Soldato
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would a HD6950 be better then my 2 HD6850s in CF?
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is it worth upgrading?
- Thread starter paradisiac
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Soldato
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Looking at this chart, a 6850CF is quite a bit quicker than a 6950.
However, 6950 2GB does have the benefit of being a single card solution (so easier to overclock, quieter, less power hungry, never have any issues with crossfire support/scaling, can add a second card in the future) and has more VRAM (though if you are gaming at 1080p then 1GB is generally more than enough).
Personally, I would stick with your existing setup for the time being and wait for the big GPU performance upgrade that is coming later this year when the 28nm cards arrive.
Oh, and start bitcoin mining while the going is still good
However, 6950 2GB does have the benefit of being a single card solution (so easier to overclock, quieter, less power hungry, never have any issues with crossfire support/scaling, can add a second card in the future) and has more VRAM (though if you are gaming at 1080p then 1GB is generally more than enough).
Personally, I would stick with your existing setup for the time being and wait for the big GPU performance upgrade that is coming later this year when the 28nm cards arrive.
Oh, and start bitcoin mining while the going is still good
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ok kool, 99% of the stuff i play i need vsync on so it wont go over 60fps anyways (think thats how it works). i guess this is down to my monitor?
the CF isnt really all that loud (i dont think anyways) and temps arent really an issue (except it seems to heat the front room up with the exhaust fans) so if there isnt anything to be had then i will save my pennies.
im also looking at possibly buying 3x17" monitors off a well known auction site, not the best res but thought i would give eyefinity a bash.
Oh, and start bitcoin mining while the going is still good
i do hope you are joking
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Soldato
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That's fair enough, may as well stick with what you have then.
Ah, well if you are considering eyefinity then depending on the total resolution you will be running at - a graphics card setup with more than 1GB usable VRAM may come in handy. Personally I would still stick with what you have for the moment and see how your existing setup handles the new eyefinity arrangement.
i do hope you are joking
Actually not joking, if you already have the hardware and don't mind running your PC overnight then it's not a bad use of your PC's computing power - at least before the mining difficulty ramps up too far.
http://bitminer.info/
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dont know anything about bitcoin mining but the bits i have read it seems dodgey and puts un-needed stress on my pc and electric bill.
Soldato
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Aye, bitcoin has it's dodgy uses, but on the mining side their is not much risk at all. You mine coins within a well-known pool, you get the coins sent to your bitcoin wallet and then you sell them on a trusted exchange (like britcoin).
At current prices/difficulty and with an AMD card the return is quite a bit higher than the cost of electricity used, so it puts a bit of money in your back pocket if you run it for a while. As for extra stress on your PC, well it will stress your GPUs, but it doesn't stress your other components and so long as your GPU is running at a safe temperature then there is little to worry about there.
At current prices/difficulty and with an AMD card the return is quite a bit higher than the cost of electricity used, so it puts a bit of money in your back pocket if you run it for a while. As for extra stress on your PC, well it will stress your GPUs, but it doesn't stress your other components and so long as your GPU is running at a safe temperature then there is little to worry about there.
Soldato
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I think the idea of bitcoin is a bit of throwing good money after bad, and it doesn't help with the high energy cost in the UK. Also, people have not factor in things such as hardware depreciation...both the the value of the graphic cards (and other hardware) themselves, or the possible shortening of their life-span...
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/Thread Hijack
Was browsing and after 5 minutes of reading Im deffo interested, especially since I have 6950 GPU sat in my PC right now. What kind of Work/Effort/Trade are we looking at here? A weeks worth of mining for £5?
Soldato
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With a 6950 and at current difficulty you are looking at 0.31 bitcoins per day (running 24 hours). At the current price of £9.80 to 1 Bitcoin then that means a week of mining will net you £21.28 (minus power costs).
So at 14p per 1Kw/hr and a typical load of 400watt...
((14/1000) * 400) * 24 = £1.34 per day, £9.40 per week
Net profit of £11.88 a week for a PC running 24hrs/7 days a week.
Hrmmmmmm.
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so that is £21 for leaving the pc turned on? there is nothing else involved?
Yep, but don't forget your electricity costs (which are rocketing in the UK) - see above for a basic 14p per unit calculation.
This will only get worse over time as well, as the amount of Bitcoins earned depreciates over time vs. escalating energy costs.
Ok, I'm seeing more sense now. Especially when I put this into context that I earn more than this doing 1 hours overtime at work.
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so why are people (noticed 2 or 3 so far) signing up to these forums and asking for quadfire mobos? surely if they are prepaired to shell out that sort of money there has to be something in it? or are these people just chasing a money for nothing dream and will end up being out of pocket with some equiptment that is OTT for real world use?
Soldato
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Pretty much the latter. The chance to pay back your hardware investment with bitcoin mining isn't very realistic these days, since the difficulty goes up all the time and as more processing power is brought to bear on bitcoin the harder it is to mine a coin.
If you already have the kit (a modern AMD graphics card) then you may as well have a go at the moment as you will make more money than your energy costs you (though you certainly won't be getting rich any time soon, but will pay for a few pints) - so long as you don't mind your GPU running under heavy load for long periods. However, buying a load of new kit now specifically for bitcoin mining isn't a sound investment.
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no single card on that list AMD or Nvidia outscore my setup
so is it only going to be a silly money card (HD6990) that would be worth the upgrade?
no single card on that list AMD or Nvidia outscore my setup
A single card might be smoother, deliver better minimum and average fps, along with being potentially quieter. In terms of maximum frame rates, I think you are looking at spending more money to eclipse your crossfire performance.
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i have finally worked out how to reduce the fan speed whilst its not needed, so currently they run @ 30% which keeps them around 35c which is ideal and they are quieter than my case fans.
when gaming i have speakers or headphones on so dont notice the noise then.
i have VSync enabled all the time due to my rubbish monitor, so i dont need it to go over 60fps, just want something that will sit around that most of the time.