Radeon 6950 - a good or bad card for CloD?

[TedStryker]

Days away from a new build, but I'm a totally in the dark when it comes to gear, so I'm hoping some of you fellas can help me.
I've been scanning the forums and noticing alot of complaints about performance on 69* series cards; while others seem to have no problem. There seems to be a consensus that at least 2gb of GPU RAM is required to run CloD well - but then Gunslinger's tests indicate that the stutters could be caused by the code not 'feeding' the CPU, or maybe a HDD versus SSD issue.

Both of those possibilities would render the expense of a 2gb card sort of pointless at the moment...or would it? I just don't know.

So I was for hoping a bit of feedback from 6950 users on whether you'd recommend it. I'm primarily building this rig to run CloD (though I can't wait to see how '46 looks on it!), so i don't want to bugger the GPU selection up!

The bloke who's gonna build it recommends the Asus GTX560 1gb as a cheaper alternative if a 2gb card is'nt required...is that a good second choice? My max budget for a card is about £200 sterling. I'm wondering if I should buy a cheaper 1gb card now and add another one if I need to later.

Aaarrggh too many choices!

Any help would be appreciated

Cheers

Ted

[Flymo3000]

I'm also going to build a system soon, to play CloD - so would also be interested to hear feedback from owners of HD 69xx cards. Currently I've settled on the 6950, rather than a 2GB Nvidia GTX 560, but that could all change...

Although the data sample is still small, the results on my site here (https://sites.google.com/site/il2benchmarks/results) show that systems with the HD 69xx cards seem to be performing well - with good average FPS on the Black Death track.

[Troll2k]

There seems to be a problem with the 69xx cards.People are not sure if it is a driver problem or a game problem.The result is 3 blue horizontal bands on the horizon.Fps wise it seems quite adequate.

[cunnidc]

I have a 2GB 6950 and have experienced none of the 'blue line' issues reported elsewhere. I must admit I'm a little disappointed with my FPS rate but if I hadn't bothered to check I would have been none the wiser.

I don't have the time to tinker with settings, I haven't tried the Beta patch, the game is as downloaded from Steam. My system was brand new and runs with a Sandy Bridge 2500 o/c to 4.0gHz and 8GB of ram.

[Bobb4]

The game runs great on a HD6950 if you do not mind the ATI blue stripes.
I am sure a cure for the stripes will be on hand soon.
The blue stipes are a known issue of the 6xxx series in the game and i would seriously doubt you would be lucky enough to buy one that does not have the problem.

As for other games it is awesome. Only problems games are Clod and mount and blade fire and sword, but the later has always had issues with ati graphics cards.

I am given to understand that only one member of the clod development team is using an ati which could explain the problem not being fixed yet :grin:
it is unlikely they would dare release the game in the US without addressing the ati issues considering the massive ati support in the US

[Psycho_Ch!cken]

To echo the previous posters, the 2GB 6950 runs CloD pretty well. I run it in 1920 x 1200 with all settings maxed out except SSAO, which I leave turned off. Framerates hover around the 60-70fps mark with a dozen or so planes over the channel. Over land things drop to around 40-50. On the ground in the tutorial missions or over cities though, things tend to dip severely into the 20's and even the low teens.

Of course, it improves markedly if you drop the graphics settings a little, I'm just stubborn (and I don't believe that the current performance is yet acceptable for the level of visual fidelity we're getting on "max" settings).

And yes, the "3 blue lines" problem is readily apparent, but it doesn't bother me most of the time. It's fairly easy to ignore and it'll eventually get fixed.

I'm still waiting for Crossfire to be fixed though. My second 6950 gets to idle for the time being, since performance is abysmal in CloD with Crossfire running at the moment.

[Ze-Jamz]

To answer the OP's question:

Yes good great card, i had a massive difference coming from a HD5770 to this card.. i can play the game on max settings apart from forest which is on Med and building amount which is on Med too..

1920x1200 res
SSAO unchecked
Vsync unchecked < not really sure what diff that makes, cant see any
FullSceen enabled
35-70FPS depending where i am

Yes i have the blue lines which im sure will be fixed sure enough

[RE77ACTION]

A 6950 is very good bang for the buck. With your screen resolution I would certainly recommend a 2GB graphics card. The blue stripes are most probably temporary.

