Graphic Cards Which GPU to SLI/Crossfire

Status
Not open for further replies.
Lord Nemesis

Lord Nemesis

Overlord
Luminary
I have postponed my Sandy Bridge upgrade plans till the revised boards come out, but I do need to upgrade GPU(s) badly. I am currently in a dilemma which GPU to SLI/Crossfire. Not too impressed with GTX 560 Ti SLI considering their prices in India. Not going to bother with 6950 1GB either.

The choice boils down to 6950 2GB Crossfire and GTX570 SLI. I would really like to go nVidia this time around since both side have very competitive GPU's this time, but I am still not sure whether the GTX570 SLI is worth the extra cost over 6950 2GB. The thing to consider is that my current mobo (X48-DQ6) is not SLI compatible, so my options are buy 2 x HD6950 now or buy one GTX570 and get another one when I get a new motherboard. The second thing is that an nvidia card result in my loosing out the soon to be released AMD platfroms as an option. i.e would have to go with Sandy Bridge for SLI support.

What do you guys think.
 
get 2 sapphire 6950's and unlock them to 6970.. the current stocks have very high probability of being unlocked..
 
From a pure performance standpoint, GTX570 SLI is the way to go but in consideration of all the deciding factors, I would say to go for the 6950 2Gb Crossfire, as:

1. Platform choice: Sandy, BD, Current

2. Performance: 6950's are no slouch in Crossfire, having close to 100% scaling, very impressive considering SLI is supposed to be the king of scaling.

3. Upgradability: 6950 2Gb can be flashed to 6970 which is faster than a GTX570 and very close to GTX580, ofcourse the card doesn't actually become a 6970 but a new set of shaders do get unlocked for it, increasing performance drastically.

4. ATI Fanboy: I happen to be an ATI fanboy. :P
 
Buy Sapphire 2x6950 1GB which wud cost u 30k... I wont suggest u 2GB HD6950s coz i think AMD has started releasing new batch of HD6950... Buying HD6950 2GB is like a gamble... if it gets unlocked then u will b having a HD6970 if it doesn't u will b stuck wid HD6950 2GB... And i have read in some forums that after unlocking some HD6950 they started giving artifacts in some games... So if u wanna take a risk then buy 2x2GB HD6950.... :)
 
Lord Nemesis said:
I have postponed my Sandy Bridge upgrade plans till the revised boards come out, but I do need to upgrade GPU(s) badly. I am currently in a dilemma which GPU to SLI/Crossfire. Not too impressed with GTX 560 Ti SLI considering their prices in India. Not going to bother with 6950 1GB either.

The choice boils down to 6950 2GB Crossfire and GTX570 SLI. I would really like to go nVidia this time around since both side have very competitive GPU's this time, but I am still not sure whether the GTX570 SLI is worth the extra cost over 6950 2GB. The thing to consider is that my current mobo (X48-DQ6) is not SLI compatible, so my options are buy 2 x HD6950 now or buy one GTX570 and get another one when I get a new motherboard. The second thing is that an nvidia card result in my loosing out the soon to be released AMD platfroms as an option. i.e would have to go with Sandy Bridge for SLI support.

What do you guys think.
Click to expand...

Cheaper yet same performing option is HD6950 CFx
 
SLI/Xfire is the best when done with the fastest cards available at that time. Scaling is best and low FPS margins are higher above. Also going multi - GPU you will want to squeeze out the rig for a longest period of time, so getting the 2x of the fastest makes the most sense. Also remember if you go SB you would need to choose the motherboard carefully. Native support is x8 x8 PCI.E link width. Also you will move to which resolution..? Ideally it would be safe to test the GPUs you decide to buy using your current X48 and then see if you should change native chipset/processor. But get the two fastest single GPU accelerators.
 
Lord Nemesis said:
I have postponed my Sandy Bridge upgrade plans till the revised boards come out, but I do need to upgrade GPU(s) badly. I am currently in a dilemma which GPU to SLI/Crossfire. Not too impressed with GTX 560 Ti SLI considering their prices in India. Not going to bother with 6950 1GB either.

The choice boils down to 6950 2GB Crossfire and GTX570 SLI. I would really like to go nVidia this time around since both side have very competitive GPU's this time, but I am still not sure whether the GTX570 SLI is worth the extra cost over 6950 2GB. The thing to consider is that my current mobo (X48-DQ6) is not SLI compatible, so my options are buy 2 x HD6950 now or buy one GTX570 and get another one when I get a new motherboard. The second thing is that an nvidia card result in my loosing out the soon to be released AMD platfroms as an option. i.e would have to go with Sandy Bridge for SLI support.

