A second 6970 or a 7970?

[Fenlig]

Hey Guys,

I currently have a 6970 and am due an upgrade. So for gaming sake and not just benchmarking would I be better getting a second 6970 or just buying a new 7970 or 680?

Kind regards,

My Mobo: http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1366/P6X58DE/
My GFX card: http://www.asus.com/Graphics_Cards/AMD_Series/EAH6970_DCII2DI4S2GD5/

 

[mattuk]

Well what resolution are we talking about? 1080p or below i would get another 6790. Higher then that i would go for a 7970.

 

[philip j fry]

It depends on what you want realy 2 x 6970's give about the same fps and benchmark scores as 1 x 7970 but 2 cards will draw more power from your psu ( needs to be about 750w i would say opinions may vairy )
Also you will get more heat from 2 cards so will need to have good ventilation.

If you are getting a good deal on a second card then it might be worth going crossfire ( is why i did ) but if not i would sell your 6970 and get a single 7970, can always get a second 7970 later if you want to crossfire them .

Hope this helps

 

[cobbly123]

i have been running 6950/70 in crossfire for over a year at 1080 and have had no problems at all, as said b4 if you can get a 2nd 6970 for a good price go for it

 

[Fenlig]

I have a 1000w PSU and a large case with great cooling. I am turned off alittle with the talks of Crossfire support in games being poor. Do you have any issues?

 

[Barry1987]

i have been running 6950/70 in crossfire for over a year at 1080 and have had no problems at all, as said b4 if you can get a 2nd 6970 for a good price go for it

What are your FPS ranges at full ultra settings on new games like BF3 and Skyrim, mate? I'm considering getting 2x 6970 Twin Frozrs tomorrow because the 7850 ones are taking forever to be released. Also I heard this model is HUGE. I have the CM 690 II case. Would I have problems fitting them?

And to the author: It's up to you, depends if you want to wait a little while when new games come out for CF support (usually a few days for them to tweak them to run in CF I believe). Either would be great and you can just get 1x 7970 and buy another when they're cheaper later down the line.

 

[Geeman1979]

It depends on what you want realy 2 x 6970's give about the same fps and benchmark scores as 1 x 7970 but 2 cards will draw more power from your psu ( needs to be about 750w i would say opinions may vairy )
Also you will get more heat from 2 cards so will need to have good ventilation.

If you are getting a good deal on a second card then it might be worth going crossfire ( is why i did ) but if not i would sell your 6970 and get a single 7970, can always get a second 7970 later if you want to crossfire them .

Hope this helps

From what ive just read, It says 2 6970's would beat a 7970 allthough obviously you have to deal with crossfire issues and possible microstutter ect! Iv'e just bought a couple of 6970's and would like to know how they cope with the latest games like BF3 ect!

 

[Tonester0011]

From what ive just read, It says 2 6970's would beat a 7970 allthough obviously you have to deal with crossfire issues and possible microstutter ect! Iv'e just bought a couple of 6970's and would like to know how they cope with the latest games like BF3 ect!

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18386056

You'd need a heavy clock on a 7970 to beat xfire6950's.
Obviously that's a benchmark, in games the difference wouldn't be noticeable...unless you've got microstutter

 

[philip j fry]

I have 2 x 6950's unlocked to 6970 and overclocked to 1000 on the core and tbh i have never had any issues with microstutter or any other issues ( touch wood )
They run games like skyrim and bf3 perfect for me but saying that i know there are ppl that do have issues with crossfire , i think a lot of the issues are driver related ( newer drivers mainly ) i have stuck with older drivers 12.2 just because they work fine for me.

From the benchmarks i've done like heaven even with my overclock they are about them same as an overclocked 7970 not a lot of diff at all imo

 

[Gregster]

Another 6970 would make good sense if the price is cheap enough.

 

[Geeman1979]

I have 2 x 6950's unlocked to 6970 and overclocked to 1000 on the core and tbh i have never had any issues with microstutter or any other issues ( touch wood )
They run games like skyrim and bf3 perfect for me but saying that i know there are ppl that do have issues with crossfire , i think a lot of the issues are driver related ( newer drivers mainly ) i have stuck with older drivers 12.2 just because they work fine for me.

That's encouraging to know as im just getting into BF3 at the mo! My screen size is a 24" Dell resolution 1920x1200 I'll give the 12.2 drivers a run when I receive the cards.

 

[tommybhoy]

6970 CrossFire@1080p is faster than both the current high end cards on max oc's!

CrossFire profiles can be made yourself now in CCC if there isn't one on release that will get you at least some gains until a proper profile comes out.

Even if you have to, a single 6970 can tackle most games@1080p on max ingame settings with reasonable fps until the profile comes out, best example was Rage last year when folks cried fowl that CrossFire/SLI wasn't working while 1 card got you 60fps anyway.

 

[Geeman1979]

6970 CrossFire@1080p is faster than both the current high end cards on max oc's!

CrossFire profiles can be made yourself now in CCC if there isn't one on release that will get you at least some gains until a proper profile comes out.

Even if you have to, a single 6970 can tackle most games@1080p on max ingame settings with reasonable fps until the profile comes out, best example was Rage last year when folks cried fowl that CrossFire/SLI wasn't working while 1 card got you 60fps anyway.

How do you think a pair of 6970's would fair gaming at 2560x1440 resolution.

 

[blackninja]

How do you think a pair of 6970's would fair gaming at 2560x1440 resolution.

A couple of games:

I play with 2x6950 unlocked @ 900/1450 on 2560x1600 and I can't max out BF3 out and enjoy it .. I use the high setting though and its fine.

Crysis 2 with the DX11 and hi res texture packs was unplayable on max - reverted to one down and all was well again mostly but sometimes even that was not pleasant enough ..

 

[Geeman1979]

A couple of games:

I play with 2x6950 unlocked @ 900/1450 on 2560x1600 and I can't max out BF3 out and enjoy it .. I use the high setting though and its fine.

Crysis 2 with the DX11 and hi res texture packs was unplayable on max - reverted to one down and all was well again mostly but sometimes even that was not pleasant enough ..

Not too fussed about playing at Maxed ultra settings. I suppose it's about finding a balance your happy with. Did they suffer from microstutter?