Sanity Check 6950 2GB?

[sgrinavi]

I'm building a new Sandybridge system

2600k (I'll OC, but won't overvolt)
Asrock Extreme6 board
8 gb RAM in 2 sticks
a pair of vertex 120 gb ssd
4x WD 640 blues in RAID 10

probably use a corsair 620 or, maybe, 800w PSU that I have.

I have a pair of Dell u2711's that I'll be running.

My goal here is to build a system that uses less power than the one in my sig without a sacrifice in CPU performance. I am not not a big time gamer, but when I do play I want it to be reasonable, mostly I do 3d CAD work in REVIT, AutoCAD Architecture and 3ds MAX - REVIT and CAD work OK on my 1gb FX 1800 M quadro in my laptop, but max does stress out the system when I plug into my u2711's .

SO, my questions

1. Does the 2 GB card make sense?

2. The 6950 seems like the right choice from a standpoint of power/cost/performance. Is there a better choice?

 

[RussianSensation]

If you are not going to be gaming much, a single 6950 2GB is enough. You can start with that and always have the option of adding a 2nd one if you feel you need more power.

 

[mnewsham]

A few of those programs would benefit from CUDA, maybe Nvidia is the way to go.

 

[3DVagabond]

A few of those programs would benefit from CUDA, maybe Nvidia is the way to go.

Which ones, and how?

 

[sgrinavi]

A few of those programs would benefit from CUDA, maybe Nvidia is the way to go.

Has AutoDesk added support for Cuda?

The only cuda enabled app that I have found any use for was a rendering engine for 3dsMAX 2010 (octane) , but with 2011 the Quicksilver hardware renderer is built in and works on ATI or Nvidia

 

[Red Storm]

If you are not going to be gaming much, a single 6950 2GB is enough. You can start with that and always have the option of adding a 2nd one if you feel you need more power.

I never really understood that saying. How much time you spend gaming has no bearing on what level of performance you want/need. It's better for the OP to tell us what game (or type of game) he plays, so then we could give him a better response.

Just because I only spend 30 minutes a week gaming, doesn't mean Crysis is going to run well on my 7800GS.

 

[Zargon]

lol good point

 

[Arkadrel]

Sanity Check 6950 2GB?

For light gameing the 6950 is definatly gonna get the job done
So yeah go for it.

I have a pair of Dell u2711's that I'll be running.

Buy a 3rd... and hook them up to that 6950

 

[Zargon]

newegg has a newsletter promo code to get a nvidia GTX 570 for 300 dollars and a $20 MIR on top of that for the next 24-48 hours.

I would say that if you could, splurge a little over the 6950 and get the 570 as long as you dont plan to do triples........

its the best value right now for a single card at that price

 

[tijag]

newegg has a newsletter promo code to get a nvidia GTX 570 for 300 dollars and a $20 MIR on top of that for the next 24-48 hours.

I would say that if you could, splurge a little over the 6950 and get the 570 as long as you dont plan to do triples........

its the best value right now for a single card at that price

I think you can get 6950's for like $240 after MIR's and when the cores are unlocked it will perform with in throwing distance of the 570, for a noticeable amount fewer $$.

I think the 6950 2gig is the best overall GPU value at the moment.

 

[Zargon]

I think you can get 6950's for like $240 after MIR's and when the cores are unlocked it will perform with in throwing distance of the 570, for a noticeable amount fewer $$.

I think the 6950 2gig is the best overall GPU value at the moment.

to get it that far I beleive you have to unlock shaders and OC

not everyone wants to do this. the 570 OC's too. then it never ends.

although I dont see getting either of those cards as a bad deal.

 

[tijag]

to get it that far I beleive you have to unlock shaders and OC

not everyone wants to do this. the 570 OC's too. then it never ends.