What do you guys think.
Click to expand...
Do you plan to upgrade your monitor anytime soon? Because, at the 2007WFP's resolution, either the 570 or the 6950 will beast all games.

So get one card now (either 570 or the 6950), get the second when you upgrade your CPU/Mother board (which should be in a couple of months.) Then the additional cost of SLI motherboard won't enter into the equation.

I did have issues with 4870s CF, so I might suggest the SLI option, but you are already running 2 4850s CF. The 6xxx series CF is supposed to be in a much better state and supposedly scales better than the 4xxx series.

(PS: If you do decide on the 2 6950s, you might want to get them now to ensure both cards unlock)

Edit: And I guess you've seen this?
Introduction - AMD 6970/6950 CFX and NVIDIA 580/570 SLI Review | [H]ard|OCP
 
Hades. said:
Buy Sapphire 2x6950 1GB which wud cost u 30k... I wont suggest u 2GB HD6950s coz i think AMD has started releasing new batch of HD6950... Buying HD6950 2GB is like a gamble... if it gets unlocked then u will b having a HD6970 if it doesn't u will b stuck wid HD6950 2GB... And i have read in some forums that after unlocking some HD6950 they started giving artifacts in some games... So if u wanna take a risk then buy 2x2GB HD6950.... :)
Click to expand...

If I go for the 6950's it will be definitely the 2GB versions even if they are not going to unlock.

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---
asingh said:
SLI/Xfire is the best when done with the fastest cards available at that time. Scaling is best and low FPS margins are higher above. Also going multi - GPU you will want to squeeze out the rig for a longest period of time, so getting the 2x of the fastest makes the most sense. Also remember if you go SB you would need to choose the motherboard carefully. Native support is x8 x8 PCI.E link width. Also you will move to which resolution..? Ideally it would be safe to test the GPUs you decide to buy using your current X48 and then see if you should change native chipset/processor. But get the two fastest single GPU accelerators.
Click to expand...

I think it makes much more value for money to combine mid range cards as they offers considerably more performance for a price closer to a single high end card.

whatsinaname said:
Do you plan to upgrade your monitor anytime soon? Because, at the 2007WFP's resolution, either the 570 or the 6950 will beast all games.

So get one card now (either 570 or the 6950), get the second when you upgrade your CPU/Mother board (which should be in a couple of months.) Then the additional cost of SLI motherboard won't enter into the equation.

I did have issues with 4870s CF, so I might suggest the SLI option, but you are already running 2 4850s CF. The 6xxx series CF is supposed to be in a much better state and supposedly scales better than the 4xxx series.

(PS: If you do decide on the 2 6950s, you might want to get them now to ensure both cards unlock)

Edit: And I guess you've seen this?

Introduction - AMD 6970/6950 CFX and NVIDIA 580/570 SLI Review | [H]ard|OCP
Click to expand...
Will be going for either the Dell U2410 or the U2711 with U2410 being the more likely choice at this point. The 6950 CF is pretty good, but the 570 SLI seems to offer a bit more muscle and Physx support at a 8k premium. About the review, yeah, I went through it already and it seems to be not so elaborate in the choice of games and a bit biased towards AMD.
 
Lord Nemesis said:
About the review, yeah, I went through it already and it seems to be not so elaborate in the choice of games and a bit biased towards AMD.
Click to expand...

Checkout this review: Radeon HD 6950 CrossfireX review

See we really cant say now that future games will take advantage of more memory or they will b more dependent on GPU power... :) But IMO 2 HD6950 wid 1 GB memory wud b more than enough to play any future game @2560x1600 wid all setting maxed up... :)
 
Get a single GTX 580, although it is slower than SLi, it at least comes without the hassles, performs adequately (though lower) and is cheaper. You can upgrade to the AMD 79xx when it comes out. For now GTX 580 should be enough IMO!
 
@Lord Nemesis:

You logic of getting 2x cards which surpass a single card or are close to it make sure sense. But I certainly feel multi-GPU is for enthusiasts, so if you want the bang get the big guns. Rest of course depends on your budget and likeness.

:)

GTX 570 CF for sure will dominate all games at full HD.
 
