Holy HD5870 E6 200usd!!!

you2 said:
What is an "E6"; i.e, how does a hd5870 compare to a hd5870 E6. Not sure if I should bite on this as i just picked up the HD6950 for $230; seems both have similar perf.
Click to expand...

E6 stands for Eyefinity 6. Most 5870s only had 4 display outputs (typically 2 displayport, 1 DVI, 1 HDMI). This one has 6 mini displayport outputs. It can drive more monitors than the usual 5870. It also has 2GB of memory onboard, whereas most 5870s have 1GB. This is helpful at extremely high resolutions (2560x1600+) which you are likely to reach with a mutli-monitor Eyefinity setup.

The 6950 (assuming it's a 2GB, I think I know the one you got) is just as fast or faster, and if you ever decide to go CrossfireX will do much better in a multi-GPU setup. Unless you need that $50 for something and the thought of returning one and ordering the other doesn't bother you, I'd stay with what you've got.
 
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You guys, I know this is the weirdest question ever. I know that the 6900 series uses VLIW4, and everything else uses VLIW 5. Which is easier to write GPGPU for, VLIW4, VLIW5, or nVIDIA's cards?

I'm a beginning computer software student and my goal is to one day program with GPGPU. And not to make interactive water simulations either LOL, something big, like run virus scans and encode music with GPGPU. Call me crazy, but 2.7 TFLOPS is too much processing power to let sit dormant and play games with.
 
The same deal's on Amazon. I bit with free 2-day Prime shipping, since I'll be able to replace my three 5770s with this one card and still run all of my monitors.

Now who wants to buy one of my 5770s? :D
 
What do I need to get one of these working with a VGA connection?
 
XacTactX said:
You guys, I know this is the weirdest question ever. I know that the 6900 series uses VLIW4, and everything else uses VLIW 5. Which is easier to write GPGPU for, VLIW4, VLIW5, or nVIDIA's cards?

I'm a beginning computer software student and my goal is to one day program with GPGPU. And not to make interactive water simulations either LOL, something big, like run virus scans and encode music with GPGPU. Call me crazy, but 2.7 TFLOPS is too much processing power to let sit dormant and play games with.
Click to expand...

Not really as much of an issue, as AMD want's you to use higher level languages like OpenCL or DirectCompute. However, Cayman has one other advantage over, well, everybody, including Fermi - multiple kernals from multiple host programs. It can run GPGPU tasks from different host threads simultaniously.
 
oh oops, i thought i was posting in the 6950 thread :D

If it doesn't come with one then you just have to buy one yourself, they are not expensive.
 
kirbyrj said:
What do I need to get one of these working with a VGA connection?
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There's a great site called MonoPrice that sells connectivity items, like cables, adapters, etc. I've bought from them once, and nothing was out of the ordinary, I received my order through regular shipping in two days(91214). If there are any other cables or adapters you've been looking for it makes sense to pool them together into one purchase so that shipping is cheap relative to the total price. Anyway, enjoy.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10419&cs_id=1041903&p_id=2396&seq=1&format=2
 
XacTactX said:
There's a great site called MonoPrice that sells connectivity items, like cables, adapters, etc. I've bought from them once, and nothing was out of the ordinary, I received my order through regular shipping in two days(91214). If there are any other cables or adapters you've been looking for it makes sense to pool them together into one purchase so that shipping is cheap relative to the total price. Anyway, enjoy.
Click to expand...

Yea, careful on the DP cables. The cables I bought from them did some weird things. I literally had the PSU hard switched off at the back of the PSU. Yet, the mobo lights were still going. The cable was on a 6950 to a Dell U series LCD. The mobo should not have been getting any power. I changed out those cables with cables from Circuit Assembly Corp. All weirdness went away.
 
XacTactX said:
There's a great site called MonoPrice that sells connectivity items, like cables, adapters, etc. I've bought from them once, and nothing was out of the ordinary, I received my order through regular shipping in two days(91214). If there are any other cables or adapters you've been looking for it makes sense to pool them together into one purchase so that shipping is cheap relative to the total price. Anyway, enjoy.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10419&cs_id=1041903&p_id=2396&seq=1&format=2
Click to expand...

