Dual HD 6870 Crossfire vs HD 6950

[w0okie]

Hello,

I want to compare Dual HD 6870 vs a single HD 6950. I know that the performance is better for the dual 6870 but performance is not my primary issue because they both more or less deliver the performance that i need.

I will primarily be using this computer for hardcore encoding/video conversions + editing and lots of multi-tasking.

I'm not a hardcore gamer but I want to play the new Crysis, Homefront, Dead Island, Call of Duty etc at 1680 x 1020 resolution (possibly at max settings?). I don't really care if I'm not able to run some of these games at high settings or even be able to run some of them at all, because I care more about HD videos, encoding, editing etc.

Another thing is I really want to futureproof my system. This is why I am going with the 6xxx series because I need DirextX 11 compatibilities.

The reason why I'm comparing these two is because I heard there are issues with Crossfire. Putting aside cost, performance, power consumption and heat, is crossfire technology itself so problematic that I should just go with a better single card instead ? If any of you have experience with crossfire, do you really encounter so many problems or is it exagerated ?

My specs:
i7 2600 (Not K) Overclocked to 3.9 Ghz
875W Multi-GPU approved Power Supply
Dual Chan 16gb 1333MHz RAM
Windows 7 Home Premium

Video Card: Either dual 6870 crossfire or single 6950

Thank you for your input!

 

[boomstik360]

I would get a nice 6950, unlock it to a 6970 and later on down the road grab another when the need arises.

 

[searingmage]

I would get a nice 6950, unlock it to a 6970 and later on down the road grab another when the need arises.

Can the newer version of 6950 still be unlocked to a 6970?

 

[BraveSoul]

better single card instead

you said it,,,, i had two 5850 in crossfire and personally didn't like it,, benchmarks like 3dmark11 were much higher but many games i played didn't utilize both cards to their fullest. Also, check if 6950 is just as good with software you want to use it with as say gtx570 or 560, maybe nvidia's physix might be of big deal in some apps
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antec1200 filter mod

 

[n-ster]

you said it,,,, i had two 5850 in crossfire and personally didn't like it,, benchmarks like 3dmark11 were much higher but many games i played didn't utilize both cards to their fullest. Also, check if 6950 is just as good with software you want to use it with as say gtx570 or 560, maybe nvidia's physix might be of big deal in some apps

That is because 5850s didn't scale well at all... 6870 CF is a beast and most games utilizes them to their fullest...

What are the prices of the 6870, 6950 and 6970 where you live? Here dual 6870 is more expensive than a 6970 by a substantial amount

 

[Aceman.au]

Hello,

I want to compare Dual HD 6870 vs a single HD 6950. I know that the performance is better for the dual 6870 but performance is not my primary issue because they both more or less deliver the performance that i need.

I will primarily be using this computer for hardcore encoding/video conversions + editing and lots of multi-tasking.

I'm not a hardcore gamer but I want to play the new Crysis, Homefront, Dead Island, Call of Duty etc at 1680 x 1020 resolution (possibly at max settings?). I don't really care if I'm not able to run some of these games at high settings or even be able to run some of them at all, because I care more about HD videos, encoding, editing etc.

Another thing is I really want to futureproof my system. This is why I am going with the 6xxx series because I need DirextX 11 compatibilities.

The reason why I'm comparing these two is because I heard there are issues with Crossfire. Putting aside cost, performance, power consumption and heat, is crossfire technology itself so problematic that I should just go with a better single card instead ? If any of you have experience with crossfire, do you really encounter so many problems or is it exagerated ?

My specs:
i7 2600 (Not K) Overclocked to 3.9 Ghz
875W Multi-GPU approved Power Supply
Dual Chan 16gb 1333MHz RAM
Windows 7 Home Premium

Video Card: Either dual 6870 crossfire or single 6950

EDIT: Ive got crossfired 6870's and its not too bad. Good FPS, but Im having issues getting the most out of my crossfire

Thank you for your input!

Uh the 2600 can only hit 3.8GHZ max with turbo? It's locked for overclocking.

EDIT: Ive got 2 powercolor 6870s in crossfire. But Im having issues with getting the most out of scaling.

 

[n-ster]

Uh the 2600 can only hit 3.8GHZ max with turbo? It's locked for overclocking.

EDIT: Ive got 2 powercolor 6870s in crossfire. But Im having issues with getting the most out of scaling.

what do you mean?

 

[Aceman.au]

what do you mean?

Well he says he got the 2600 past 3.8GHZ which to my understand is physically impossible. Someone explain to me what I have missed here.

 

[cadaveca]

Well he says he got the 2600 past 3.8GHZ which to my understand is physically impossible. Someone explain to me what I have missed here.

