2x6950cf vs 7970

[simsin]

Hey guys just wanted to get some feedback on what would be better to upgrade my build

Currently:

2500k oc to 4.5
asus p8z68-v pro
12gb ram
2 hdds and 1 ssd
6950 unlocked to 6970
corsair tx650

what would yield best results without upgrading any of the other components another 6950 or to switch altogether for a 7970?

Also wouldmy psu hold up?

thanks guys

[GT7R]

PSU wise you'll be pushing it with 2 6950's.
The decision depends on your budget. Adding another 6950 would be the cheaper option, but if you can, better sell yours and go for a single 7970/680 (And in that case the PSU is not a problem too).

[Masteroderus]

Good chance you'll blue screen if you oc your processor, and have 2 unlocked 6950 on a 650 watt PSU.

My 850 watt PSU was enough to madly overclock 2 unlocked 6950 and a processor. When I added a 3rd card i'd blue screen. 1200watt psu fixed that problem, these cards are hungry!

[great_big_abyss]

Get a 7970 and sell the 6950. They're not available new anymore, so you might see a decent price for it.

[Masteroderus]

No offense meant to the ati crowd but I would get a 680 instead of a 7970. More bang per buck and the adaptive vertical sync is something that I would die for with my rig. Diablo 3 has microstutters sometimes even with just one 6950 enabled.

[Prolab]

+1 on the bigger PSU.

Specs below - my rig pulls around 603+ watts when playing BF3.

[wirerogue]

if you can afford the 7970, i say go for it.

6950's in crossfire will give you similar performance as well. i'm sure you could get a used one for a steal.

[dandelioneater]

I have been in your exact situation before, but with 470's. I had to spend 200 for the 3rd 470 and another 230 or so for the 1200W psu upgrade. So at least 500 by the time i was done after shipping. I should have just sold the 2 470's and picked up a 580 at the time for just 150 more to make up the difference.

Sooo....Spend ~3-400 on 3rd gpu (and psu) or sell 6950's and buy 7970 for maybe another 200 after

[Darksword]

I would get the 7970 and just overclock it. You'll get better than 6950 XFire performance and won't have to worry about Xfire issues.

I upgraded from a 5870 to my 7970 and this card is more than twice as fast considering it's overclocked to 1200/1700. You should see similar gains since the 5870 and 6950 are about equal in performance.

[trayton]

In your case the PSU is a problem for 2 cards (in all honestly I'd even want a 750W or better) for the 7970 everyone is recommending you get instead of xfire the 6950's!

As for cards it comes down to what you want and what you can get for your current if you do want to upgrade to one of the better single card solutions.