Which 7950?

[Bipedal Humanoid]

Correct. The 6xxx series and the 8xxx series is a rebranding of the previous gen, so technically those aren't 'next gen'. My soon to be retired 5850 outperforms the 6850 in almost every aspect.

 

[lehtv]

My soon to be retired 5850 outperforms the 6850 in almost every aspect.

Amazing that a GPU slower than a 5850 (7770) costs over $100 almost three and a half years after the release of the 5850 at $260.

 

[mazeroth]

Amazing that a GPU slower than a 5850 (7770) costs over $100 almost three and a half years after the release of the 5850 at $260.

Try the 6850. I bought mine over 2 years ago for $169. They still sell for about $130!

 

[lehtv]

560 Ti sells for over $200 on newegg... same price as a GTX660. Who buys them any more? Why don't NVIDIA lower the 560 Ti prices to get rid of the old stock? Everyone knows the GTX 660 is as fast as a GTX 580 and consumes as little power as a 550 Ti

 

[KingFatty]

I think the prices are based on what people are willing to pay. Nvidia shouldn't lower their prices because they are in the business of making money, not a charity.

If people want to throw their money at Nvidia, should Nvidia decline it? I think a better question to ask is why are people still throwing their money at Nvidia for older cards?

Another possibility is that by keeping the prices high on older cards, people are more willing to spend just a little bit more to buy a new card. If older cards were priced lower, then you'd be more tempted to go with older tech. But then again, if this were true and Nvidia were artificially keeping prices high for old tech, you'd see a mismatch between their artificial retail price and market value on ebay/craigslist. But do we see that mismatch? If not, then the market is there and people willing throw their money at Nvidia.

 

[MrK6]

I agree, the market does a pretty good job of determining the prices. There are plenty of misinformed/ignorant users who will pay high prices for older tech because it was recommended in the first search result from Google, or a friend has it, or they want to try multi-GPU. Heck, look through this forum and other popular ones and there plenty of "help me find a card" posts like that. The cards are no longer produced and Newegg, Amazon, and other e-tailers know that these parts will eventually be sold at these, seemingly, insane prices. Those that aren't turn up in Black Friday sales every now then, and then they'll sell them for bottom dollar just to clear the shelves. Look on SlickDeals over this past Black Friday, there were links to AMD HD 4000 and nvidia GTX 8000 series cards for ~$20 IIRC.

 

[lopri]

I've been using Gigabyte 7950 without much trouble except for the clock frequency issue (defaulting to 2D performance when there is a 2D-3D competition) Other than that, It's been a solid card.

I see Amazon has 7870 @$250, and 7950 @$300.. Hmm.. That'd be an interesting choice.

 

[lehtv]

I've been using Gigabyte 7950 without much trouble except for the clock frequency issue (defaulting to 2D performance when there is a 2D-3D competition)

Install RadeonPro beta, create a profile for the game in which the problem occurs, and tick the box 'Always use highest performance clocks while gaming'

 

[Bipedal Humanoid]

I ended up getting the Sapphire 7950BST for $230 after rebates and selling the Never Settle Bundle that came with it.

 

[raghu78]

I ended up getting the Sapphire 7950BST for $230 after rebates and selling the Never Settle Bundle that came with it.

wow a HD 7950 for 230 rocks. imo though the games were worth keeping.

 

[Bipedal Humanoid]

@mazeroth: I am not allowed to reply to your PM due to not having "enough posts" (wtf forum rules?!?!). I tried sending an email to your email address but have no way of knowing if it went through or not.

 

[3DVagabond]

Correct. The 6xxx series and the 8xxx series is a rebranding of the previous gen, so technically those aren't 'next gen'. My soon to be retired 5850 outperforms the 6850 in almost every aspect.

The 6800's and 6900's were not rebrands, and the 6800 wasn't the replacement for the 5800. The 6900 replaced the 5800.

 

[Bipedal Humanoid]

The 6800's and 6900's were not rebrands, and the 6800 wasn't the replacement for the 5800. The 6900 replaced the 5800.

Thank You for clearing that up! I was under the impression the 68xx replaced the 58xx but it was the 5750 & 5770 that were rebranded into 67xx. This whole rebranding can be a bit confusing.

 

[krumme]

I agree, the market does a pretty good job of determining the prices. There are plenty of misinformed/ignorant users who will pay high prices for older tech because it was recommended in the first search result from Google, or a friend has it, or they want to try multi-GPU.

The price is set by demand and supply. There is less informed buyers who is ready to pay a higher price than a rational and well informed buyer would do - they push the price upwards. Only a minority of buyers uses their life time getting up to date information about the latest gfx technology.

The stronger the brand you have the more you can sell products for those less informed segments. They are a majority after all - so i wouldnt call them ignorant A lot of marketing strategies is about clouding, and making it difficult for buyers to do the most rational choises, adding nonsense and complexity of no practical usage. You use they dont have so much time, and perhaps is not so smart.

 

[3DVagabond]

Yes, the 5700 to 6700 was a virtual rebrand. There was some feature different (I don't even remember what it was. An HDMI feature, maybe?), but it's semantics

 

[bigsnyder]

I ended up getting the Sapphire 7950BST for $230 after rebates and selling the Never Settle Bundle that came with it.

Can you link the specific model? I am assuming it is a boost model from the "b".

