Radeon HD 6970 2,048MB card examined
Don't worry, a trip to Specsavers isn't in order. The Radeon HD 6970 is outwardly identical to the HD 6950.
They're both based on the same PCB - a la GeForce GTX 580 and GTX 570 - which makes sense when the underlying GPU is essentially the same for both cards.
Here's a closer look at the two CrossFireX connectors and BIOS-swapping switch.
But one clear difference between the two Cayman cards is the PCIe power-plug arrangement. HD 6970 is equipped with a Radeon HD 5970- and GTX 580-matching eight-and-six-pin setup.
Whip off the cooler to expose the PCB and the only meaningful way to differentiate the two Caymans is to look at the PCIe connectors.
That would imply that the first run of HD 6950 cards consists of GPUs that don't quite make it to the top-line HD 6970 grade. AMD harvests them for second-rung duties.
