Crossfire, 6950 vs 5870, 6950 owners help!

P

psyside

2[H]4U
Joined
Apr 23, 2009
Messages
2,243
Atm i got 2x5870, and i want to kind of upgrade, so the questions is? does it worth? do you get better min fps? do you get better avg fps? are the fps more stable? when you get all facts etc how much on average are the 6950s faster then the 5870s?

Also how does 5870s compare to 6970s, i would like to ask if someone made that jump, is there big difference? would you buy the 6970s instead of 6950. knowing they cost 170 euros more.

Rig in signature...and before you say overkill for 1920x1200 i dont care, i use high resolution/textures mods, for games and on top of that i max out my drivers via control panel for maximum eye candy, so no its not overkill.

Thanks in advance.

P.S. dont tell me to chek out the reviews, i want real world experience.
 
I went from 5870 CF to 5870E6 CF to GTX 580 SLi and now 6950 unlocked Triple CF.

Yes, I see real world advantages to the move from 5870 to 6950 (actually 6970 now that the cards are unlocked).

First, way cheaper than nvidia 580 GTX and use less power.
Second, the scaling is way better than the 5870 series when in Crossfire. I use nearly 90% of all three cards in gaming, where I would not generally use 70% of the second card when I had the 5870s.
Third, I can use more options in EF now than I ever could with the 5870s and get nearly or equal the frame rate in triple screen use compared to my two GTX 580s.
 
magoo said:
I went from 5870 CF to 5870E6 CF to GTX 580 SLi and now 6950 unlocked Triple CF.

Yes, I see real world advantages to the move from 5870 to 6950 (actually 6970 now that the cards are unlocked).

First, way cheaper than nvidia 580 GTX and use less power.
Second, the scaling is way better than the 5870 series when in Crossfire. I use nearly 90% of all three cards in gaming, where I would not generally use 70% of the second card when I had the 5870s.
Third, I can use more options in EF now than I ever could with the 5870s and get nearly or equal the frame rate in triple screen use compared to my two GTX 580s.
Click to expand...

Thanks man, thats what i was looking for, btw i heard about the unclock being 50/50 thing, do you think is worth the "risk" ? how long do you got your cards unlocked?


Also how are the recent drivers ragarding scaling, is it still great?


Thaks to others for the input, as well.


P.S. How could i forgot! lol! how does this cards overclock, how does overclock scaling? i meant 6950/6970 CF.
 
Last edited:
Thanks man, thats what i was looking for, btw i heard about the unclock being 50/50 thing, do you think is worth the "risk" ? how long do you got your cards unlocked?
Click to expand...

I have three of these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...7555&cm_re=hd_6950_msi-_-14-127-555-_-Product You will notice they are the reference models. I unlocked them using a simple package of software provided here: http://www.overclock.net/amd-ati/923129-hd-6950-810-1250-mhz-shader.html

After loading the software and preparing, it took all of two minutes. 100% successful. The MSI cards are almost 100% flashable. I think it is well worth it. Mine have been unlocked since I bought them. Current clocks are 885/1350 with the shaders unlocked to 6970 values.

If you can't get a reference card, read this, it is MSIs own method for unlocking a non-reference card and should work on any vendors card: http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/msi_r6950_twin_froz_iii_power_edition_unlocking,1.html

I would probably use ATIWinflash instead of what is used in that article as it seems easier to follow, but the BIOS file and commands would be exactly the same. The reference cards are nice because they have the BIOS switch. BIOS #1 is writable and BIOS #2 isn't, so if you dick up your flash, you can save the card by flashing back to the factory default. ALWAYS save the BIOS from #1 or from the factory before you flash the card. It's very easy in ATIWinfalsh.

As far as drivers, I'm using the 11.4 Preview drivers and they have been the best AMD drivers I've seen in a long while. I get really nice scaling. One example, in DeadSpace 2 I ran at about 50 FPS average with two 6950s, maximum graphic levels, 5760 x 1200 Eyefinity. Adding the third card my FPS reached 70-80 FPS. That 80 level is right about what my FPS was with GTX 580 cards in Surround 6030 x 1200.
So for about 2/3rds money I get about the same or better performance. And still save 75 dollars each card vs a 6970.

The 6950 unlocked will easily OC to a 6970 level. I have not pushed the cards past that, but I'm sure they could go higher. Now I have to run the fans pretty high to keep the temps normal. I use 60% fan cycle, which is noticable. Especially with three cards in the box. I have a Rampage III Formula and the spacing isn't all that great for three cards....I should have purchased an Extreme, but the Formula was on sale plus free shipping, so I jumped in.:D
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top