New Build - Some Concerns, please help!

[betasub]

^ The reference 6950 cards should have all of the following: 2GB memory, the stock "blower" cooler, the dual-BIOS switch next to two Crossfire ports, and most importantly the AMD silkscreen on the PCIe port. The card you've linked meets all of these!

Edit: forgot to mention reference outputs, 1x dual-link DVI, 1x single-link DVI / 1x HDMI (shared), 2x mini-DP.

 

[dpodblood]

If you would like to know more about the unlocking process, take a look at this article, or simply google "6950 unlock."

http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/overclocking/vidcard/159

IMO if you already have the 560Ti that will be more than sufficient. If you really want to get something new I would take a look at the 6950. If you can unlock it that is just a bonus. Even at stock it will be a great card.

 

[Cymera]

^ The reference 6950 cards should have all of the following: 2GB memory, the stock "blower" cooler, the dual-BIOS switch next to two Crossfire ports, and most importantly the AMD silkscreen on the PCIe port. The card you've linked meets all of these!

Edit: forgot to mention reference outputs, 1x dual-link DVI, 1x single-link DVI / 1x HDMI (shared), 2x mini-DP.

Thank you for the clarification!

If you would like to know more about the unlocking process, take a look at this article, or simply google "6950 unlock."

http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/overclocking/vidcard/159

IMO if you already have the 560Ti that will be more than sufficient. If you really want to get something new I would take a look at the 6950. If you can unlock it that is just a bonus. Even at stock it will be a great card.

Thanks for the link! I did a google search, but I don't really know any reliable sources outside of Anandtech, that is why I asked you guys 🙂

Unfortunately the only reference cards I can find on Newegg.ca are that Sapphire and a Visiontek. My concern is failing to unlock it, then having to return it and wait for another card, etc. Regardless, I appreciate all the advice I have gotten so far and any others, I am still trying to decide! 😛

Really, its between a '6970' (i.e. unlocked 6950) and a 570 for me at the moment. After some more reading (will it ever end?!) I think I've come up with a few pros and cons for the cards:

570 - Pros
- Overclocks well to a stock 580
- Drivers?

570 - Cons
- Can be dangerous to OC (more so than normal because of an issue with VRAM?)
- Same price as a 6970 which seems to outperform it

6970 - Pros
- Nice boost with latest drivers
- Cheaper than a 570 if unlocked from 6950

6970 - Cons
- Might not be able to unlock!
- Does not overclock as well as a 570?

Thoughts?

Also, a close friend of mine in gaming has - like some of you here - urged me to stick with a 560 because it apparently overclocks very well. He said he saw it consistently beating out a 570. Does anyone know about this?

I bring that up because, with the next architectures coming out this fall, I would rather get a cheaper card (560/6950) and overclock/unlock it, and then invest in a Kepler. Do you guys expect Kepler to be significantly more powerful than the Fermi's? Should I wait on building a rig until they come out?

Thanks again for all the help!

 

[mfenn]

Unfortunately the only reference cards I can find on Newegg.ca are that Sapphire and a Visiontek. My concern is failing to unlock it, then having to return it and wait for another card, etc. Regardless, I appreciate all the advice I have gotten so far and any others, I am still trying to decide! 😛

You should never buy an unlockable product with the expectation that it will unlock. If you want/need a 6970, then buy a 6970. It's IMHO unethical to return a perfectly working card just because the "free bonus" didn't happen to work out.

Thoughts?

I'd probably get the 6950 2GB and be happy even if it doesn't unlock (it's still a fast card). If you decide that you want/need a GTX 570 or 6970 level of performance, just buy whichever one you can get a better deal on.

Also, a close friend of mine in gaming has - like some of you here - urged me to stick with a 560 because it apparently overclocks very well. He said he saw it consistently beating out a 570. Does anyone know about this?

Your friend is drinking some serious Kool-aid there. Sure, some GTX 560s can clock high enough to beat a stock GTX 570, but that's a rare "golden" sample card.

I bring that up because, with the next architectures coming out this fall, I would rather get a cheaper card (560/6950) and overclock/unlock it, and then invest in a Kepler. Do you guys expect Kepler to be significantly more powerful than the Fermi's? Should I wait on building a rig until they come out?

"There is always something better around the corner." :awe: I don't know how good Kepler will be at this point. I do know that any of the 6950/6970/560/570 are fast cards and will not stop being fast when Kepler comes out. My personal choice is above.

 

[Cymera]

You should never buy an unlockable product with the expectation that it will unlock. If you want/need a 6970, then buy a 6970. It's IMHO unethical to return a perfectly working card just because the "free bonus" didn't happen to work out.

I'd probably get the 6950 2GB and be happy even if it doesn't unlock (it's still a fast card). If you decide that you want/need a GTX 570 or 6970 level of performance, just buy whichever one you can get a better deal on.

Your friend is drinking some serious Kool-aid there. Sure, some GTX 560s can clock high enough to beat a stock GTX 570, but that's a rare "golden" sample card.

"There is always something better around the corner." :awe: I don't know how good Kepler will be at this point. I do know that any of the 6950/6970/560/570 are fast cards and will not stop being fast when Kepler comes out. My personal choice is above.

I agree with you, and I would not return the card as defective in any way. Canada Computers, the store I purchase from, allows customers to return many things (within 15 days) for store credit (minus a restocking fee) if it was not what they were looking for.

Thanks for helping me with this throughout all my questions, it is very much appreciated 🙂

 

[dpodblood]

I agree with Mfenn that you should not buy a 6950 with the expectation of unlocking. Regardless it will be a great card and if it unlocks, that's just a bonus. Also if you take a look at the Benchmarks for the factory overclocked GTX 560Ti's they come pretty close to the factory clocked 570's. Not surpass, but still a great card at resolutions around 1080p.

 

[Cymera]

I agree with Mfenn that you should not buy a 6950 with the expectation of unlocking. Regardless it will be a great card and if it unlocks, that's just a bonus. Also if you take a look at the Benchmarks for the factory overclocked GTX 560Ti's they come pretty close to the factory clocked 570's. Not surpass, but still a great card at resolutions around 1080p.

I think I was looking for some piece of definitive information that would make the decision for me. It's great that Nvidia and ATI are competing so tightly now, but it makes it harder to make a decision between the two! 😛

I think I have all the information I could possibly need on the GPU, just need to make a decision 🙂

Thank you all so much for your help and patience! I've learned a lot and saved a lot thanks to you guys! <3

 

[mfenn]

I agree with you, and I would not return the card as defective in any way. Canada Computers, the store I purchase from, allows customers to return many things (within 15 days) for store credit (minus a restocking fee) if it was not what they were looking for.

Thanks for helping me with this throughout all my questions, it is very much appreciated 🙂

Sounds good! Update this thread to let us know how the build goes or if you run into any problems!

 

[Cymera]

Sounds good! Update this thread to let us know how the build goes or if you run into any problems!

Will do! Thanks!