Of course, but we are talking value here. $240 for a 6950 2GB with unlocked cores is a great value since IMO, it offers performance at 1920x1080 / 1920x1200 that most people would be happy with. 570 is also a good card, especially since it can OC to 580/near 580 levels, but due to the price difference, and the diminished returns i don't think its a better VALUE.

Honestly most people at 1920x1080 will be getting a GTX 460 or 6850/70. Most people don't EVER want to spend more than $200 on a video card, so that even the 6950 won't be an attractive option. [this is obviously anecdotal, but I'm amazed how many people in my WoW guild are going and buying GTX 450's and being all excited and happy about the performance. many many more people than have 580's or 69xx].

My comment is just saying that at $240 or so, the 6950 2GB is in my personal 'price/performance sweet spot', based on the fact that its plenty of power at normal gaming resolutions for most users. Its not the best card in the world as far as performance goes, and I acknowledge in my original post that even unlocked its not AS fast as a 570. [i said with in a stone's throw?] But for $240, its close enough.

Was just an opinion though

 

[RussianSensation]

My comment is just saying that at $240 or so, the 6950 2GB is in my personal 'price/performance sweet spot', based on the fact that its plenty of power at normal gaming resolutions for most users. Its not the best card in the world as far as performance goes, and I acknowledge in my original post that even unlocked its not AS fast as a 570. [i said with in a stone's throw?] But for $240, its close enough.

Was just an opinion though

Frankly a single 6950/570 videocard is probably not sufficient to drive 2x 2560x1600 monitors with AA in modern games. So if the OP plays light games (SC2, Dirt 2, etc.), both of those cards would work. Otherwise, you'll need to go SLI/CF. And it is at this point that the 570 makes no sense. Even with a single 2560x1600 monitor at 8AA, GTX570 is already 19% behind a stock 6970. It's actually even slower than a 6950...

So it just doesn't make sense to recommend a GTX570 for such high resolutions with 2 monitors since it lacks VRAM and sufficient texture fill-rate capability.

 

[tijag]

I assumed that the OP wouldn't be doing Eyefinity for gaming [just because you have 2 monitors doesn't mean you need to use them for games.] Also, 2 monitors for gaming is awkward, because the middle of your screen is a bezel...

 

[Zargon]

Of course, but we are talking value here. $240 for a 6950 2GB with unlocked cores is a great value since IMO, it offers performance at 1920x1080 / 1920x1200 that most people would be happy with. 570 is also a good card, especially since it can OC to 580/near 580 levels, but due to the price difference, and the diminished returns i don't think its a better VALUE.

Honestly most people at 1920x1080 will be getting a GTX 460 or 6850/70. Most people don't EVER want to spend more than $200 on a video card, so that even the 6950 won't be an attractive option. [this is obviously anecdotal, but I'm amazed how many people in my WoW guild are going and buying GTX 450's and being all excited and happy about the performance. many many more people than have 580's or 69xx].

My comment is just saying that at $240 or so, the 6950 2GB is in my personal 'price/performance sweet spot', based on the fact that its plenty of power at normal gaming resolutions for most users. Its not the best card in the world as far as performance goes, and I acknowledge in my original post that even unlocked its not AS fast as a 570. [i said with in a stone's throw?] But for $240, its close enough.

Was just an opinion though

oh I agree that the 6950 is the better value. I think for 48 hours the 570 is the better purchase as it has more raw hp. I dont think either card is a wrong choice

 

[RussianSensation]

I assumed that the OP wouldn't be doing Eyefinity for gaming [just because you have 2 monitors doesn't mean you need to use them for games.] Also, 2 monitors for gaming is awkward, because the middle of your screen is a bezel...

Agreed. I wouldn't use 2 monitors unless it's a strategy game.

 

[tijag]

oh I agree that the 6950 is the better value. I think for 48 hours the 570 is the better purchase as it has more raw hp. I dont think either card is a wrong choice

That maybe, since right now the $240 6950's are gone, and after MIR its around $255.

570 @ $280 after MIR is the better 'deal'. But for me, even $280 is pretty steep for a graphics card. So neither is the right 'option.'

