Which HD 7970 to buy??

[Pradeepkewl]

Hi guys..
After many suggestions I have decided to go with HD7970 .I am having trouble as to which make(Sapphire,asus,MSI..etc) I should buy.And what is the difference between a reference and a non reference card??which one is good for gaming ??I need really quiet ,cooler version with decent power consumption.
I mostlty plan on playing BF3,Farcry3,Assasin's Creed,Batman Arkham City in highest settings.
my config:
Core i5 3570k
Asus Maximus V gene
Corsair 500R
Corsair Vengeance 2*4 8GB
Corsair GS 600W PSU
Will be playing at 1920*1080 p and will be overclocking the card.
My rig is waiting for the Graphic card and my hands are itching to play these games.
Thank you.

 

[Shmee]

What resolution do you play at and will you be OCing and if so OVing?

 

[Pradeepkewl]

What resolution do you play at and will you be OCing and if so OVing?

Will be playing at 1920*1080 p and will be overclocking the card.

 

[RussianSensation]

I would actually consider the 680 in your case. BF3 and FC3 will run fairly equal on both cards, but in AC3, the 680 has a big advantage. For $390, it's a decent deal since in AC3 also comes free with 680. You also get PhysX in Batman games, which may or may not matter but it's a bonus on this case since 680 prices have fallen to more reasonable levels.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814162096

If you are set on the 7970, the $360 1Ghz Sapphire seems like a good option for the price since you get FC3 for free and that cooler is decent.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814202008

 

[Pradeepkewl]

I would actually consider the 680 in your case. BF3 and FC3 will run fairly equal on both cards, but in AC3, the 680 has a big advantage. For $390, it's a decent deal since in AC3 also comes free with 680. You also get PhysX in Batman games, which may or may not matter but it's a bonus on this case since 680 prices have fallen to more reasonable levels.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814162096

If you are set on the 7970, the $360 1Ghz Sapphire seems like a good option for the price since you get FC3 for free and that cooler is decent.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814202008

Thank you...any other suggestions??please help me out guys..

 

[raghu78]

Thank you...any other suggestions??please help me out guys..

if you want a HD 7970 the sapphire hd 7970 oc and gigabyte hd 7970 oc are good options. but i would recommend getting the sapphire hd 7950 boost for 300 bucks. GTX 670 perf at stock. clock for clock HD 7950 is 3 - 6% slower than HD 7970. the sapphire HD 7950 boost comes with a stock voltage of 1.25v. easily overclocks to 1.1 ghz at stock voltage to match HD 7970 Ghz performance

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814202006

 

[Pradeepkewl]

if you want a HD 7970 the sapphire hd 7970 oc and gigabyte hd 7970 oc are good options. but i would recommend getting the sapphire hd 7950 boost for 300 bucks. GTX 670 perf at stock. clock for clock HD 7950 is 3 - 6% slower than HD 7970. the sapphire HD 7950 boost comes with a stock voltage of 1.25v. easily overclocks to 1.1 ghz at stock voltage to match HD 7970 Ghz performance

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814202006

Thank you..

 

[dragantoe]

HIS, best build quality of all the companies, amazing cooling, and if it's anything like my 7870, you can overclock the hell out of it
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161412

 

[dragantoe]

if you want a HD 7970 the sapphire hd 7970 oc and gigabyte hd 7970 oc are good options. but i would recommend getting the sapphire hd 7950 boost for 300 bucks. GTX 670 perf at stock. clock for clock HD 7950 is 3 - 6% slower than HD 7970. the sapphire HD 7950 boost comes with a stock voltage of 1.25v. easily overclocks to 1.1 ghz at stock voltage to match HD 7970 Ghz performance

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814202006

yes, but it won't match an overclocked 7970's performance

 

[tweakboy]

Grab a 7950 listen to the gurus. and OC the heck out of it. Especially the VRAM. gl

 

[Pradeepkewl]

yes, but it won't match an overclocked 7970's performance

Thank you..will check it out...

 

[KentState]

If the OP doesn't mind, I would like to ask a similar question and not start a new thread.

I'm wanting a 7970 Ghz edition, but not sure which one is the best option. In the past, I've used HIS and Saphire and have been happy. This will replace a GTX580 that is paired with a 3770k, 32GB ram and 1440p monitor. I play all current games so compatibility is very important.

Also, is the game bundle included with all 7970s or just if the seller notes it?

 

[Pradeepkewl]

If the OP doesn't mind, I would like to ask a similar question and not start a new thread.

I'm wanting a 7970 Ghz edition, but not sure which one is the best option. In the past, I've used HIS and Saphire and have been happy. This will replace a GTX580 that is paired with a 3770k, 32GB ram and 1440p monitor. I play all current games so compatibility is very important.

Also, is the game bundle included with all 7970s or just if the seller notes it?

not at all.... hope both of us get our answers..

 

[raghu78]

If the OP doesn't mind, I would like to ask a similar question and not start a new thread.

