Which video card should I get?

[Marwan5418]

Hey guys I'm building my comp and idk which video card to get should I get the XFX 6990 or should I get the GTX 590 and should I water cool it? Thanks for your time :)

[draemn]

imo, watercooling is not easy and only for someone who wants a lot of work to get it running. I think I might have seen a recent 'all-in-one' style solution that does GPUs and that wouldn't be as bad.

Still, I'd stay away from the water-cooling unless you are prepared for the challenges/risks/cost. I'm not 100% certain, but I hear complaints about the ATI drivers more often than nvidia, especially for multi-GPU solutions. This doesn't mean ATI is worse, but it suggests something... as far as the two cards go on air (cooling), it's not worth getting the 6990 unless it's waaaay cheaper.

I've been happy with nvidia with this build, so got no complaints recommending them. I run SLI 570s (after having 460s 1GB) for surround setup on 3x 1080p monitors.

[Marwan5418]

yeah the 6990s get really loud I might get the 590 but I heard nvidea cards break a lot, is this true?

[draemn]

Originally Posted by Marwan5418

yeah the 6990s get really loud I might get the 590 but I heard nvidea cards break a lot, is this true?

I do not know the current state of 590s, but at the time of release, these cards did not overclock anywhere near as high as a single 580 card would due to different parts breaking earlier. If you aren't going to overclock or get a factory overclocked model, you shouldn't have anything to worry about (other than the issues that plague all manufactures). Most people broke their 590 by overclocking. And why are you staying away from the SLI 570 option?

[Marwan5418]

ohh lol well idk I heard sli was complicated to do

[draemn]

1) SLI requires you buy an SLI capable motherboard, which a lot are. Pretty much every board is crossfire capable (but again I've heard complaints about the AMD drivers).

2) The 590 is SLI but just on the same PCB (card).

3) SLI requires you have enough power connectors for the 2nd card (which most PSU big enough will have).

SLI isn't really much harder than a 590. The 590 advantage lies in a) mobos that only have a single x16 PCIe 2.0 lane b) doing Quad-SLI with 2x 590s. c) People who just think it's better?!?!?

Even still, running a 570 on a 8x PCIe 2.0 lane will only be about 4-8% slower than running on a 16x lane, so you won't notice a big difference with the 570 in SLI on two 8x lanes (versus how the 590 can run on a single 16x lane).

[Ed103194]

dont believe everything you hear, sli is very easy to set up, and there are plenty of guides and tutorials online. I would go with 590 between the two, assuming the new ones dont have vrm problems because of nvidia drivers, quiter cooling, and I think nvidia cards are better quality

[Marwan5418]

Yeah I think I'm going to end up just getting a 590 because 6990s are just way too loud.

[clshades]

make sure you got the power for it dude. The last lan we had one of the fellas had a 590 and he popped the breaker 3 times. We had to put him on his own circuit. 6990's I believe sit on the top of the pile for fastest card.

590 is basically dual UNDERCLOCKED 580's in sli. If you think the 590 is gonna be quiet your are mistaken. You'd be better off sli'ing dual 580's than a single 590.

If you are a folder get the 590. If you are not a folder get the 6990.

Oh and the ATI drivers are fine btw... I have zero issues with my card and everyone I game with with ati cards have zero problems too. I wish some of you guys could get your facts straight instead of assuming based on opinion and presenting false facts. It's ok to be bias toward your favorite card but please don't make stuff up based on your bias. There are some really good reviews on this site and elsewhere that would direct you better.

6990 beats 590. Everytime. Everyday. Forever. Sorry for being curt but it's the truth.
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Graphics card hierarchy this isn't a perfect list but it isn't horrible either.

Water cooling is absolutely worth the effort it is the loudest fan in your case. Period. If you can afford it definately do it. Dazmode can help you sort out the details if you like.

I honestly try and avoid these threads now because I really don't wanna get into the debate heh. Goodluck with your vid card

[Marwan5418]

cl thanks man imma just get the 6990 :D and yeah I have a 1000w xfx modular psu so I think I'm set for that. and you think you could link me to that guys water cooling guide? cause I have the money for it and I really wanna do it