In my opinion, the short answer is no. I have been reading and watching literally dozens of reviews and benchmarks on these two cards and I have come to one conclusion. When it comes down to what these cards are designed to do, and that's offer up a single card dual-GPU solution for gaming, they are both evenly matched. Period.
So here we have the two flagship cards from AMD and Nvidia for this generation, once again competing for dominance, and once again fans on both sides of the fence demanding a clear cut winner. "So what card is better?!?!?!"
Many people will not do any actual research on their own and make up their own minds. They always want to be told what to think and then follow the crowd, no matter what side of the fence you may be on. Then blindly proclaim that their card is better, as if it's some sort of pissing contest. I see countless replies and user comments like the following from several different reviews.
- "do the math man, the nvidia card is around 16% faster without considering Hawx 2. if you add Hawx bench theres a 25% diference between them" - Obviously this user has no idea how to do statistical math as he is basing his numbers on a few game benchmarks from a single source.
- "amd radeon graphics sucks!!!NVIDIA IS THE BEST !" - I do love this users advanced understanding of GPU technology. /sarcasm
- "nvidia is a joke, everyone knows AMD is better, nvidia fanboys are just too stupid to admit it" - Seriously? Where does this logic come from?
These are just three of literally hundreds of such comments on both sides of the fence I have found while doing all my research. There are just far too many people out there that really have no clue and constantly show their inability to actually think for themselves. They look at one review, allow themselves to be tainted by one train of thought, and never stop to actually weigh all the facts about the technology they obviously have no real understanding of.
Then you have those who readily admit they don't have a real good technical understanding of the facts about current GPU's and are just trying to make a decision on what will work best for them and they are bombarded with all the aforementioned idiocy. Left to sift through it all and not really knowing what way to turn. Often getting drawn into misinformation or fanboy proclamations.
So that's why I decided to write this blog entry. I want to share the FACTS about both cards and then share my OPINIONS on both cards, and why I would choose the one I would. I wanted to compile the information I have gathered from those dozens of reviews I have read and watched all in one place so anyone who happens across my humble little blog can make up their own mind and not be bombarded by "THE HD 6990 IS BEST" or "THE GTX 590 IS KING" opinions of many of the reviewers.
These facts, information, and the approximated benchmarks included below, are compiled from dozens of different sites and reviews, here are just a few of ones I visit the most. There are several other sites I came across doing this specific research, but these are the most popular and the ones I recommend the most.
- Tom's Hardware
- Motherboards.org
- Hardware Heaven
- Linus Tech Tips
- Overclock 3D
- Geeks 3D
- Tech PowerUp
- PassMark Software
- Legit Reviews
- Hot Hardware
- AnandTech
- And many more individual reviews and benchmarks
Gaming Performance
I chose to list only DX10 and DX11 capable games and no DX9 games since to be perfectly honest, DX9 is becoming outdated as are the games that use it. These cards are designed to take advantage of DX10 and DX11, pure and simple.
I listed the average overall FPS scores from over a dozen different benchmark sites, including the ones I list above. This way you can get a better overall comparative average on both of these cards and how they perform across different test benches.
I did not list any specific brands since everyone has their own personal preference, and from everything I have read, they all perform almost identical. So you are free to choose your brand. Besides, if you want to stick with a specific brand, then you are better off focusing your research to that brand.
All of the benchmarks were at stock speeds unless otherwise noted with an "OC" indicating they were overclocked.
I also tried to list the same basic graphic settings and most common resolution (1920x1080) across all the reviews to keep it all as level as possible for the best possible comparison.
Now, to the games!
Bulletstorm DX10 (Average FPS - Max Settings - 8xAA - 1920x1080)
- HD 6990 OC: 105
- GTX 590 OC: 105
- HD 6990 OC: 70
- GTX 590 OC: 45
- HD 6990: 100
- GTX 590: 105
- HD 6990: 100
- GTX 590: 85
- HD 6990: 190
- GTX 590: 250
- HD 6990: 130
- GTX 590: 130
- HD 6990: 100
- GTX 590: 85
- HD 6990: 55
- GTX 590: 55
- HD 6990: 85
- GTX 590: 90
- HD 6990: 75
- GTX 590: 70
So as you can see, both of these trade punches back and froth and they both kick ass no matter how you look at it. In most cases, the differences in FPS are minimal, and in EVERY SINGLE CASE totally unnoticeable without benchmark software running in the background.
