Help me chose my second Graphic Card

[jonathan1107]

Hi, I have a question regarding my second graphic card.

I actually have a radeon 6950 2gb (it's an XFX) I want to get myself another one to crossfire with my xfx...

should I get the exact same model, or can I buy the same card from a different brand (like HIS or MSI...)???

Also, there are a lot of XFX 6950 cards that have weird names like "695x-CNFC".... What's the difference between these and the ones with the normal name on 'em??

Also, what does Crossfiring involve? Must I reconfigure everything? If I already have my first card "shaders unlocked"... must I undo that unlock before crossfiring...?

Basically, can someone give me a little step-by-step guide to what I should do from purchasing the new card to installing it and configuring it?

 

[Spectrum]

i've never crossfired so i'm not 100% sure, but don't buy his or msi... xfx cards are very good. buy another one of those. (it will work with a HIS or MSI card though)
actually, if you have xfx, either buy another xfx or asus.

 

[fullinfusion]

does your XFX have a bios switch?

If so go for it... if not forget it!!! Loss!!!

 

[fullinfusion]

i've never crossfired so i'm not 100% sure, but don't buy his or msi... xfx cards are very good. buy another one of those. (it will work with a HIS or MSI card though)
actually, if you have xfx, either buy another xfx or asus.

Sorry for the double post!!! But Im using HIS 6950's and both unlock.... The only thing XFX is good at is replacement lol

 

[Spectrum]

does your XFX have a bios switch?

If so go for it... if not forget it!!! Loss!!!

xfx has one.. msi doesn't?! why the hell did MSI remove it? there was a thread on here about a month ago where somebody had fucked up a bios flash on an MSI card and there was no switch.

 

[fullinfusion]

http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/1543/compare6950s.jpg

xfx has one.. msi doesn't?! why the hell did MSI remove it? there was a thread on here about a month ago where somebody had fucked up a bios flash on an MSI card and there was no switch.

it cost them .50c cheaper to go that route lol imo

 

[Spectrum]

: D

 

[Frizz]

There's really no need to over-think it, you're just essentially installing two cards into your computer and installing one software driver to run em both. I'd recommend to get 2x reference models so that you can unlock them both as the reference models are the ones that come with dual BIOS.

Read this thread if you're new to crossfire http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51219

 

[bostonbuddy]

put the second card in
boot up
open ccc
go to the crossfire page
is enable crossfire already checked? can you check it?
If you can't open device manager sleect your grapics card and uninstall the driver.
Reboot, go to ccc and enable crossfire(it may already be enabled now)

 

[jonathan1107]

I have 8gb ram (2x4gb) (1600 mhz) 9 9 9 24.

Is there 8gb (2x4gb) ram sticks that have 2000mhz and good timings??? I've been lookin around but didn't find yet

 

[Maelstrom]

I have 8gb ram (2x4gb) (1600 mhz) 9 9 9 24.

Is there 8gb (2x4gb) ram sticks that have 2000mhz and good timings??? I've been lookin around but didn't find yet

I think you should start another thread for that, or at least get this thread moved to general hardware and the name changed, as it has nothing to do with graphics cards.

 

[jonathan1107]

I intend to upgrade my rig soon (adding another radeon 6950 and changing my RAM maybe...)

About the RAM... what should I do? I have 8gb (2x4gb) ram 1600 mhz running at 9 9 9 24... I've heard I could lower those timings... but frankly I'm no expert at tweaking the RAM settings... When I get in the configuration page in the bios for RAM... there are like 200 settings... makes me confused...

I was going to get myself another radeon 6950 to crossfire... but I've talked with a local computer technician who tells me that my motherboard might limit a little bit my Crossfire performance being that it will keep it at 8x instead of 16x PCIe...

He also seems to think that I should have faster RAM (2000mhz instead of 1600) He thinks it would allow for a better overclock and FPS increase and better crossfire performance...

But after what I read on the internet, it looks like just reaching the 2000mhz speed can be complicated with some mobos... Also I'm worried about temps... since my actual temps are just ok right now with the 1600mhz sticks. I guess I might have problems with the 2000mhz sticks...

How much of an FPS increase can you get out of 2x4b sticks 2000mhz?

Lastly, should I buy instead 2000mhz ram but lower its speed to like 1800mhz or even 1600mhz to get lower CAS... like 7 or even 6...???

 

[jonathan1107]

ok then

 

[erocker]

List your system specs, brand/model of RAM, etc.

 

[jonathan1107]

i7 875k (Oced to 4.0 ghz with eco coolit water cooler), mobo=sabertooth 55i, 1x radeon 6950 2gb unlocked, 2x 4gb gskills ripjaws (red) 1600mhz (9 9 9 24 1t)

 

[Xiphos]

http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/1543/compare6950s.jpg

xfx has one.. msi doesn't?! why the hell did MSI remove it? there was a thread on here about a month ago where somebody had fucked up a bios flash on an MSI card and there was no switch.

why all the hate for msi? lol
the twin frozr is a non-reference design. it may not have a bios switch, but it has better cooling

if you buy a non-reference design xfx, there is no switch either.

 

[bostonbuddy]

the second card only being 8x is why I slurged on the rampage III over the sabertooth, also on the rIII you use slots 1 and 3 rather then 1 and 2 so you get some nice breathing room between the cards. If you have the spare scrilla might be worth considering.

 

[jonathan1107]

Yah agreed, but the time and trouble "switching mobos" involves makes me feel exhausted already...

Having to reinstall windows... reconfigure windows to my taste and overclocking everything.... arrrr no thx...

 

[erocker]

if you buy a non-reference design xfx, there is no switch either.

My non-reference XFX 6950 has a bios switch. Since some non-reference cards don't have them and some do, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to search for pictures of a product they want to buy as there's always different revisions coming out for products.

 

[Spectrum]

why all the hate for msi? lol

flakey. they're not as reliable as they could be.
xfx and asus are awesome.
however i couldn't find a picture of a bios switch or the crossfire port on the asus reference so i don't know if that has a bios switch. if i was to buy a 6950 i wouldn't buy a non reference card as i'd want to flash to 6970 bios.

 

[jonathan1107]

I have another question regarding my computer's monitor:

Considering that I have a radeon 6950 and that my actual monitor is a 24 inch 1920x1080 (max) (60hz max)...

Should I get myself a computer monitor that does 120hz???

As of right now, in demanding games like Crysis, I get around 30-40 FPS when I max everything out (including AA and such...)

Would I have the same performance on a 120hz monitor???
Or should I get myself another 6950 and crossfire to see the difference?

Don't tell me about 3D... I already know that a 120hz monitor is required for this (3d blu-ray movies and future 3d games....)

But in terms of performance and FPS, what are the differences between 60hz monitors and 120hz?

Do 24inch 120hz monitors have higher resolutions then 60hz?

 

[bostonbuddy]

I wouldn't if you under 120fps it will look choppy, now you only need to get 60fps to look smooth

 

[jonathan1107]

Is it possible to have 100 FPS+ on a 24inch screen 1920x1080 with enough Video Card power (crossfire and so fourth) ??

 

[Spectrum]

i have a 120hz monitor, and playing on a 60hz monitor is like lag. 120hz is only good for multiplayer fps like css, l4d etc

 

[MicuAndrei]

Buy the same card. In this way you are sure that your CrossFire will not have problems