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6990 OR 2 6970's
- Thread starter schnipps
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Soldato
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I would definitely go with 2x HD 6970. Faster than a HD 6990 and if you get a pair with decent coolers - much quieter.
The reason the HD 6990 is slightly more is probably because they don't make many of them and the prices remain high for such a premium product. In contrast the HD 6970 launched at over £300 (£600 for two) and is now much cheaper since they are much more popular and they have to remain price competitive with other cards like the GTX 570 and GTX 480.
The reason the HD 6990 is slightly more is probably because they don't make many of them and the prices remain high for such a premium product. In contrast the HD 6970 launched at over £300 (£600 for two) and is now much cheaper since they are much more popular and they have to remain price competitive with other cards like the GTX 570 and GTX 480.
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The 6990 is more expensive for a number of reasons.
A) They have had to shrink the transitors in order to fit two 6950 GPU's onto a single card.
B) Its newer tech. New -> Expensive
C) It may be more convenient if you do not have a crossfireX supported mobo.
Two of these would absolutely wreck and game.
MSI ATI Radeon HD 6970 2048MB > £245.99 inc VAT
A) They have had to shrink the transitors in order to fit two 6950 GPU's onto a single card.
B) Its newer tech. New -> Expensive
C) It may be more convenient if you do not have a crossfireX supported mobo.
Two of these would absolutely wreck and game.
MSI ATI Radeon HD 6970 2048MB > £245.99 inc VAT
I thought it was 2 x 6970 GPUs?
I also suggest 2 x 6970s with decent coolers. I have the 6990 and you cannot turn CFX off if you need to
Good luck!
Soldato
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Aye, it's two HD 6970 cores which have been underclocked. In terms of performance it sits between HD 6950CF and HD 6970CF. Hence going for two 6970s will be faster and you will have much more scope for overclocking (especially if you go for ones with nice custom coolers).
I think 6990 is good when you need to save room inside the case (given that your case is compatible with such long cards), e.g. use only two pcie slots for quad crossfire setup.
Noise could be an issue for the reference 6990. Theoretically 2 x 6950 should be superior in terms of cooling and overclockability.
By the way, does your mobo have a reasonable layout of pcie slots? If two 6950s have to stick firmly together then I strongly discourage you to go for 2 x 6950.
Noise could be an issue for the reference 6990. Theoretically 2 x 6950 should be superior in terms of cooling and overclockability.
By the way, does your mobo have a reasonable layout of pcie slots? If two 6950s have to stick firmly together then I strongly discourage you to go for 2 x 6950.
xfiring 6950's is the way to go, unles your Uber rich and would eventually crossfire 6990's 
if your set on it then you want 2 of these:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-119-MS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1752
then unlock the shaders to 1536 making it a 6970, dont listen to people saying dont flash it you'll brick it because its pretty much impossible... IF the flash goes wrong then you flick the bios switch on the card (the card has a back up bios incase of anything going wrong) and it flashes the ruined bios back the the origonal, ive done this, and when i did it my PC locked up so i had to hard restart, and my 6950/70 is fine... so flashing yours really wont be a problem, also, if the card breaks at any time you also can flick the bios switch again and it'll flash it back making it impossible for you to fin out that its been flashed, and Gibbo said he'll still honor the warrenty if you flash and it breaks so you have to return,,,
if your set on it then you want 2 of these:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-119-MS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1752
then unlock the shaders to 1536 making it a 6970, dont listen to people saying dont flash it you'll brick it because its pretty much impossible... IF the flash goes wrong then you flick the bios switch on the card (the card has a back up bios incase of anything going wrong) and it flashes the ruined bios back the the origonal, ive done this, and when i did it my PC locked up so i had to hard restart, and my 6950/70 is fine... so flashing yours really wont be a problem, also, if the card breaks at any time you also can flick the bios switch again and it'll flash it back making it impossible for you to fin out that its been flashed, and Gibbo said he'll still honor the warrenty if you flash and it breaks so you have to return,,,
xfiring 6950's is the way to go, unles your Uber rich and would eventually crossfire 6990's
if your set on it then you want 2 of these:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-119-MS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1752
then unlock the shaders to 1536 making it a 6970, dont listen to people saying dont flash it you'll brick it because its pretty much impossible... IF the flash goes wrong then you flick the bios switch on the card (the card has a back up bios incase of anything going wrong) and it flashes the ruined bios back the the origonal, ive done this, and when i did it my PC locked up so i had to hard restart, and my 6950/70 is fine... so flashing yours really wont be a problem, also, if the card breaks at any time you also can flick the bios switch again and it'll flash it back making it impossible for you to fin out that its been flashed, and Gibbo said he'll still honor the warrenty if you flash and it breaks so you have to return,,,
Aye but then i have read loads who say they dont flash and its only 20 quid cheaper then the 6970 so i think i will just go for the easy option as i have a terrible track record with breaking hardware i know it will end up in tears and for the sake of 40 quid its not worth it for me personally.
if thats what you want its up to you mate 
good luck with whatever you decide! and if you get the 6970's you might wanna get something with a better cooler than the stock/reference one, my 6950 sounds like a jet taking off at like 60%, its insane xD although its overvolted and idles at 53 with 20% although its quite un-noticable until 60%tbh
good luck with whatever you decide! and if you get the 6970's you might wanna get something with a better cooler than the stock/reference one, my 6950 sounds like a jet taking off at like 60%, its insane xD although its overvolted and idles at 53 with 20% although its quite un-noticable until 60%tbh