What does all that mean? Simple, there is NO clear cut winner when it comes to framerates between the HD 6990 and the GTX 590. It will boil down to the game YOU play and the your own personal preferences.
Synthetic Benchmarks
I put very little stock in these numbers since I do not play synthetic benchmarks, I play video games, but I know a lot of people do. They can be a general overall indication of how a card may perform, but they are intended as a standardized platform for scoring based on the benchmark software being used. Not as an end all of how the card will perform in individual games and on individual systems. But here are the numbers anyway. Again, averaged over multiple sites.
3DMark X11 Overall Scores
- HD 6990 GPU: 9300
- GTX 590 GPU: 8930
- HD 6990 3D Marks: 9180
- GTX 590 3D Marks: 8820
- HD 6990: 34500
- GTX 590: 38000
- HD 6990 GPU: 22500
- GTX 590 GPU: 19400
So what does it come down to now? When it comes to gaming, both the AMD HD 6990 and Nvidia GTX 590 are pretty darn evenly matched. So now it's really going to come down to the individual user. Here are some other things you can factor in.
Power Consumption and Heat
Both cards are plugged for the same wattage however the HD 6990 will draw more under load than the GTX 590.
So thus, the HD 6990 can run hotter than the GTX 590. The HD 6990 does vent more air outside of the case where as the GTX 590 vents more air into the case.
So this will come down to your power needs, case cooling, and your personal preference yet again.
Noise Level
The HD 6990 is a considerably louder card than the GTX 590 when those fans ramp up to speed under load.
So if you want quiet, then the GTX 590 is better suited for that. If you don't care or control your fan speeds manually, then the HD 6990 may fit your bill nicely. Either way, here we are sitting at personal preference again.
Features
These can be deal makers and breakers for some people, including myself, so we better talk about those.
Do you want CUDA and PhysX Engine support? Looks like you better go with the GTX 590, or any other modern Nvidia GPU.
How about multi-display support. Both the HD 6990 and GTX 590 have it. So what one is "better", well that's going to depend on a few different things.
AMD Radeon cards have had Eyefinity for 3+ display support for a long time now, they can also support over 3 displays where as the GTX 590 can not. It is limited to 3 displays. Also the extra GB of VRAM the HD 6990 has over the GTX 590 will come in handy when gaming on multiple displays, especially if you go nuts and push it to 5 displays.
So in the multi-display gaming category, the HD 6990 would be the better choice.
Want SLI and Crossfire scaling? Well, that depends on the games you play of course, but overall in this case, the GTX 590 scales better than the HD 6990. So the GTX 590 may be the way to go if you are one of those people wanting to run a quad dual-GPU card setup.
If your going to scale, and you want to use AMD, your much better off going with a 6950 or 6970, they scale much better then the 6990.
What about BIOS/OC switch? The HD 6990 has it and the GTX 590 does not. So what does that mean? Flip a switch and you instantly OC the 6990 to 880MHz and it does have a noticeable impact on performance. So do you want BIOS level overclocking? Do you want it under warranty? Then you may want to go with the HD 6990, and more specifically, the XFX HD 6990.
Not to mention, that switch, toggles between two separate BIOS on the card, a protected one and a flash-able one. The same as on the 6950 and 6970. If you ever flash the one BIOS, and it fails for some unforeseen reason, no big deal, no more worries about bricking your card. Just flip the switch back to the other protected BIOS and re-flash the failed one.
Final Thoughts
Yes I am an AMD user, but seriously, how can anyone crown one card the overall winner over the other when they are so evenly matched. Simply put, you can't. Both of these cards run neck and neck, trading punches back and forth all the way down the charts, and they BOTH are still standing at the end of it all. Both of these cards kick ass, pure and simple.
So in the end, like I have said multiple times throughout this review, it's going to come down to YOU and your own preferences. For the love of Pete, if you are on the fence, do some research. Think for yourself, make an educated decision. Once you have done all that, and you still can't decide, go with whatever your fanboy heart tells you too.
My Personal Choice?
XFX Radeon HD 6990. Here are my personal reasons.
- Both cards are even when it comes to gaming. So no preference there.
- I could care less about synthetic benchmarks. So no preference there.