ALOT, apparantly. 4x multi above the max turbo multi are available on locked chips.

As soon in the pic, 3.3ghz can hit 4.1 on single core, so naturally, 34 can hit 4.2ghz on one core, and 3.9ghz on all 4.

 

[yogurt_21]

for me I always lean towards best performance and dual 6870 is much much faster than a single 6970 much less a 6950.

I mean shoot a single 6870 is only 10% slower than a single 6950

to me it seems like a no brainer.

 

[Aceman.au]

ALOT, apparantly. 4x multi above the max turbo multi are available on locked chips.

As soon in the pic, 3.3ghz can hit 4.1 on single core, so naturally, 34 can hit 4.2ghz on one core, and 3.9ghz on all 4.

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=41021&stc=1&d=1299708691

Ah so, If I/anyone wants to overclock any further than that and on all cores I need the 2600k?

 

[cadaveca]

yep. I hit 4.7ghz with very reasonable volts, on air, no problem, @ like 68c loaded.

 

[Aceman.au]

yep. I hit 4.7ghz with very reasonable volts, on air, no problem, @ like 68c loaded.

Aftermarket or stock cooler?

I'm planning on hitting 5.0

 

[n-ster]

Well he says he got the 2600 past 3.8GHZ which to my understand is physically impossible. Someone explain to me what I have missed here.

I mean what issues with scaling

 

[Aceman.au]

I mean what issues with scaling

Just drop it, this has gone off topic

 

[n-ster]

Just drop it, this has gone off topic

YOU guys went off-topic, I did not... I asked what problem you have been having with 6870 in Crossfire, and as I should know, the THREAD TITLE says 6870 CF vs 6950.. So if I am asking about 6870 CF how is that off-topic or something that should be dropped?

 

[Aceman.au]

YOU guys went off-topic, I did not... I asked what problem you have been having with 6870 in Crossfire, and as I should know, the THREAD TITLE says 6870 CF vs 6950.. So if I am asking about 6870 CF how is that off-topic or something that should be dropped?

Ohhhh sorry didn't know you were talking about my issues with the CF. Yeah the top slot card will crash on boot (red light from the card with no display) then recover and load as normal. It used to also crash when I changed the screens around while the computer was going, but it didn't happen when I removed a screen on Monday to give to a friend who is staying at my place.

 

[n-ster]

Ohhhh sorry didn't know you were talking about my issues with the CF. Yeah the top slot card will crash on boot (red light from the card with no display) then recover and load as normal. It used to also crash when I changed the screens around while the computer was going, but it didn't happen when I removed a screen on Monday to give to a friend who is staying at my place.

So this is really not a problem everyone has only you right? I never heard of this before, so this shouldn't affect OP's choice

 

[Aceman.au]

So this is really not a problem everyone has only you right? I never heard of this before, so this shouldn't affect OP's choice

Just making him aware. And yes as far as I know, I'm the only one on the entire internet affected by this.

 

[DrunkenMafia]

I have always followed the golden rule when buying new gfx cards:

Never buy 2 of a lower model card at the same time. Buy a higher range single card instead. The only time you should buy 2 of the same card is if they are top of the range.

This is my opinion only and by no means a fact. There are some cases where 2 lower range cards are simply better and cheaper. For instance when the GTX460 was first released. It was cheap and SLI performance was really good.

The price of 2 x 6870's will be more than 1 x 6970/6950 and more than than 1 x 5970 whilst only giving you a 10% performance increase, more heat, higher power usage & 1 more part that can fail.

If you really want the best power scrape some more cash together and get a newly released 6990!!

 

[FierceRed]

If you really want the best power scrape some more cash together and get a newly released 6990!!

Good god no. Don't get a 6990.

 

[Aceman.au]

Good god no. Don't get a 6990.

Why not?

 

[n-ster]

Why not?

I find it disappointing, hot, loud and not that great of a performer... 6870 CF isn't that far from 6990 believe it or not. Scaling is much better with the 68XX than with 69XX

 

[FierceRed]

Because the ancillary costs of ownership far, FAR outweigh the benefits of having it run his 1680x1020 games at max settings that he sorta-kinda-maybe doesn't care about in between encoding the shit out of his video projects at maximum speed which A) isn't confirmed it can do so much better than the competition and B) is partially invested in the performance of his CPU.

Critically read any Antilles review and it'll be apparent it's not for him.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

I find it disappointing, hot, loud and not that great of a performer... 6870 CF isn't that far from 6990 believe it or not. Scaling is much better with the 68XX than with 69XX

I have to agree with this completely.