GPU for around 14k

[Skud]

MLAA is cr@p, I had tested it with my 5850 and it is worse, image become blurry, not quite like proper aa.

Not in the 6900 series for sure.

 

[comp@ddict]

Oh man, AA, when you fire up 4xSSAA and HD Anisotropic Filtering through CCC, it made Section 8rejudice look a beautiful game, I mean stunning!

 

[Jaskanwar Singh]

thanks for your views guys

batman, all cards were running at stock.

6870 was also using old 11.5 in that review. with 11.6 its performance has gone up by 10-12%. both companies bring performance improvements through driver updates.

and what i wanted to show by that review is if some games support physx, some support higher aa settings from amd.

and physx isnt my criteria for gpu selection. i want more raw performance and 6950 1gb offers that. thats why i am inclined towards it.

 

[vickybat]

^^ Actually performance of msi twin frozr II 560-TI and 6950 1gb are same. You can go with anyone.

But remember that msi 560-ti consumes 15W more power than 6950 in full load. But 6950 is 20c hotter than 560-ti at full load. So 6950 has higher full load temps and 560-ti has higher power consumption.

Imo 15w more power is no big deal especially in a single card configuration. Its like having an extra 15w cfl bulb glowing in your house.

But 20c more temps is something in the long run. Though you can live with it, but overclocking your card to hundred mhz will allow the temps to jump sky, let say more than 85 or 90c.

Check that before making a buying decision. For 6950, 2gb is the version to go for . But the 1gb version makes little sense cause at fullhd, it performs equal to a 560 especially the factory overclocked versions. Considering the extra benefit you'll get including the same raw performance as a 6950, ( its not like you are losing performance with a 560) i think its the way to go.

Btw 6950 2gb has more aa performance than 6950 1gb. Yes framebuffer plays an important role for enabling post processing filters.

But in the end, its completely your decision.

 

[Jaskanwar Singh]

^we can always adjust fan profiles i suppose when we overclock!

those links are using stock coolers batman. i am getting sapphire!

Btw 6950 2gb has more aa performance than 6950 1gb. Yes framebuffer plays an important role for enabling post processing filters.

a review please

 

[vickybat]

^^ Yes you do that definitely when temps start rising. Well jas in fullhd, aa performance is same. But 6950 2gb pulls ahead when you go past fullhd and that's obvious due to the higher vram. But no concerns at fullhd. "I forgot to mention "at higher resolutions".

Okay, then check this.

Its 5c cooler at stock but still over 70c.

Read the review cause it also has msi gtx 560-ti twin frozr II. Its a good comparison.

 

[Jaskanwar Singh]

yeah. 6950 1gb and 2gb performance is same at full hd. below link too says that..

and i found one interesting thing -
MSI R6950 Twin Frozr III Power Edition OC review
and its TFIII 6950 at 850mhz. will a sapphire 6950 1gb oced to 850 perform same?

 

[Skud]

The 6950 runs hotter than 560Ti, but still well within its thermal envelope. And regarding performance difference between 1gb and 2gb, here's what HardOCP concluded:-

Radeon HD 6950 1GB vs. 2GB

Certainly, the first thing we wanted to know is if the reduction memory capacity with the Radeon HD 6950 GPU would cause a reduction in performance. We found that at lower resolutions like 1920x1200 the answer is no, performance was not impacted much if at all. Since both video cards use the same GPU the end-result was the same. Playing at 4X AA at 1920x1200 yielded no performance differences in any of the games.

It was only at the highest setting of 2560x1600 with 8X MSAA did we start to see differences. The 2GB Radeon HD 6950 clearly allowed 8X MSAA in some games to be playable, and in others allowed us to use Transparency Antialiasing at 2560x1600. The 1GB Radeon HD 6950 struggled with these higher settings. Still, in some cases performance was the same as long as the AA setting was lower at 2560x1600.


Memory Capacity and Resolution

We have found that it comes down to what your native resolution is that you play at. If you play at 1920x1200 or lower, we have no problem recommending the 1GB Radeon HD 6950 over the GeForce GTX 560 Ti. At 1920x1200 1GB frame buffer seems to be adequate. Though the GTX 560 Ti is faster in Civ 5, for the most part the Radeon HD 6950 1GB seems to be superior when it comes to shader driven games. Overclocking the 560 Ti will make up for some of this since it is capable of ~1GHz GPU core speeds, but you are going to have to truly push it to make up for lost ground.

