Which ATI 6950?

[sygnus21]

Well I have a birthday coming up in a few weeks and decided that I want a 6950 to upgrade my aging 4890.

Looking at newegg.com (Newegg.com - ati 6950) I see various models all going for about the same price $299. Outside of VisionTek, had bad experience with their RMA dept, which one should I get. My current card is made by XFX and that's where I'm leaning with the 6950.

Not interested in Nvidia so no need in suggesting.

Thoughts???

 

[SlackerITGuy]

If you're interested in Overclocking, get the ASUS one.

If not, XFX all the way.

Double lifetime warranty FTW.

 

[Zen00]

Don't bother paying for the out-of-the-box overclocked cards, they're not worth it.

 

[stew2]

sygnus21 just curious as to why your not interested in an nvidia card.

I just upgraded from an ati hd5770 to a gtx460 and i think its a quality card. It runs far cooler than the ati card, less noise, the control panel software has a load of better options and its far more powerfull. Its just better

But anyway if i was you id look at the gtx570 or 580.

 

[Wishmaster]

You probably know my response already


Sapphire.


I've had excellent luck out of all of the ones Ive had (which about 5), and have stuck with them.

Sadly, I have nothing good or bad I can say about their customer service, because Ive never needed them.
I guess that is a good thing in and of itself.


From the looks of it, they all seem to still be reference cards.
Hopefully each vendor will start releasing their own customized versions soon, if its worth it to wait a bit for that to you.


Ill be doing this upgrade myself soon.
The only thing I have decided on is Brand. But whether or not to with a 6950 or the 6970 is still a bit in the air.

From the looks of the 6950 doesnt really have any competition in its price range.
Then next step up is between 6970 & GTX 570 ...

Im not sure either of these 2 offer enough of a advantage to justify the extra cost though ....

 

[Zen00]

The reason why you want a 6950 is because you can flash the BIOS to make it run as a 6970, giving you a $370 card for $280. That's why.

 

[sygnus21]

sygnus21 just curious as to why your not interested in an nvidia card.

Personal preference. Not saying anything is wrong with Nvidia but I just prefer ATI. Thanks.

As for the 6950's....

Yeah, I'm not sure I'd be willing to do an out of the box overclocked card, but i'm not opposed to one either, as long as the warranty is good.

What I'm looking at is the goodies that come with different manufacturers. I've had VisionTek, and XFX cards.

Unfortunately I've had the bad pleasure of dealing with VisionTek's RMA service which was less than professional, and I vowed to never touch their products again. So no VisionTek.

XFX looks good but I've heard some good things about HIS and Sapphire so I'm wondering about those.

One thing that will persuade me though is that I prefer a black or red card, not a blue one - so HIS might be out.

I’ve also heard some good things about the Gigabyte card - Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GV-R695D5-2GD-B Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

 

[sygnus21]

From the looks of it, they all seem to still be reference cards.
Hopefully each vendor will start releasing their own customized versions soon, if its worth it to wait a bit for that to you.

Yeah, that's why I'm asking for advice, but if no one has released any customized cards yet, then it's just a matter of choosing a brand name.

The only thing I have decided on is Brand. But whether or not to with a 6950 or the 6970 is still a bit in the air.

Yeah we were in another thread where I was asking if the 6970 was worth it over the 6950. For me I think my wallet would be very happy with a 6950, though my heart is still undecided

I guess I won't know until I actually click the "buy" button

 

[stew2]

"Personal preference. Not saying anything is wrong with Nvidia but I just prefer ATI. Thanks."

So did i till i got this card lol.

But anyway iv had sapphire and xfx ati cards and i prefered the sapphire cards..................................................................................... ............................................................................................although they are not patch on nvidia

 

[Mashed1316]

If you're interested in Overclocking, get the ASUS one.

If not, XFX all the way.

Double lifetime warranty FTW.

Ditto that.

 

[sygnus21]

Yeah I should have added that I typically don't overclock my video cards. CPU yes, GPU no. I don't even have my 4890 overclocked, even though it's supposed to be a good overclocker.

As for XFX, yeah, that might be the way to go, seeing that they're all reference cards right now.

 

[SlackerITGuy]

Don't bother paying for the out-of-the-box overclocked cards, they're not worth it.

It's not about being factory OC'ed.

It's about the unlocked voltage.

EDIT: But seeing as the OP is not interested in OC'ing, XFX should be the one to go after, unreal warranty, plus some very nice packaging.

 

[Wishmaster]

I honestly do not see the point in the double lifetime warranty though.

Don't get me wrong, Im not saying they are bad cards or anything along that line. Just the warranty part confuses me a bit.



Its just you'll likely upgrade long before the card dies. I mean, I still have an old 1950Pro still in use & going strong. It just wont die.

I even have a x800 around here somewhere that still works, even though its no longer in use.

 

[SlackerITGuy]

I honestly do not see the point in the double lifetime warranty though.

Don't get me wrong, Im not saying they are bad cards or anything along that line. Just the warranty part confuses me a bit.



Its just you'll likely upgrade long before the card dies. I mean, I still have an old 1950Pro still in use & going strong. It just wont die.

I even have a x800 around here somewhere that still works, even though its no longer in use.

The point being that, if you decide to sell the card, the next owner would qualify for the warranty as well.

 

[sygnus21]

I honestly do not see the point in the double lifetime warranty though.

Don't get me wrong, Im not saying they are bad cards or anything along that line. Just the warranty part confuses me a bit.

Its just you'll likely upgrade long before the card dies. I mean, I still have an old 1950Pro still in use & going strong. It just wont die.

I even have a x800 around here somewhere that still works, even though its no longer in use.

It's knowing that the card is covered. Not a deal breaker but a comforting thought.

I even have a x800 around here somewhere that still works, even though its no longer in use.

LOL I still have my X800, and it still works

 

[Wishmaster]

I see the point.

I guess my line of thinking was just off a bit. Being that youll move on to bigger and better before the card ever wears out.


Of course, theres also the possibility of a pre-mature death. Which can happen with any hardware.
I guess it does make sense after all.

 

[sygnus21]

Well looks like I'll get a 6950... than flash to a 6970 - Sapphire Radeon HD 6950 2GB Unlocked to HD 6970 :: TweakTown USA Edition

Assuming these cards are still around when I purchase one

 

[thefabe]

My opion is if Warranty is important to you then XFX all the way. I've used several of their cards over the years and have NEVER had any problems with them when it came to RMA's. They have even upgraded my card when they were out of stock on the one I returned.
JMO Fabe

 

[sygnus21]

Yeah Fabe I agree. Like I said earlier, since all the cards are reference thus far then it looks like I'll go with XFX - baring any drastic price differences.

 

[smarteyeball]

XFX are already starting to bring out revised editions (ver 1.1), but they are still cross flashable with the 6970 AFIK.



But ASUS, GIGA, Sapphire, HIS are all good as well.