ATI 7970 vs 7950

[TapWater]

What does the 7970 offer over the 7950? Is it worth the extra money to you?

Im hoping to get one today tomorrow.

 

[TapWater]

PS is there a big difference between the MSI/GIGABYTE/ASUS etc?

I have always had either reference or GIGABYTE so im partial to GIGA but is anyone of them better?

thank you

 

[hokies83]

7970 is about 100mhz faster then the 7950.

However 7950s are so cheap right now there a must have.

 

[Dravonic]

The 7970 is about 5-10% faster clock for clock. If it's enough performance to warrant the extra cost, that's a question only you can answer.

The reference cards are fine, unless you have a problem with noise. As far as performance goes, different brands make no matter.

 

[zaydq]

Might as well pocket some dollars and roll the 7950. The difference is marginal when looking at price/performance.

 

[TapWater]

Hey guys, thanks for your feedback.. I got there and they only had the MSI in stock for the 7950, or the Asus 7970 TOP. I went the Asus one, it cost me $60 more but whatever. I don't have an issue with MSI but I have had GIGABYTE always and Asus in my sisters computer so I just went with it for that reason. I don't doubt how good heaps of other brands are, and that the difference between all of them probably isn't all that much.

I also got the 2 games free, Crysis 3 and Bioshock (new one apparently). I've already got tomb raider so we'll see how it looks just trying to install it now.its being a bit difficult cause I deleted the drivers for the older nvidia and I'm coping black screen but ill play around till I get it - hey there's always safe mode! I think what also swayed me was that the new consoles are going to be ATI as well.. But tbh it's my first ATI card so we'll see how it goes.. I'll probably be impressed either way cause its a new card replacing a gtx295.

 

[aarontpx]

Might as well pocket some dollars and roll the 7950. The difference is marginal when looking at price/performance.

I would also echo this sentiment. Price/performance the 7950 is a better value but in the end you gotta get what you want.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

ID get the gigabyte 7970 at 1100mhz

 

[24601]

More of the 7970s are voltage locked than the 7950s. This is a big deal on the non-ghz 7970s (important since ghz edition ones are more expensive for no reason) since they are at a stock voltage of 1.175 instead of 7950 boost's stock voltage of 1.25.

Last I heard the only non-reference non-voltage locked non-ghz edition 7970 is Sapphire's card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202008

 

[TapWater]

Really, for the money going from a 5 year old GTX295 to a brand new 7970 from Asus top edition, that honestly it doesn't feel that different yet. But I guess that's what happens when you play a current game you've already been playing.

Example, tomb raider built in benchmark, before on gtx295 I got ~43.4FPS avg, with everything as high as it could go - no tesselation or DX11, but with ultra textures and a mix of normal, high, (if I could choose it, I chose it).

Then with this card, I just chose everything maxed, Ultra everything, but also added triple filter and vertical sync, and I got 56.1avg.

It's 1920x1200.

It's good, a bit smoother, a few lights.. But then again I've been up all night getting it to play nice with Win 8... So maybe I had the shits.. Batman arkham city looked ok, similar to how it was. BF3 looked VERY similar.. Just heaps better FPS (10-15-??) but it was already playable.

I really wonder if I should have stuck to my guns.. The gtx295 is heaps heavier as well.i don't know man.. Anyway.. I'll update after some sleep

 

[3DVagabond]

More of the 7970s are voltage locked than the 7950s. This is a big deal on the non-ghz 7970s (important since ghz edition ones are more expensive for no reason) since they are at a stock voltage of 1.175 instead of 7950 boost's stock voltage of 1.25.

Last I heard the only non-reference non-voltage locked non-ghz edition 7970 is Sapphire's card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814202008

There are plenty of unlocked 7950/7970 out there. Often it's just finding the right settings or software. FYI the one you linked to is a GHz model.

 

[TapWater]

Wow I just want to take back everything I said. Crysis 3 looks friggin sick!!! Its running at frames I haven't played Crysis on before, and the effects are pretty damn tidy! Yeah man once you get it up and running its beautiful and the difference is pretty amazing.

Its so good to go in a game and just choose the max settings! You realise how much more vivid it is getting now with new graphics. And I am not sure what the people are saying about how it looks just like Crysis 2.. if you can tell the difference - its definitely there very clearly so!

Stoked I got this card would not have bought anything else haha

Tomb Raider looks pretty awesome too - but Crysis 3 - bam looks sweet. yeah - Im in with the ATI/AMD crowd now and loving it. Glad I went with it.. cause seriously in Australia the NVidia 680GTX (the cheap ones like MSI/GIGA) are $599 Then you buy Crysis 3 and BioShock for like $80 each you have spend $760.

You get the 7970 Asus Direct CU II TOP for $470 and get the games for free - I couldn't justify the NVidia deal no matter even if it was like 30% better or something - which apparently it just isn't that big of a deal of difference, enough to justify spending 80% more money.

 

[Eureka]

Asus 7970 TOP is a better choice over a MSI 7950, especially at such a small price difference. You chose well.

The TOP comes with an amazing cooler and custom PCB, and probably binned chips as well. It means you are getting the full potential of the 7970, especially if you are overclocking. $60 is a marginal difference for what you're getting.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

Gtx 295 to a 7950 oc is a huge jump,

 

[Barfo]

Hey guys, thanks for your feedback.. I got there and they only had the MSI in stock for the 7950, or the Asus 7970 TOP. I went the Asus one, it cost me $60 more but whatever. I don't have an issue with MSI but I have had GIGABYTE always and Asus in my sisters computer so I just went with it for that reason. I don't doubt how good heaps of other brands are, and that the difference between all of them probably isn't all that much.

I also got the 2 games free, Crysis 3 and Bioshock (new one apparently). I've already got tomb raider so we'll see how it looks just trying to install it now.its being a bit difficult cause I deleted the drivers for the older nvidia and I'm coping black screen but ill play around till I get it - hey there's always safe mode! I think what also swayed me was that the new consoles are going to be ATI as well.. But tbh it's my first ATI card so we'll see how it goes.. I'll probably be impressed either way cause its a new card replacing a gtx295.

pics of your sister?

 

[Shmee]

pics of your sister?

Really?

At OP: congrats on the purchase! And gl if you decide to start OCing, that card should be good for that!