I'm wanting a 7970 Ghz edition, but not sure which one is the best option. In the past, I've used HIS and Saphire and have been happy. This will replace a GTX580 that is paired with a 3770k, 32GB ram and 1440p monitor. I play all current games so compatibility is very important.

Also, is the game bundle included with all 7970s or just if the seller notes it?

If you want a HD 7970 Ghz the sapphire HD 7970 Ghz vapor-x is a good option.the never settle game bundle is available only at select retailers. newegg has it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814202001

 

[KentState]

If you want a HD 7970 Ghz the sapphire HD 7970 Ghz vapor-x is a god option.the never settle game bundle is available only at select retailers. newegg has it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814202001

That's what I went with. Those are three games I want so this is going to be a nice deal.

 

[Shmee]

I would go with the sapphire DualX and OC it, and it should be voltage unlocked. Saw several deals where it was under 400 bucks, around 360 after rebate.

 

[The Alias]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131471
the best bang for buck 7970

 

[MrK6]

I never saw a mention of a budget, but is it of no concern? Overall, I agree that the Sapphire Dual X is the way to go; but, no matter the 7970 you decide on, confirm that it is a voltage unlocked model before you pull the trigger.

 

[RussianSensation]

yes, but it won't match an overclocked 7970's performance

HD7950 above 1135mhz will beat a GTX680 and at 1150mhz, beat the 7970Ghz. Obviously an overclocked 7970 will beat a 7950 but the difference is rather minimal.
http://www.legionhardware.com/artic...z_edition_7950_iceq_xsup2_boost_clock,13.html

Source

Both the $280 and $360 versions of Sapphire 7950/7970 cards are good value, just depends if you plan on overclocking or not. AC3 is a sore spot for HD7900 series though, but I personally think AC3 has horrendous graphics and performs like a dog given those graphics. It's one of the worst PC ports in 2012.

I would go with the sapphire DualX and OC it, and it should be voltage unlocked. Saw several deals where it was under 400 bucks, around 360 after rebate.

I am pretty sure HD7950/7970 cards are voltage locked but you unlock them with MSI Afterburner Unofficial voltage unlock. Sapphire Trixx allowed me to move the voltage up, but it did nothing to the actual voltage in HWInfo64.

This is a good thread for HD7950-7970 overclocking: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2259333

Make sure you get MSI Afterburner 2.2.1 or earlier to get the missing .dll files. Otherwise the voltage unlock won't work. Later, you can save the MSIafterburner.cfg file and the 2 dll files and install a new version of MSI afterburner and paste those 3 files in the MSI Afterburner program files folder if you want.

 

[RussianSensation]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131471
the best bang for buck 7970

I don't know about that. It runs way hotter than Sapphire Dual-X and the memory is not cooled by any heatsink. The backplate is also not flush with the PCB, negating most of its useful function.

77*C for PCS+ 7970 vs. 56*C for Sapphire Dual-X.
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/48...gb_overclocked_video_card_review/index15.html

Make no mistake, the cooler on the Sapphire Dual-X / Vapor-X is among the top for 7970, only equaled by HIS 7970 dual-fan cards and beaten by Asus Matrix / DirectCUII.

Here is an alternative review that shows at stock 1100mhz, the 7970 PCS+ reaches 79*C at 100% fan speed.

Source

Now compare this to an 1100mhz+ overclocked 7970 Dual-X. It's pretty clear to me the Dual-X cooler is much better.

 

[RussianSensation]

That's what I went with. Those are three games I want so this is going to be a nice deal.

That's a great card. The main advantages over the Dual-X (Blue PCB) are black diamond chokes, more aggressive clocks like GPU @ 1050mhz and the addition of a vapor chamber cooler in the heatsink. Make sure you enable the "Sapphire Boost" button so the card runs at full speed out of the box.

Black Diamond Chokes and Vapor-X cooler

Source

The Blue PCB Dual-X is 1Ghz and uses standard HD7970 reference chokes, but it costs $65 less.

It seems to go to 1175-1200mhz, which is not amazing but about as expected for a lot of 7970 cards.

The Vapor-X has a vapor chamber which allows it to dissipate heat slightly better than the Dual-X but the engineers tuned the BIOS too aggressively for lower temperatures at the expense of noise levels. You might want to create a custom fan profile in MSI Afterburner to get the noise level vs. temperature balance more to your liking. A custom fan profile is always a great tool if you are not happy with the Auto fan settings programmed into the stock card's BIOS.

 

[Shmee]

I am pretty sure HD7950/7970 cards are voltage locked but you unlock them with MSI Afterburner Unofficial voltage unlock. Sapphire Trixx allowed me to move the voltage up, but it did nothing to the actual voltage in HWInfo64.

? I assume you mean only the sapphire dual x ones and not ALL of the 79xx, but even so I have read several reviews saying the dual X had voltage control.

 

[mikek753]

Hi all,

I don't want to create another thread for he same matter.

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

recommended card to get?

Thanks.

 

[lehtv]

That is the cheapest 7970 but still boasts a 1000MHz boost clock, and the cooling is great and it should overclock nicely as well. I have the 7950 with the same cooler running 1.1GHz on stock volts.