HD 6970 + 6950 is here !!! .... And it also wants me to take a shit !!

[OnionKnight]

HD 6900 series !! Makes me want to take a shit the 2nd time !!

Remember how the GTX 580's price point made me want to take a shit? Now AMD wants me to take shit also !

Comparing it to Cards already on the Market

 

This is going to be quick because after looking at all the DX11 game benchmarks for these cards, I can pretty much summarize the performance

 

HD 6950 = slightly more powerful than a HD 5870 in performance but strongly exceeds in heavy tesselatio. The bizarre thing is that in most of the DX11 game benchmarks (with the exception of Metro 2033 + tessellation) the HD 6950 actually perform worse (so it makes me wonder, "what gives ?")

HD 6970 = GTX 570 but costs more and cools worse

Architecture rant?

 

I am not going to bother with the architecture bs this time like I did with the GTX 580 (because I don't have time write a long rant but I will sum it up) . Nvidia GTX 500 series rant = 6900 ATI/AMD rank. Lots of recycled technology yata yata yata.

 

So why did it happen? Because when you think about it, both Nvidia and ATI got facked on 32nm. TSMC knew it couldn't meet the demands so it said "screw that shit we can't supply or even make 32 nm. Lets just focus on 28 nm in the future". So in the end a lot of the research and planning for both companies had to be scrapped in someway. Which is why we the type of AMD cards we see today.

New changes besides more performance and tessellation?

Some differences that has been noted is the much better multi GPU scaling that these cards have over their past card and their current competition. Of course this would be a much better advertised feature if the drivers weren't shit especially when it comes to crossfire (both AMD and Nvidia drivers are terrible )

 

Another difference is that the HD 6970 uses 1 8 pin + 1 6 pin to power itself now and it has a dual bios switch (which is about damn time someone got this). No seriously you won't believe how many people flash their cards or update the bios and get the stupid thing bricked sometimes (doesn't happen that often, but when it does occur it is a nightmare).

 

AMD lost their edge

 

I like change. Change in the computer world usually means for the better. But this type of change is bolderdash.

 

What is AMD known for? Cheap, affordable and good quality. The HD 6900 series is not cheap or affordable. At $370 for a HD 6970, it really isn't a winner. It performs the same as a GTX 570 which is only $350 !!! Not only that, the GTX 570 comes with a vapor chamber heatsink (and the temps are much much cooler).

 

The HD 6950 is a much easier cookie to swallow at $300 but still could use some tampering considering that in many DX11 titles, it really isn't exceeding the HD 5870 except when it comes to metro 2033 and 3dmark11 (which makes you wonder how come?).

I really can't say much except that AMD's name is not prestigious enough to sell graphics cards on its name alone. Just because you blew the GTX 400 series out of the water doesn't mean you are going to excel the 2nd time around. If your cards aren't cheaper and do not perform better than your competitors, they obviously won't sell.

"But hey didn't Nvidia do that with the GTX 400 series?"

 

Well ya they did try to sell cards that were overpriced for their performance and look how they got teabagged (a majority of consumers aren't stupid in the computer world). This time it is going to be deja vu except with AMD on the receiving end.

 

Final Conclusion on this Generation of Video Cards:

 

GTX 580 and HD 6970 are a complete disappointment and the HD 6950 is just a meh.

 

If there is any card that does win in this generation at the moment, it would have to be the GTX 570. Not because of its advancements in graphics technology but more because it was able to sell for a killer price and a good value. It is like imagine a card that performs like a GTX 480 that is low power consumption, very low temps, quiet and only $350 (and this gives you a tremendous performance per $ ratio. Almost comparable to the HD 5770 and GTX 460)

[NoGooD]

But it's directX 11 compatible. lol.

 

I fully agree with your conclusion Onion. The performance/$ ratio is out of whack and I have a feeling AMD is going to see the end result in the lack of sales. Maybe if it had been labeled "ATI", lol

 

Nice, to-the-point review Onion. Just one mistake that jumped out at me (not that I was looking for any)

 

HD 6950 = slightly more powerful than a HD 5870 in performance but strongly exceeds in heavy tesselatio.

 

I'm curious to see if AMD comes back with a reply for it's "performance" issues.