Hades. said:
Checkout this review: Radeon HD 6950 CrossfireX review

See we really cant say now that future games will take advantage of more memory or they will b more dependent on GPU power... :) But IMO 2 HD6950 wid 1 GB memory wud b more than enough to play any future game @2560x1600 wid all setting maxed up... :)
Click to expand...
Sorry, but it won't. Metro 2033 itself has trouble at that resolution on a 6950 2GB. (And this is in the Directx 10 mode)
 
Why not wait a little longer and buy when you upgrade board cpu if you are gonna go single card you might want to look for a deal in the market for a 580.
 
whatsinaname said:
Sorry, but it won't. Metro 2033 itself has trouble at that resolution on a 6950 2GB. (And this is in the Directx 10 mode)
Click to expand...
When i said that "wid HD6950 1GB CFX setup he wud b able to play any game at 2560x1600" i didn't include metro in that ANY LIST lol... :P... Metro is even worst than crysis dont know why its not optimized even for the current fastest GPU... I think Games producing companies release such type ov games for reviewers so that they can use it as a benchmark... :P
 
Hades. said:
When i said that "wid HD6950 1GB CFX setup he wud b able to play any game at 2560x1600" i didn't include metro in that ANY LIST lol... :P... Metro is even worst than crysis dont know why its not optimized even for the current fastest GPU... I think Games producing companies release such type ov games for reviewers so that they can use it as a benchmark... :P
Click to expand...
Again, I have to disagree. Crysis and Metro 2033 are not badly optimised. On the contrary, Crysis looks very good on lower settings and ran pretty well on my 8600 GT. It is just that the top settings of these games are so much better compared to the top settings of other games.

I wish what you said were true, (I game at 2560x1600 on a 6950 2GB) :P
 
Hades. said:
See we really cant say now that future games will take advantage of more memory or they will b more dependent on GPU power... :) But IMO 2 HD6950 wid 1 GB memory wud b more than enough to play any future game @2560x1600 wid all setting maxed up... :)
Click to expand...
I was using HD4850 Crossfire and even though it was a considerable of GPU muscle and coupled with a Quaddy @ 3.6GHz, I could not max out a game like GTA 4 on the texture front simply because my 4850's were the 512Mb versions and the game requires 1GB on the card max out. This is exactly the reason why I would like to choose the version with the higher amount of memory if I have a choice available. It would have been a question worth thinking over had the price difference been prohibitively high or the 1GB version had something else desirable up its sleeve. But the they are almost exactly the same cards with just a price diff of 2k per card for the additional memory. That makes it 4k for two cards and that to me is not really worth haggling over when you are spending like 30k already.

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---

btw, which GPU brand is better (both on AMD and nVidia front) to go for in India from a after sales perspective considering that I will be in Hyderabad. I pretty well know that A.S.S is very poor in India regardless of the brand, but I would at least like to minimize my costs if I do have to avail myself of that. Also are there any custom cooled versions of HD6950 2Gb/GTX570 available in India?
 
rite said:
Get a single GTX 580, although it is slower than SLi, it at least comes without the hassles, performs adequately (though lower) and is cheaper. You can upgrade to the AMD 79xx when it comes out. For now GTX 580 should be enough IMO!
Click to expand...
Actually GTX580 around 28.5-30k

2x HD6950 costs 31k so I think it's worth it for much much higher performance.
 
^^ Exactly, even for a single GPU, the GTX570 looks to be much more value for money than GTX580. The price differnce is simply way too high for the performance offered.
 
Lord Nemesis said:
I was using HD4850 Crossfire and even though it was a considerable of GPU muscle and coupled with a Quaddy @ 3.6GHz, I could not max out a game like GTA 4 on the texture front simply because my 4850's were the 512Mb versions and the game requires 1GB on the card max out. This is exactly the reason why I would like to choose the version with the higher amount of memory if I have a choice available. It would have been a question worth thinking over had the price difference been prohibitively high or the 1GB version had something else desirable up its sleeve. But the they are almost exactly the same cards with just a price diff of 2k per card for the additional memory. That makes it 4k for two cards and that to me is not really worth haggling over when you are spending like 30k already.

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---

btw, which GPU brand is better (both on AMD and nVidia front) to go for in India from a after sales perspective considering that I will be in Hyderabad. I pretty well know that A.S.S is very poor in India regardless of the brand, but I would at least like to minimize my costs if I do have to avail myself of that. Also are there any custom cooled versions of HD6950 2Gb/GTX570 available in India?
Click to expand...
Thats because GTA 4 does not support multiple gpus,and crysis does not looks that great on lower settings,the medium or gamer setting gives it a much better look.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom