Graphics Cards related queries here.

[mukherjee]

One article to put paid to a lot of "heated argument" posts

Tom's Graphics Card Guide: 32 Mid-Range Cards Benchmarked

 

[bkarankar]

I am using a Sapphire 6950 1gb. They are AMD exclusive just like XFX, and one of the best for Radeon cards. And all cards are pretty robust, until and unless you really take them as punching bags.

Cost would be 3.5k for the above card.

Sapphire 6950 1GB in 3.5K, unbilivable.. give me address/site of source where did you got this card in 3.5

 

[Skud]

Sapphire 6950 1GB in 3.5K, unbilivable.. give me address/site of source where did you got this card in 3.5

Damn!!! Missed the 1 before 3, corrected now. Thanks for checking.

Update:-

Sapphire has updated their 6950 range with cards with new coolers. These include a 6950 1gb and the 6950 2gb dirt 3 edition, which now sports a dual-fan, 5 heat-pipe cooler. Challenge to TFIII, eh? Now don't point out that it now have 4 video outputs instead of 5.

Also the 6950 Flex 2gb has been updated with a new cooler which now looks a bit like XFX!

Pics:

*media.sapphiretech.com//images/prods/1271/11188-09_HD6950_1GBGDDR5_DP_HDMI_2DVI_PCIE_C01_634456300037654567_600_600.jpg


*media.sapphiretech.com//images/prods/1271/11188-09_HD6950_1GBGDDR5_DP_HDMI_2DVI_PCIE_C02_634456300050623234_600_600.jpg

*media.sapphiretech.com//images/prods/1099/11188-04_HD6950_flex_2GBGDDR5_2miniDP_HDMI_2DVI_PCIE_C02_634414171165584777_600_600.JPG


All the cards are on default clocks. Looking forward to reviews, particularly OC and temp results.



POST ADDED

Got hold of various reviews of the Sapphire 6950 2gb dirt 3 edition with this new cooler. For direct comparison, I pick the one at Overclockers Club.

Here's the OC results:-

Sapphire HD6950 2GB DiRT3 Edition Review » Page 4 - Testing: Setup & Overclocking - Overclockers Club

And here's temps:-

Sapphire HD6950 2GB DiRT3 Edition Review » Page 15 - Testing: Temperatures - Overclockers Club


And here's same results of the MSI TFIII:-

MSI R6950 Twin Frozer III Power Edition Review » Page 4 - Testing: Setup & Overclocking - Overclockers Club

MSI R6950 Twin Frozer III Power Edition Review » Page 15 - Testing: Temperature - Overclockers Club


So the Sapphire cooler is still no match for the TFIII cooler, but way better than the previous one. Results of 1gb version should be same as they are basically the same card with lesser VRAM. This should be a direct replacement of the present cards and should drop in the same price once supply of current cards end.

 

[bang-era]

Hi Team,

My PC Is Intel Core i3- 2100, Gigabyte H61M-D2-B3 Intel Motherboard, 4gb DDR3 1333 Mhz RAm.. Win 7 32 bit.. Currently I m using My Onboard Graphic card.. i can Play most of the games very smoothly.. I m planing to buy a graphic card next month Kindly Suggest Me A good Graphic Crad..
My Budget is Around 5 to 6 k

Regards,

Harsh

 

[Skud]

Sapphire 6750 1Gb. Should be 6k or a little higher.

 

[Omi]

anyone having hands on experience of Crossfire?
cooling solutions if any? any peculiar problems?
was thinking for 6870x2 its too tempting than 6850 2gb or 6970

 

[vickybat]

Damn!!! Missed the 1 before 3, corrected now. Thanks for checking.

Spoiler

Update:-

Sapphire has updated their 6950 range with cards with new coolers. These include a 6950 1gb and the 6950 2gb dirt 3 edition, which now sports a dual-fan, 5 heat-pipe cooler. Challenge to TFIII, eh? Now don't point out that it now have 4 video outputs instead of 5.

Also the 6950 Flex 2gb has been updated with a new cooler which now looks a bit like XFX!

Pics:

*media.sapphiretech.com//images/prods/1271/11188-09_HD6950_1GBGDDR5_DP_HDMI_2DVI_PCIE_C01_634456300037654567_600_600.jpg


*media.sapphiretech.com//images/prods/1271/11188-09_HD6950_1GBGDDR5_DP_HDMI_2DVI_PCIE_C02_634456300050623234_600_600.jpg

*media.sapphiretech.com//images/prods/1099/11188-04_HD6950_flex_2GBGDDR5_2miniDP_HDMI_2DVI_PCIE_C02_634414171165584777_600_600.JPG


All the cards are on default clocks. Looking forward to reviews, particularly OC and temp results.



POST ADDED

Got hold of various reviews of the Sapphire 6950 2gb dirt 3 edition with this new cooler. For direct comparison, I pick the one at Overclockers Club.

