Video card recommendation needed

[Asad_A203]

Hey Guys,

So I just replaced my tri-fire 5870 setup and I am looking for a replacement to be able to run BF3 maxed out at 5200X1050 over 40 FPS. It is hard to say without the game being released, but I guess Metro 2033 maxed out would provide a pretty good approximation. This isn't really that demanding of an eyefinity setup so I would imagine I don't need much more than 2GB buffer per video cards.

Although I am open towards ATI and Nvidia, I am unsure if I can run an SLI setup on my current motherboard (X58 DS4). I am not sure if this is a software of hardware limitation (can I just flash a different BIOS to unlock this?).

Anyways, I am currently thinking about going either 2 6970s with EK waterblocks (and pick up a third one once 7XXX series comes out), 1 6990 (if I can find any) with a EK waterblock (and pick up a 2nd one once 7XXX comes out).

I have heard of nasty driver issues with the 69XX series though so I wouldn't mind running a GTX 590 either (and picking up a 2nd one in 5-6 months). This option is more tempting as I can pick up 590s readily but the whole lack of SLI (and I am not sure if I can even run a 590 as it is still a dual GPU solution) might give me some issues, especially since a single GTX 590 likely will not be able to max out BF3.

The other alternative would be wait it out for the new 7XXX series but the whole issue then occurs of how much of a performance gain would this really offer, when they would actually be released, and then how long would I have to wait for water blocks to be released.

I absolutely hate the noise video card fans make so waterblocks really is a must.

Thanks in advance.

[GT7R]

You do not need a mobo with CF/SLI support in order to run a dual GPU since it deals with the 2 cores by itself.
Mind you a 590 isn't even as near as loud as you might think.

[FLATLANDRIDER]

i have the hd 6970 from xfx and i absolutly love my card. i can max out any game no it with a minimum of 25fps, and thats only with one card! i bought the card for $400 and it came with a double lifetime warrenty, so that means if anything goes wrong they send me a new one right away, and if i ever sell it i can transfer the warrenty over to then next person. one hd 6970 can run 6 monitors at onece so if you tri fire then you could run 18 monitors. plus the 69xx are way better at crossfiring than the 58xx series. if you want to save money get the hd 6950 because its is the same card as the 6970 exept is been downclocked, so just flash the bios of the 6950 and you have a 6970.

you could also go for the 6990 which is essentially 2 6970s put on one card, but 2 6970s in xfire would outperform a single hd 6990 because in order to fit 2 6970gpus on one card the had to lowere the clock speeds so the 6990 is 2 lower versions of the 6970 basicly.

the 6970 also comes with 2GB of ram so your good there.

as for the bad driver issue. i have not had alot of trouble with my drivers, the only problem i have had is the once in a blue moon AMD catalyst wil stop working and wont open up, but my way of bypassing that was i pinned it to the taskbar (windows 7) and it seemed to be fine from then on.

[Asad_A203]

^Thanks for the input. I think I am just going to wait for the 7XXX series though. Two 6970s are probably not going to cut it at eyefinity resolution (with everything maxed out); they are probably going to perform similar to my three 5870s (thanks to the awful scaling of the 58XX series) except I probably won't be VRAM choked anymore. I also don't feel like adding another radiator/pump/res for a tri-fire setup of 6970s. I might go with two 6990s if anyone receives stock but I doubt it.

I just pulled my watercooling loop out of commission and I am using a single 5830 until the 7XXX comes out. Hopefully EK and the other watercooling manufacturers release waterblocks ASAP.

[GT7R]

If you can hold off, do so. 3-4 months :)

[Asad_A203]

Originally Posted by GT7R

If you can hold off, do so. 3-4 months :)

It will be hard with BF3 coming out before the 7XXX. If I find out my old 5870s would have no issue maxing out the game (like I can with BC2) in eyefinity, I will be choked .

Hopefully a single 5830 can muster its way through BF3 at the lowest settings at 1680X1050 until the 7XXX cards come out .

[GT7R]

So just run it on high instead of highest for couple of months then... I know it sucks but then again, worth it in the long shot :)

[Painbringer71]

Although they have not posted official specs. Your card is new enough to work and is probably going to work well. October is not too far and the beta will be open soon so you can try it before buying anything. just preorder the game to ensure you get in the beta.