ASUS HD 6990 (Radeon) Dual-GPU Graphic Card Review

Asus HD 6990 (Radeon) Dual-GPU Graphic Card Review

Final graphic card review for 2011 ends with a high-end card review, courtesy of ASUS Malaysia

The Card

The HD 6990 here looks very common. Nothing spectacular about it.

Asus HD 6990 (Radeon) Dual-GPU Graphic Card Review

Asus HD 6990 (Radeon) Dual-GPU Graphic Card Review

Asus HD 6990 (Radeon) Dual-GPU Graphic Card Review

More details at the Official Product page.

Here’s a video of the card, highlighting the 100% fan speed mode and the LED Load Indicator.

Test Setup

The computer setup used for this review.

Processor Intel Core i5-2500K @ 4.2 Ghz
RAM Kingston Value RAM 4GB 1333
Motherboard MSI P67A-GD65
Cooler Intel stock cooler
Monitor 46″ LCD TV (until I get a Full HD monitor)
Power Supply Xigmatek NRP-PC602 600w
Operating System Windows 7 32bit

Below is the GPU-Z for the card.

Asus HD 6990 (Radeon) Dual-GPU Graphic Card Review

I’m comparing the HD 6990 against the GTX 580 (sorry, I don’t have a 590)

The Performance

Crysis

Graphic Detail : Maximum @ 1680×1050

Card Average
ASUS HD 6990 77.17
ASUS GTX 580 45.73
ASUS HD 6950 39.72
Leadtek GTX 460 24.22

Mafia II

Graphic Detail : Maximum @ Full HD

Card Average
ASUS HD 6990 18
ASUS GTX 580 41.1
ASUS HD 6950 18
Leadtek GTX 460 34

*It reaches 84.5 if Physx disabled.

Lost Planet 2

Graphic Detail : Maximum @ Full HD

Card Average
ASUS HD 6990 55.1
ASUS GTX 580 55.6

Alien Vs Predator

Graphic Detail : Default setting @ Full HD

Card Average
ASUS HD 6990 122.2
ASUS GTX 580 73

*The Radeon HD 6950 cards fail badly with Physx enabled. When Physx disabled, it goes to 58.4 fps.

Furmark

Graphic Detail : Maximum @ Full HD

Card Average
ASUS HD 6990 106
ASUS GTX 580 103
ASUS HD 6950 54
Leadtek GTX 460 64

Unigine Heaven 2.0

Graphic Detail : Full HD, 4xAA, 16xAF, Tesselation at NORMAL.

Card Average
ASUS HD 6990 64.7
ASUS GTX 580 54.6
ASUS HD 6950 46.3
Leadtek GTX 460 31.8

Operating Temperature

Furmark was used for graphic card stressing.

Card Idle (°C) Load (°C) Stress (°C)
ASUS GTX 6990 56 88 90

Readings were taken when ambient temperature was around 25°C.

– Load, Furmark was run for 1 minute at Full HD with 4xAA.
– Stress, Furmark was run under the Stress Test mode for 5 minutes.

The interesting thing about this card that once the temperature hits 90c, the fan ramps up the speed to keep to lower the temperature. It then slows down once the temperature is lowered. Of course this means that the temperature rises again and the RPM is boost again………… it’s a repeated process.

Conclusion

I find it really hard to recommend such high end card.

It comes at a whopping RM 2,500 but you don’t exactly get 25% more performance as the GTX 580. It’s normal for cards to have less value for money on the higher end, meaning you get less frames per RM but in this case, one could settle for a GTX 580 as a cheaper alternative, a single GPU option that does not face multi-GPU scaling issues.

The HD 6990 is for people with deep pockets, doesn’t mind it being a power hog, doesn’t play games that uses Physx, only play games that works fast on AMD GPU + Scales well with CrossfireX. It’s also a plus point if you’re into multi-monitor (eye-finity) setup.

8 thoughts on “ASUS HD 6990 (Radeon) Dual-GPU Graphic Card Review

  1. Lol.

    The new model of dual card are just around the corner. And just now you have desire for do the review? Hehe… Anywya, nice review.

  2. This is a very good card. It cost more, but for the extra money you can prove to your friends that you have money. For superior gamer experience this is good card for the money.

  3. Running 2x HD 6950 would be a better option. It costs far less (most boards these days come with dual PCI-E for CFX already)

    Power consumption would be similar but on the plus side, it should be less noisy as the GPU aren’t sharing the same heatsink.

  4. 2xHD 6950 would not be a better option. The point is that by purchasing the HD6990 I can demonstrate my superior financial position to my friends. If friends know my superior financial state I get better respect than just using 2x HD6950 would provide.

  5. Haha k k if you’re talking about that then go ahead. In fact, get dual HD 6990. 🙂 You can boast about your PSU while you’re at it.

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