What is the quietest HD 6950?

[sheroo]

Hey guys, I've read so many reviews that my head hurts. So do any of you guys know which is the quietest HD 6950?

MSI HD 6950 Twin Frozr III

ASUS HD 6950 DirectCU II

SAPPHIRE HD 6950 Dirt3 Edition

or is there another one that I've missed?

This card will spend most of its time idling running 3 * 1920 * 1080 monitors, so I want it whisper quiet at idle - when gaming I'm not too bothered.

 

[Nathlm]

I think the Twin frozr III is the quietest and coolest from what I've heard!

To be honest I would go with what you like best ( Price (DIRT 3 Edition) , Performance (Twin Frozr III) , or looks (Direct CU II) )

 

[sheroo]

I think the Twin frozr III is the quietest and coolest from what I've heard!

To be honest I would go with what you like best ( Price (DIRT 3 Edition) , Performance (Twin Frozr III) , or looks (Direct CU II) )

The Sapphire dirt 3 edition is tempting as Aria have currently got it for £187. But I'm looking to replace a reference Sapphire 6950 that I find is just too noisy for me. I've contemplated replacing the stock cooler but its probably better to sell the one I've got and get a really quiet one instead. So quiet is the most important factor for me.

 

[Ibanez81]

Is there not an XFX version?

 

[kilobravo]

The saphire hd6950 dirt3 edition,is the best hd6950 made.It has dual bios,and there is a fair chance to unlock it to 6970.

And it is quite silent under load.

 

[KING_OF_SAND]

The direct CUii will be the quietest. Reason being is it has thicker fans, so it will push FAR more air than the other 2 at about half the speed.

 

[sheroo]

So I still can't decide which 6950 to get to replace my stock "leaf blower" card.

Common sense tells me that the Asus DirectCu II card with its dual 100mm fans will be the quietest - but it is just such a monster. All the reviews seem to suggest that the Twin FrozR III on the MSI is fantastic as well and has lots of spare cooling overhead - which means I could back off the overclock and have it even quieter + it has a switch on it for performance or silence.

They are both around the same price - but I just can't decide which one to go for. Can anyone convince me one way or the other?

 

[sheroo]

OK guys just to let you know that I got this today:-









Its beautifully quiet, and idles 10C cooler than the reference card. Downloaded Afterburner and with a customised fan profile it is just lovely.

Next I'll be moving the system into a case without any mesh on the side for even more quiet.

 

[FragTek]

That's a heck of a good looking card!

 

[Azurite]

Dont forget Gigabytes 6950.

 

[peircevongoth12]

Is there not an XFX version?

yes I am running 2 XFX that have a dual fan cooler on them and they are not loud at all.

 

[tomhcb]

The saphire hd6950 dirt3 edition,is the best hd6950 made.It has dual bios,and there is a fair chance to unlock it to 6970.And it is quite silent under load.

Although it has dual bios it can't be unlocked to 6970 because AMD laser cut out the extra shaders...

 

[Stryker64]

Have you considered getting a reference card and bolting on the Arctic Cooling VGA Cooler?

 

[S_I_N]

pmslmao on this one lol quiet and amd GPU isnt normally said in the same sentence let alone post lmao

 

[KING_OF_SAND]

pmslmao on this one lol quiet and amd GPU isnt normally said in the same sentence let alone post lmao

^^^NVIDIA FANBOY. S_I_N = IRRELEVANT!

 

[sheroo]

Have you considered getting a reference card and bolting on the Arctic Cooling VGA Cooler?

Yep did consider that but by the time you've taken into account the cost of the cooler and probably reduced resale value, its probably best just to by a quiet card and sell the other one.

I'm gonna list the Sapphire 6950 this weekend.