PowerColor Radeon HD 6950 1GB GDDR5 $50 after $20 rebate

[EliteRetard]

$39.99 after a $20 rebate.

New low price.
Fire-breathing hot video card of yesteryear is still allot of card for the money.
Was once briefly down to $50 + a $10 Newegg gift card.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131682
http://images10.newegg.com/uploadfi.../PowerColor14-131-682Aug05Aug313116lw80us.pdf

8/7/2016 (Thanks Replay)

 

[VirtualLarry]

But... do you want to gamble, how long AMD is going to continue to support their VLIW4/5 architectures? I don't, considering that they still don't even have drivers (Edit: I meant, "Full" drivers - WITH control panel / CCC) for their HD4850 cards for Win10.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

I'm 90% sure they will no longer be updating its drivers however keeping your drivers current is overrated.

 

[Replay]

1 Gig version, although Newegg's description was calling it a 2 Gig card. Almost bit, but not enough of an upgrade from a GTX 460 1G refurb card ($50 Aug-2013). Also felt the pain of early abandonment with AMD and their 4850/70 cards.

 

[waffleironhead]

But... do you want to gamble, how long AMD is going to continue to support their VLIW4/5 architectures? I don't, considering that they still don't even have drivers for their HD4850 cards for Win10.

Everything pre GCN is now in legacy support for drivers. They did release one final driver(beta) with the new crimson suite, but apparently that is the final one coming out for the old arch.

That said, I really dont care. I just bought one to pair with an athlon2 x4 620, so I can finally play thru some of my steam backlog. Great upgrade over my integrated hd4200. Will see how it crunches boinc projects as well.

 

[WT]

Had to order one for a local CL build I'm putting together. You can hardly find used cards for $50 that match this cards performance, and I'm hoping (prolly wrongly) that a CL buyer cares enough to buy new warrantied parts instead of someone's 'as-is' fly by night sale. I've bought 4 Powercolor cards over the years, and got all the rebates for each card. All cards still work great, and I especially love my 7970 that still does light duty on my workbench rig.

With the few that I sold this year, at least in my area, the buyer knows very little about what he's getting from me. He brings a friend along that knows the difference between AGP and PCIe, and that's about it. When they look at what I'm selling, the friend then tells the buyer, uh yea, that price is well worth what he put in this case. The problem is getting someone serious enough to want to buy and not low ball you to the point of insulting you.

 

[Elixer]

Yeah, this would be OK, except for the legacy driver part... that pretty much kills it, except for maybe Linux people, or you just need basic support, and no future games.

 

[mikeford]

It would be one thing if they ended support with a clean stable driver, but they just stop, so the last driver may still have issues.

 

[cbn]

But... do you want to gamble, how long AMD is going to continue to support their VLIW4/5 architectures? I don't, considering that they still don't even have drivers for their HD4850 cards for Win10.

Caymann (HD6970/HD6950) is VLIW4, the same as the iGPU on Trinity and Richland (eg, A10-5800K, A10-6800K) so its not that old really.

In fact, AMD was selling VLIW4 via those APUs for quite some time after discontinuing dGPU with VLIW 4.

 

[cbn]

Everything pre GCN is now in legacy support for drivers. They did release one final driver(beta) with the new crimson suite, but apparently that is the final one coming out for the old arch.

Here are the notes:

http://support.amd.com/en-us/download/desktop/legacy?product=legacy3&os=Windows 10 - 64

AMD Radeon™ Software Support for Legacy Graphics Products

AMD Radeon™ HD 8000 Series (HD 8400 and below), Radeon™ HD 7000 Series (HD 7600 and below), Radeon™ HD 6000 Series, and Radeon™ HD 5000 Series Graphics products have reached peak performance optimization as of November 24th, 2015.

These products have been moved to a legacy support model and no additional driver releases are planned. This change enables us to dedicate valuable engineering resources to developing new features and enhancements for graphics products based on the GCN Architecture.

