Radeon HD 7950 Owner's Thread

[Belkov]

You and me have hit the jackpot as far as WF3 revision goes! I haven't seen anyone with my FW0 either!

Yes you are the first i've ever seen with this bios versions. These are something absolutely new. Did you try to reflash without using -f command? I've never seen, again , cards who can't work with other bioses. I really think you don't do something right.

 

[raghu78]

Just ordered myself a sapphire 7950 for $309+tax from the egg. Looking forward to getting it. Unfortunately the $289 deal expired :C

looks like you ordered the newer version which uses a custom PCB. sapphire model no 11196-19-20G. it has unlocked voltage though. 27 cm long. slightly shorter than the reference PCB model which is 29 cm long.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814202026

if the order has not shipped you could cancel it and get the AMD reference PCB design (11196-16-20G) card from superbiiz. the AMD name and logo with PCB number 109-C38137-00 is mentioned above the PCI-E connector. newegg allows you to zoom and see it.

http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=AT-7950BST
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814202006

ekwb site lists the card as 11196-16 and shows compatibility with full cover waterblocks like EK-FC 7950
http://www.coolingconfigurator.com/

http://www.ekwb.com/news/131/19/

"We have completed internal testing of our newest EK-FC7950 water block, built specificaly for the AMD Radeon HD 7950 graphics cards based of AMD 109-C38137-00 PCB. Once again we have managed to manufacture the highest performance (both hydraulic and thermal wise) water cooling product."

 

[psolord]

Yes you are the first i've ever seen with this bios versions. These are something absolutely new. Did you try to reflash without using -f command? I've never seen, again , cards who can't work with other bioses. I really think you don't do something right.

Not yet mate. I will soon.

Maybe the -f switch does something bad to the flashing process indeed.

I will reflash Asap!

Thanks.

PS I tried to underclock and undervolt the card, but unfortunately, as far as voltage control goes it doesn't really undervolt either. That kinda shoots down my hopes, but who knows....

 

[Belkov]

The only reason i can think why you can't reflash your card is that it is hardware voltage locked and when you change tо bios with different stock voltage - it crashes. However i'm not sure that this is the way it works because never had hardware voltage locked VGA.

It will be the worst case. If you succeed to reflash without -f command, your card is only software voltage locked. Hopefully you will achieve this.

 

[MBrown]

Just turn off sleeping mode. You don't need it. this is a sowtware issue.

It seems now if its just idling for a while not going to sleep (just the video output shutting off) it throttling back. As soon as I restart everything is back to normal. This happens at stock settings too. I wonder if its a windows 8 problem?

 

[Belkov]

It seems now if its just idling for a while not going to sleep (just the video output shutting off) it throttling back. As soon as I restart everything is back to normal. This happens at stock settings too. I wonder if its a windows 8 problem?

Well i heard that there are some driver issues with win8, but i'm with win7 so i didn't care much. Just search in google... Otherwise try to stop screen saver too...

 

[Shmee]

looks like you ordered the newer version which uses a custom PCB. sapphire model no 11196-19-20G. it has unlocked voltage though. 27 cm long. slightly shorter than the reference PCB model which is 29 cm long.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814202026

if the order has not shipped you could cancel it and get the AMD reference PCB design (11196-16-20G) card from superbiiz. the AMD name and logo with PCB number 109-C38137-00 is mentioned above the PCI-E connector. newegg allows you to zoom and see it.

http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=AT-7950BST
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814202006

ekwb site lists the card as 11196-16 and shows compatibility with full cover waterblocks like EK-FC 7950
http://www.coolingconfigurator.com/

http://www.ekwb.com/news/131/19/

"We have completed internal testing of our newest EK-FC7950 water block, built specificaly for the AMD Radeon HD 7950 graphics cards based of AMD 109-C38137-00 PCB. Once again we have managed to manufacture the highest performance (both hydraulic and thermal wise) water cooling product."

Hmm, didn't know it had a custom PCB, though as long as it is voltage unlocked and has quality components, I am hoping it will OC just as well. I probably won't be getting a water block for it anytime soon, my understanding is that the sapphire DualX cooler is one of the better aircooled stock coolers for 79xx at the price range. Any other reason I should not get it?

 

[psolord]

The only reason i can think why you can't reflash your card is that it is hardware voltage locked and when you change tо bios with different stock voltage - it crashes. However i'm not sure that this is the way it works because never had hardware voltage locked VGA.

