[btarunr]

I've said this a few times before, AMD sets the component quality benchmark a little too high on its reference boards (the ones with which it launches new GPUs, the ones reviewers and a few early-adopters end up getting), so these "cost-cuttings" shouldn't scare anyone. They'll run the GPU just fine, it already has very good power-draw figures to go with. Historically, these cost-cut custom implementations were never disadvantaged to AMD reference boards at least as far as air and water cooled OC setups were concerned. I'm sure it will be the same case with HD 7970. It has to be.