Here's the OC results:-

Sapphire HD6950 2GB DiRT3 Edition Review » Page 4 - Testing: Setup & Overclocking - Overclockers Club

And here's temps:-

Sapphire HD6950 2GB DiRT3 Edition Review » Page 15 - Testing: Temperatures - Overclockers Club


And here's same results of the MSI TFIII:-

MSI R6950 Twin Frozer III Power Edition Review » Page 4 - Testing: Setup & Overclocking - Overclockers Club

MSI R6950 Twin Frozer III Power Edition Review » Page 15 - Testing: Temperature - Overclockers Club


So the Sapphire cooler is still no match for the TFIII cooler, but way better than the previous one. Results of 1gb version should be same as they are basically the same card with lesser VRAM. This should be a direct replacement of the present cards and should drop in the same price once supply of current cards end.

The previous sapphire 6950 was hot and that's why has been revised with a better cooler. Sapphire knew it and therefore took necessary actions.

This will be a good deal if pricing stays at current levels and will be a steal if priced lower.

 

[Skud]

Actually currently there's no competition for Sapphire 6950 1gb. MSI and Asus don't have one. XFX is not easily available. So at 13k they are virtually unmatched.

And there's no point in having a higher price tag for the new coolers. Once the supply of current cards end, these should just drop in their places.

 

[MegaMind]

And there's no point in having a higher price tag for the new coolers. Once the supply of current cards end, these should just drop in their places.

I think in India, they'll be priced higher as they rate a cooler by no. of fans..

 

[Skud]

Previously when Sapphire changed the cooler of 6870, price remains same. But then both of them had 1 fan only. Lets see.

 

[Tenida]

Now Sapphire card looks good

 

[Skud]

Particularly in a CFX setup.

 

[Tenida]

Don't know about CFX setup but if look at the new sapphire card they have improved in their heatsink.They have used better copper heat pipe to cool it from previous defective card.

 

[Skud]

Buddy, it's not defective, just not that much effective. Remember, previous cooler has only 3 heatpipes and this one has 5, also the present heatpipes are much wider.

Actually, for dual card setup, the top one should be comparatively cooler, as there will be lesser clearance for airflow.

 

[vickybat]

Actually currently there's no competition for Sapphire 6950 1gb. MSI and Asus don't have one. XFX is not easily available. So at 13k they are virtually unmatched.

And there's no point in having a higher price tag for the new coolers. Once the supply of current cards end, these should just drop in their places.

There is, especially for 6950 based cards. At stock they work fine but still with relatively high operating temps. Once you push them , you never know what will happen and keeping the fan speeds above 80% will simply worsen the fan life & things might go bad from there.

Remember that asus and msi's custom cards not only have a better cooler but also a fully customised pcb design to aid overclocking and overvolting. Better vrm design you can say.

xfx's reference card is similar to sapphire. Therefore sapphire has responded and came up with a better cooler to keep the card more thermally stable. Now these 6950's are easily recommended if priced right and i guess they will be.

 

[Cilus]

anyone having hands on experience of Crossfire?
cooling solutions if any? any peculiar problems?
was thinking for 6870x2 its too tempting than 6850 2gb or 6970

I am having a HD 6870 CF setup. No extra cooling solution needed if you are having a good spacious cabinet and with the latest AMD Catalyst drivers most of the driver related problems are fixed. There is no HD 6850 2 GB version.
And I have posted in your thread in the PC Buying section...go for the HD Sapphire 6870 CF or HD MSI HD 6850 Cyclone P.E. CF setup if you are sure not to upgrade for couple of years.

 

[Omi]

That was a typo I meant the 6950 2GB,
Thanks for the suggestion, The case is a mid tower so space should not be a problem. Never used a dual GPU setup so was just a bit excited and concerned to try it out, esp many people mocking the dual gpu setup which is much more cheaper and faster for the same amt of money

 

[asingh]

I have a crossfire set up. With hot cards. A mid sized cabinet is fine. Cabling should be nice. Should have a high RPM exhaust as primary. Rest remains fine.

 

[MegaMind]

*i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww54/mailmemanju/Bench/DSCN4528.jpg

Guys, Tested 8600gt as PhysX card with 9800gt...

Settings,

*i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww54/mailmemanju/Bench/mafia2Settings.jpg

9800gt as PhysX and main GPU,

*i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww54/mailmemanju/Bench/9800gtforphysX.jpg

8600gt as physX and 9800gt as main GPU,

*i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww54/mailmemanju/Bench/8600gtforphysX.jpg


As u can see the diff. was just 2 fps...
But the gameplay was smoother with a discrete PhysX card..

I hope a better card like 9600gt or a 9800gt would be best suited for using as PhysX card..

Results with Batman Arkham Asylum...

Settings,

*i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww54/mailmemanju/Bench/BatmanAAsettings.jpg

9800gt as PhysX and main GPU,

*i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww54/mailmemanju/Bench/9800gtforphysX-1.jpg

8600gt as physX and 9800gt as main GPU,

*i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww54/mailmemanju/Bench/8600gtforphysX-1.jpg

So in Batman AA there is a 4 fps diff. Also the gameplay is damn smooth with 8600gt...

 

[asingh]

Also when going multi GPU. One should make sure that there are 3x slots between each Crossfire bridge dock. So when the first GPU (will be dual socket) is mounted there is a space of one empty bay between both cards. Else the top one will run way hotter.