 

[Jaskanwar Singh]

and that means i will get 6950 TFIII performance level when i oc 6950 1gb to 850 from 800?

 

[rchi84]

Ok, just to add to the confusion, I update Crysis 2 to 1.9, installed the high res pack and DX11 ultra upgrade.

The game now uses 1.7GB VRAM at 1080, maxed out on Ultra!!

My Fps are in the lower 40s, but it looks stunning. And in this game, tessellation is definitely more noticeable than, say, Metro 2033.

But if the budget is the main criteria, get the 560Ti, because at 13.5K, you'll be getting one of the absolute best coolers and OCing cards.

 

[vickybat]

@ jaskanwar

Nope. Msi twin frozr III cooler is too good. You see load temps are 63 c that too for 850mhz oc. Even 6950 twin frozr II cooler is better than sapphire.

Sapphire one will go past 80c easily when you overclock the memory and core clock to twin frozr III's level.

I completely agree with rchi84. Go for 6950 2gb or else stick with 560-ti especially the factory overclocked card which will perform equally well with 69501gb in shader heavy games as well. Hardocp tested a stock 560-ti.

@rchi84

Buddy, it will be wonderful if you post some dx11 screenshots of crysis 2 in the gaming section. We really want to see how stunning the game looks like after the added textures and dx11 mode. Everyone will also get to see the true potential of cryengine 3. Currently downloading the pack.

 

[Jaskanwar Singh]

Vicky please post where sapphire cooler reaches 80c?

 

[vickybat]

^^ Jas it just an analogy because you won't find any reviews of sapphire 6950 1gb overclocked to 850mhz and temperature analysis. The card is just not meant for hefty overclocks.

You can ask skud to overclock his card to 850mhz and memory to 5200mhz and play crysis 2. Then post max temp using msi afterburner. A screenshot would be fine.

Since i am using a 5750 and my cooler is a custom one (formula coolers are very good), for a 50mhz overclock, my temps rise from 45c to 66c after playing crysis2. Expect the sapphire 6950 to behave similarly. From 72c, it will easily get past 80c and even higher.

Msi , asus and even gigabyte(not available in india) can reach higher clocks without significant rise in temps owing to their superior cooler. The full load temp of a 6950 twin frozr II is 63c only. That's 10c lower than sapphire for stock version. Interestingly, twin frozr III's cooler is magnificent cause, its same 63c with 850mhz oc.

Simply put, the sapphire cooler is no match for twin frozr II & III. A 6950 2gb twin frozr III is a tremendous overclocker that is why you see overclocked 6950's from their stables.

Sapphire's toxic are good but 6950 edition is not available i guess.

 

[Jaskanwar Singh]

So i think skud can help here. Skud if u can be a little fast?

 

[Skud]

You don't need OCing it, under Furmark it touched 80C in my old cabby, but in gaming it mostly remains in the 70s. As I have stated before the 6900 series' thermal envelope is higher and 80-85C is within its limit. It idles at near 50C.

But if you ask me, I would say go for the TF versions. Sapphire cooler is good, but no match for the TF ones.

Hmmm, time to check its OCing capabilities, perhaps.


@Jas, I will try it today once I go back to home.

Sapphire's toxic are good but 6950 edition is not available i guess.

Toxic/Vapor-X is not available for 6950 cards. Don't know why.

 

[Jaskanwar Singh]

Ok then skud. Put it soon.

Rchi u use a stock cooled 6950? Post oc temps if u can too?

 

[comp@ddict]

yeah. 6950 1gb and 2gb performance is same at full hd. below link too says that..

and i found one interesting thing -
MSI R6950 Twin Frozr III Power Edition OC review
and its TFIII 6950 at 850mhz. will a sapphire 6950 1gb oced to 850 perform same?

AMD Radeon HD 6950 1GB Review

This confirms. Only few games show 4 fps decline in performance.

Another thing to note, HD6950 1GB beats GTX560 Ti hands down(except, which games can you guess? ).

I only suggest HD6950 2GB reference cards so buyer may unlock it to HD6970 (if possible) and enjoy benefits.

