Radeon HD 7950 Owner's Thread

[3DVagabond]

From both of your locations I take it neither of you are in the US. How do you go about getting stuff from Newegg as they don't ship internationally? I would have jumped on this deal in a moment if I could have got them shipped internationally.

I don't buy from newegg. As you say they don't ship internationally. I was only commenting on Mistwalker's post.

 

[twjr]

I don't buy from newegg. As you say they don't ship internationally. I was only commenting on Mistwalker's post.

Ah ok. I misinterpreted "A bonus for us" as including you not the collective of enthusiasts as a whole.

 

[Mistwalker]

From both of your locations I take it neither of you are in the US. How do you go about getting stuff from Newegg as they don't ship internationally? I would have jumped on this deal in a moment if I could have got them shipped internationally.

As it happens, I will be traveling to the States from tomorrow and was hoping to have the card shipped to one of my relatives during my stay (thus avoiding the always-annoying Japanese markup, the Twin Frozr is $450 here).

Here's hoping Newegg or Amazon get it back in stock in the next 7-10 days, or I'll likely be sitting this generation out (can't justify spending local prices).

 

[Annon2255]

Back in stock at Newegg for same price, FYI.

 

[Mistwalker]

Back in stock at Newegg for same price, FYI.

Indeed, that was fast.

Got one on the way!

 

[kalrith]

Thanks for pointing this out. I just realized my quoted price of $210 is for crappy versions. The Sapphire dual-fan and MSI TwinFrozr 7850s are only $40-50 less expensive than the MSI TwinFrozr 7950. That's insane. For $50 more, HD7950 880mhz will be ~ 39-40% faster out of the box based on the Sapphire Flex 860mhz card I linked earlier. Wow, that's value!

The TwinFrozr 7850 was $210 AR for a while (source), so that's probably what you were thinking. At the current price of $268 shipped, it would be foolish to buy that instead of the TwinFrozr 7950 for $310 with 3 free games.

 

[aayjaay]

Just found the 7950 for £240 here in the UK. I'm wondering if these are reference cards though?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-004-VX
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-177-OK

How are reference cards? I'm not buying now by the way, probably in a couple of months and I'm guessing the 7950 will be cheaper then but I guess I still want to find out how reference cards compare to non-reference cards.

 

[Binky]

Be advised that if you buy the MSI 7950, like me, you might receive a card with one 8-pin and one 6-pin PCIe plug. The box I received didn't include an 8-pin adapter so my card is still sitting in the damned box.

You might want to think ahead if you happen to not have 8-pin power plugs in your existing power supply (like me )

 

[KompuKare]

There's also this Sapphire HD 7950 for £243 here:

http://www.waeplus.co.uk/product/808643/SAPPHIRE-TECHNOLOGY-RADEON-HD-7950-OC-Gr

But I guess that while overclockers may have a bad reputation for CS, this 'shop' has no reputation at all...

But in a few (almost) everything will be cheaper. Current speculation has the GT660 coming in at $300 and it 'might' perform about like a 7950 but most likely won't overclock much (for one thing the PCB might be even cheaper than the GT670)and only have 1.5GB. So much worse value, but it will possibly sell very well...

 

[3DVagabond]

Just found the 7950 for £240 here in the UK. I'm wondering if these are reference cards though?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-004-VX
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-177-OK

How are reference cards? I'm not buying now by the way, probably in a couple of months and I'm guessing the 7950 will be cheaper then but I guess I still want to find out how reference cards compare to non-reference cards.

aayjaay, the Sapphire in KompuKare's post below is a far better card. Those that you linked to are "reference" (actually some sort of budget reference) and I wouldn't buy one unless they were cheap, cheap, cheap.

There's also this Sapphire HD 7950 for £243 here:

http://www.waeplus.co.uk/product/808643/SAPPHIRE-TECHNOLOGY-RADEON-HD-7950-OC-Gr

But I guess that while overclockers may have a bad reputation for CS, this 'shop' has no reputation at all...

But in a few (almost) everything will be cheaper. Current speculation has the GT660 coming in at $300 and it 'might' perform about like a 7950 but most likely won't overclock much (for one thing the PCB might be even cheaper than the GT670)and only have 1.5GB. So much worse value, but it will possibly sell very well...

 

[zaydq]

Hey all! Just an update! I received my HD 7950 today and it is based on the 7970 PCB. Ive got photos and will soon pop it into my system for some good ol' benchies, overclocking results, noise levels(how can i test this?) and general quality of the card. Expect to see my review by midnight tonight! It won't be as extensive as the typical review websites due to the fact i've got a son i need to tend to, but it should be good enough to make people interested... or uninterested.

 

[zaydq]

Be advised that if you buy the MSI 7950, like me, you might receive a card with one 8-pin and one 6-pin PCIe plug. The box I received didn't include an 8-pin adapter so my card is still sitting in the damned box.

You might want to think ahead if you happen to not have 8-pin power plugs in your existing power supply (like me )

I received an 8pin adaptor in my box... you might wanna contact msi to send ya one

 

[aayjaay]

Wow, that's pretty good. A Sapphire 7950 for only £240. But then again, as you said, no one's heard of that website :S As for the 660ti, I wouldn't really be tempted as the 1.5gb doesn't look too appealing to me.