[Kladkakan]

Onion could you help me with a computer i want your opinion on it because you know a lot about computers

[FiveMagic]

Crappy Laptop Graphics ftw

[<Jose>]

I myself was planning on getting a 6970 or maybe 2 if the price was right. Tbh honest if your buying these kind of cards $50 is not a big issue as long as ur paying for abit more performance, but if your paying more for less thats just damm stupid. I myself have to admit to being abit o an ATi/AMD fanboy myself, and im uitie disapointed at how these cards have come out.

[OnionKnight]

I myself was planning on getting a 6970 or maybe 2 if the price was right. Tbh honest if your buying these kind of cards $50 is not a big issue as long as ur paying for abit more performance, but if your paying more for less thats just damm stupid. I myself have to admit to being abit o an ATi/AMD fanboy myself, and im uitie disapointed at how these cards have come out.

 

Ya but to be honest both companies are pretty lackluster this generation (I can't blame them because of the 32 nm issue). Just Nvidia seems to be less lackluster when it comes to the pricing of the GTX 570 (it is good value. $50 cheaper than a GTX 480 and now with better cooling, power consumption and noise).The GTX 580, 6950 and 6970 aren't that great of a value.

 

The 6850 and 6870 are okay for what they are worth (The pricing isn't bad but i feel it could be cheaper). They keep on saying that "the HD 6870 is just or more powerful than a HD 5870" but so far there is only 2 games where the HD 6870 does have equivalent performance to the HD 5870 (everything else the HD 5870 is beating it good so I assume this fact is bs. Unless they expect future driver updates to make the HD 6870 more powerful). Maybe they meant it was more powerful when it comes to tessellation?

 

So far though my opinion on tessellation is bs. I really can't tell what it exactly does except give more dynamic properties to textures (and how does it differ from just modelling the texture to look better?). Infact we seen the whole "dynamic cloth" effect in non tessellated games and in games that utilize the physX engine (and they really look just as good).

 

PhysX is bs too though =P (you get a 20 fps drop so they could calculate how the curtain moves when you shoot it in Mafia 2. "each time you shoot the curtain, it will always move in a different direction". Wow just wow. They waste resources on stuff like that rather than improving the game lol).

[Achiyan]

PhysX is bs too though =P (you get a 20 fps drop so they could calculate how the curtain moves when you shoot it in Mafia 2. "each time you shoot the curtain, it will always move in a different direction". Wow just wow. They waste resources on stuff like that rather than improving the game lol).

i kinda disagree with that tho...once PhysX is perfected in future games, those dynamics could really make a game. i dont really feel like goin deep into it tho. lazy minded right now.

but hell, i roll on MSI HD4670 1GB....lol but its good enough for know. only game i wanna play that i cant (kinda) is GTA IV. havent figured out why yet tho, maybe the same thing that Crysis dealt with, the poor coding. dunno, but i play most games at 1920x1080 with everything maxed except for AA.

 

the 6000 series of the HD's i dont really care for. not much at all. i really just want a 5870 honestly. unless someone was handing out 5970s for the price of a 5770

[OnionKnight]

i kinda disagree with that tho...once PhysX is perfected in future games, those dynamics could really make a game. i dont really feel like goin deep into it tho. lazy minded right now.

but hell, i roll on MSI HD4670 1GB....lol but its good enough for know. only game i wanna play that i cant (kinda) is GTA IV. havent figured out why yet tho, maybe the same thing that Crysis dealt with, the poor coding. dunno, but i play most games at 1920x1080 with everything maxed except for AA.

 

the 6000 series of the HD's i dont really care for. not much at all. i really just want a 5870 honestly. unless someone was handing out 5970s for the price of a 5770

 

Ya one day. At the moment though, most of the games that allow physX to be enabled are pretty crappy (and the physX affects are very minimal). They got to put more effort into designing a good game first before even bothering with physX (because if you look at the list of physX games. Only 5 are good out of 300. The rest is just horrible)

[Achiyan]

Ya one day. At the moment though, most of the games that allow physX to be enabled are pretty crappy (and the physX affects are very minimal). They got to put more effort into designing a good game first before even bothering with physX (because if you look at the list of physX games. Only 5 are good out of 300. The rest is just horrible)

yeah. lol. i thought batman arkham asylum was a good game, but what did the physx do for that? move his cape???