AMD Radeon HD 7970 3072 MB - Page 2

ViperXTR · Dec 22, 2011, 04:45 AM

Nice review!
Would love to see some Compute performance figures, its supposed to be one of GCN's defining improvements over the VLIW architecture

DannibusX · Dec 22, 2011, 04:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gorillagarrett

A couple of these to play what mate? Honestly!!! If we had those sexy pixel-dense OLED monitors available, it would have made some sense.

Minecraft.

theJesus · Dec 22, 2011, 04:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMailMan78

Ill tell ya I wanted a 4850 vs 5850 kinda jump over the 69xx series. To me the 7970 is over priced to play console ports and the performance is meh IMO. I guess I'm just hoping for to much anymore. I mean 550 bucks for a GPU is a lil steep in todays economy.

Anyways W1zz's review is top notch as always.

To be fair, all high-end GPUs are over-priced. This one is priced exactly where it should be relative to the 580. 10% more $ for 10% more performance.

Damn_Smooth · Dec 22, 2011, 04:49 AM

Nice review W1zz, but you forgot the obligatory "No support for CUDA / PhysX".

buggalugs · Dec 22, 2011, 05:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Damn_Smooth

Nice review W1zz, but you forgot the obligatory "No support for CUDA / PhysX".

Now he can put "no support for GCN" on Nvidia card reviews. haha

ANyway the card looks great, noise is a concern though for me. Load temps are good so there could be room to slow the fan a little. Or just wait for non reference models.

15th Warlock · Dec 22, 2011, 05:07 AM

Thanks for the review W1zz, as always excellent work!

The card is a match for a GTX580, at 8% higher overall performance according to this review, but 10% higher MSRP price, or even more as you can find 580s for around $450 after rebates and I expect prices of 580s to fall further more after Jan 9.

One thing I noticed is performance may have been bottlenecked by the test rig, particularly at lower resolutions giving the 580 an edge on price/performance, although people who get this card will game at high resolutions (5760x1080 in my particular case) so this card may make more sense.

Another thing I noticed, but is totally unrelated to the review, is, the screenshot you used for Skyrim is almost the same as the one I submitted for your Skyrim screenshots thread, only yours was taken at a much better angle

I feel honored

Dj-ElectriC · Dec 22, 2011, 05:08 AM

I'll go ahead and say that according to some benchmarks online the 11.12 software and the reviewer's software is one serious flop (look at BF3 25X16 result).In summery HD6990 from being the leader he switches place with GTX590. Hoping to see improvements over the next couple of months

Super XP · Dec 22, 2011, 05:14 AM

Great review Wiz, thank you.
I was hoping for more performance over the HD 6900 series, but this is what we get with new tech. With driver performing updates and new games to take full advantage of this new card, I can see it being worth the price AMD is asking. But right now I believe its approx: $100 too expensive. This is definitely on my TO GET list once price goes down unless I can find a good deal on another HD 6970 for a Crossfire setup.

Vipeax · Dec 22, 2011, 05:14 AM

W1zzard, I always use your performance summaries as a reference point, but you made a mistake this time.

The HD5970 has to be a "bit" off?

Jstn7477 · Dec 22, 2011, 05:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ViperXTR

Nice review!
Would love to see some Compute performance figures, its supposed to be one of GCN's defining improvements over the VLIW architecture

F@H numbers, definitely. If this thing folds like a GTX 580 on steroids, I bet lots of people will be happy including myself.

thunderising · Dec 22, 2011, 05:41 AM

awesome performance, at 499$ would make a perfect card. Even then, AMD wants to earn back all it risked with 28nm, and having come on top of nVidia again by atleast 1 Quarter, they deserve to price it high, and yet people will buy(somewhat like Intel with CPUs)

And CFx SCALING is AMAZING. It leaves the GTX580 Sli in the dust with 7600x resolution gaming.

Check hardwareheaven for the review.

R_1 · Dec 22, 2011, 05:58 AM

Considering that Jen-Hsun Huang was pretending to hold in his hands 512 cores Tesla GPU back in September 2009, it doesn't look HD7970 to be some super-duper achievement.

krisna159 · Dec 22, 2011, 06:00 AM

wow nice...great review like always Wizz
i cant wait to see this card coming to my country....its time to upgrade now...

Zubasa · Dec 22, 2011, 06:01 AM

Is it me or does it looks like the 32ROPs is whats holding the card back?