 

[RussianSensation]

Be advised that if you buy the MSI 7950, like me, you might receive a card with one 8-pin and one 6-pin PCIe plug. The box I received didn't include an 8-pin adapter so my card is still sitting in the damned box.

You might want to think ahead if you happen to not have 8-pin power plugs in your existing power supply (like me )

Did the card come with any adapters? It should come with a dual 4-pin-to-8 pin adapter.

You connect that to your PSU cable. Your Corsair 520 should have a couple extra cables with dual 4-pin connectors.

If it has 6+8, that means it's the newer MSI 7950s, made on the 7970 PCB, which means it should overclock like a champ. That's actually a good thing == 1.1ghz overclock is all but guaranteed. :biggrin: Just call Corsair and tell them you have the older version of the 520HX and ask them if they could send you an 8-pin PCI Express power adapter. Corsair is an awesome company. I've heard of people getting these for free/cost of shipping only.

Or you can just buy a 6-pin to 8-pin power adapter for videocards for $4.99 with Free shipping.

Here is a cable for $11 (with shipping) that's a 6-pin to dual 8-Pin connector if you want to "future-proof" for some 8+8 videocard down the line.

If I were you, I'd try contacting Corsair first though or even MSI and tell them you got a card that's 6+8, but the box didn't have the proper adapter.

 

[Binky]

Did the card come with any adapters? It should come with a dual 4-pin-to-8 pin adapter.

You connect that to your PSU cable. Your Corsair 520 should have a couple extra cables with dual 4-pin connectors.

The card came with a single 6-pin adapter. The corsair has 2x6-pin plugs and zero 8 pin (or 6+2). So I'm stuck until i get a new power supply (received today...yay) or get an adapter. I already contacted MSI about the adapter. I'm sure they will send one, but I've had this damned card since last Thursday and it's pretty annoying to have it stuck in the box.

I received an 8pin adaptor in my box... you might wanna contact msi to send ya one

In a 7950 box, or a 7970? Mine is a 7950 and the original MSI design doesn't have the 8 pin. I'll go tear the box apart again but I'll be pissed if I find it this time.

 

[RussianSensation]

The card came with a single 6-pin adapter. The corsair has 2x6-pin plugs and zero 8 pin (or 6+2). So I'm stuck until i get a new power supply (received today...yay) or get an adapter.

Well the $5 adapter I linked you will work for sure. No need to spend $ on a new PSU.

 

[zaydq]

The card came with a single 6-pin adapter. The corsair has 2x6-pin plugs and zero 8 pin (or 6+2). So I'm stuck until i get a new power supply (received today...yay) or get an adapter. I already contacted MSI about the adapter. I'm sure they will send one, but I've had this damned card since last Thursday and it's pretty annoying to have it stuck in the box.


In a 7950 box, or a 7970? Mine is a 7950 and the original MSI design doesn't have the 8 pin. I'll go tear the box apart again but I'll be pissed if I find it this time.

MSI 7950, just got it today with a 6 --> 8pin adapter.

 

[zaydq]

Photos:

Benchmarks to come soon. Oc'd and stock!

 

[3DVagabond]

Benchmarks to come soon. Oc'd and stock!

Hope you got a good one.

Something else you might want to try is, if you have the dual bios try flashing it with a 7970 bios. That should up the stock voltages to 7970 levels and might allow for higher memory overclocks. Since you typically can't adjust memory voltages.

 

[glenroebuck]

I see they have 7970 at MC for cheap now.

 

[zaydq]

Will post results soon. I have 1175/1575 @ 1.1v running stable, trying to hit 1200/1600 stable... might just be there but we'll have to see!

EDIT: Success! 1200mhz core clock and 1600mhz memory clock stable @ 1.118v It is probably possible to push further considering this 7950 is on a 7970pcb and the 7970 runs at 1.17v but i'm stopping here. Results incoming! in photos

 

[Joseph F]

Awesome clocks! :thumbsup:

 

[zaydq]

1200/1600 failed 4th run of 3dmark. Upped voltage to 1.131v and running good so far. These will not be my every day clocks considering the fact that the fan is extremely loud running at 70% fan speed. max temperatures are hitting 73-76 degrees celcius.

Stock volts i easily got 1100core/1375 mem clocks... could probably push more but its bed time. Photos tomorrow!

 

[Joseph F]

If the temperatures are only in the mid-seventies, you can turn the fan down, a little bit.

 

[RussianSensation]

Nice! HD7970 PCB + 6+8 pin power and MSI TwinFrozr cooler = winning 7950!

1.1ghz HD7950 > GTX680 for $310 considering at 1025mhz it's already just a hair behind:

Congrats on your new card. Sounds like a winner. Stock volts for HD7970 are 1.174/1.175V, so you have plenty of room. Temps in mid-70s to low-80s are perfectly fine.

Download HWInfo64 to monitor your VRM temperatures.