I changed my decision about using a single post because I did not want it to get too long and possibly bore you incase you are reading my posts thoroughly. So here is part 2 of the gpu post
Creating both CPUs and GPUs, AMD has some of the best cards around to offer and they are the other major force in the world of GPUs along with NVIDIA. These two companies pretty much run neck and neck with NVIDIA generally thought to be better for maxing out performance on single monitor setups and AMD preferred for +2 monitors setup. A single AMD card is capable of running more monitors then a single NVIDIA card.
The lineup I was focused on at the time of my build was the AMD HD Radeon 6900 series.
Running on 1408 Stream Processors, the 6950 has native support for up to 4 simultaneous displays all of which can run with independent resolutions, refresh rates and video overlays.
1. Gigabyte GV-R695OC-1GD
Price : $239.99
Core Clock : 870Mhz
Memory : 1 GB 256-bit GDDR5
CrossFireX Ready
Dimensions : 11.4in x 5in
A very popular card with very good ratings, the Gigabyte 6950 is a serious contender for your money if you are considering a Radeon HD 6950 card.
2. XFX Double D HD-695X-CDFC
Price : $259.99
Core Clock : 800 Mhz
Memory : 2GB 256-bit GDDR5
CrossFireX Ready
Dimensions : 10.08in x 4.38in
XFX makes some very good cards which also have the added benefit of being smaller then several of their rivals.
3. Sapphire 11188-22-20G
Price : $249.99
Core Clock : 820Mhz
Memory : 2GB 256-bit GDDR5
CrossFireX Ready
Dimensions : 10.2in x 4.3in
Sapphire is also another company which has some impressive cards under its belt.
The 6970 has 1536 stream processors which lets it run games on the highest settings on multiple monitors. If you have the money, go for it!
1. XFX HD-697A-CNFC
Price : $349.99
Core Clock : 880Mhz
Memory : 2GB 256-bit GDDR5
CrossFireX
Dimensions : 11.3in x 4.38in
Another solid option by XFX with some very impressive results. The card is on the longer side which is my only concern. As always keep the size in mind when choosing to fit it in a Case.
Price : $406.46
Core Clock : 890Mhz
Memory : 2GB 256-bit GDDR5
CrossFireX
Dimensions : 11.7in x 5in
One of my favorite cards from one of my favorite companies. Also is huge!! So in checking Newegg recently, I noticed alot of the cards from the 6950 and 6970 series are gone so I am scrambling to find some links for these cards. I will update my posts if I find some more famous vendors but until then these links will have to do.
There are two more card series which I have not put in to my blog. They are the NVIDIA GTX 590 and the AMD Radeon HD 6990. Both cards are actually a dual gpu on a single card. The reason I did not is because I am having a hard time finding good links to put. Newegg is out of stock on all 6990s and does not even list the gtx 590 so you can search around for them but I will list their stock specs
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590
Cuda Cores : 1024
Core Clock : 607 Mhz
Memory : 3GB 384-but GDDR5
AMD Radeon HD 6990
Stream Processors : 3072
Core Clock : 830 Mhz
memory : 4GB 256-bit GDDR5
Both are blazing fast, with the 590 being less noisier.
With that out of the way the card that I chose was
The XFX 6950. The budget I had was a strong reason for me picking this card and also that I could play nearly all the games at the highest settings and on multiple monitors as well. My final build will contain 3 monitors and at this time am not willing to purchase two cards to do either SLI or CrossFireX and with the budget constraints I have, decided that the XFX one with 2GB of Ram will be good fit for my build. Also I wanted to make an all AMD build. My next build will be an Intel NVIDIA build so please do not think I am a AMD fanboy but I still think that all companies have something unique to offer and as such should all be viable options for your build.
Kiyoshi out.
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