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Upgrade: 2nd 5870 or Single 6970 2GB?

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I will be getting a 2500K in the near future, and want to pair it with a GPU upgrade at the same time. I have no experience with crossfire, and have always heard that the 5800 series scale very poorly. I was hoping to get ideas from those who have used both single 6900 series cards and dual 5800 setups.

Any card I decide on will also require another $100 investment for a water block, which would make a 6970 be considerably more dough. Also, it is likely that I would have to scrounge a reference 5870 off of eBay, since vendors don't carry them anymore, and most water blocks only fit reference models.

The main purpose for the upgrade will be BF3.
 
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If you can get a 5870 for a good price then go for it. I just bought a 2nd HD5870 for my upcoming BF3 rig, I just need a 990fx board and BD processor. :)

I guess you just need to keep your eye out for a cheap 2nd hand one, I got mine for $100 which was a steal.

I thought that the 5870's scaled pretty good, just not as good as 6k series.
 
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I will be getting a 2500K in the near future, and want to pair it with a GPU upgrade at the same time. I have no experience with crossfire, and have always heard that the 5800 series scale very poorly. I was hoping to get ideas from those who have used both single 6900 series cards and dual 5800 setups.

Any card I decide on will also require another $100 investment for a water block, which would make a 6970 be considerably more dough. Also, it is likely that I would have to scrounge a reference 5870 off of eBay, since vendors don't carry them anymore, and most water blocks only fit reference models.

The main purpose for the upgrade will be BF3.

I have had first hand experience with those setups and I can tell you that a reference 6970 with a block seems like a solid and the better choice, I would personally go with that and OC it. While 2x 5870's are nice, they don't scale too well in DX11 which I'm sure would give you a headache in the future.
 

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If you are going watercooling, I think it will be more sensible to have a 6970 instead. Otherwise, if you can get a 5870 for cheaps its worth having a thought.
 
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I guess you just need to keep your eye out for a cheap 2nd hand one, I got mine for $100 which was a steal.

Wow, that's a good deal. If I found something like that it would make my decision much easier.

I have had first hand experience with those setups and I can tell you that a reference 6970 with a block seems like a solid and the better choice, I would personally go with that and OC it. While 2x 5870's are nice, they don't scale too well in DX11 which I'm sure would give you a headache in the future.

That's what I was afraid of.

If you are going watercooling, I think it will be more sensible to have a 6970 instead. Otherwise, if you can get a 5870 for cheaps its worth having a thought.

I already have a full WC setup, and my current 5870 has a full coverage block. I really do not want to go back to air, heck, my card never gets above 40C.
 
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I think it all boils down to which option would be cheaper.

Although actually Sandy Bridge in general does some improving on multi-GPU performance.
 
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I think it all boils down to which option would be cheaper.

Although actually Sandy Bridge in general does some improving on multi-GPU performance.

You bet, it does. I would, however, hate to piss away $300+ for a used 5870 and a water block if that money could go towards a newer single card that would offer the same performance perks. Hmmm. I guess it may boil down to available cards.
 
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I'd recommend the single 6970. I'm running two 5850's now, half the time I have the second card disabled due to certain games refusing to start/crashing the entire system while Crossfire is enabled. Usually that is the driver's fault(some drivers do it, some don't), but still.

And besides, you're better off getting a current gen card instead of getting another last gen card.
If you're worried about pricing, sell your current 5870 to pick up the slack.
 
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