I have some of those from other builds, but the connector isn't the same. The Mini DisplayPort -> DVI connector is digital only. I figure I need some sort of active adapter, but I don't know which one.

I got it up and running just now. It's seriously the largest video card I've ever used. :eek:
 
kirbyrj said:
I have some of those from other builds, but the connector isn't the same. The Mini DisplayPort -> DVI connector is digital only. I figure I need some sort of active adapter, but I don't know which one.

I got it up and running just now. It's seriously the largest video card I've ever used. :eek:
Click to expand...

It's very heavy, too, ain't it? The backplate is also a very nice addition (though it's necesarry on the E6 models...). Quality leaking through the vents right there... :D
 
kirbyrj said:
I have some of those from other builds, but the connector isn't the same. The Mini DisplayPort -> DVI connector is digital only. I figure I need some sort of active adapter, but I don't know which one.

I got it up and running just now. It's seriously the largest video card I've ever used. :eek:
Click to expand...

If you are looking for Active Adaptors, these work

If you want the full list, look no further.
 
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Received mine yesterday night, and I ordered Thursday afternoon. Newegg is freakin' fast.
 
Got cards today and I noticed that each card came with 4 mini Displayport to Displayport adapters. 2 are about 4" and 2 are about 6". Anyone know what the difference is?
 
Pretty sure thats just to help them fit behind the card easier, so they aren't all jumbled in the same offset from the back.

How many HDMI cables did you get?

On a side note, doesnt anyone know if this card has 2 clockgens or 4? I hooked up four monitors last night with 1 DP, 1 HDMI, and 2 DVIs and one of the DVI's isnt outputting. Guessing it only has 2 clockgens and I need an active DP converter. =(
 
Delivered today. Can't wait to get home from work and put them to work.
 
I only got 1 HDMI adapter. Not a big deal for me as all my displays have Displayport. As for your other question I would try one display at a time on the DVI connections to make sure they are both functioning correctly.
 
Yes, this card only has 2 clockgens, so you will need active DP adapters for any more monitors. But fortunately the adapters only cost $30 now, so it's not as big of a deal as it was last year.
 
Put them in and fired up Bad Company 2 for some multiplayer. 4320x900, max settings, 8xAA/16xAF and 60 FPS constant due to VSync. So far I'm loving them.
 
Tahoe916 said:
Pretty sure thats just to help them fit behind the card easier, so they aren't all jumbled in the same offset from the back.

How many HDMI cables did you get?

On a side note, doesnt anyone know if this card has 2 clockgens or 4? I hooked up four monitors last night with 1 DP, 1 HDMI, and 2 DVIs and one of the DVI's isnt outputting. Guessing it only has 2 clockgens and I need an active DP converter. =(
Click to expand...

4 clockgens, however, they are effectively permanantly tied in groups of two due to dual link DVI... why they cannot split them, I don't really want to know.
 
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Dylan80 said:
Wow nice deal, where is that price?

I am not getting the price you say, how is $275 as a good deal for this card?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.h...rds=B003DZ0TFA&url=search-alias%3Delectronics
Click to expand...

No, at $275 you're much better off with a 6950 2GB. You can get one for $250 or less AR anymore.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161355&cm_re=6950-_-14-161-355-_-Product
Well, $280 up front, $260 AR now... there was a run on them, I guess Newegg decided to cash in a little.

http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php...MI-2x-Mini-DisplayPort-PCI-Express-Video-Card
If you don't want to bother with a rebate or don't like HIS for some reason, there's a Sapphire at superbiiz for $275 shipped. No rebate on that one though. Still a better deal than the 5870 E6 at the same price.

Both the above cards will likely unlock with a BIOS flash, which is safe thanks to ATI's dual BIOS switch on the 6xxx series cards, and OC to 6970 speeds easily. Of course, this is not officially supported and some (around 1% from what I've seen) do get artifacts and other issues when unlocked / OCed. A 6950 is still faster than a 5870 even at stock speeds, though, and it will support 5 monitors, so unless you really need that 6th output it's the way to go.

Do note you want a 2GB 6950, not a 1GB. The 1GB cards will not unlock and are not that much better (are in some cases worse) than a 5870 E6 2GB.
 
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