 

[Zargon]

That maybe, since right now the $240 6950's are gone, and after MIR its around $255.

570 @ $280 after MIR is the better 'deal'. But for me, even $280 is pretty steep for a graphics card. So neither is the right 'option.'

fair enough.

I have 2 5870's and a 6950, all 3 purchased in a month timespan. before that i had a 4850x2.

but I like that if I spend 2-300 these days I can play with pretty ampd up graphics for 2 years like that. instead of doing a ~200 card every year

 

[Skurge]

That U2711 runs at 2560x1440, the 6950 would be a better choice overall.

 

[sgrinavi]

I think you can get 6950's for like $240 after MIR's and when the cores are unlocked it will perform with in throwing distance of the 570, for a noticeable amount fewer $$.

I think the 6950 2gig is the best overall GPU value at the moment.

I got one of $235 . If I were shopping pure value I think the 6870 is actually a better deal at $180 A/R, but I wanted the option to unlock and I prefer to buy current gen as it goes obsolete so fast.

to get it that far I beleive you have to unlock shaders and OC

not everyone wants to do this. the 570 OC's too. then it never ends.

although I dont see getting either of those cards as a bad deal.

I had to resist the urge to get the 570, but when I started looking into it I could have just used one of my 480's (one of them is even a factory O/C card) and had close to the same performance albeit at cost of slightly more power/heat/noise.

Once I reminded myself that my goal was to build a lower power system it made the choice easy.

I assumed that the OP wouldn't be doing Eyefinity for gaming [just because you have 2 monitors doesn't mean you need to use them for games.] Also, 2 monitors for gaming is awkward, because the middle of your screen is a bezel...

Um.. no. I can barely keep up with what goes on on a single monitor LOL.

What games? I like some shooters (I'll prolly pick up Crysis 2), I like some flight sims (the new MSFS is on my list) , I like Civ V... But, I really do not play long, hard or consistently. It doesn't bother me to turn the res down or turn off a few of the wiz-bang features. Besides, I still have my SLI system that I can whip out if I really want to push things.

I work in front of the stupid computer 80-90 hrs a week.. so gaming is not exactly a top priority.

 

[Skott]

I would say the 2GB 6950 is a better way to go. Unlock it to a 6970 just for the extra performance. Later on, if you need/want better gaming performance you could add another 6950 and unlock it as well. However if you choose this thought path you'd probably be better off using the 800w psu just to make sure you have all the power you need for dual 6950s unlocked and whatever other power needs your rig requires now and in the future.

 

[RussianSensation]

I got one of $235 .

:thumbsup:

In Crysis 2, the GTX570 is barely faster (1fps at 2560x1600). I just replaced my GTX470 with a 6950. 6950 idles at 29-31*C at 33% fan speed and 76*C at 33% fan speed at load. If I crank fan speed to 42-44%, my load temperature falls to 65*C. That's far lower temps than the 470 and significantly quieter.

Crysis 1 performance is up 36% at 1920x1080 4AA/16AF and 42% at 1920x1080 8AA/16AF. That's before unlocking! Even when I overclocked the GTX470 to 760mhz GPU (+25% overclock), it still cannot beat a stock 6950 2GB in Crysis under any 0AA/4AA/8AA scenario.

 

[Zargon]

I got one of $235 .

niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice

 

[n0x1ous]

6950 2GB owners, are they still unlocking like 99% of the time? I thought I read that AMD was putting the kibosh on that or that they finally had enough salvage parts to use for it that it wouldn't work anymore.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, as if I am the 6950 2GB is just a phenomenal value (still is without the unlock but that just puts it over the edge)

 

[jiffylube1024]

I think the choice is pretty straighforward. If you have programs that will benefit significantly from the GTX 570, then get that. Otherwise, go for the 6950 2GB and don't look back! Both are awesome cards, and perform fairly close to one another.