ASUS Radeon HD 6990 4 GB

[W1zzard]

Today AMD unleashed their new monster: Radeon HD 6990. This dual-GPU card, which is based on two HD 6970 GPUs took the gaming performance crown without beating a sweat. So, this card has tons of performance, but what about power consumption, heat and noise? And last but not least, is it worth the $699 price tag?

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[zhadlp]

fast and loud

 

[pantherx12]

Very disappointing really.

 

[random]

That is damned impressive! Now lets see the GTX590 so we can see a lower price.

 

[Jstn7477]

Well, at least it seems to be a worthy replacement of the 5970, but it is not too shy with the power consumption it seems.

 

[hanzi]

yeah especially the power output. If the power consumption is just the same or at least closer to the 5970's this will be greatest card to date.

 

[Hayder_Master]

nice work w1zzard

 

[Zubasa]

yeah especially the power output. If the power consumption is just the same or at least closer to the 5970's this will be greatest card to date.

338W in Maximum load is not bad really, it is only 18W more than a 580.

 

[afw]

Not impressed a lot ... but a good card nevertheless ... ...


EDIT: quick ques - These tests were done in stock settings (BIOS 1) or with the overclocked settings (BIOS 2) ... ???

EDIT 2: ppl complaining abt performance ... please check this (6990 vs. 580SLI) --> http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/41404-amd-radeon-hd-6990-4gb-review.html

 

[Tensa Zangetsu]

Meh, too expensive & noisy for the performance

 

[W1zzard]

These tests were done in stock settings (BIOS 1) or with the overclocked settings (BIOS 2) ... ???

stock bios, i'll have data for the oc bios soon

 

[v12dock]

I EXPECT performance gains with driver maturity.

 

[Melvis]

YES!!! Finally a card that draws more power then the 4870X2 lol, i feel so good now

Edit: and nosier haha

 

[mtosev]

The switch is covered by a scary big, yellow sticker which basically tells you that switching the BIOS will void your warranty.
During production AMD does a "bootup" test at the overclocked settings, but they do not guarantee stability of the card in this mode. The sticker itself did not pose a big problem, it can be removed, moved and put back easily.

LOL. So they added a second BIOS profile and if you use it it voids your warranty. Overclock your GFX in Windows and keep you warranty.

 

[W1zzard]

added the data for the oc mode to the graphs

 

[LAN_deRf_HA]

PCB looks nice and tidy compared to nvidia's latest dual gpu board. Wonder if that's down to power draw, part quality, or both.

 

[Swamp Monster]

This is a monster! (and costs like a monster too).

 

[HellasVagabond]

A 30% performance increase compared to a stock GTX580 is simply disappointing and proves that the GTX590(595?) will be quite faster, if NVIDIA decides to release it (they also had a GTX490 ready which they never did release). That aside the noise levels are expected and bad, the power draw at Peak is too much and the price is more than two 6970's.
As for driver optimizations this is not possible since the card is based on the 6970/CF, however since AMD (ATI) did perform an IQ cut-down recently to improve performance they may do it again so i guess we never can be sure of anything.
Bottom line i had higher expectations. Perhaps ASUS and the others can further improve the card, that however will result in even higher price tags.

 

[beautyless]

Great review as always!

The card looks awesome, especially considering by the label "The World Fastest Graphic Card".
I hope they're successed to create the comparable opponent to NVDIA GTX 595/590.
If not, the thing still looks real HIGH-END enough to satisfy AMD Lover.


I heard that the card should come with free "ACTIVE MiniDPP to SL-DVI converter" in every box, is it true?
It's add more value.


I waiting for 3 monitors resolution test result such as 5760x1080, becauses this kind of the tech is more commonly today.

 

[Jamborhgini313]

should be closer to $600

 

[Cuzza]

All rather predictable really. Still... if I win the lottery... ... no actually if I win the lottery it will go on fast cars and fast women, not fast gfx cards.

 

[mtosev]

http://geizhals.at/eu/?in=&fs=hd+6990

 

[HalfAHertz]

Thanks for the review W1z.
Well the card is really impressive from an engineering pov but as a consumer i think that the only people that should be interested in this card is those upgrading from a 4870x2. (or 4870x2x2 lol)

 

[Benetanegia]

338W in Maximum load is not bad really, it is only 18W more than a 580.

That's on Furmark which is irrelevant. It's artificial and they have measures to fake power consumption under stress tests like this. You have to look at how much it consumes under real games which are represented by the peak numbers on the charts.

Compared to GTX580 which does not have the best consumption to begin with, peak power consumption is 75w higher, which is 33% higher. And if you compare it to the HD5970 you can start crying already.

I think that Nvidia can win this dual-GPU round easily on performance and performance per watt. Maybe even consume less than the HD6990. Same thing that happened with the GTX295:

The relevant thing about the chart above is comparing HD4870 vs GTX285/275 and then comparing HD4870 X2 vx GTX295. The same can happen now, because despite being underclocked, at 301w peak, the power consumption is horrible compared to HD6970 (+63% higher), let alone the 6950 (+135%).

 

[H82LUZ73]

Not impressed a lot ... but a good card nevertheless ... ...


EDIT: quick ques - These tests were done in stock settings (BIOS 1) or with the overclocked settings (BIOS 2) ... ???

EDIT 2: ppl complaining abt performance ... please check this (6990 vs. 580SLI) --> http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/41404-amd-radeon-hd-6990-4gb-review.html

I think most of them forget that the cards are at a lower stock clock then the 6970`s,That review how ever does go in depth with overclocks and puts the card ahead of a 580 sli setup in some games with beta drivers which is good.I can not wait for the green team`s gtx590 which will also be at lower then normal 580 clocks,and we will here why is it slower in benches.It seems the card industry is going going gone green on all of us with these monster dual cards.But they leave that ""USE AT YOUR OWN RISK""Option that voids the warranty (IE ASUS) So they can charge a higher price (IE $40 -$60) on there so called OC line which will only use there own smart doctor program.

Great review Wizz,I just wish you would have put a sli setup in the first review (ASUS one) And also are you going for the new Heaven benchmark in the future ?