Sapphire Radeon HD 6950 2GB GDDR5 PCI Video Card (11188-22-20G) + Dirt3 Gaming Coupon $200 + Free Shipping *Starts 4/30*

Not a deal.

The 7850 beats this while using less power and being a few $ more.

Quote from poormanq45 : Not a deal. The 7850 beats this while using less power and being a few $ more.

Where can I find the 7850 for around $200?

Not sure if i should ask here but will I need to upgrade my Antec Basiq BP430 psu if i want to get a 7850?

Quote from Enerqizer : Where can I find the 7850 for around $200?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Pro...6814161406

Close enough to go for it.

Spend the $40 and get it. You won't regret it.

Quote from kaaji1359 : Hah, good luck with that. I'm doing the 7850 as well but the moment a good brand gets back in stock on Newegg, I'm biting, and you probably should too. With all the news about the 7850 only being 6% less than the 7870 due it's extreme overclocking potential, everyone seems to want one.

I agree, But I think people should look at the upcoming deals, as if you need a $200 no waiting for rebate 2GB GPU right now with aftermarket cooling. This looks to be a good buy. If you want something slightly better and are willing to spend a bit more the 7850 is a good choice AMD wise.

Quote from Enerqizer : Where can I find the 7850 for around $200?

You can't or I'd be on it so fast. 250$ for a non reference version or 240$ for the HIS branded reference one from newegg. Canada has had the the powercooler version for 230$ from NCIX so I expect that to move down to the states sooner or later, given the dollar parity. My cutoff would be like 220 for reference or 230 for a non reference card.

Edit: also the HIS is actually 248, you gotta pay shipping

Quote from securety10 : It all depends on what you want. If you need/want physx and don't care about power consumption, heat, noise, and having the latest and greatest architecture grab the 480. If you don't care about physx and want a cooler quieter card that does eyefinity (and has a memory advantage for resolutions >1080) grab the 6950. You need to determine what is most important to you and make the decision. Doubt you'd be upset with either.

Very good post. I decided very much on those lines. I had a price range in mind and wanted a card that gave out less heat and used less wattage in that price range. I think performance wise on a single monitor it won't depend much which card you get between a 6870 and a 460. Honestly once you cross 60 fps in a game on highest settings there's not much you need to measure. At that point I'd just get the cheaper card.

I don't have an inclination towards one brand or the other. Though when and if I have to upgrade from my card, with the current line up of cards I'll go for the 680.

Quote from hacgumyu : I brought this exact card, same box, same model( 11188-22-20G )... it won't unlock no matter flip the bio or flash everything.. it's been laser cutted on extra shaders.. don't expect an unlocked 6950.. but it runs great and quiet... im temped to crossfire this one with my current one.

What exactly do you mean by "flip the bio or flash everything"?
The card has a dual bios. the bios on position 2 is read-only and cannot be modified.
The bios on position 1 is the same stock bios however this one is flashable.
Where you able to flash either a stock 6970 bios or a modified version of the 6950 (and gpu-z simply reported the stock 1408 shaders, instead of the 1536 that would indicate a successful unlock), or your flashing attempts were simply unsuccessful?

Just want to add my 2cents. I've had to RMA through a few companies which were good, some took a little time but got it done. Sapphire never even responded to my requests....so I have a dead card and will stick with other brands from now on. (XFX, EVGA, MSI -- all rock)

Quote from Mattrim : You can't or I'd be on it so fast. 250$ for a non reference version or 240$ for the HIS branded reference one from newegg. Canada has had the the powercooler version for 230$ from NCIX so I expect that to move down to the states sooner or later, given the dollar parity. My cutoff would be like 220 for reference or 230 for a non reference card. Edit: also the HIS is actually 248, you gotta pay shipping

Not unless you have ShopRunner ;D

Quote from joshuaNH : I agree that I am the King of "don't buy it because"... but I usually give a valid reason.

Does your nephew use your account often? I've been seeing alot of troll comments from your username lately.

Guys should I get this and crossfire it with my reference 6950? Or should I just sell the 6950 (unlocked) and get a 7950/7970

If you guys want to crossfire this, you may want to consider getting a 7970, which can be OC'ed to the same performance as OC'ed 6950x2 [hardforum.com]. The Sapphire [hardocp.com] version has great OC'ing potential and low fan noise. There's no reason to put yourself through microstuttering issues, high power usage, increased heat production, and crappy xfire drivers for $50 less than a single card that does everything better at around the same price, with a potential to xfire down the line. I suggest waiting for another promo of the 7970 that may bring down to $400 AR with 3 extra games that you can sell for at least $20 a pop. I bought my Sapphire 7970 OC [newegg.com] from newegg business for $401 AR.

Quote from APhamX : Guys should I get this and crossfire it with my reference 6950? Or should I just sell the 6950 (unlocked) and get a 7950/7970

I am still trying to establish if this card can be unlocked or not.
If it can't be unlocked the two cards will simply run as 2 normal 6950's. Not worth-it in my opinion.
A unlocked 6950 seems to run for ~200 on ebay.
If you have the power supply to run the crossfire (at least a good quality 750w, as long as you don't have a bunch of hdd's or pci cards connected), I would get a unlocked 6950; otherwise I would sell it and get the 7970.