Radeon HD 6950 video ram or core clock?

[td0615vfx]

I'm thinking about getting a 6950 but im trying to decide whether to get the 1 gb or the 2 gb. The Sapphire 2 gb or the gigabyte 1 gb
If the only difference were the vram i would choose the 2 gb but the 1 gb has 870 core clock and im not sure which one would be better I do do gaming a little and i know vram helps to play at higher resolutions but i mainly do visual effects and vram isnt that important but i don't know about how the core clock affects it.

 

[Jovec]

While nothing is guaranteed, you can always try to increase the GPU clock via OC software (or modded BIOS?), but you can never add more VRAM.

i mainly do visual effects

It's highly likely that the software you use to do this doesn't use the GPU to accelerate the process, but rather the CPU. Nivida's CUDA is an option for GPU acceleration (in which case buy NV) or OpenCL (new, unlikely).

 

[td0615vfx]

yeah that is true but if i could overclock the core clock from 800 then i could over clock it from 870. But I don't know if the 870 core clock is overclocked as it is. if it is then i would probobly go with the sapphire 2 gb

 

[Jovec]

yeah that is true but if i could overclock the core clock from 800 then i could over clock it from 870. But I don't know if the 870 core clock is overclocked as it is. if it is then i would probobly go with the sapphire 2 gb

The 870 is already overclocked. It may or may not have any additional headroom. Just remember that it is the "luck of the draw" and the 800 stock core may not have any additional headroom either.

See my ninja edit regarding your software. Check if the video processing software you use benefits from GPGPU acceleration and which kind (Nvidia's Cuda would be much more likely than OpenCL or Stream), but simple CPU is mostly likely.

If you do this to make money, as study, or as a dedicated hobby, then assuming the software benefits I would consider spending the money for a factory OC'ed 2GB card.

 

[td0615vfx]

right now i do it as a hobby but i just got an internship so getting some what serious but yea since 870 is already overclocked then ill proboly get het sapphire 2 gb and overclock it my self and as for the editing i use after effects, 3ds max, and fumefx in max and maya i think cpu is most important and i am upgrading my cpu to 2500k or 2600k still deciding but as for the card it helps the rendering mainly i beleive but im getting the 6950 so i can play battlefield haha

 

[Jovec]

Again, check the software. Those who know can speak better on this, but any GPGPU in use by that kind of software is almost always based on Nvidia's CUDA. A 560 will run you about the same in price, will play BF3, but will also provide you with the benefit of CUDA.

 

[td0615vfx]

oh really? the 560 ti was my first choice but the 6950 out performs it but I didnt know the 560 ti had cuda

 

[Jovec]

oh really? the 560 ti was my first choice but the 6950 out performs it but I didnt know the 560 ti had cuda

The 560ti (or whichever the good 560 is) is roughly on par with the 6950 at 1080 or lower. The 2GB 6950 tends to pull away as the resolution increases.

All Nvidia GPUs are capable of supporting CUDA AFAIK.

 

[td0615vfx]

based on benchmarks the 6950 outperforms it by quite a sum http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=Radeon+HD+6950

 

[Jovec]

based on benchmarks the 6950 outperforms it by quite a sum http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=Radeon+HD+6950

AT Bench basically has them trading blows.

 

[td0615vfx]

hmmm whatever im sold 560 ti it is