crossfire 2x6970 or 1 7970?

[tilldeath]

Thoughts?

[dir_d]

Crossfire

[phanbuey]

1 7970 for sure.

[de.das.dude]

add a poll.

[Bo$$]

7970 for sure

[Volkszorn88]

Why not 2x 7970? ^^

[MoonPig]

HD7970 - Less hassle.

[radrok]

7970, it overclocks to a point that makes the 6970 CFX cry, especially because you don't have to deal with CFX profiles and occasional microstuttering.
You could always get a second 7970 in the future

[twicksisted]

single 7970, you wont have to worry about all the crossfire bugs everytime a new game or driver comes out

[cadaveca]

Single card.

[heky]

Depends, if you already have one 6970 and can get a second for cheap, i say crossfire. if you dont have a 6970, i say go with the 7970.

@radrok
Your system specs suggest you are pushing 1.75v on the 6990. That must be a typo, or you are using LN2.

[radrok]

yes didn't bother to fix it, it's stock voltage, 1.175

[DarkOCean]

7970

[jonathan1107]

Hi guys, I'm jumping in here to also get a better idea about how to compare those cards...

I have 2x 6950 2gb in CF as you can see in my system specs...
I'm just curious to find out which scenarios are better:

I understand that in many ways a single card config is better:

- So is a 6990 better than a 7970?
- How far does the 7970 overclock (stock cooling)?
- Apart from the crossfire profiles and other hassles, what's the closest configuration of cards that would match the 7970 perf? (1x590? 2x580? 2x6970? or 1x6990) ?

And what would be the Best BANG/Buck scenario according to you guys?

Also, if single card config is always better... is it better to avoid 7970 CF?
Also, I'm not very informed about the difference in performance vs PCI-E 2.0 vs 3.0... Would one that considers buying a 7970 have to also consider getting a Mobo with 3.0 PCI-e ? Because my mobo supports 2.0 (not 3.0)

[Lazzer408]

Originally Posted by twicksisted

single 7970, you wont have to worry about all the crossfire bugs everytime a new game or driver comes out

+1

When the 7970 prices fall buy another. You can still get a nice chunk of change for your 6970s.

[radrok]

Originally Posted by jonathan1107

- So is a 6990 better than a 7970?

No it is not because even though it is a single card it's like a 6970 crossfire because there are 2 GPUs onboard.

Originally Posted by jonathan1107

- How far does the 7970 overclock (stock cooling)?

We've seen samples on stock cooling able to hit 1250+ MHz

http://vr-zone.com/articles/amd-rade...air/14398.html

Originally Posted by jonathan1107

- Apart from the crossfire profiles and other hassles, what's the closest configuration of cards that would match the 7970 perf? (1x590? 2x580? 2x6970? or 1x6990) ?

Single 6990/590 or heavily OC GTX 580

Originally Posted by jonathan1107

And what would be the Best BANG/Buck scenario according to you guys?

It all boils down on which kind of performance you need, if you are going to stick with 1080p then a single 6970/580 is fine, your 6950 is more than enough.

Originally Posted by jonathan1107

Also, if single card config is always better... is it better to avoid 7970 CF?

No, you want to avoid CrossfireX/SLI with lower end GPUs trying to match a single TOP GPU, before going dual GPU you should always pick the fastest single GPU on the market, if that is not enough then you start Crossfiring/SLIing the TOP single GPU.

Originally Posted by jonathan1107

Also, I'm not very informed about the difference in performance vs PCI-E 2.0 vs 3.0... Would one that considers buying a 7970 have to also consider getting a Mobo with 3.0 PCI-e ? Because my mobo supports 2.0 (not 3.0)

We cannot say if there is any difference because there is no PCIe 3.0 compliant CPU on the market atm (Core i7 3930K and 3960X should be but even Intel is not sure) so we must wait for Ivy Bridge

[erocker]

Originally Posted by jonathan1107

Hi guys, I'm jumping in here to also get a better idea about how to compare those cards...

I have 2x 6950 2gb in CF as you can see in my system specs...
I'm just curious to find out which scenarios are better:

I understand that in many ways a single card config is better:

- So is a 6990 better than a 7970?
- How far does the 7970 overclock (stock cooling)?
- Apart from the crossfire profiles and other hassles, what's the closest configuration of cards that would match the 7970 perf? (1x590? 2x580? 2x6970? or 1x6990) ?

And what would be the Best BANG/Buck scenario according to you guys?

Also, if single card config is always better... is it better to avoid 7970 CF?
Also, I'm not very informed about the difference in performance vs PCI-E 2.0 vs 3.0... Would one that considers buying a 7970 have to also consider getting a Mobo with 3.0 PCI-e ? Because my mobo supports 2.0 (not 3.0)

It's going to be no different from the setup you have now, only you'll have more powerful cards. Meaning, whatever CrossFire issues you have now, you'll have with these and possibly more since their new. All of your other questions can be answered by simply looking at reviews.

[tilldeath]

looks like it's the 7970 for me. Thanks guys. Any idea when they will be hitting the states?

[erocker]

Originally Posted by tilldeath

looks like it's the 7970 for me. Thanks guys. Any idea when they will be hitting the states?

They already have.

[radrok]

Originally Posted by tilldeath

looks like it's the 7970 for me. Thanks guys. Any idea when they will be hitting the states?

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=158285

[jonathan1107]

alright, thx guys.

You answered my questions. Curious to see how much perf gains we will have when they release CPU that are compliant with PCI-E 3.0

[tilldeath]

where I can't find any place that has em in stock, looking for asus.

[erocker]

Wow, sold out everywhere.

[jonathan1107]

yes indeed, but I've gotta say, in a certain way, it's a good thing...

Because I certainly want to encourage AMD to continue developping strong single GPU cards like that one...

Also, with it's popularity, the card is prob going to be redesigned by many other non-ref. card devs...

good luck with finding a place to buy the card

[BlackOmega]

Personally, I'd crossfire the 6970's. They're quite a bit more powerful than a single 7970 --even overclocked.

Some people will say blah blah blah drivers blah blah, and quite honestly, I haven't a clue as to what they're talking about. I've run CF since the 4870 was king and haven't had any issues with it at all.
I've run the 48xx series, 58xx series and now the 69xx series, nary an issue with any of them. I think that most supposed driver issues are PEBKAC. Plain and simple.

As for scaling, well, sure sometimes they scale backwards, but that's only in older games with old game engines, where your frame rate is so ridiculously high that it wouldn't even matter.

I can't for the life of me figure out why all these people are talking about lower frame rates when they're on 60Hz monitors. This has got to be the most idiotic thing I've ever heard. If you're on a 60Hz monitor, guess what? you're only getting 60FPS no matter what AfterBurner, Precision or any other monitoring software tells you!