2 unlocked 6950's in CF or a 7970/GTX 670 ?

apav · Nov 3, 2012

Hey guys,

So basically I'm tired of my crossfire setup. This cards are awesome when they scale well, but a lot of times they don't. There's too many headaches with the drivers with crossfire support, the microstutter gets annoying, and it gets a little toasty in my rig. I think it's about time that I upgrade. I play at 2560x1440 on ultra high settings in most games, so I really push those cards to the max. I am currently playing games like BF3, Skyrim, GW2, and Borderlands 2, and obviously I want it to be futureproof for the next year at least.

Okay so my questions.

1.) First off I would like to know if it's worth it to pay some extra cash to upgrade. I know there will probably be a performance loss, but there will be less headaches I have to worry about. Do you guys think that's it's worth it to upgrade to a single card setup?

2.) How much do you think I could get off my cards? Like $150 each? Would they sell? They're in great condition, and both are unlocked.

3.) How much of a performance loss would there be going to a 7970/670? And finally, which of these cards is overall better. Would it benefit me to go with the 7970 because I play at such high resolution? Or is that eyefinity I'm thinking of? I want the card more future proof, and pulls ahead in most games.

Thanks so much

givmedew · Nov 3, 2012

Hi, I actually believe that the 670 and the 7970 are faster than 2 6970s. So it wouldn't be a downgrade. However you may want to wait, I believe the next gen for cards isn't to far away. I have don't favor one brand or another ever I usually buy whatever is better per dollar at the time. However this time around I went from an unlocked MSI Twin Frozr II 6950 to a 670 because I figured that next time I buy a card I could use the 670 as a physx card. If physx gets demanding enough to max out the next gen card and still need something like a 670 to run physx. Lets hope they do LOL!

Pierre3400 · Nov 4, 2012

Go with single 7970.

trekky · Nov 4, 2012

we are soo close to the 8xxx line i would wait if oyu can

Pierre3400 · Nov 4, 2012

trekky said:
we are soo close to the 8xxx line i would wait if oyu can

Yeh, just another 6 months to go! Oh and they will be very heavy in price to start off compared with where we are now with 7970. I would get a 7970 now and then change when the 8000 series is in a good price range in 10/12months time.

Oh and i also believe 7970 will do better then 2x 6950, and you will lose the headache of crossfire issues with games that have them. Im getting my 7970 this week to replace my hd6950, that i also had in cfx and didnt like.

dsmwookie · Nov 4, 2012

I just ordered a 7970 myself with intentions to Xfire. My friend and I always go with the saying KIS (Keep it simple). One card for now, and grab another when you need the power; if the budget allows grab a high end 1 card later. 7970 should rock out all the games you want depending on the resolution/monitor set-up.

apav · Nov 5, 2012

Is a single OC'd 7950/7970 really that close to a pair of OC'd/unlocked CF 6950s? After looking at some benchmarks, I was under the impression that it was a sidegrade at best, and often a downgrade.

I'm also looking at the 7950 models now. They're a lot cheaper, for not a lot of performance loss. So if the 7970's are an upgrade, that means that the 7950's should still be an upgrade too?

So let me ask you guys another question. Is it possible to keep a constant 50-60 fps in Bf3 (on the outdoor maps), maxed out at 1440p with either of these cards? I understand occasional dips below. I just would like to know if this is achievable with a 7950 with an average overclock. Saves me $80!

soulwatch5 · Nov 6, 2012

I probably would get the 7950 and sell the 2 6950s for like $150 each or close too that number. They should sell and should pay for your single 7950. Wouldn't be an upgrade more like a sidegrade as u said but would be less power consumption and save u a little in the long run.

fornoob · Nov 6, 2012

OC'd 7970 > 2*6950: the overclocking potential of the HD7970 is really high (higher than for the 6950). You won't have performance losses but decrease in power consumption, simplicity in the build (better cooling: two cards requires a lot of space if not watercooled), and won't be disturbed anymore by microstuttering

Anyway: from my personal experience, microstuttering tends to appear for low/mid end cards, less for high end and tends also to disappear almost completely with a 3-way, whatever card you take (low, mid or high end). 3-way seems not to be an option for you: no real performance increase compared to 2-way (scalling is often bad), increase of power consumption and heat issues if not watercooled...

