5850 to 7970?

[stag3]

so i didn't want to spend more than ~300-350 or so but i need a new card as i have to replace the 4xxx series i have in my 2nd rig to get it up to speed for diablo 3 and other games. do you guys think the 7970 prices will come down more or is this it for the next month or so? i'd consider the gtx680 but nobody has it in stock right now and those that actually do have it in stock want 600 from what i've seen. the 7970 seems to be right around the 500 mark now. i was looking @ the xfx double D model as i have an xfx5850 and it's been rock solid.

according to some benches i've seen it appears the 7970 will probably give me a 50+ % boost over my o/c 5850 right now. since everyone has their cards out now, would that be the "best" upgrade at this point? i'd consider a 7950 but its not that much cheaper than the 7970.

2nd rig is an e6850 @ 3.6ghz, 4 gigs mushkin ram, raptor.

 

[Snowshredder102]

so i didn't want to spend more than ~300-350 or so but i need a new card as i have to replace the 4xxx series i have in my 2nd rig to get it up to speed for diablo 3 and other games. do you guys think the 7970 prices will come down more or is this it for the next month or so? i'd consider the gtx680 but nobody has it in stock right now and those that actually do have it in stock want 600 from what i've seen. the 7970 seems to be right around the 500 mark now. i was looking @ the xfx double D model as i have an xfx5850 and it's been rock solid.

according to some benches i've seen it appears the 7970 will probably give me a 50+ % boost over my o/c 5850 right now. since everyone has their cards out now, would that be the "best" upgrade at this point? i'd consider a 7950 but its not that much cheaper than the 7970.

2nd rig is an e6850 @ 3.6ghz, 4 gigs mushkin ram, raptor.

50% minimum is probably accurate. The rest is up to the silicon gods as far as speed when you overclock it. Really though depending on the resolution you play at and what games you may not need to go balls to the wall and get a 7970. The 7850's have proven to be very fast and reach speeds that rival the GTX 580 when overclocked at a cool $250. The same with the GTX 560 ti 448 have been very popular for around the same price and are overclocking beasts. In the end it's up to you to decide what you need and if you have a strong preference for all the eye candy that's possible.

 

[Dark Shroud]

The 7970s are not coming down any more in price beyound maybe special rebates. AMD cannot afford to take much of a hit on these.

 

[Jaydip]

Op what about adding another 5850?If u consider Xfire of course.

 

[RavenSEAL]

Op what about adding another 5850?If u consider Xfire of course.

In this case, not worth it. Any 5850s you find in the market will probably have been folded to death and 1GB is a limiting factor. Either getting a 7950 or a 7970 is the best way to go IMO.

 

[Jaydip]

In this case, not worth it. Any 5850s you find in the market will probably have been folded to death and 1GB is a limiting factor. Either getting a 7950 or a 7970 is the best way to go IMO.

U mean to say bitcoined to death right?:biggrin:

 

[Concillian]

Op what about adding another 5850?If u consider Xfire of course.

He said he needs to pass the 5850 down to another computer that has a 4xxx card, I think that would rule out crossfire. Though he could pick up 2 5850s for far cheaper than one 7970.

7950 and OC it or 7850 and OC it are the cards that make sense right now from a value standpoint. 7950 is close to $100 cheaper than the and really not much slower than a 7970 when both at the same clock. The loss of shaders really isn't a huge deal, they respond really well to the clocks. AMD turned down the stock clocks so it didn't step on the 7970s toes. Just turn them back up.

There is so much headroom in the 7950 that it's a good card to get your feet wet with for overclocking if you haven't done it before.

 

[stag3]

i game at 1920x1200, if the 7950 is 100 cheaper then yea it's a no brainer to get that over the 7970. which is the reason i got a 5850 over the 5870 originally.

 

[Termie]

i game at 1920x1200, if the 7950 is 100 cheaper then yea it's a no brainer to get that over the 7970. which is the reason i got a 5850 over the 5870 originally.

The 7950 isn't really $100 cheaper, but it is a good deal. The cheapest ones are $380, but this Sapphire OC model is $400 with a much better cooler: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102963

If you like to OC, that one is going to be worth it. Similarly, you might want to get the Sapphire 7970 OC if you're going to go all out: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...&SID=u00000687

Here's a really positive review of the Sapphire 7970 and its cooler: http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/04/10/sapphire_hd_7970_oc_edition_video_card_review

And some interesting OC benchmarks from a French site: http://www.hardware.fr/articles/853-18/overclocking-undervolting.html. What you'll see is that most 7950s get to 1025 at stock 1.093 voltage, and most 7970s get to around 1100 at their stock voltage of 1.174 voltage. Interestingly, the 7950 can beat 1100 at that higher voltage, and ultimately, has the same max clocks at 1.225v. That's where the value of the 7950 comes in.

By the way, if you wait a few weeks, you'll get a few more free games with the card due to an upcoming promotion. Just a tip.

I would not get the XFX (and I have an XFX HD5850 too). The XFX DD model did not get very good reviews - it only got a lot of attention because it was the first custom cooler out there, but the overclocking on the card left something to be desired. I believe it actually can't be overvolted, or at least couldn't originally be, so the reviews can't test it's max OCs.

One last thing - while the 7970 probably disappointed a lot of people with its improvement over the 6970, I think you're underestimating its improvement over a 5850. I'd say it's closer to 100% (and it will overclock at least as well as your card): http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/512?vs=508

 

[stag3]

that 7950 you listed compared to the xfx black edition 7970 i was looking at, basically puts it 100 cheaper, so i think that's the way to go sweet. thx

 

[aaksheytalwar]

With a dual core CPU anything over a 5850 is overkill, won't make any difference.

 

[stag3]

the rig im putting the 5850 into is a dual core
my gaming rig is an i7