I was just wondering if it would be a waste to put two 6990's into my new gaming PC even if I am trying to future my gaming PC for years to come? Also would the power consumption be to much that it wouldnt be worth it, since one card by itself is something like 350 watts; or is this entire thread a waste and I should just wait for the new GTX 590 to come out before even considering one 6990?

wait to see the GTX 590 then decide

Only do it if you game at max resolution and do multiple monitors. 

That would be nuts. Your entire neighborhood would lose power every time you turn on your computer.

" That would be nuts. Your entire neighborhood would lose power every time you turn on your computer. "

One card is always better imo. Don't waste your time with two. Way too much money for little gain.

Uhh probably. Right now there is no need and if you're worried about futureproofing you would be better off upgrading when necessary.

You'll be as future-proof as you can be at this time (which doesn't mean much), but your energy bill will skyrocket beyond comparable measure. You're just going to be running 700W to power your GPU alone. Something tells me you wouldn't want to do that.

I'd say buying a cheap card would be better future-proofing, because the 6990 will be like $300 in a couple of years.

The problem right now is that quad-CF scaling is horrendous. In most games you'll only get a 20-30% improvement over a single 6990.  
 
Also, 6990 is already a good enough card to play 99% of the games out there maxed out on a 1920x1080 monitor, and ~90% maxed out on 2560x1600. The extra $700 you save would be better spent on another top-end card in two year's time.  
 
If you're already spending that much on graphics, power consumption should be the least of your worries. A single HD 6990 (on non-OC mode) consumes 300W; other high end cards consume 200-250W and are not nearly as strong. There would be negligible difference in your power bill if you went for a significantly less powerful solution.  
 
As for the GTX 590, my guess is that performance will be 5-10% stronger than HD 6990, but likely more expensive as well. At that level of performance it kind of just depends on whether you want Nvidia or AMD since both HD 6990 and GTX 590 will perform very well in games. 

I would wait for the 590, although perhaps just get a single high end ATI card (I have the 5870). The issue when 'future proofing' the way you're doing it is you can only do so much. In 2 years time you'll still have the raw power of dual 6990s, but nowhere the same performance of contemporary cards. It would be like turbo charging a car from the 1980s, even with all that power, you're still let down by engine inefficiencies and outdated design.

Man, I wish I had 1.5k to piss away on video cards.

" @SpikeSpiegel said:

" That would be nuts. Your entire neighborhood would lose power every time you turn on your computer. "

Not to mention the amount of noise that just one of these things emits is pretty substantial according to tested's look at the card. "

I think buy 1 of either  card (GTX590/HD6990) and put the money you save away for a newer card in the future. (GTX690 or 790/HD7990 or 8990 etc...). 
 
If you really have to buy 2 cards I have room in case to hold on to 1 for you! ;)

Yea get 2, because you can never be too sure.

Yeah, that is a bit overkill.

" @wolf_blitzer85 said:

" @SpikeSpiegel said:

" That would be nuts. Your entire neighborhood would lose power every time you turn on your computer. "

Not to mention the amount of noise that just one of these things emits is pretty substantial according to tested's look at the card. "

70 DECIBELS. THATS LIKE SITTING IN A CAR WHAT THE FUCK"

" I would wait for the 590, although perhaps just get a single high end ATI card (I have the 5870). The issue when 'future proofing' the way you're doing it is you can only do so much. In 2 years time you'll still have the raw power of dual 6990s, but nowhere the same performance of contemporary cards. It would be like turbo charging a car from the 1980s, even with all that power, you're still let down by engine inefficiencies and outdated design. "

   
I like this guy: 

I would wait. The price will drop soon.

If you want SLI, go with something more compact. That shit is way too hot, way too loud, and way too big. Now is not a time for future proofing. Wait for a generation, Then go.

Wait until the 590 is released to make a decision, it's only a day or two away now. I wouldn't go for anything SLI right now anyways. The new generation just came out, and by the time a 5990 is stressed on a game, there is going to be something that destroys it for a third of the price. Look at the new "samaritan," trailer from Epic. That only uses 3 580's and that isn't even a game, that is Epic trying to sell an engine for games comming out 2 - 4 years from now.
To the people saying to wait for a price drop on the 6990, don't hold your breath. ATI only recently lowered the price on their previous dual gpu model (over two years old now), and that was just to get rid of old stock.

There is no such thing as future proofing in the world of PC components.