Other point:
The hardware requirements of the actual games didn't increase since last year/ GPU generation. It is almost exactly the same. It means that "1.5 year old" cards don't have any issues dealing with the most recent games in high settings. Yes, FPS are lower, but still really reasonable (40+ FPS for almost every game except metro 2033...).
There is no need upgrading in your case.
A GPU should at least have a lifetime of 2 years in a case: I don't talk about MTBF, but about time before showing performance issues in games.

If micro-stuttering is really annoying (and I know it is ^^'), consider to disable it

You would do it anyway if going for a single GPU rig...

CCl: Go for an HD 7970 (I found some reference cards ~350$) or wait for the next gen

givmedew · Nov 6, 2012

fornoob said:
OC'd 7970 > 2*6950: the overclocking potential of the HD7970 is really high (higher than for the 6950). You won't have performance losses but decrease in power consumption, simplicity in the build (better cooling: two cards requires a lot of space if not watercooled), and won't be disturbed anymore by microstuttering

Anyway: from my personal experience, microstuttering tends to appear for low/mid end cards, less for high end and tends also to disappear almost completely with a 3-way, whatever card you take (low, mid or high end). 3-way seems not to be an option for you: no real performance increase compared to 2-way (scalling is often bad), increase of power consumption and heat issues if not watercooled...

Other point:
The hardware requirements of the actual games didn't increase since last year/ GPU generation. It is almost exactly the same. It means that "1.5 year old" cards don't have any issues dealing with the most recent games in high settings. Yes, FPS are lower, but still really reasonable (40+ FPS for almost every game except metro 2033...).
There is no need upgrading in your case.
A GPU should at least have a lifetime of 2 years in a case: I don't talk about MTBF, but about time before showing performance issues in games.

If micro-stuttering is really annoying (and I know it is ^^'), consider to disable it You would do it anyway if going for a single GPU rig...

CCl: Go for an HD 7970 (I found some reference cards ~350$) or wait for the next gen

You could get about $300 for the old cards I agree with the person above. It would set you up with a no micro stutter card and without spending enough money to make next gen hurt.

I am fairly certain that I read 2x the performance per dollar on one of AMDs little spreadsheets with all the names of the procs. I'd like to find it so I could link it but a quick google from my iPad did not net those results so I could be talking out my arse. If it is 2x per dollar that is there goal then even if they fall a little short next gen is going to be even more exciting than this gen was. I mean it's going to be like 5800 series exciting and that was exciting for me. I was like damn only $3xx dollars (don't remember exact price). Then when I got the 6950 and quite a bit late I should mention (nov 2011) I really was not impressed much over the 5850 but then when I got the 670 it was jaw dropping and if they can double down and keep it affordable again we are in for some sweet tech.

apav · Nov 11, 2012

Okay guys I'm going to go with a 7970 if I can find some good BF deals on them

Regardless if I get a 7950/7970, I'm going to get a Sapphire or Gigabyte model (cheapest ones). Which brand do you recommend? Gigabyte has three fans, but a lot of people say their card is voltage locked or has some coil whine.

Pierre3400 · Nov 12, 2012

Im happy with my sapphire, do wish it had 3 fans, but im not volt locked.

givmedew · Nov 12, 2012

Isn't sapphire the one people have been having a lot of luck OCing?

fornoob · Nov 12, 2012

I would recommend the ref design (the brand doesn't matter) with an other cooling system:
Artic cooling accelero xtreme for HD7970 if air cooling, or a dedicated waterblock if watercooled.
In case of air cooling, the price is almost the same (maybe 30$ more in the case ref. design + AC ax), but you're sure to be safe

2 unlocked 6950's in CF or a 7970/GTX 670 ?

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