It will be the worst case. If you succeed to reflash without -f command, your card is only software voltage locked. Hopefully you will achieve this.

Well, I tried without the -f switch and the F2 and F43 flashed correctly. Still the card got bricked.

The FZ1 BIOS however, does not flash without forcing it with the -f switch.

I also tried a couple of Sapphire, Asus and MSI BIOSes, but they wouldn't flash without the -f switch either. They flashed with the -f switch though, however the card is getting bricked always. It only works with the BIOS it shipped with. Talk about eternal love, lol.

I also tried the modded Trixx that was posted here, it doesn't do anything for the voltage either.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Did you gigabyte buyers not read where I specifically warned you guys about the gigabyte being voltage locked in this thread numerous times?

 

[Belkov]

You're not right - only the newest revisions seems to be hardware voltage locked... pslord, obviously yours is hardware voltage locked. Just use it like this - it is still one very good card with awsome fan.

 

[psolord]

Did you gigabyte buyers not read where I specifically warned you guys about the gigabyte being voltage locked in this thread numerous times?

Yes we did, but I asked the retailer if they had the 900Mhz models which were unlocked and they said they did have those. Then I received the 1000Mhz models which were locked. What am I supposed to do, get them back for voltage locking?

The cards are great as Belkov says. I will keep investigating though, if anything but out of technical curiosity.

 

[Belkov]

I think you can still return them because they are not what you ordered - 900MHz stock clock GB 7950 WF3 cards. However the performance you got is awsome so you can just use them and don't bother returning them.

 

[psolord]

Oh, I remembered, someone had asked about my Firestrike scores.

So here they are:

Non extreme
http://www.3dmark.com/fs/254154

Extreme
http://www.3dmark.com/fs/254112

The 2500k runs at 4Ghz.

And here's another non extreme with both cards at 1100/1700.

http://www.3dmark.com/fs/254222

13877 graphics score isn't bad I guess. I even got the Over 9000 steam achievement, LOL!

I think you can still return them because they are not what you ordered - 900MHz stock clock GB 7950 WF3 cards. However the performance you got is awsome so you can just use them and don't bother returning them.

So far I'm pretty happy with them, indeed!

 

[Face2Face]

Well I have settled on some gaming clocks after couple hours of gaming.

1200/1600
1.160v/1.6v

My temps with the fan on auto ( 30%-35% all of the time) are 55c and VRM's are in the high 70's

With the fan on 100% (Which is still unbelievable quiet) Temps are 50c and below and VRM's in the 60's

This card will easily play @ 1300core with 1.25v, but the VRMS get into the 90's.

I could put on the heatsinks that came with the cooler, but I would rather keep my warranty intact with an easy switch on the cooler.

 

[GrantMeThePower]

I got a FX0 card too That explains why the OCing has been so finicky and I can't change the BIOS

Would I be better served exchanging it for a different card?

 

[Belkov]

Well it's working on stock clock so i'm not sure they will be agreed to change it but you can try. Just decide for yourself whether the performance you got is enough for you. After all your card is with 1000MHz stock clock wich is 200MHz more than a reference 7950. You can achieve at least 1050MHz so it's not so bad. For 24/7 i use my card with 950/1350MHz and only when i play games wich needs more performance i set to 1100/1500MHz.

 

[bigmen 2007]

Hello all!! Don't know if it's the right thread to write this, but

I want to buy two of these cards specifically these ones:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gigabyte-79...P5ME/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1362855280&sr=8-2

To the owners of crossfire, are there any problems with this setup? Like microstuttering, or incopabilities with the drivers?

I also have this psu:
http://www.pcplanetsystems.com/abc/product_details.php?item_id=3528

It's 4 years old, is it able to run them flawlessly?

Thanx in advance

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Hello all!! Don't know if it's the right thread to write this, but

I want to buy two of these cards specifically these ones:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gigabyte-79...P5ME/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1362855280&sr=8-2

To the owners of crossfire, are there any problems with this setup? Like microstuttering, or incopabilities with the drivers?

I also have this psu:
http://www.pcplanetsystems.com/abc/product_details.php?item_id=3528

It's 4 years old, is it able to run them flawlessly?

Thanx in advance

Crossfire issues are always going to be different. Some may get them, some may not. Only way to find out is try for yourself. Different hardware, different computers, so there is always the possibility of yours running better or worse than someone else.

 

[bigmen 2007]

Crossfire issues are always going to be different. Some may get them, some may not. Only way to find out is try for yourself. Different hardware, different computers, so there is always the possibility of yours running better or worse than someone else.

