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5970 4gb

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deff

2[H]4U
Joined
Feb 20, 2008
Messages
2,512
Looks like Sapphire is preparing for Fermi with a 4GB 5970. Looks pretty cool except for the price: ~US$1000

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Those GDDR5 memory chips aren't cheap. I believe AMD designed the 5870 and 5970 with thier respective memory sizes to keep costs within a specific range. AIBs can do whatever they want, but the truth is they'll only be able to sell a small number of expensive cards.

Mostly to people like me. :D
 
Seems like a complete waste to not stick 6 mini DP on that sucker like the 5870 e6
 
Dan_D said:
Those GDDR5 memory chips aren't cheap. I believe AMD designed the 5870 and 5970 with thier respective memory sizes to keep costs within a specific range. AIBs can do whatever they want, but the truth is they'll only be able to sell a small number of expensive cards.

Mostly to people like me. :D
Click to expand...

Yeah, the specific problem is that the 2Gbit GDDR5 chips are not out yet. Otherwise, they could use the same number of chips, and double capacity for a little less money (not to mention about the same power envelope). Eight chips is the bare minimum to populate the 256-bit bus, and anything more is just added cost and power consumption.

Increasing the size of the 5970 PCB to handle 32 GDDR5 chips is just a mind-bending task!
 
Ok, I just want the Arctic Cooling cooler on that bad boy. I hope they start selling the coolers soon.
 
Vegasr said:
A cool G, hmmm. Anyone planning on getting it?
Click to expand...

Depending on how Fermi stacks up I'd be up for buying a pair of these 4GB 5970's but only if they were priced at $700 or less. Since I doubt that will happen I don't foresee buying one.
 
Wouldn't a 2x2GB Vram Videocard cause issues on a 4GB RAM system?

I really want to buy this monster but at this price I prefer to wait.
 
Brutus75 said:
Wouldn't a 2x2GB Vram Videocard cause issues on a 4GB RAM system?

I really want to buy this monster but at this price I prefer to wait.
Click to expand...

No. Windows only sees and needs to address 2GB of that memory. The other 2GB is duplicated by crossfire and doesn't need to be addressed, AFAIK. Of course this only really matters if you're still stuck on a 32-bit OS.
 
Brutus75 said:
Wouldn't a 2x2GB Vram Videocard cause issues on a 4GB RAM system?

I really want to buy this monster but at this price I prefer to wait.
Click to expand...

No. On a 32-bit system, your video drivers allocate a 256MB window of memory for each card you have installed. This would mean you only need 512MB of memory mapped to a 5970, even if it has 4GB total.

The window can be mapped to any address inside the video card's 2GB of data, via a special index register. When you want to access something not currently inside the 256MB window, you change the value in the index register to point the window to that new block of memory.

It adds a little overhead in memory operations, but it ensures your card will work in XP 32-bit no matter how much memory it sports.
 
Kaldskryke said:
No. Windows only sees and needs to address 2GB of that memory. The other 2GB is duplicated by crossfire and doesn't need to be addressed, AFAIK. Of course this only really matters if you're still stuck on a 32-bit OS.
Click to expand...

No. Each card has it's own unique memory load, because they are rendering alternating frames. The OS needs to have access to both to keep them fed with data. It also needs to address both card to support 3 or 4 monitors on the desktop.

It's true that during AFR rendering, the textures and environment maps loaded by the two cards are likely the same. But the geometry is different, and so is the frame rendered to memory.
 
Brutus75 said:
Wouldn't a 2x2GB Vram Videocard cause issues on a 4GB RAM system?

I really want to buy this monster but at this price I prefer to wait.
Click to expand...

No it doesn't.

Kaldskryke said:
No. Windows only sees and needs to address 2GB of that memory. The other 2GB is duplicated by crossfire and doesn't need to be addressed, AFAIK. Of course this only really matters if you're still stuck on a 32-bit OS.
Click to expand...

Right.

defaultluser said:
No. On a 32-bit system, your video drivers allocate a 256MB window of memory for each card you have installed. This would mean you only need 512MB of memory mapped to a 5970, even if it has 4GB total.

The window can be mapped to any address inside the video card's 2GB of data, via a special index register. When you want to access something not currently inside the 256MB window, you change the value in the index register to point the window to that new block of memory.

It adds a little overhead in memory operations, but it ensures your card will work in XP 32-bit no matter how much memory it sports.
Click to expand...

Exactly. The memory mapping ratio is not 1:1. A 4GB video card would not prevent your system from booting or anything like that.
 
Brutus75 said:
Wouldn't a 2x2GB Vram Videocard cause issues on a 4GB RAM system?

I really want to buy this monster but at this price I prefer to wait.
Click to expand...

Simple solution, don't install a $1,000 video card in a system running a 7 year old OS - problem solved :p

Seriously, though, just run 64-bit already.
 
ok, that's where I draw the line..I'm not forking out a $1000 for a gpu...I thought I was nuts for going over $500!

and good grief 2x8 pin + 6 pin for the Asus!
 
If this card draw 400 watts...that's only 30 watts less than my PSU's peak output...that makes me a little sick.
 
Cschill1290 said:
If this card draw 400 watts...that's only 30 watts less than my PSU's peak output...that makes me a little sick.
Click to expand...

Then get a bigger PSU. :D

I like these 4GB 5970s but I think the asking price of $1000 is a bit much. A price tag in the $649-749 range, I think would be a fair number.
 
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kllrnohj said:
Simple solution, don't install a $1,000 video card in a system running a 7 year old OS - problem solved :p

Seriously, though, just run 64-bit already.
Click to expand...

Windows XP is older than that. Still I agree with you. Switch to Windows 7 x64. You'll be glad you did.
 
damstr said:
I wonder how much performance increase we can expect.
Click to expand...

Probably not much if any. I think the increases you'd see from just adding more RAM will only apply at really high resolution when AA and AF are enabled.
 
Dan_D said:
Probably not much if any. I think the increases you'd see from just adding more RAM will only apply at really high resolution when AA and AF are enabled.
Click to expand...
Do you plan on using Eyefinity? I can play Serious Sam HD at 60fps at 5760x1200 (max fps) with 4x AA, I switch to 8x AA and the game runs at 3 fps.

Same with Fallout 3 and a few other games. I simply hit the wall with Eyefinity and AA in games that would otherwise be playable.
 
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