PowerColor HD6990 Crossfire Review

Introduction

GPU Scaling has long been a thorny issue.

The main problem is one of diminishing returns. Each additional graphics card adds system overheads and so the benefit you have isn’t linear at all. Quadfire most certainly does not give you 4 times the performance of a single GPU, rather you end up at about 266%. One extra card helps massively, but after that you really need to want to flex your virtual masculinity and empty your wallet to bother going Triple or Quad.

To some degree this can be overcome with driver improvements, but generally even with a seriously powerful system that last card is just for show as opposed to go. With the fearsome performance of the HD6990 will another card help us achieve hitherto unheard-of heights?

Following on from the single reference review we had to see how Quadfire performed with the new HD6990 and thanks to PowerColor we are able to do so on launch day. This isn’t the first time PowerColor have been there for us and once again we need to thank them for going the extra mile at a time when review-sample demands are at their highest.

Technical Specifications

As this is a reference card to all intents and purposes there isn’t anything particularly different to mention so rather than regurgitate what you’ve only just read, here is the specification table once again. Of course if you have leapt straight in to this Crossfire review then you’ve only got yourselves to blame. Although you’re probably reading the 3D Mark results and not the introduction.

Let’s get cracking shall we.