As a courtesy to our valued supporters we are providing a final “As Is” Beta driver together with the release of the AMD Radeon Software Crimson Edition. The AMD Radeon Software Crimson Edition Beta driver includes the redesigned user interface as well as some enhanced features. More information can be found in the AMD Radeon Software Crimson Edition Beta Driver Release Notes.

For users looking for a WHQL certified driver, the AMD Catalyst™ 15.7.1 driver will continue to be available for users running Windows® 10, Windows® 8.1, and Windows® 7. Users running Windows® Vista and older Microsoft® operating systems can use the AMD Catalyst™ 13.12 driver. These drivers are available for download on the Drivers + Download Center page.

For users passionate about gaming, you may wish to consider upgrading to a modern GPU and benefit from exciting new features, improved performance, lower power consumption and broader compatibility with the latest PC games. For information about resellers and product availability, visit: http://shop.amd.com

Optimized up until November 24, 2015 means at least current games will be up to date.

 

[cbn]

Some Linux results (using SteamOS) comparing HD 6950 to other cards:

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=steamos-22-gpus&num=1

In Bioshock Infinite, HD 6950 runs about the same as GTX 650:

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=steamos-22-gpus&num=2

In CS:GO, HD6950 is in between GTX 750 and GTX 750 Ti (and within 15% of R9 290):

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=steamos-22-gpus&num=3

In Dirt Showndown, HD 6950 is 45% faster than GTX 750 Ti:

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=steamos-22-gpus&num=4

In Metro 2033, HD 6950 is 10% faster than GTX 650:

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=steamos-22-gpus&num=5

In Metro Last Light, HD 6950 is 24% faster than GTX 650:

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=steamos-22-gpus&num=6

Obviously AMD Linux drivers need help, but I don't think the results are so terrible considering this is the lowest cost usage (and worst case scenario) for this card.

 

[PingSpike]

I'm 90% sure they will no longer be updating its drivers however keeping your drivers current is overrated.

As a general statement I agree. However, having *a* driver available for your operating system is not overrated!

 

[F1N3ST]

$100 crossfire, lol.

 

[RussianSensation]

Obviously AMD Linux drivers need help, but I don't think the results are so terrible considering this is the lowest cost usage (and worst case scenario) for this card.

Not worth it to even contemplate.
-> Would be better off finding a used GTX660/660Ti series or waiting for GTX750Ti to drop to $60 which should happen soon
-> Gaming on Linux overall is crap -> lack of PC game support regardless of AMD/NV choice and performance compared to Windows is garbage

Long-term it would cost more $ buying a $50 outdated GPU with no driver support vs. just buying a better, newer $80-100 card.

$100 crossfire, lol.

Don't do it. Spend the extra $ on a single HD7970 and overclock it instead.

 

[WT]

RS, ... ouch !! Recommending a used card over this one ?? Ouch. I mean, I always value your opinion on video hardware, but for what I'm going to use it for, I disagree.

I'm using this card for a CL build that will be running Win 7 (and have the upgrade to Win10 nixed before I sell it) and for that price, I'm adding a good value card to the build. >>IF<< I was interested in moving to Win10, or updating the CL build to Win10, I would not look so favorably at this card, but as it stands, I'm happy with what I got. I always prefer to sell new hardware in my builds - the buyer gets the boxes and I will provide RMA services if need be. At some point, that has to count for something over some other seller's out of warranty parts.

 

[RussianSensation]

RS, ... ouch !! Recommending a used card over this one ?? Ouch. I mean, I always value your opinion on video hardware, but for what I'm going to use it for, I disagree.

I'm using this card for a CL build that will be running Win 7 (and have the upgrade to Win10 nixed before I sell it) and for that price, I'm adding a good value card to the build. >>IF<< I was interested in moving to Win10, or updating the CL build to Win10, I would not look so favorably at this card, but as it stands, I'm happy with what I got. I always prefer to sell new hardware in my builds - the buyer gets the boxes and I will provide RMA services if need be. At some point, that has to count for something over some other seller's out of warranty parts.

