GPU Decisions

[FreedomEclipse]

So....

I finally got the replacement fan for my 6970 from the U.S, came home from work and set about replacing the fan.

Unfortunately it would seem that the stock coolers are made in such a way that totally dismantling the cooler to get to the fan would mean almost destroying it...

So I backed out of the idea of replacing the fan gracefully. I did however replace the TIM as the junk that XFX use seemed solid enough to build the wall of china with...

Now... since my attempt at replacing the fan failed, I have put myself in a dilemma and I have only a few options available to me as i dont want to wait until the fan totally grinds to a halt which could happen at any time. and the thought of killing the card while in an intense game of BF3 doesnt quite sit well with me because dead GPUs dont sell on very well....

with that out of the way here are my options:

- Ebay a stock cooler: Keep the 6970 setup going

- replace the stock cooler with a 3rd party one: a good idea but trying to find one small enough to crossfire with is difficult unless its a MK-26. All the more reason to replace the card entirely.

- just go get a GTX680: I wont be able to afford 'titan' so i cant be arsed to wait for it and AMD arent releasing the 8xxx series this year and i fancy going to the green camp for a bit.


Im reluctant to get a 7970. I really dont want another AMD card for a while, even if it is cheaper then the competition by a small amount.



I welcome any advice given (unless its stupid and you be trollin')

 

[Phusius]

GIGABYTE GV-R797TO-3GD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition ...

Sell Bioshock Infinite and Crysis 3 on Ebay, effectively making that triple fan 7970 gigabyte windforce, $330 or so free ship.


OC to 1200/1500 with around 1218v. destroy even OC'ed gtx 680's with the latest AMD drivers.... win and win. use the $200 u save to go to a strip club and look at nice boobies with beer bottles in between them.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Pitty gigabytes support is poo poo

 

[Phusius]

Pitty gigabytes support is poo poo

I'm a Sapphire man myself.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

bumpin this thread!! Needs more opinions!


::EDIT::

Also, looking into that gigabyte card more, there are quite a few negative reports on the card throttling hardcore compared to the other cards.

 

[DarkOCean]

- Ebay a stock cooler: Keep the 6970 setup going
I think cross 6970 is faster than any single gpu out there - i wouldnt upgrade to any single gpu card in this generation.
Btw What's so hard about changing the fan? its just 3 screws.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

- Ebay a stock cooler: Keep the 6970 setup going
I think cross 6970 is faster than any single gpu out there - i wouldnt upgrade to any single gpu card in this generation.
Btw What's so hard about changing the fan? its just 3 screws.

dismantling the shroud to be able to be able to remove the fan. they are fixed in place by some sort of retention clip and i have already broke one of them attempting to dismantle it, the others wont budge and i dont want to use more force as I dont want to risk breaking all the clips because then i would have nothing to put back together unless i go ghetto and superglue them.

The fan wont just simply 'fall out' if you undo all the screws, shroud is in the way and i cant get it off cuz i dont want to break it completely

 

[DarkOCean]

dismantling the shroud to be able to be able to remove the fan. they are fixed in place by some sort of retention clip and i have already broke one of them attempting to dismantle it, the others wont budge and i dont want to use more force as I dont want to risk breaking all the clips because then i would have nothing to put back together unless i go ghetto and superglue them.

The fan wont just simply 'fall out' if you undo all the screws, shroud is in the way and i cant get it off cuz i dont want to break it completely

you already have the new fan and you are ready to buy a new cooler on ebay so at least you could try at the risk of breaking it.
:until its not breaked or fixed you havent tried hard enough.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

you already have the new fan and you are ready to buy a new cooler on ebay so at least you could try at the risk of breaking it.

searched for a stock cooler on ebay and i cant find one. I can find loads of 6970s but not a stock cooler on its own.

In any case whats the point of putting the effort into breaking it if im going to buy a new cooler anyway? Its just a no brainer. I might as well dump it on a dual carrageway, throw it underneath the wheels of a HGV or bake it into a muffin in the oven.

Im not going to pay for a new 6970 just to get the cooler and lastly i've been looking at going back to a single card setup for a while now.

I could attempt to RMA it but i dont want to RMA a perfectly working card because god knows what kind of trash XFX will send me back, Not only this - whatever warranty was on that card is now void because i took the cooler off! I dont think there was warranty on it anyway.

I might as well buy a GTX680 and sell on the 6970s for someone to use as part of a Watercooling project or pawn them off individually so people can buy and mount their own aftermarket coolers.

