GTX 590 vs 6990 Watercooling

[Naota]

My apologies if this has been asked. I have seen some versus posts about these but they did not seem to pertain to watercooling, which would eliminate the noise issues and lower temps of course.

Which card do you think would be better (in terms of performance) if they were watercooled the GTX 590 or Radeon HD 6990? Assuming that these cards would be overclocked of course.

I am wondering if the sole factor the 6990 wins is because the 590 is so downclocked. I would assume watercooling would fix that problem for the most part.

 

[JezEngland]

heat wise probably 590 as reference cooled 580's are/were quieter and cooler than the 6970

 

[Grizzly]

6990, its clear downside was the noise the fans made, and so by chucking the stock cooling away you rid yourself of the main cause for concern.

 

[Naota]

But what about after a overclocking? I know that both cards were downclocked to lower temps and sound. But wasnt the 590 really really downclocked? I would think watercooling would allow these cards to run closer to the respective speeds of their single card versions (gtx580, etc)

Thanks for the responses. =)

 

[TMaksimov]

The 6990 is better IMHO. If cooling is no issue (when waterblocks come out) then I'd go for a 6990 but I am an AMD fanboy so.. meh I dunno if you'd listen to me.

 

[BeholdtheMightySpoon]

My apologies if this has been asked. I have seen some versus posts about these but they did not seem to pertain to watercooling, which would eliminate the noise issues and lower temps of course.

Which card do you think would be better (in terms of performance) if they were watercooled the GTX 590 or Radeon HD 6990? Assuming that these cards would be overclocked of course.

I am wondering if the sole factor the 6990 wins is because the 590 is so downclocked. I would assume watercooling would fix that problem for the most part.

As of now the gtx 590 is to new to tell about overclocking abilities, i've read where somebody said they oc'ed it to 800mhz core 1400Mhz shader and 3600Mhz memory but saw no validation. So long to short give it a few weeks then check back IMHO. hopes this helped.

 

[JezEngland]

Generaly I think watercooling only will help the temps as overclocking performance is limited without other mods.

AMD chips use less power and both cards could draw the same power with the 2 8 pin connectors and it'll still be king of general benchmarks where it's able, like with the AA alot lower than 64xAA that 2 nvidia chips can produce and maby 16xAA. i see some aspects to display performance. Overall play back consistency, max, average and minimum framarate then quality etc. for folding @ home stuff CUDA is considered the king i think. if your rig is close to its limits and you want smooth special effects nvidia might be better even if its card is a little slower and nvidia dedicated game features. also if you've got a massive monitor wich doesn't have a massive pixel count you'll want the extra AA nvidia gives. dont think either card can overclock well mainly because of limitd power. the 590 runs prettey good temp stock and OC3D found its limit. Watercooling probably is only good for noise. gamble too as its playing the silicone lottery with 2 chips. and the thermal threshold, 590 is 97 degrees, i don't know what the 6990 is. 6990 can use up to 450 watts, 590 is 375 watts. i thought the power setup could draw only 375 watts safely so where does amd get the power?

 

[Zaim]

I'd take the 6990 even with a better air cooler such as the MSI Twin frozer or Asus Direct CU.

 

[Naota]

I cannot wait to see waterblock reviews for these two cards since opinions here are mixed. When I order the Vertex 3 next week (presuming it actually comes out on time) I will be building my new rig, so I hope they are out by then.

Am kinda tempted to buy both with watercooling and review em both too. Though I wanted to have a silent air build.

 

[JezEngland]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbhfDLEeiVY&feature=feedu

 

[Naota]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbhfDLEeiVY&feature=feedu

I have been looking at that card. I never watched the video though. It sure does look nice... now if only I could see benches for it as well as a liquid 6990. Thanks for the video.

 

[wraithien]

I personally think the 6990 would be a better bet as has been mentioned the only current drawback is that fan added to the fact Nvidia have expressed that they made the 590 to be an easy to live with card and so limited the overclocking potential this is why some of them have blown up. The 6990 has the bios switch so that you can open the taps on it and if its underwater you will have no concerns with temps or noise as long as your rad is sufficient of course.

 

[Naota]

I personally think the 6990 would be a better bet as has been mentioned the only current drawback is that fan added to the fact Nvidia have expressed that they made the 590 to be an easy to live with card and so limited the overclocking potential this is why some of them have blown up. The 6990 has the bios switch so that you can open the taps on it and if its underwater you will have no concerns with temps or noise as long as your rad is sufficient of course.

I believe they were blowing up because the beta drivers didn't have voltage protection. I very well could be wrong though. Hmm.. such a hard decision. ^^ Thanks for your response mate. I'll be making my decision within the next few days (will be finalizing my order when I purchase the Vertex 3)

 

[Rastalovich]

I believe they were blowing up because the beta drivers didn't have voltage protection. I very well could be wrong though. Hmm.. such a hard decision. ^^ Thanks for your response mate. I'll be making my decision within the next few days (will be finalizing my order when I purchase the Vertex 3)

Have more than 1 from the 1 reviewer blown ?

 

[Naota]

Geez these votes are close. =|

Have more than 1 from the 1 reviewer blown ?

I am not sure. I know several different people did have their cards blow. I think it was cause voltage limiters were not set in place though. The official NVIDIA drivers solved that problem, at least to my knowledge.