" There is no such thing as future proofing in the world of PC components. "

IMO, getting two 560s would probably be a better idea if you want to get two cards.

In my opinion there is no such thing as future proofing a pc

" In my opinion there is no such thing as future proofing a pc "

" @teh_pwnzorer:  Yes because the fact I own a 360 and use it invalidates my opinion in some way. Oh wait no it doesn't . "

" @teh_pwnzorer:   processing power doubles every 18 months buying the top of the line isn't going to change that in fact it's going to costs you more in the long run.  Future proofing is impossible even on the short run  in 4 years that top of the line component  is going to be toped by the lowest end . "

" I was just wondering if it would be a waste to put two 6990's into my new gaming PC even if I am trying to future my gaming PC for years to come? Also would the power consumption be to much that it wouldnt be worth it, since one card by itself is something like 350 watts; or is this entire thread a waste and I should just wait for the new GTX 590 to come out before even considering one 6990? "

" @Azteck said:

" There is no such thing as future proofing in the world of PC components. "

Unfortunately for you, games on the consoles suck NOW. :-P  "

Ya I've realized the power consumption for having two 6990's would be pretty large, so I would probably only go with only one if I go the ATI root (AMD whatever its called). My only problems is I dont want to be upgrading yet again within the next three years, I've had my current PC since 2007 and just watching it not be able to handle games that came out in 2010 has been heart wrenching (hyperbole of course, though seeing it running crysis at like 20 FPS made me so sad). 
 
As for the NVIDIA or AMD choice I'm gonna wait for the GTX 590 to come out until I upgrade; I've heard rumors it will launch by the end of the month or early next so the benefits of waiting and finding out if it A) produces less heat, B) creates less noise and C) is maybe a little smaller definitely outweigh the having to wait.

Unless you're running 2560x1600 or some sort of tri-monitor setup I wouldn't bother in getting a second card, get an SLi / Crossfire supported motherboard and just go one card for now.

I'd say a single 6990 might be overkill, when you factor in price for performance.
 
Have to agree with most here.  If you get a card that big, you don't need two.  Not now.  Some people like to have frame rates approaching 200.  But the main number is the minimum FPS.  And if you're playing non 3d stuff, as long as that minimum never drops below 60, it really doesn't matter if the max FPS is 75 or 775.  Your monitor's not going to show it.  And as far as future proofing goes, you can always add another later when the price drops.  If you even need it.  Games don't seem to be progressing nearly as fast anymore.  (Blame hardware advances slowing due to exponentially higher development costs the more advanced things get, or hitting the speed wall of what processors can do, or even good old consolitis holding things back.)  Then again I still remember the 90's when graphic cards seemed to basically be shipped obsolete, things were moving so fast.  But most likely that single 6990 will still be playing everything maxed in a few years.

" @teh_pwnzorer said:

" @Azteck said:

" There is no such thing as future proofing in the world of PC components. "

Unfortunately for you, games on the consoles suck NOW. :-P  "

What's your point? I didn't even mention consoles, why would you bring that up? Are you just mad because my name is green or something?  "

From what I have read you would be better off going with two 6970s instead. 

I think driver support for GPUs is just as important as the performance of the GPUs themselves. That being said, maybe you should go for the GeForce 590 GTX for performance and stability reasons alone.

In the future, you can actually have a card that is nearly as powerful as those dual gpu cards. You can crossfireX that. Honestly, one of those cards is enough, buy one and see if there are enough frames for you, most games doesn't require that much power. Unless you want to play metro 2033 at 60 frames, that's like 2X gtx 580 equilvent, which isn't quite there yet for those dual gpus. Also think about the heat and it takes alot of space. You will be suprised how fast one of those hd6990 cards are you will change your mind about using two of those.

Gtx 590 sort of burns out with earlier drivers, so becareful overclocking that. This video demonstrates that. I'm a nvidia fanboy, but the gtx 590 could be better.

I have a feeling the only time this kind of hardware is going to be useful is when the next generation of console arrive.

I think your just better off going with a 6970 instead. 

" @Marz:  Either that or a GTX570, though I have the HD6970 myself and have been very happy with it, what you can with GTX570 is get that and then add another nVidia card like a GTS450 (a cheap but competent card) and use that in SLi to do all of the Physx calculations so that the main card can simply do all the rendering. At least that's the way I understand it, I'm sure there will be someone that can explain that element better so it will make more sense then my explanation. "