Sli/crossfire suggestions 600 budget

[SZLiao214]

I am interested in moving on to a sli or crossfire set up. I am having problems choosing which setup to go for my intended budget. I currently play at 1080p but may move up to a higher resolution monitor later so i would prefer a 2 gig card.

I have considered 6950 twin frozr 2s and flashing them to 6970. A pair of these will cost me about 530 from amazon after rebate.

Do you guys have any better suggestions? The direct touch asus cooler is nice, but i can't make use of a 3 slot cooler. My mother board needs 2 slot coolers for sli/cross.

Thanks.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Sounds like you answered your own question. 2 6950's 2gb it is.

 

[badb0y]

The Twin Frozr's don't unlock, only reference models unlock.

 

[Elfear]

Sounds like you answered your own question. 2 6950's 2gb it is.

This.

 

[SZLiao214]

My mistake, for some reason i thought the twin frozr 2 would unlock but not the 3. The thing i thought was a bios switch was actually just a fan speed switch.

Looking at the 560ti it seems there is only 1 version with 2 gigs of ram. The price ends up being a little higher then the 6950. Guess the choice is easier now.

 

[n0x1ous]

absolutely 2 6950s 2gb

 

[LiuKangBakinPie]

Gtx 580 3gb all the way. CF too many problems

 

[Skurge]

The Twin Frozr's don't unlock, only reference models unlock.

not exactly. If the gpus are identical to the ones on reference boards, i dont see why it wouldnt. The only problem is there isnt a default bios to revert to if something goes wrong. The 6950 FleX does have dual bios and its a custom card.

 

[Zanovar]

not exactly. If the gpus are identical to the ones on reference boards, i dont see why it wouldnt. The only problem is there isnt a default bios to revert to if something goes wrong. The 6950 FleX does have dual bios and its a custom card.

This,it just takes a bit of effort^^

 

[Elfear]

Gtx 580 3gb all the way. CF too many problems

It's true. My cards tried to run away with my wife just the other day and before that one tried to electrocute my little girl.

With sarcasm turned down a little, what CF problems are you alluding to that aren't inherent in all dual card solutions?

 

[Arkadrel]

Get 2x 6950's 2gb versions for aroudn 240$ each (so ~480$ total) from say newegg.

Flash both 6950's -> 6970's.

Laugh at the fact, you probably got that setup cheaper than 1 single 580 card costs.

 

[SZLiao214]

I just bought 2 twin frozr 3 6950s. Total Damage, 610 after shipping.

This is the first time i've ever bought something electronic that wasn't on sale.

 

[alcoholbob]

It's true. My cards tried to run away with my wife just the other day and before that one tried to electrocute my little girl.

With sarcasm turned down a little, what CF problems are you alluding to that aren't inherent in all dual card solutions?

A plurality of games are "The Way It's Meant to be Played" which means SLI has a consistency advantage over CF.

 

[mnewsham]

I just bought 2 twin frozr 3 6950s. Total Damage, 610 after shipping.

This is the first time i've ever bought something electronic that wasn't on sale.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127575

with a rebate, newegg is usually better

 

[Elfear]

A plurality of games are "The Way It's Meant to be Played" which means SLI has a consistency advantage over CF.

Hmm. Looks like CF competes pretty well across a plurality of games.

 

[alcoholbob]

Hmm. Looks like CF competes pretty well across a plurality of games.

Hmm. I didn't know the 8 games made up a large amount of the games released on the PC platform. Please tell more.

 

[The Sauce]

I just tried CF for the first time and was completely underwhelmed...in fact, disappointed. Sending the second card back. In the games that I play I found a marginal improvement over single card at stock speeds - and in some games up to a 50% decrease in FPS. When compared to my single card when overclocked, CF was worse across the board.

Oopsie, turns out it was my mobo. Make sure you get something that does 16x/16x, 16x/8x or 8x/8x on the PCI-E lanes.

 

[The Sauce]

Hmm. I didn't know the 8 games made up a large amount of the games released on the PC platform. Please tell more.

It's the PC. 8 games is about all we have right now.

 

[LiuKangBakinPie]

^^^Is that the console PC thing flaring up again?
Consoles are turning into PCs one day they will be one again.

 

[DrBoss]

I have considered 6950 twin frozr 2s and flashing them to 6970. A pair of these will cost me about 530 from amazon after rebate.

why twin frozr 2s, when you can get twin frozr 3s?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-575-_-Product

i have two of them any they are performing extremely well.
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2155564

 

[DrBoss]

The Twin Frozr's don't unlock, only reference models unlock.

not true,
Twin Frozr III's will unlock (definitely) and they have a bios switch (i think).

 

[badb0y]

not true,
Twin Frozr III's will unlock (definitely) and they have a bios switch (i think).

"Cons: More expensive than stock 6950 and not far off reference 6970 prices. No dual bios and no ability to unlock to 6970. "

One of the reviewers on Newegg listed that as a con so I assumed it was true.

 

[3DVagabond]

According to TechPowerUp it has the dual bios.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/HD_6950_Twin_Frozr_III/1.html

W1zzard got it to 975MHz stock voltage, 1GHz @ 1.2v, and 1040MHz @ the 1.35v limit of Afterburner.