techPowerUp! Forums - View Single Post - Upgrading from HD 6870, what to save for?

anubis44 · Sep 5, 2012, 05:16 PM

Go for the 7950, and a custom-cooled one at that, like the Gigabyte Windforce 7950 I just bought last week new for $319. Flashed the card (it has a dual bios switch) using the Gigabyte Windforce 7970 bios and now it's running nice and cool at 1GHz core and 1375MHz memory (the default is 900MHz on the Windforce 7950 - 100MHz above the old reference 7950 speed). Yes the card can go over 1100MHz, but I wanted to just flash the bios and have all the fan speeds and cooler keep the card below 70 degrees, which it does.

Of course, I have 3 x 1680x1050 monitors, so I'm running at 5240x1050 resolution, so I really wanted to get the 3Gb video memory on this card. All in all, I'd say a custom cooled 7950 with a dual bios is your best option. If you really don't want to blow over ~$250, though, you'd be better off grabbing a Gigabyte 7870. In Canada, you can get one for $230 after $20 MIR.

System Name:	Current Rig
Processor:	AMD FX-8350@4.4GHz (no voltage bump... yet)
Motherboard:	Gigabyte 990FXA-UD7 Rev. 1.1
Cooling:	Antec Kuhler 620
Memory:	2x8GB DDR3-1866 G.Skill
Video Card:	Gigabyte Windforce 7950 (bios flashed to 1000MHz core/1375MHz memory)
Hard Disk:	1TB WD Black+2TB Seagate
CRT/LCD Model:	3x22" LG Flatron (eyefinity)
Case:	Cooler Master Storm Trooper
PSU:	Antec True Power 750w

Sep 5, 2012, 05:16 PM	#57
anubis44 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Ottawa, Canada Posts: 47 (0.07/day) Thanks: 0 Thanked 21 Times in 17 Posts System Specs	Go for the 7950, and a custom-cooled one at that, like the Gigabyte Windforce 7950 I just bought last week new for $319. Flashed the card (it has a dual bios switch) using the Gigabyte Windforce 7970 bios and now it's running nice and cool at 1GHz core and 1375MHz memory (the default is 900MHz on the Windforce 7950 - 100MHz above the old reference 7950 speed). Yes the card can go over 1100MHz, but I wanted to just flash the bios and have all the fan speeds and cooler keep the card below 70 degrees, which it does. Of course, I have 3 x 1680x1050 monitors, so I'm running at 5240x1050 resolution, so I really wanted to get the 3Gb video memory on this card. All in all, I'd say a custom cooled 7950 with a dual bios is your best option. If you really don't want to blow over ~$250, though, you'd be better off grabbing a Gigabyte 7870. In Canada, you can get one for $230 after $20 MIR.