- Power consumption and heat. I have a power supply that's more than capable of powering both cards. I have a case that's more than capable of keeping them both nice and cool. So again, no preference here either.
- Noise level. The HD 6990 is louder, but I am one of the few that likes that. I was raised on loud cars and even louder music. I also have a case with 7 huge case fans, not including those on the processor, PSU, and RAM. I also game with high quality headphones and manually control my fan speeds. So I have to go with the HD 6990 on this one.
- CUDA and PhysX. Don't care for either. Why? AMD has DirectCompute and that works just fine for me. There are far fewer games that support PhysX than do. The simple fact of the matter is, most of the games out there and that are coming out over this next year do not use PhysX. They either use Havoc or their own physics engine. Game developers are not willing to alienate such a large portion of their customer base and use PhysX when it's proprietary and is only allowed to run on Nvidia cards, not when it comes to their money maker titles. It's far more logical to use an engine, or make one yourself, that runs on all cards, regardless of brand. So I have to go HD 6990 here too.
- Multi-display support. I like Eyefinity, Nvidia is just too new to multi-display gaming. The only reason the GTX 590 can even support 3 displays is because its a dual-GPU card. Where as most all modern AMD/ATI cards have support for 3, or more, displays. So the HD 6990 would be my choice. Not to mention that extra GB of VRAM.
- SLI or Crossfire. The GTX 590 scales better than the HD 6990. However, I would never run a multi-card setup with either card. There is no point. It's overkill and the only benefit from it would be bragging rights and synthetic scores. Neither mean a damn thing to me. If I am going to run a multi-card setup, I would run dual 6950's for under $500. You get great scaling, anywhere from 30 to 100% depending on the game. It's cheaper than both the 6990 and 590, and you get real performance boosts. Anything beyond that is back to bragging rights and synthetic numbers again. When we are already talking FPS numbers this high and stable with two cards in SLI or Crossfire, there is no point to go any further. The game will see no gameplay benefits. So I have no preference here.
- The BIOS/OC switch. I like that feature. I never have to worry about bricking my card and I can get that instant OC. If I buy XFX, my card is still covered when running at the OC rate of 880MHz. So I have to choose AMD over Nvidia on this one.
So there is my own personal thought process and why I would buy the HD 6990 over the GTX 590. That, and for the simple fact there are just too evenly matched and I would just have to go with my "fanboy" roots.
The point of this all is. Use your own thought process, make up your own mind, because based on all the facts these cards are equal. So I have to give kudos to both Nvidia and AMD for giving us two kick ass cards to choose from and that have the power to deliver great performance across the board. When the race is this close, the real winners are the end users. We are the ones that end up benefiting from the race. Each company pushing the envelope to try and come out on top and thus giving us more and more power to play with.
In the end though, why did I do all this, do I plan on actually buying one of these dual-GPU cards? The answer is no. I am very happy with my XFX 6950 2GB card as it powers through any and all games at all maximum settings at 1920x1080 with no problems. I do plan on Crossfire, but it will be two 6950's and that will have me set for what I do, game, for a good time to come. Both of these cards are overkill for someone like me and a waste of money in my opinion when available SLI and Crossfire solutions are often less expensive and offer similar performance and enough of an overall boost to keep any gamer playing at max everything. However, these are my own personal opinions. Like I say over and over, I am not an enthusiast, I am a realist.
I did this because even though I am an admitted AMD "fanboy", I get sick of all the BS, blind proclamations, and misguided information I see when I sit down and research these sorts of things. So it was a way for me to vent a little, bring together facts and information in one location for others to compare, and to share my opinions. So if someone finds all this useful, then great, I am not looking for anyone to agree or disagree with me. Just to think for themselves and look at the entire picture.
So who is the winner?
WE ARE!
In most all game benchmarks these cards are within only a few percent of each other. In a few they are all over the place because Nvidia and AMD cards are completely different architecture. I each and every case, these cards trade blows back and forth, and they BOTH come out standing at the end. Both cards would be fantastic for anyone looking for the best dual=GPU solution out there.
With AMD and Nvidia both competing this hard for top billing and the "Fastest Video Card in the World". We will be the ones that come out on top with better and faster maturing drivers, new features and technologies, and thus better gaming performance.
Want to follow the battle anyway? http://www.legitreviews.com/news/10358/
No matter what either company says. I stand by my conclusion, these cards are equal.
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