XFX's HD 6970 is a reference design card measuring 27.4cm in length, just like the HD 6950 (the PCB measures 26.5cm). The cooling is also the reference solution and the cooler looks similar to the one employed on HD 6800 cards. However, unlike HD 6800 boards, the HD 6900 series features a backplate, much like HD 5800/5900 series cards.
The I/O panel features two DisplayPort 1.2 connectors, HDMI 1.4a and two DVI connectors (one of them is single-link with a maximum resolution of 1920x1200). By using DisplayPort outputs it’s possible to chain up to six monitors to a single card. As far as sound goes, HDMI 1.4a provides Dolby True HD, DTS-HD, AC-3, DTS and up to 7.1 channel audio with 192KHz/24bit output.
Like its HD 6970 brother, the HD 6950 also sports a XFX-branded exhaust vent. XFX Radeon HD 6950 features two DVIs, one HDMI and one DisplayPort.
Unlike the HD 6800, HD 6900 comes with two CrossFire connectors. This means that you can use four cards in a 4-way CrossFire.
The card also features a dual-bios toggle switch that makes bios updates a breeze. Setting 1 is unprotected for user updates, while setting 2 is the protected factory default mode. Clever.
The TDP, something that has been quite a debatable topic recently, is set at 200W for the HD 6950. AMD is currently using three different TDP values and calls them PowerTune Maximum Power, Typical Gaming Power and, of course, Typical Idle Power.
Note that 200W is AMD's PowerTune maximum power whereas typical gaming power is set at 140W. Idle TDP is set at 20W, same as the HD 6970. The card needs two 6-pin PCI-Express power connectors.
The PowerTune feature looks similar to a gimmick used by Nvidia on its GTX 580 card and it looks like this one locks the HD 6970 maximum TDP at 250W. Typical Gaming Power is set at 190W while the idle stands at 20W.
XFX used its standard box design for the new Caymans.
