XFX HD-697A-CNDC Radeon HD 6970 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

Pros: Well built, nicely packaged, slight overclock.

Cons: Same old fan.

Other Thoughts: The shroud fan system is somewhat noisy. I use MSI afterburner which runs the defrault fan at @40% idle but keeps the card at 39C idle and spins up fast for games. The ATI CCC keeps the default speed at 24% but the temps are in the 50C range and it gets hot.

Pros: When the card was new it ran like new.
It was fast.
Can handle anything under the sun when it comes to gaming.

Cons: Over heats all the time. When it was new the heat wasn't too bad now a few months later and it won't play any game without crashing or freezing due to the insufficient heat sink that comes stock on it. Even after i replaced the heat sink true it ran cooler but it was already too late the damage was done.

Other Thoughts: Maybe if i would have replaced the heat sink sooner it would still be working today. But still to buy an almost $400 gfx card and have it come with such a lousy heat sink is a crime. And keep in mind when you take the stock heat sink off you void the warranty even though you're trying to save your $400 investment.

Pros: excellent card, easy install. destroys everything i throw at it

Cons: not enough money to buy two

Pros: I have owned this card for about 2 months and it has been phenomenal. It runs any game I have played including the following with excellent fps:

Skyrim- Max settings
COD MW3- Max settings
BF3- Mix of Ultra and high settings
IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover- Max settings
F.E.A.R. 3- Max settings

I did have a few issues initially with heat (likely due to catalyst control center not raising up the fan speed high enough) and the card almost reached 90 degrees Celsius a few times. Since then I have downloaded MSI Afterburner and created a custom fan profile. Now the card barely gets over 70 degrees with the fan spinning between 60-70%. I have not attempted to overclock this card at all because honestly it crushes games with the stock speed of 900/1400.

Cons: The only real con I can think of is that the fan can become very noticeable over 60%, but it is nothing unbearable. I also use a headset when I play games and I have never once heard the fan then. Also the card can get very warm using the CCC software so I definitely recommend downloading a third party app such as MSI Afterburner to be able to raise the fan speed.

As others have said before, this is a large card so make sure your case is big enough. I have a CoolerMaster HAF X and I still have about 2 inches between the edge of the card and the HDD bays.

Other Thoughts: Overall, I have been very impressed with this card and its' ability to handle pretty much any game out there at the moment. Make sure you register your card within the first month to qualify for the lifetime warranty!

Pros: Very powerful card, handled everything I could throw at it without breaking a sweat.

Cons: This card died on me after four months of use. XFX support has been most unhelpful, taking a week to answer my first message and never replying to any since.

Other Thoughts: This card definitely has immense potential, more so with Crossfire. Too bad XFX has to go ruin it all...

Manufacturer Response:

Please email your support ticket to Neweggsupport@xfxforce.com so we can help get you taken care of ASAP.

Pros: Awesome video card. Already tested it on a handful of games and it runs perfectly smooth. Just waiting for Skyrim now!

Cons: HUGE!!! If you don't have a full size tower case you won't be able to fit this thing.

Other Thoughts: I had to upgrade my power supply. Not really this cards fault but it kinda sucked that I didn't realize it ahead of time. I had to run out and drop $100 on a new power supply when the card arrived in order for it to work. Make sure you have both a six pin connector and a 6+2 pin connector. It says 6 and 8 but a regular 8 DOESN'T work!

Pros: This card does everything I have expected it to and more!
plays metro 2033 with absolutely no FPS drop and at ultra settings!

Cons: HUGE

Pros: What ever I throw at it it can take. I have recently overclocked it from 900MHz to 935MHz and it hasn't overheated or crashed.

Cons: None what so ever.

Other Thoughts: Great product XFX, I will be buying a 7970 when it comes out, and if you are producing it

Pros: From what I can hear, it sounds excellent, I'm using a two 5770's, and this card appears to have the power of both of them

Cons: I can't buy one because it's never in stock :(

Other Thoughts: Can't wait to get one

Pros: This card has been able to handle most games I throw at it.
Plays DX11 games very smoothly.
I don't know what else to say, it works.

Cons: CAN get loud IF you manually control the fan speed. I have never felt that the card got loud when the fan speed is set to automatic. If you are experiencing heat issues, then it is most likely your case and not the card.

Other Thoughts: My temps have been at ~75C at 100% load for 48 hours straight. This is with the fan set MANUALLY to 50% which doesn't bother me in terms of noise. This is also from Bitcoin mining which puts abnormal amounts of stress on a card.
When I game, I have the fan set to auto and it never gets past 75C and the fan noise is not noticeable.

My card is overclocked to 920 core 1450 memory.

Can't wait to get a 2nd card