I understand. Do you think that I will have problems with my psu, due to its age? It has 4 PCIe 6 pins which are required for the 2 cards.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

I understand. Do you think that I will have problems with my psu, due to its age? It has 4 PCIe 6 pins which are required for the 2 cards.

What PSU do you have? I am the kind of guy that follows the line of having a little headroom for my PSU. A single card on a good solid 550 will most likely be okay. Other things in your system play a part also.

 

[bigmen 2007]

What PSU do you have? I am the kind of guy that follows the line of having a little headroom for my PSU. A single card on a good solid 550 will most likely be okay. Other things in your system play a part also.

I have this one:
http://www.pcplanetsystems.com/abc/p...p?item_id=3528

The other parts are: core i7 3770k, maximus v formula, 8gb corsair vengeance 1866Mhz, 1xHDD 120GB WD @10.000rpm and 1x700GB WD @ 7500rpm.

 

[psolord]

Hello all!! Don't know if it's the right thread to write this, but

I want to buy two of these cards specifically these ones:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gigabyte-79...P5ME/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1362855280&sr=8-2

To the owners of crossfire, are there any problems with this setup? Like microstuttering, or incopabilities with the drivers?

I also have this psu:
http://www.pcplanetsystems.com/abc/product_details.php?item_id=3528

It's 4 years old, is it able to run them flawlessly?

Thanx in advance

I did some thorough testing on my old 5850 CFX system before deciding to upgrade to 7950 CFX. My middle PC is now a 570 SLI system, so for the top system I was between a 670 solution or the 7950 CFX.

From what I saw from the 5850 CFX system, I was quite satisfied with how the driver copes with demanding games, ie crossfire was operation in everything I tested.

I only have the 7950 CFX system for very little, so my opinion is still forming. So far I have played Crysis 3 with reasonable very high settings, so the game can run at 60fps. There's minimal if any microstuttering. I did see some evident microstuttering in Tomb Raider though although it was also very smooth at 60fps.

If there's something specific I can test please ask (as long as it is not mmos )

Dual gpu systems do have their quirks, but during the past 5 years I've been using dual gpu systems, when I needed the power of the second gpu, it was there and paid off. A user must be conscious of what he must expect though when jumping into a dual gpu system.

PS Oh regarding those Gigabytes, be advised that some newer batches of the WF3 are voltage locked. Mine are too. If you are into OV/OC you should check with the retailer. Hell I checked too, but still got the locked ones lol.

Your PSU will be fine.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

I have this one:
http://www.pcplanetsystems.com/abc/p...p?item_id=3528

The other parts are: core i7 3770k, maximus v formula, 8gb corsair vengeance 1866Mhz, 1xHDD 120GB WD @10.000rpm and 1x700GB WD @ 7500rpm.

I don't see that PSU as being an issue.

 

[bigmen 2007]

I did some thorough testing on my old 5850 CFX system before deciding to upgrade to 7950 CFX. My middle PC is now a 570 SLI system, so for the top system I was between a 670 solution or the 7950 CFX.

From what I saw from the 5850 CFX system, I was quite satisfied with how the driver copes with demanding games, ie crossfire was operation in everything I tested.

I only have the 7950 CFX system for very little, so my opinion is still forming. So far I have played Crysis 3 with reasonable very high settings, so the game can run at 60fps. There's minimal if any microstuttering. I did see some evident microstuttering in Tomb Raider though although it was also very smooth at 60fps.

If there's something specific I can test please ask (as long as it is not mmos )

Dual gpu systems do have their quirks, but during the past 5 years I've been using dual gpu systems, when I needed the power of the second gpu, it was there and paid off. A user must be conscious of what he must expect though when jumping into a dual gpu system.

PS Oh regarding those Gigabytes, be advised that some newer batches of the WF3 are voltage locked. Mine are too. If you are into OV/OC you should check with the retailer. Hell I checked too, but still got the locked ones lol.

Your PSU will be fine.

I don't see that PSU as being an issue.

Thank you all for your answers!! I won't do overclocking, so this wont bother me. I just picked the cheapest one, with a good cooling system so it wont get hot.

I will go with this solution.

 

[Belkov]

Ok - i read a little and it is confirmed - the last revision GB 7950 WF3 cards with FX0 and FW0 bios versions are hardware voltage locked. Even if someone succeed reflashing the bios, the voltage will remain locked.