Techpowerup/Chiphell/3DCenter: AMD 6990 launches March 8th - uses two 6970 Cores

[tviceman]

So you are not denying the sources you are now referring to as being reliable were, in fact, the same sources that said the 6970 would destroy the hd5970 and be 50% than a gtx480?

I was wrong with the "gtx475" cards name and release schedule, but the chip still came out in the form of the gtx560 and still performed exactly how it was expected to - unlike the 6970 which often loses to the "broken, unmanufacturable" gtx480. But we can keep going in circles. You said over and over again Nvidia hit a power wall at 40nm and would not be able to release another high end part until they were able to shrink Fermi down to 28nm. You were spot on there.

Here's another link saying the gtx590 will have 1024 cores.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/28/radeon-hd-6990-pictured-geforce-gtx-590-rumored-for-pax-east-20/

 

[Grooveriding]

You said over and over again Nvidia hit a power wall at 40nm and would not be able to release another high end part until they were able to shrink Fermi down to 28nm. You were spot on there.

I was indeed. They fixed the unpolished card they already put out, slapped a new number on it and re-released it. ()

 

[Skurge]

Or they could go the route they did with the gtx295 - use all the shaders but cut down the memory interface. But anyways, is chiphell and Napolean the same site that Silverforce used for all his 6970 destroying the hd5970 claims and also your assertions that the 6970 would be the fastest single gpu or were those rumors from page hit grabbing sites that were being repeated?

No, thats the guy and the site who said BartsXT would be faster than the 5850 and BartsPRO would be faster than a 460. Had photos half a year before the cards came out. The 6xxx series would have insane scaling and a bunch of other things, i just don't feel like digging up. All that nonsense about Cayman being the next R300 and being huge and hot were spread by non other than those exact page hit grabbing sites.

 

[Nemesis 1]

Well it can be safely said now. That any more refreshes on 40 nm will net little performance unless AMD can fine tune the 6970 . I think the 580 took everyone by surprize it certainly did me.

 

[tviceman]

I was indeed. They fixed the unpolished card they already put out, slapped a new number on it and re-released it. ()

Ok. Well in the meantime, keep slanting rumors and twisting stories to fit your explanations and blatantly biased agendas. You're good at these things, although not at all conspicuous about it.

 

[-Slacker-]

So you are not denying the sources you are now referring to as being reliable were, in fact, the same sources that said the 6970 would destroy the hd5970 and be 50% than a gtx480?

Haha oh wow, I'm sorry, but I'm going to want to see a link to this. You're not getting away scott free with statements like these on my watch

Here's another link saying the gtx590 will have 1024 cores.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/28/radeon-hd-6990-pictured-geforce-gtx-590-rumored-for-pax-east-20/

How are they going to cram 2 250w gpu's in the 375 2 8 pin limit when the 6990's 200w 6970s barely make the mark? (and they still had to downclock it). How much would the 580's have to be downclocked before they get outperformed by the 6990, and how will they manage to sell the card at any profit if that happens?

I might be wrong, but I don't remember seeing anyone post about how the 590 will absolutely, as a matter of fact, not have 1024 cores, but, in the absence of any kind of confirmation, we just choose to go with our rationale and not by some quarter page, tabloid rumors.

Sure we could shut up about it if we have nothing good to say, but how is that any worse than hyping up a product that we don't know anything about? This is, after all, a speculative debate - we have to guess one way or another *, and right now the best we have is "it's not going to happen".

* - well, at least we would if this was a gtx 590 thread.

 

[happy medium]

How are they going to cram 2 250w gpu's in the 375 2 8 pin limit

There is no 375 watt limit and the gpu's do not use 250 watts each and you can use more power connectors. Forget the pci-e spec and forget power usage, its all out balls to the wall now. Even the 6990 can consume 450 watts.

It doesn't matter how much they downclock, it looks to be all about overclocking and peak performance.

 

[happy medium]

we have to guess one way or another *, and right now the best we have is "it's not going to happen".

Well everyone and there mother said the gtx580 was going to be slower then the 6970 for the same reasons and we all know how that turned out. It just about beats the old ,power hungry , noisey ,hot, gtx480.

In fact I remember people saying the gtx580 was impossible.

Care to respond?

 

[happy medium]

I think the real question is will the 6970 in crossfire beat 2 gtx580's in sli?
If you answer that question honestly, you will know which dual card is faster.
Because in the end when both dual cards are overclocked and sucking a ton of wattage , thats all that matters.