I could mount an aftermarket cooler but it will turn the card into a tripple slot instead of a dual slot and there will be issues with spacing

 

[DarkOCean]

I could attempt to RMA it but i dont want to RMA a perfectly working card because god knows what kind of trash XFX will send me back, Not only this - whatever warranty was on that card is now void because i took the cooler off! I dont think there was warranty on it anyway.

weren't xfx the ones that are ok with user changing coolers etc,
what's the point of warranty if dont use it ? - the way i see it you could get a 7950/7970 instead (and sell the other 6970) from them as i dont see any new 6970 anywhere anymore.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

I didnt apply for the lifetime warranty because i didnt plan on keeping the cards for more then a year (shot myself in the foot with that one)

and No - here in the UK they dont allow for removal of the cooler - stupid I know.

sell the other 6970?? I have two and i cant crossfire 7970 with a 6970. the other card would be just a paper weight as i wouldnt use it.

 

[Grnfinger]

this cooler should work afaik

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=180004

 

[DarkOCean]

I didnt apply for the lifetime warranty because i didnt plan on keeping the cards for more then a year (shot myself in the foot with that one)

and No - here in the UK they dont allow for removal of the cooler - stupid I know.

sell the other 6970?? I have two and i cant crossfire 7970 with a 6970. the other card would be just a paper weight as i wouldnt use it.

no, i was saying you could get your card replaced by xfx with a 7950 or 7970 and sell the other 6970 but since you dont have a warranty just buy an aftermarket cooler.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

this cooler should work afaik

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=180004

Does it turn the card into a tripple slot cooler?

no, i was saying you could get your card replaced by xfx with a 7950 or 7970 and sell the other 6970 but since you dont have a warranty just buy an aftermarket cooler.

true true, I guess i'll contact them and see what they have to say

 

[Grnfinger]

Does it turn the card into a tripple slot cooler?



true true, I guess i'll contact them and see what they have to say

no dual slot low profile

http://www.coolink-europe.com/en/categories/1_19.html

Someone is selling one for 40 bucks in the BST forums

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Good find, Its compatible with the 6970 but i would need to find better heatsinks for the VRMs according to their compatibility list

 

[tokyoduong]

get this and all your problems are solved
ASUS ROG ARES II (ARES2-6GD5) Radeon HD 7970 GHz E...

 

[the54thvoid]

If you want a new card and you're looking at the 680's I'd check prices. The 680's go for at least £50 more in the UK than the 7970's and the AMD cards are faster in most titles*. The only issues I see are if you did go for crossfire, the AMD cards will draw more power and get louder and occasionally crossfire wont work!

If you stick with a single card, I'd get a custom 7970 for less than a vanilla 680. But if you plan on dual gpu further down the line, I'd get a 680/670.

*assuming you overclock it past 1GHz, which is pretty much a done deal.

 

[Scrizz]

3rd party cooler GMV

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Well, guess i got my heart set on a Nvidia card and i yes i know that 7970s are cheaper

Im trying to grab a 4GB card and not a 2GB one as i might be powering a bigger monitor a bigger monitor later in the year. ARMA II also loves extra onboard GPU memory!

 

[the54thvoid]

Well, guess i got my heart set on a Nvidia card and i yes i know that 7970s are cheaper

Im trying to grab a 4GB card and not a 2GB one as i might be powering a bigger monitor a bigger monitor later in the year. ARMA II also loves extra onboard GPU memory!

Don't fall for the bigger memory trap. You find as the resolution increases it's the computing power that is required.

W1zzard's own words

I was, naturally, curious to see what performance gains are possible with a doubled memory size. Unfortunately, all our data suggests that there are no significant improvements to be had. Using three full HD monitors at 5760x1080, we see only one game in our test group, Crysis 2, exceed 2 GB memory usage. Even in this test, the performance relative to a stock 2 GB GTX 680 is within the typical range we see from the overclock out of the box - which has nothing to do with memory

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Point_Of_View/GeForce_GTX_680_TGT_Ultra_4_GB/33.html

 

[FreedomEclipse]

thanks!! no need to go for the EVGA 680 FTW i was thinking of then!! Gonna put in an order for a MSI GTX 680 Twin Frozr OC.

Unfortunately its a weekend now, so its not possible to get delivery until monday. The original plan was to put in an order last night when i got home from work and have it delivered to me today but im glad i hung back as it saved me quite a lot of money.

 

[the54thvoid]

You know what happens after the weekend?

GK110, if the rumours are to be believed. Do I downgrade from 2 x 7970's for a trouble free single gpu experience?

Only W1zzard can tell me that. He must have a sample.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Id say do it!

well If the GK110 is gonna be released next month, I might as well hang back and wait for its release before making any purchase.

I dont think it will push prices down as the GK110 will be a premium card but we will see - hopefully my 6970 with the dodgy fan will last that long

 

[AsRock]

MK13 you can use with crossfire as well.. I sell ya my cooler but the card still under double warranty HA.

As for the cooler there is clips around the sides that you need to uncllip but yes they are a pain in the butt.