Suggestions on a GPU

[Skulblaka]

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.

 

[gazz9496]

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

 

[Sub Styler]

Depends, are you loyal to Nvdia or ATI,

See a review for Performance per $ at ASUS GeForce GTX 570 Review - Page 29/31 | techPowerUp

2 of the better cards would be
A cheaper and
B possibly faster as they would have 32 PCI lanes at their disposal instead of 16 on one card.

 

[Skulblaka]

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]

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

 

[Wishmaster]

I think the 570 or the 570SC would be more in lines of direct competition to the 6970.

About the same price, maybe a bit cheaper depending where you get them from.


As far as memory, the ATI card has 2GB vs the 570 1.28GB.

I just went through this when shopping for a card, and one of my concerns was RAM on the card.

IMO, if you run a single monitor at 1080P (or 1920x1200) or lower, there will be no difference between the two, as far as VRAM is concerned.
Best to consider all other features each offers and price and not worry about it.

However, if you have intentions of running multiple monitors .. the ATI card likely has the edge due to more VRAM.


Since I only run a single 1080P monitor, with no desire to run multiples, I choose the 570 for Phys-X support.


Either would be a good choice though I think, and pretty much on par with each other for a single monitor setup.
I just wouldnt get too hung up on amount of VRAM each have, if only using a single monitor.

 

[Skulblaka]

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.

 

[Wishmaster]

Of course, you could also go with a single 6970 or GTX570 Now, and then add the second a bit later.

Either can pretty well run anything out atm with ease, just as a single card.

 

[sygnus21]

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.

 

[Skulblaka]

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?

 

[simmo]

If your running a multi monitor set up apparently ATI scale much better in Xfire than SLI does..read a review somewhere recently about it and ATI was hands down better.
Then NV have better tessalation support.physx and CUDA if you can use it.Considering the Motherboard/CPU combo your planning on I'd be looking at the 6970/570 as a minium...and those 2 model cards can be run in a triple card config..it would be stretching your PSU tho with 3 cards.
And I'd be watercooling the whole shebang.

 

[Skulblaka]

If your running a multi monitor set up apparently ATI scale much better in Xfire than SLI does..read a review somewhere recently about it and ATI was hands down better.
Then NV have better tessalation support.physx and CUDA if you can use it.Considering the Motherboard/CPU combo your planning on I'd be looking at the 6970/570 as a minium...and those 2 model cards can be run in a triple card config..it would be stretching your PSU tho with 3 cards.
And I'd be watercooling the whole shebang.

I'm going with water cooling, much more efficient, but doesn't water cooling work only with CPU's?

Also, the "tower" I'm getting has quite a nice cooling system... link.

Not sure about GTX... Right now I'm stuck with this;
x2 6870
or
x1 570
or
x1 6970

 

[simmo]

No..you can buy waterblocks for GPU's also. The only catch is they are manufactured to fit reference cards only before manufactureres add on there cooling solutions and change the layout on the card.

you can watercool ram/HDDs...also

the Rampage 3 has full cover waterblock available

Check The Kool Room e.g...or Aquacool...Radiical Computers etc

 

[Skulblaka]

No..you can buy waterblocks for GPU's also. The only catch is they are manufactured to fit reference cards only before manufactureres add on there cooling solutions and change the layout on the card.

Seems like too much trouble, I'll liquid cool the CPU only, the fans should suffice for the GPU cooling.

(1,000th post)

 

[simmo]

ok..well if your planning on xfire sli w/e and air cooling then try to get cards that Externally vent the heat..gigabyte e.g use aftermarket cooling and the heat exhausts inside the case...theres sfa room betwwen the top and bottom cards and the top card willl run hotter than the bottom due to restrictions on its air intake

 

[simmo]

SilverStone Raven RV02-E with window [RV02-EW] - $185.00 : PC Case Gear nice case imo

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=207_23_769&products_id=16069 hassle free W/C loop for your CPU and a good quality unit too boot

 

[Skulblaka]

Alright, I'm looking at 6870, has THREE fans. Gigabyte, just like you suggested, it'll probably stay cool.

I think I'll use this card, fit two of them and I think it'll work, when I'll start hitting the limit, I might add another one.

SilverStone Raven RV02-E with window [RV02-EW] - $185.00 : PC Case Gear nice case imo

I prefer the other one I mentioned in a link, I like all of those fans, side, front, back, and top...


Last question about Crossfire and/or SLI, if you have two or more of those cards, do they suffer a penalty? Or is the performance the same as the main cards? Meaning if you have two cards, the performance is doubled.

 

[simmo]

Performane increases yes..doubles? I'm not sure about that tho

Only penalty I'm aware of is if you fit different cards.i.e...fitting a 6850 with a 6950...the faster cards slows down to match the slower card. And if the Ram on the cards is differnt..it will again default to the lowest denominator.

Personally I buy both cards at the same time..if I was to add a third I'd be hunting the same card as the ones already fitted

The adv with the case I linked is that the mobo is rotated 90 degrees so the heat will rise away faster..the Gigabyte card exhausts heat inside your case.

Possible workaround for the heat is to run your monitor off the bottom of the 2 cards allowing the top card to run a little cooler.

 

[Skulblaka]

Well, I think I've finally decided, x2 6870's. Gigabyte edition for the sake of cooling. Thanks for all of the help that was received by all in such a short notice. I'll provide reps for those who assisted.

If you have anything to add, please add it to this thread. I check my subscriptions daily to make sure I don't miss anything.

Thanks again.

 

[Zepher]

Water cool only if you are overclocking to extreme levels.
No need for crossfire on 5850 or higher cards if you are only running 1680x1050 since that is a low resolution.