It looks like AMD has listened to the countless requests for a cheaper HD 6950 card. With just 1 GB of memory, instead of 2 GB, the card retails for around $40 less than its big brother. Even though memory size might suggest otherwise, we have seen absolutely no evidence of reduced performance. In no game, not even in Metro 2033 or Crysis, and no, not even at 2560x1600. This means that 1 GB of video memory is still a viable choice for a high-end gaming card today.
What surprised us however is the massively increased power consumption of the HD 6950 1 GB compared to the 2 GB version. In all our tests we see higher power draw, which seems to be caused by several factors, the most important being voltage and operating temperature. Temperatures of the card are even higher than on the 2 GB version, but still at safe levels. Due to higher power and temperatures, the fan has to work harder which means the card is noisier than it should be.
Overall, what matters most is that AMD now has a real alternative to fight NVIDIA's GTX 560 in the $250 market segment. For budget oriented gamers the choice is now HD 6950 1 GB or GTX 560 Ti. Modding the card to HD 6970 also seems possible, making this a nice toy for tweakers and overclockers.