Heat, power consumption, and price are all thrown out the window, this is the uber high end and uber high end customers only care about one thing SPEED/PERFORMANCE.
And Nvidia and AMD only care about one thing "the performance crown"!

Sounds like a commercial.

:

 

[Grooveriding]

AMD has this in mind.

If only they had bezel free monitors I'd bite.

 

[SolMiester]

If AMD are expecting to use 450w max on the OC unit, its looks like 300w standard is out the door, and therefore I expect NV to use the full core 580 cores.

 

[chewietobbacca]

If AMD are expecting to use 450w max on the OC unit, its looks like 300w standard is out the door, and therefore I expect NV to use the full core 580 cores.

It all depends on whether Nvidia decided to pass the 300W limit as well

 

[happy medium]

AMD has this in mind.

If only they had bezel free monitors I'd bite.

They do, but they are 2000$ a piece. Samsung makes 'em.

 

[Creig]

I guess I don't understand how AMD can violate the PCI-E spec. PCI-SIG clearly spells out that a card must consume no more than 300w between the PCI-E connector and external sources in order to be PCI-E compliant. I assumed that was why both Nvidia and AMD had been so careful to keep their dual card solutions (officially) under 300w up until now.

 

[-Slacker-]

Well everyone and there mother said the gtx580 was going to be slower then the 6970 for the same reasons and we all know how that turned out. It just about beats the old ,power hungry , noisey ,hot, gtx480.

In fact I remember people saying the gtx580 was impossible.

Care to respond?

I would if you could show me that "everyone said the 580 was going to be slower than the 6970" or that "people were saying the gtx 580 was impossible".

Otherwise I'd be left trying to argue against a straw man.

I think the real question is will the 6970 in crossfire beat 2 gtx580's in sli?
If you answer that question honestly, you will know which dual card is faster.
Because in the end when both dual cards are overclocked and sucking a ton of wattage , thats all that matters.

6970s are about 5% slower than 580s. If the 590 is restricted to the same power limitations as the 6990, then it will probably have to be downclocked much lower, negating even that small lead.

That's my point, a 1024 core 590 that performs similarly to a 6990 makes no sense from a marketing standpoint, because 580s are much more expensive than 6970s.

 

[Grooveriding]

I guess I don't understand how AMD can violate the PCI-E spec. PCI-SIG clearly spells out that a card must consume no more than 300w between the PCI-E connector and external sources in order to be PCI-E certified. I assumed that was why both Nvidia and AMD had been so careful to keep their dual card solutions (officially) under 300w.

AMD is using the loophole of the card is its basic state will adhere to those standards. Leaving open the obvious choice to flip the switch and overclock the card which will push it well past that 300W mark up to the user.

 

[Creig]

AMD is using the loophole of the card is its basic state will adhere to those standards. Leaving open the obvious choice to flip the switch and overclock the card which will push it well past that 300W mark up to the user.

I thought the numbers being bandied about was 375w in its factory setting, 400+ in OC mode?

 

[badb0y]

I am pretty sure that with the standard BIOS the card won't surpass 300 watt limit.

 

[Creig]

That's what I am thinking as well.

 

[happy medium]

I would if you could show me that "everyone said the 580 was going to be slower than the 6970" or that "people were saying the gtx 580 was impossible".

Never mind, I didn't relize you been a member a month. Now I see what I'm getting myself into.

We have a search function.

 

[badb0y]

Never mind, I didn't relize you been a member a month. Now I see what I'm getting myself into.

We have a search function.

There were some people saying that the AMD 6970 would be faster than the GTX 580 but most of us knew it wouldn't be.

If you look up my old post I said that I expected the 6970 to come in between the GTX 480 and GTX 580.

 

[waffleironhead]

Never mind, I didn't relize you been a member a month. Now I see what I'm getting myself into.

We have a search function.

So you are making a claim and not bothering to back it up will evidence when asked? bye bye credibility

 

[PreferLinux]

I am pretty sure that with the standard BIOS the card won't surpass 300 watt limit.

I thought the slide said 375 W for standard.

Dual 8-pin connectors would easily handle 700 W (based on the number of pins and the capability of the connectors).

 

[badb0y]

I thought the slide said 375 W for standard.

Dual 8-pin connectors would easily handle 700 W (based on the number of pins and the capability of the connectors).

We''ll have to wait and see how it turns out.

 

[Skurge]

So you are making a claim and not bothering to back it up will evidence when asked? bye bye credibility

hehe.