AMD Radeon 6950 2GB Crossfire, or single GPU?

[VG Docs]

Which would be the better choice? I could get a Radeon 6950 for $115 on Ebay so I could crossfire. Also, I have an adequate PSU either way, and an adequate CPU to keep up with the video card(s). I was also thinking about saving up too, and maybe just get a single GTX 770 or something, considering I've heard a few bad things about crossfire in games with microstuttering and such. Anandtech benchs seem to indicate that the 770 and 6990 perform similarly overall, but with better power consumption, temperatures, and noise levels for the GTX 770. I'd think that two unlocked (6970 BIOS for both) 6950s overclocked would be similar to a 6990, but I could be totally wrong on that. 

 

Anyway, those were two options I was thinking about. I didn't name it radeon 6950x2 vs gtx 770 though, because I'm open to other suggestions as well.

 

[nixproducer]

i would sell your current card and get like a 770 or a 780

[DamDirtyApe]

As far as specs goes, I think a 6990 would still be faster. High clock speeds on reference boards for the 6990 over the 6950, though I think the difference would really be negligible.

 

Anyways...

 

I would do as nixproducer stated and go with a newer card. There's so many ways to debate the topic. Relative performance is in the 780s favor of a 590. Which I'm pretty sure hte 590 is faster than Crossfire 6950s. I'm only using the following graphs as comparisons with the 590 as a 6990. I don't know which of those two are faster.

 

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_780/26.html

 

*But by going with a 780, as well, you'd have more vram for higher resolution gaming should you want to upgrade in the future. And then several years later you can continue with the same question. 980 Ti or 780 SLI?

 

*Single cards generate less heat and will use less power. With your current power supply, if it is still the LiteOn, I wouldn't really trust it to work with such a power hungry system as crossfire 6950.

 

*You also run into less problems with a single powerful card, which I'm sure you've read on the boards or have seen Linus talk about it in his videos. Like you stated above, there are a few issues with crossfire/sli.

 

There's gonna be plenty of reasons to go with another 6950 for crossfire as well, but I really say go for the 780 or the 780 Ti if you're able to.

[OnCue]

I know I'm probably going to be in the minority here, I would go with the 6950 crossfire, but that's personal. I like the idea of being able to only spend $110 and increase your performance immensely. Also, the 6950 unlocked to a 6970 isn't very slow to begin with, and if you don't mind the extra heat and noise, the gaming performance should be pretty much at or above that of a 770. 

 

If I were you I'd grab that extra 6950 and then sell them both and upgrade to one of the new Maxwell GPUs maybe next year.

 

(Also Crossfire 6950s look badass)

[VG Docs]

 

*Single cards generate less heat and will use less power. With your current power supply, if it is still the LiteOn, I wouldn't really trust it to work with such a power hungry system as crossfire 6950.

 

It's not the LiteOn anymore (Thank god), but I get what you're saying.

 

 

As far as specs goes, I think a 6990 would still be faster. High clock speeds on reference boards for the 6990 over the 6950, though I think the difference would really be negligible.

 

Anyways...

 

I would do as nixproducer stated and go with a newer card. There's so many ways to debate the topic. Relative performance is in the 780s favor of a 590. Which I'm pretty sure hte 590 is faster than Crossfire 6950s. I'm only using the following graphs as comparisons with the 590 as a 6990. I don't know which of those two are faster.

 

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_780/26.html

 

*But by going with a 780, as well, you'd have more vram for higher resolution gaming should you want to upgrade in the future. And then several years later you can continue with the same question. 980 Ti or 780 SLI?

 

*Single cards generate less heat and will use less power. With your current power supply, if it is still the LiteOn, I wouldn't really trust it to work with such a power hungry system as crossfire 6950.

 

*You also run into less problems with a single powerful card, which I'm sure you've read on the boards or have seen Linus talk about it in his videos. Like you stated above, there are a few issues with crossfire/sli.

 

There's gonna be plenty of reasons to go with another 6950 for crossfire as well, but I really say go for the 780 or the 780 Ti if you're able to.

Thanks for your input. I don't think I'll be aiming for the 780 due to the ~$500 price tag as opposed to the ~$320 price of the 770 (Not saying it's not worth it, just saying it'll take a while before I can get the 770, let alone a 780), but I am leaning a bit towards the idea of saving up for the 770. 

 

 

I know I'm probably going to be in the minority here, I would go with the 6950 crossfire, but that's personal. I like the idea of being able to only spend $110 and increase your performance immensely. Also, the 6950 unlocked to a 6970 isn't very slow to begin with, and if you don't mind the extra heat and noise, the gaming performance should be pretty much at or above that of a 770. 

 

If I were you I'd grab that extra 6950 and then sell them both and upgrade to one of the new Maxwell GPUs maybe next year.

 

(Also Crossfire 6950s look badass)

I get you, I really do, sounds awesome to me too, but I'm starting to think that the 770 may be a better investment, 780 if I can manage to save up my money for a decent bit longer.

[DamDirtyApe]

I know I'm probably going to be in the minority here, I would go with the 6950 crossfire, but that's personal. I like the idea of being able to only spend $110 and increase your performance immensely. Also, the 6950 unlocked to a 6970 isn't very slow to begin with, and if you don't mind the extra heat and noise, the gaming performance should be pretty much at or above that of a 770. 

 

If I were you I'd grab that extra 6950 and then sell them both and upgrade to one of the new Maxwell GPUs maybe next year.

 

(Also Crossfire 6950s look badass)

 

Price wise, I fully agree with this. But from your profile, your PSU is only rated at 400 watts.

 

6950 Crossfire will definitely draw way more than your PSU can handle. You'll have to invest in a better PSU.

 

http://www.legitreviews.com/amd-radeon-hd-6950-6970-crossfire-video-card-reviews_1488/18

 

Then again, even with a 770 you might want to invest in a new PSU as on this test build the card drew close to 400 on load.

 

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6994/nvidia-geforce-gtx-770-review/16

[VG Docs]

Price wise, I fully agree with this. But from your profile, your PSU is only rated at 400 watts.

Like I said, that's not the same PSU anymore.

[DamDirtyApe]

Like I said, that's not the same PSU anymore.

 

haha. My bad, I was still thinking of the PSU wattage. Thanks for the catch.

[VG Docs]

haha. My bad, I was still thinking of the PSU wattage. Thanks for the catch.

Yeah, no problem. I just now updated my rig, but in case you're wondering, it's the Rosewill Capstone 750.

[DamDirtyApe]

Yeah, no problem. I just now updated my rig, but in case you're wondering, it's the Rosewill Capstone 750.

 

Ahh, that's a wonderful PSU. In that case, go nuts. I would definitely go with the 770 still with the same reasons excluding the PSU talk, lol.

 

But, man, it's hard to see close to 6990 performance, with better cooling than a 6990, for such a low price in comparison.