[Warhound]

Can only echo the previous statements. Outside of the 3 lines on the horizon the card runs any game, including CLOD, like a dream and the 2GB certainly helps with high texture qualities and resolutions.
Also you can unlock it to a 6970 without worries as it has a dual bios, any of the few cards that end up with artifacts can usually be set back to 6950 stock clocks (or inbetween 6950 and 6970) while still having the benefit of the extra shaders...and if not you just revert to the original bios with the flick of a switch.
http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/overclocking/vidcard/159 successful/unsuccessful unlock chart at the bottom
(Not unlocked mine as it's a non-reference design without a BIOS switch)


As for buying a cheaper card and going SLI/crossfire later on..I'm not a fan of it, you need a better PSU, sometimes a more expensive motherboard and by the time you are tempted to plug in that extra card you're usually better off just buying a new single one which performs better than 2 older ones in tandem.
And there is always the odd game you love which hates SLI/xfire.

[Scotch_Bonnet]

Don't flash a 6970 bios to your card...

Flash a modded 6950 bios that unlocks your shaders, and then overclock to 6970 levels. The 6970 bios is known to send the wrong voltage to the memory causing stability problems.

[Majo]

No stability problems here with a "biosed" 6950 and as said before is able to run reasonably well the game, perhaps some issues with the blue stripes in the horizon and FPS droping down over the cities, nothing new.

Still...

If you plan to keep playing il2 sturmovick 1946, you will have to have a total complete different setup in your ccc, Radeon Pro, Ati Tray Tools, whatever...
in order to be able to optimize your graphics for OpenGL in Il2 (1946) vs. DirectX D3D Il2 (CoD).

Still...

If you compare your performance with a GTX560 ti or GTX570 you will always be behind by 10 FPS in both games, Il2(1946) & Il2(Cod)... with better image quality... ummm yes!!! ... but still 10 FPS behind.

Regards , Majo.

[l3uLLDoZeR]

Don't flash a 6970 bios to your card...

Flash a modded 6950 bios that unlocks your shaders, and then overclock to 6970 levels. The 6970 bios is known to send the wrong voltage to the memory causing stability problems.


I 2nd that! You can only flash the stock 6950 2gb card..the ones with 2 fans or pre-overclocked cards can't do this. I like my 6950 for the price...reviews say it works great with two cards so I may add another down the road.

[Thee_oddball]

To answer the OP's question:

Yes good great card, i had a massive difference coming from a HD5770 to this card.. i can play the game on max settings apart from forest which is on Med and building amount which is on Med too..

1920x1200 res
SSAO unchecked
Vsync unchecked < not really sure what diff that makes, cant see any
FullSceen enabled
35-70FPS depending where i am

Yes i have the blue lines which im sure will be fixed sure enough

I have a 5750 and i get an avg fps of 32 in a 30 plane battle over a coastal city on high settings with only shadows turned off at 1600x1200 rez :) it drops to about 25 but it is still when i am right over the houses (200 feet) but it is still playable :)

Jamz would you like to sell you 5770?

p.s this is on the official 14101 version

[Thee_oddball]

to the OP ,6950 is more than enough to play this game :)

S!

[TedStryker]

Thanks everyone, this is exactly the sort of feedback I was after.

I reckon i'm just gonna dive in with the 6950! I can live with 3 temporary blue lines as the worst case scenario. For 7 years i've been playing Il-2 on probably the worst 'rig' possible (Intel Extreme integrated graphics, 512 MB of RAM, rubbish motherboard) so CloD on this bad boy should blow my eyes right off.

Cheers to everyone for posting; see you in the skies! I'll be the one on fire next to the runway....


Ted

[Rattlehead]

Both of those possibilities would render the expense of a 2gb card sort of pointless at the moment...or would it? I just don't know.



The extra memory will be put to good use. I have a 1 gb card and if I put the texture quality to 'original' I experience some stutter.
Setting the texture quality to 'medium' removes the stutter for me.

[Flying_Nutcase]

You can only flash the stock 6950 2gb card..the ones with 2 fans or pre-overclocked cards can't do this.
I need confirmation: Can the Sapphire 6950 FleX, which has its own cooling system, be raised to 6970 levels?