 

[Bipedal Humanoid]

Can you link the specific model? I am assuming it is a boost model from the "b".

Here ya go

Manufacturer #11196-16-20G (Part # AT-7950BST)

 

[JimmyH]

Got gigabyte 7950 WF3 from Superbiiz finally up and running. Arrived same day as 3570k parts from newegg. Never Settle Bundle made it a "no brainer" over 7850 or 7870. My 7950 WF3 came with the new FZ1 bios, so 1000mhz core / 1250mhz memory stock :biggrin:

Initial gaming on BF3 multi is sweet. Old rig (i5 2400) had oc'd 6870 pegged 100% usage. New rig (3570k @ 4.3) w/ 7950 stock has ~40% usage in afterburner with same settings and whisper quiet. Crank eye candy and OC 7950 soon.

 

[Bipedal Humanoid]

My 7950 WF3 came with the new FZ1 bios, so 1000mhz core / 1250mhz memory stock :biggrin:

Stock clock?

Or is that after boost is applied?

 

[raghu78]

Stock clock?

Or is that after boost is applied?

yeah thats stock. the newer revision with 1 ghz boost has been selling for quite sometime. but the problem is gigabyte did not even change the SKU naming. AMD really need to learn from nvidia how to market its products. they should also give clear instructions to partners to clearly name their products.

HIS is one of the partners which came out with a clearly distinct name for both of its HD 7950 boost sku - HIS 7950 Iceq x2 boost and HIS 7950 IceQ Boost .

http://www.hisdigital.com/un/product2-731.shtml
http://www.hisdigital.com/un/product2-725.shtml

Powercolor and sapphire also did reasonably well with naming and product detailing on their website. sapphire had the "OC Engine clock upto 925 mhz with AMD Powertune boost" sticker on their sapphire dual x card boxes.

PowerColor PCS+ HD7950 3GB GDDR5 Boost State

http://www.powercolor.com/Global/products_features.asp?id=425#Specification

Sapphire HD 7950 boost

http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/product/?cid=1&gid=3&sgid=1157&pid=1713&psn=&lid=1&leg=0

MSI and gigabyte did not even change the SKU naming. their website did not have any updated products details. MSI has started selling 960 mhz boost edition cards under the older MSI HD 7950 OC naming. there is a boost edition sticker on it. but while selling the product they are just sold as MSI HD 7950 twin frozr OC. same for gigabyte which is now selling the 1 ghz boost cards with no updated product details in their website.

http://www.msi.com/product/vga/R7950-Twin-Frozr-3GD5-OC.html#?div=Specification

http://www.gigabyte.us/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4121#sp

here are end users who talk about getting the hd 7950 twin frozr boost edition from msi

http://www.overclock.net/t/1350479/msi-7950-twin-frozr-iii-960mhz-default-clock/20

the HD 7000 series products from AMD are a lesson in how not to market your products. AMD needs to do much better with HD 8000 series marketing and launch.

 

[Bipedal Humanoid]

Stock Clock - 850
Boost Clock - 925

I interpret this as "up to" 925 = not stock.

So the Sapphire 7950 stock clock is 150MHz lower than Gigabyte's WF3 stock clock? And the Sapphire 7950 boosted to 925 is still 75MHz lower than the WF3's stock clock?

 

[raghu78]

Stock Clock - 850
Boost Clock - 925

I interpret this as "up to" 925 = not stock.

So the Sapphire 7950 stock clock is 150MHz lower than Gigabyte's WF3 stock clock? And the Sapphire 7950 boosted to 925 is still 75MHz lower than the WF3's stock clock?

for the gigabyte card stock - 900 mhz and boost - 1000 mhz. also once you max out power control to +20% you will run at boost clock consistently without any throttling.

 

[Bipedal Humanoid]

for the gigabyte card stock - 900 mhz and boost - 1000 mhz. also once you max out power control to +20% you will run at boost clock consistently without any throttling.

Thanks for confirming.

I got my Sapphire today and the stock voltage is indeed 1.25. Haven't messed with it much other than pushing the clock up to 1050MHz without any issues.

 

[vmarkx3]

decided to upgrade my HD5850, just couldnt pass up the price for the Sapphire 7950BST with game bundle from superbiiz.

Upgrade cost only $160 after rebates and selling the game bundle / HD5850.
Set to be delivered today. Good upgrade that show last me for 2-3 years.

 

[lehtv]

One thing to note though: Sapphire Dual-X is voltage locked so what you get with stock volts is what you get. Gigabyte is unlocked but it also requires overvolting to reach similar clock speeds due to Sapphire's higher stock voltage.

Based on my own experience I can only recommend the Dual-X, but I've read very positive overclocking experiences with the Gigabyte card as well.

Just wanted to update this.

I originally had bought a 7950 Vapor-x 6+8pin which was unstable with hot VRM's. Sent it for RMA... and more than a month later, I receive a 7950 Vapor-x 8+8. Turns out this card is amazing.

Compared to the regular boost card, it runs cooler, quieter, overclocks better and it's voltage unlocked. Currently running at 1120 / 1450 @ 1.22V - the regular card clocked to 1100 / 1250 @ 1.25V. Temperatures are only 65C for both GPU and VRM, about 10C lower! I've only done limited testing in Heaven and Witcher 2 so these clocks and volts are still subject to minor changes.

I've tried clocking it higher but can't get 1150 stable even with 1.32V. Not worth it.