Suggestions on a GPU

I'll work a summer job and plan to do another upgrade on my computer. Turns out I didn't have as much knowledge on computers as I do now. So I didn't really compensate for "space" in the case.

Anyway, to the point, I've already compiled what parts I'll get, I'm stuck at the GPU.

I want excellent performance, meaning, I want to MAX out on DirectX 11. I look at ATI Radeon 6990, but it's too expensive for a single card... ($740 )

I need suggestions on a good card or cards, Crossfire or SLI are supported by the mother board which I'm planning to get.



Possible specs are;
CPU - Intel i7 990x

GPU - ?

Motherboard - Asus Rampage III Extreme (say extreme in "power-thirst" way)

Cooling - Coolermaster V8 (I think, otherwise, suggest something else)

PSU - Currently, I have 750w, not sure if it'll be enough, suggest otherwise.


Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

6970 or 6950 are good alternatives or crossfire 2 6850's at a very reasonable price.

nvidia alternatives gtx 570 or 580, or sli 2 560's at about the same price as 2 6850's

I don't really care which brand they are, Radeon 6990, I've read, outperforms GTX 590... I think ATI will be my choice.

Right now I'm looking at Radeon HD 6970, better with the price and memory compared to GTX 580, as far as my current knowledge tells me.

Sub Styler said:

Radeon 6970 $364.99

16 PCIE Lanes
800Mhz Core Clock (900Mhz 0OC versions available)
2GB GDDR5
1536 SPU's

2x Radeon 6870 $379.98
32 PCIE Lanes
2x 900Mhz Core Clocks
2GB GDDR5
2240 SPU's

Prices as of newegg

Although using 2 will increase your power supply requirements

If I get two then I may need a larger power supply, might add another $100-150, I'm on Newegg, great place.

Skulblaka said:

Sub Styler said:

Radeon 6970 $364.99

16 PCIE Lanes
800Mhz Core Clock (900Mhz 0OC versions available)
2GB GDDR5
1536 SPU's

2x Radeon 6870 $379.98
32 PCIE Lanes
2x 900Mhz Core Clocks
2GB GDDR5
2240 SPU's

Prices as of newegg

Although using 2 will increase your power supply requirements

If I get two then I may need a larger power supply, might add another $100-150, I'm on Newegg, great place.

Just FYI, I ran a crossfire setup (2x 6950's) on a 850 watt power supply. I'm quite confident your 750 watt can handle two 6870's.

I just ran the power requirement numbers for my system using this eXtreme Outer Vision - eXtreme tools for computer enthusiasts and came up 644 volts using 2 6970's in crossfire.

My point? Your 750 should be plenty enough to run your setup. If you really feel like you want more power, an 850 is more than enough.

Running at my maximum resolution 1680 x 1080, single monitor. Hm, so what you're saying, is that Video memory isn't important?

What if I Crossfire x2 6870's? Better than a single 6970 or 570?