Thanks for any help on this one.

[TedStryker]

Hi Flying_Nutcase

I see you've gone with Sapphire as the best choice as regards manufacturer - thats handy info.

Thanks for your great website btw

Ted

[White Owl]

I don't know about your specific question, but I'll add confirmation that the 6950 handles this game well enough. I have most settings on high, textures on original, but shadows off, and that looks real good with playable framerates. Some stuttering for a quarter second or so whenever a new texture gets loaded for the first time, and of course the ATI glitched blue lines at the horizon... but these will get better in time, I'm sure.

The shadows are a problem. They kill framerates and look very bad. Could be just my system, though.

[Flanker35M]

S!

WhiteOwl, your system is not far from mine. And yes, the shadows kill fps as does the dust when you land/take-off. Can not stretch much more that ppl should file a AMD driver feedback form, report them in detail the problems. They will tackle it, but also devs need to work on it.

I am planning on another 6970HD when CoD really runs well fullscreen and has the proper SLI/CrossFire implemented 100%. So supporting the game even on it's current state.

[Flying_Nutcase]

I need confirmation: Can the Sapphire 6950 FleX, which has its own cooling system, be raised to 6970 levels?

Thanks for any help on this one.

Actually from this review:
http://www.hitechlegion.com/reviews/video-cards/9242-sapphire-6950-fe-video-card-review

...they mention that the FleX uses the original stock 6950:
"The underlying 6950 is still the original stock model."

If I3ullDoZer's comment ("You can only flash the stock 6950 2gb card.") is correct, the Sapphire FleX would seem like a good choice given:

- The extra cooling (hitechlegion.com: "Sapphire has put special coolers on the FleX versions that far surpass the stock model coolers.") and
- EyeFinitity support (hitechlegion.com: "Using an onboard chip, users could easily connect 3 monitors without any extra hassles.").

GPU masters: Does the Sapphire 6950 FleX add up to you guys as being a solid purchase? Any downsides other than the higher price?

[HornedGod]

I need confirmation: Can the Sapphire 6950 FleX, which has its own cooling system, be raised to 6970 levels?

Thanks for any help on this one.

I have the Sapphire 6950 Flex. Actually I have two in CrossFire. I was unable to unlock the shaders on either. It does have the bios switch, which is good.

I suspect that ATI has gotten around to hardware locking the shaders to prevent the bios hack. I could just have cards that failed to meet the 6970 quality standards. It'll become clear over the next week or two as more people try to unlock the flex.

I have not tried the 6970 bios to see if that works as I'm not willing to tempt fate on changing the memory timings.

With the custom heatsink and fan I'm happy enough to just overclock the card.

[TommiVH]

I got MSI NnVidia GeForce 560 ti oc 1gb in my rig and Im very pleased to it. Runs great Clod and Arma 2 on 1980x1080. Planning to buy another one in someday and make SLI.

Intel Core i5 750 2.67Ghz oc to 3Ghz
p7p55D PRO
12 GB DDR3
Gigabyte NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 ti OC
1TB SpinPoint F3 3.5", SATAII, 32MB, 7200RPM
Win 7 Ultimate 64-bit SP1

[Flying_Nutcase]

I have the Sapphire 6950 Flex. Actually I have two in CrossFire. I was unable to unlock the shaders on either. It does have the bios switch, which is good.

I suspect that ATI has gotten around to hardware locking the shaders to prevent the bios hack. I could just have cards that failed to meet the 6970 quality standards. It'll become clear over the next week or two as more people try to unlock the flex.

I have not tried the 6970 bios to see if that works as I'm not willing to tempt fate on changing the memory timings.

With the custom heatsink and fan I'm happy enough to just overclock the card.

Thanks for the info!

[machoo]

The 6950 is a great card as i'm sure a 560ti is.

[l3uLLDoZeR]

Sorry I didn't see this sooner Nutcase..it looks like you got your answer. To be honest unlocking the shaders is not that big of a deal. If your heart is set on that card you might as well go for it...or just buy a 6970 for a few $ more than the flex card.

[Ze-Jamz]

They are the best value cards on the market right now.. either the 6950 or the 6970, both are fantastic in crossfire too...shame though that alot of us are having the blue line syndrome with these cards