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ASUS Radeon HD 6990 4GB |
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Heat & Noise, Conclusions
Noise and Temperature Results:
Noise measurements were taken with a digital sound meter approximately 3cm away from the video card fan, reducing the ability of other components such as the CPU or PSU fans to interfere with the final results. Software used for stressing was 3DMark Vantage, looped until the sound level was stable and stopped rising.
Temperature readings were taken at an ambient temperature of approximately 22 degrees Celsius, on an open test bench with the fan set to auto. Load and idle temperatures were monitored by MSI's Afterburner utility. Software used for stressing was 3DMark Vantage, looped until the temperature was stable and stopped rising.
Conclusions:
AMD is once again king of the hill with GPU performance, one-upping itself as NVIDIA have yet to release a dual-GPU card based on their Fermi architecture. The HD 6990 is one monster of a card and very much suited for multi-monitor gaming, or for those single monitor users that really love to ramp up the details and want the most consistent FPS experience possible. Sure there a better value graphics cards on the market today, but the high-end market has never been about value, and the challenge of squeezing two separate 6970 GPUs in a single PCI-E slot is a engineering feat worthy of some praise.
During our testing the HD 6990 consistently topped the charts as expected, and significantly increased its performance lead in tessellation-heavy games over the previous HD 5000-series architecture. Combined with its improved tessellation performance introduced with the HD 6900-series and 4GB of fast GDDR5 memory the HD 6990 is able to tackle the highest of resolutions, making a triple 24" monitor setup almost a minimum requirement to make the most of such a graphics card, let alone two of these monsters.
All this performance comes at the cost of temperatures and fan noise. While AMD's engineers have made significant improvements to its design and cooling setup from previous dual-GPU card's, when overclocking the card the fans would ramp up, exceeding even GTX 480 noise levels. For a dual-GPU card this is somewhat forgiveable, but may be a cause for concern for some, especially when being utilised in a case with a limited amount of airflow, further hampering the HD 6990's fan in maintaining acceptable temperatures.
In summary ASUS offer a solid package without skimping on accessories, and the inclusion of their own overclocking and system software sets it apart from other brands. The use of an aluminium label on the top of the card with ASUS colouring and logo is a nice touch, compared to some of the psychedelic colour combinations and mascot-encrusted stickers that tend to peel off over time. But in the end what you get is the fastest card on the planet, that's sure to keep you gaming for multiple years as well as be able to handle the most outrageous multi-monitor setups thanks to its extensive output options.
Feel free to comment on this review in this thread.
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