 

[Skud]

Couple of things:-

1. Unlocking is highly doubtful if not impossible these days. Moreover, except PowerColor no one is releasing the 6950 2gb with the stock PCB, containing the dual BIOS switch to make it less risky.

2. Secondly, unlocking just the shaders of a 6950 may be fine, but if you slapped a 6970 BIOS on it, power requirements also increase simultaneously, and at that time the dual 6-pin PCI-e connectors of the 6950 becomes a problem for it. Lots of users have reported stability issues after BIOS modding to 6970. So for the performance gains, it doesn't seem a good path to tread with a new card, which is already more than a handful for almost every games at FullHD resolution.

3. More than performance, its the price of the 2gb cards which make the 1gb cards not viable IMO. The Sapphire 1gb is some 14.3k, the 2gb version is just 1k extra, add 500 bucks more for MSI TFII and further 200 bucks ahead, there's the TFIII. So if you are stuck with a budget of 14k and single GPU setup, I think a cool running, better OCable, and somewhat cheaper 560 Ti is the better option for 1080p gaming. If you are thinking of multi-GPU or multi-monitor gaming down the line, only then 6950 1gb has an edge over 560Ti. Also it depends on the games you want to play now and in near future.

 

[vickybat]

Another thing to note, HD6950 1GB beats GTX560 Ti hands down(except, which games can you guess? ).

Well that's a reference 560-ti. Factory overclocked 560's are in a different league. The particular 560-ti that we have in discussion here is the msi twin frozr II version.

The 6950 1gb cannot beat it handsdown but perform on par with it.

@ skud

I totally agree with you mate. Whatever you said makes perfect sense.

Rchi u use a stock cooled 6950? Post oc temps if u can too?

Check this buddy.

 

[Jaskanwar Singh]

Check this buddy.

*www.thinkdigit.com/forum/graphic-cards/138854-amd-radeon-hd-6950-unlocked-2.html#post1370723

well guys, just to give a quick update, I've been tweaking away with Afterburner.

On stock volts (1.1V) I am able to match the stock 6970 clocks of 880/1375.

the only issue is that it isn't furmark stable BUT (get this), every other benchie like Vantage, 11, Unigine and all my games run well enough as long as powertune is set at +20%.

with a fan profile set at 70% on load, i get around 65 Degrees and the card idles around 40. Room temps are around 34 degrees so I am quite happy.

Back to gaming at 6950 clocks though its nice to know there's more under the hood.

its stock cooled gigabyte radeon hd6950 2gb

AMD Radeon HD 6950 1GB Review

This confirms. Only few games show 4 fps decline in performance.

Another thing to note, HD6950 1GB beats GTX560 Ti hands down(except, which games can you guess? ).

I only suggest HD6950 2GB reference cards so buyer may unlock it to HD6970 (if possible) and enjoy benefits.

you are right. but i want to know temps from skud.

Couple of things:-

1. Unlocking is highly doubtful if not impossible these days. Moreover, except PowerColor no one is releasing the 6950 2gb with the stock PCB, containing the dual BIOS switch to make it less risky.

2. Secondly, unlocking just the shaders of a 6950 may be fine, but if you slapped a 6970 BIOS on it, power requirements also increase simultaneously, and at that time the dual 6-pin PCI-e connectors of the 6950 becomes a problem for it. Lots of users have reported stability issues after BIOS modding to 6970. So for the performance gains, it doesn't seem a good path to tread with a new card, which is already more than a handful for almost every games at FullHD resolution.

3. More than performance, its the price of the 2gb cards which make the 1gb cards not viable IMO. The Sapphire 1gb is some 14.3k, the 2gb version is just 1k extra, add 500 bucks more for MSI TFII and further 200 bucks ahead, there's the TFIII. So if you are stuck with a budget of 14k and single GPU setup, I think a cool running, better OCable, and somewhat cheaper 560 Ti is the better option for 1080p gaming. If you are thinking of multi-GPU or multi-monitor gaming down the line, only then 6950 1gb has an edge over 560Ti. Also it depends on the games you want to play now and in near future.

i read from OCN that 1gb 6950 is better overclocker than 2gb one. people have oced theirs to 1000 (XFX 6950 1gb, though this model has heating probs)

so please try a bump to TFIII core and memory speeds and tell me.

i found an interesting thing -
Graphics Card Ranking (5th Time And Last) (Updated Daily) - Overclock.net - Overclocking.net