6990 vs CF 6950

[Veriitas]

no brainer then...

go for the 6990? but the performances seems equal.. and the noise of the 6990 is sooo loud

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5CFOmn29yc

15:30 loudest.. i guess that is just annoying while playing games?

 

[Masahiro]

I'd take the 6990 personally, may be underclocked but you can always crossfire it at a later date.

 

[Veriitas]

I'd take the 6990 personally, may be underclocked but you can always crossfire it at a later date.

With that noise? CF? It will fly away 😀
Haha.. anyway if a 6950 CF is allmost the same as 1 6990.. and it's easier to overclock a 6950, wouldn't 6950 CF be better?

 

[blackened23]

Its only noisy if you set the fans manually to 70%+. In real world use you probably won't hear it get that loud. But then again this is easily solved with a good aftermarket cooler

 

[Veriitas]

Its only noisy if you set the fans manually to 70%+. In real world use you probably won't hear it get that loud. But then again this is easily solved with a good aftermarket cooler

what about that video i posted a few posts above :ninja:

 

[Masahiro]

I haven't looked at the video, yes it may be loud. But here's something you should look at:

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-6990-review/12

According to the graphs yes the 6990 is loud, but 2 6950s CF is even louder 😛. Here's a pose from bystander over at TomsHardware:

Out of the box, the 6990 would be faster as it starts with higher clocks. However, the 6950 likely will give you more overclocking, as you have much more cooling per GPU allowing you to push it more. Also, as long as you have a motherboard with an extra slot between the PCIe slots, the 6950's will be quieter.

If you unlock the 6950's shaders (97% chance it can), you'll have the same performance, clock for clock.

Another post from TechPowerUp from random:

There are also some implications of long term side effects when you unlock the 6950s.. truth is it will never become a 6970 just a wannabe version since it doesn't have the required pins.

Basically here's the difference: The 6990 will have slightly better performance, but is louder. Having a 6990, though means less power consumption and you have an extra slot free SHOULD you decide to get a second one and destroy everything. If you decide to unlock the 6950s to 6970s you will have shorter life cards.

 

[lehtv]

According to the graphs yes the 6990 is loud, but 2 6950s CF is even louder

Those are reference design 6950s, while the OP is considering dual-fan Club3D versions

The 6990 will hold its value for reselling way better than 2 6950's

Not sure... Two 6950's are individually better cards for the money than a 6990 and will hence sell for a better % of the original purchase price, and if you get XFX cards with transferable lifetime warranty that can be used a selling point too

 

[Masahiro]

The 6990 would hold better resale value because it means it takes up one less slot. Even if the 6950s are individually better for the money today.

 

[Veriitas]

Congrats to me, I bought 2x 6950..

Only to be sure I get those.. also.. Club 3D offers no warranty loss while switching the bios🙂

I didn't know the dude who was selling the 6990 and he has 14 of them..

 

[deadseasquirrel]

I chose 2x 6950 as well (though I didn't have the option of 6990 like you). I chose it because I have used SLI way back in the day and would like to try out CF, plus, I run 5 machines at the house, and the 2 6950s could easily be an upgrade for 2 of those rigs in the future when I upgrade.