Well for starters, I've seen GTX750 1GB for $50 brand new this year. For a basic GPU, it's better than the 6950 in every way where it counts - driver support, feature set, power usage, video acceleration, etc. As far as gaming on a budget, 660/660Ti would smoke the 6950.

I've even seen used HD7950 cards for $75 on eBay.

Even if you are talking new, R9 270 has 2GB of VRAM, GCN driver support, way more performance and comes with Dirt Rally you can resell.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131545&cm_re=r9_270-_-14-131-545-_-Product

I just don't think HD6950 1GB is a good value at $50.

 

[WT]

Well for starters, I've seen GTX750 1GB for $50 brand new this year.

Cheapest GTX750 on the Egg is at $105. You may have seen it at that price, but this thread is a discussion on the 6950 on sale at the time OP posted. Would I have bought that 750 for $50 ? Hellz ya !!! But if I want to get my CL build listed in time for the holidays, I need a cheap video card NOW.

I still stand by my comment that I'd prefer to sell a new card with a warranty as opposed to a used card with an unknown past. Would you buy a used 7950 that mined for 2+ years ?

We can agree to disagree on the deal. I'm fine with that. I just know that it will sell my build a lot easier than an onboard GPU would.

 

[cbn]

-> Gaming on Linux overall is crap -> lack of PC game support regardless of AMD/NV choice and performance compared to Windows is garbage

The operating system is free though (and has other advantages over Windows).

And some people aren't really bothered by the lack of game selection because they only play a few games (that all happen to be available on Linux).

With that mentioned, If Battlefield (EA/DICE) were to ever to come to Linux I think we might see a pretty good exodus from Windows. And with Vulkan being based on Mantle it should be that much easier. And old news ppst from 2013 on that:

http://www.tweaktown.com/news/33438...could-see-battlefield-4-on-steamos/index.html

Update: http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=EA-Frostbite-No-Linux

 

[cbn]

Well for starters, I've seen GTX750 1GB for $50 brand new this year.

Last time I saw that one on sale was the Summer.

Actually a lot of the old sales we saw from Nvidia have dried up.

With that mentioned, I do wonder if this Power Color HD6950 ends up being a recurring deal? (I guess it depends on whether these HD6950 are based on surplus dies or not? For the Power Color HD5450 that constantly goes on sale for $9.99 AR free shipping they appear to have gotten a good supply, even changing the cooler on the newest version of that card)

 

[cbn]

Would you buy a used 7950 that mined for 2+ years ?

I would feel a lot better about buying used if we saw more AMD reference designs in this industry (re: reference design coolers have easier to source fans).

Nvidia has a really good reference design cooler (that is quiet) and it would be great if AMD had something equivalent to that (even if it was an open air design).

 

[cbn]

I'm using this card for a CL build that will be running Win 7 (and have the upgrade to Win10 nixed before I sell it) and for that price, I'm adding a good value card to the build. >>IF<< I was interested in moving to Win10, or updating the CL build to Win10, I would not look so favorably at this card, but as it stands, I'm happy with what I got.

Why would you look less favorably on this card if you were using Windows 10?

 

[cbn]

I don't have this card, but I did install an older VLIW5 card (Power color HD5450) in a Windows 10 Pro machine.

Catalyst 15.7.1 installs and works.

Haven't tried the Crimson Beta yet though.

 

[cbn]

Even if you are talking new, R9 270 has 2GB of VRAM, GCN driver support, way more performance and comes with Dirt Rally you can resell.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131545&cm_re=r9_270-_-14-131-545-_-Product

Dirt Rally is a pretty expensive game:

http://store.steampowered.com/app/310560/

And I do see folks selling AMD Steam gift codes on ebay.

 

[cbn]

Offer now includes a $10 gift card, effectively making the deal $39.99 AR free shipping.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131682

EDIT: $10 gift card can only be used for purchases at Newegg.

 

[Replay]

$39, ok, I can do that for one of the local LAN rigs. Thanks. Was just looking at it again yesterday and didn't see the new promo.