had the cash and were gaming at maximum on 1200p, I'd buy a GTX 680.

I wouldn't buy a 6990.

[happy]

Originally Posted by the54thvoid

Consider the occasional problem of crossfire profiles. The 6990 is just two 6970's on a stick. The noise and power consumption of the 6990 will be greater. The 6990 will perform better in 'most' situations but driver wise a single card is always better.

I moved from a single GTX580 to a single HD7970 (albeit watercooled). I'm very happy with the performance increase.

If it were me and you're going down new card route, I'd get a custom 7970. Once overclocked to comparable levels they trade blows equally with 680's (though consume more power).

If you had the cash and were gaming at maximum on 1200p, I'd buy a GTX 680.

I wouldn't buy a 6990.

So a 6990 is actually two cards fitted into one? That means its considered a crossfired card regardless if it is in one GPU?

[DarkOCean]

6990 is a 2gb card vram doesnt add in dual gpu cards.
considering the heat noise and power consumption of the 6990 i say 7970 is the better card plus it overclocks like a monster.

[random]

Originally Posted by happy

So a 6990 is actually two cards fitted into one? That means its considered a crossfired card regardless if it is in one GPU?

Yes so if there is a game with crossfire issues you'll also encounter those issues with the 6990.

7970 Go for it .

[mikmak]

As a fresh owner of a sapphire 7970 reference design I can say (as most of people here) that the card is very good - as just sayd it is very power efficient and makes less heat that the 6990 - but if you like a brute force card then go with 6990 - probably with some dx9 games you can benefit of a 20 % performance gain.

[Anusha]

Performance wise both are neck to neck.
Power draw is at least 50% more on the 6990. Let's assume you don't pay the bills. XD

Then it comes down to what you wanna do when a new games comes out,
1. if playing the games is what makes you happy: get the 7970
2. if troubleshooting, waiting for new drivers, waiting for patches are what make you happy: get the 6990.

[radrok]

As a 6990 owner I can tell you that it is a great video card but it's time has passed and it was a good purchase when Tahiti and Kepler weren't out.
If you are going to buy high end you'd ideally want to purchase the faster single GPU before going for dual GPUs, if you really want a dual GPU card then buy the upcoming 7990.

Over the two, 7970 definitely.

[jimp9106]

I have 6990's crossfired in one machine and i also have a sapphire 7970 in a new computer i just put together ,,, I havent has a problem at all with either set up ... but i have to agree with the others , the 6990's throw the heat . i didnt need to use my furnace much this past winter ,,, i just had to run furmark for about 5 minutes and my room was toasty ...
That is an awesome price for the 6990's but i would go for the 7970 as well ,,, alot less heat and noise ...