1Kurgan1 · Dec 22, 2011, 06:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by entropy13

perf/$ it's -10%, -3%, -2%, 1% and 7% compared to the GTX 580. It's only "worth it" in 2560x1600.

At $50 more, 10% performance gain when using 1920x1080 is a pretty large gap, I would easily pay $50 for that. So I got to disagree. I don't see where you are getting negative performance vs a 580 from though? The performance summary shows it's higher at every single resolution (except 1024 where its tied). I see 0%, +6%, +7%, +10, and +15%.

AsRock · Dec 22, 2011, 06:12 AM

Nice review as always W1z..

Not worth the upgrade for me but expected that anyways. Those with a 6970 may as well get another 6970.

DrunkenMafia · Dec 22, 2011, 06:13 AM

Wow, great card, and you only gave it a 9.0 W1zz

..

Loving the power consumption but was surprised at how slow it is at lower res. It is definitely tuned for 1920 and up.

I guess it is roughly the same speed as my 5870 crossfire but with half the power consumption..

Great review, I have been waiting for ages for this!!

Maybe the bulldozer dept, should spend some time in the GFX dept. Lol

R_1 · Dec 22, 2011, 06:17 AM

Man, some people just don't see any meaningful application for +500 Euro GPU, so it is useless for them. No matter how fast it is I will never buy Ferrari.

BlackOmega · Dec 22, 2011, 06:24 AM

Nice review wiz, what was the actual P score in 3dm11?

1Kurgan1 · Dec 22, 2011, 06:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AsRock

Nice review as always W1z..

Not worth the upgrade for me but expected that anyways. Those with a 6970 may as well get another 6970.

Not really, with those still being over $300. I'd sell the 6970 for $275 - $300 and buy a 7970. Buying another 6970 will get you the performance increase now, but will screw you down the line on an upgrade path, as a 3rd 6970 won't give you a large gain, but a second 7970 would.

Dj-ElectriC · Dec 22, 2011, 06:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zubasa

Is it me or does it looks like the 32ROPs is whats holding the card back?

To me it seems like currently those are the drivers who are holding the card back :\

Compelling · Dec 22, 2011, 06:50 AM

It amazes me that you test this card with an intel cpu???? I personally would like to see new architecture with new architecture! Test the HD7970 with a Crosshair V Formula and a FX-8150 (Zambezi) and see what it does. I don't get it, the Bulldozer comes out and its tested mainly with an Invidia card and not an AMD which is totally backwards! Oh well, I guess your an Intel/invidia fanboy (no offense meant at all) or are being paid to run test setups weird! Then again your not the only site testing this way... Weird!

I'd like to see you put the new tech from AMD (8150 AM3/hd7970 and a AM3+ motherboard people actually use) together and then test or compare it to the old tech (1090T/HD6990/Motherboard people use) to see if the new tech is close to inline with the highest old tech from AMD! Don't include Invidia, reason is to see just how far AMD is taking off with the new architecture. I'f the new is inline or even close with the old from the get go, then AMD is taking off for sure! Test AMD with AMD and test Invidia with Intel, seams to be the way it should be! AMD's CPU, AMD's Chipset, AMD's Video card... That just makes sence...

As I mentioned, no offense with the Invidia Fanboy line but sites dogged the 8150-FX with mainly Invidia testing but if you read reviews with people who actually own them and paired it with the right stough the FX/Bulldozer/Zambezi etc... are great Cpu's!

AFTER that, take a matching Intel motherboard that people actually use, matching Intel cpu/Invidia gtx590 setup and get the true results! Then compare the prices between the 2 and see who's true'ly kickin who's butt atm!

To me, it's kinda like taking a Chevy and Ford (V-8) Similar type pickups and the engines being the cpu's while the transmissions are the video cards, the rest of the trucks being the motherboards and chipsets. Switch the engines (cpu's) and transmissions (Video Cards) between the trucks (motherboards and chipsets) and your either gonna see an improvement or lack there of! Bottom line here is, some things are meant to go together, computers are no exception... Again, just my opinion!

Thanks!

Damn_Smooth · Dec 22, 2011, 06:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Compelling

It amazes me that you test this card with an intel cpu???? I personally would like to see new architecture with new architecture! Test the HD7970 with a Crosshair V Formula and a FX-8150 (Zambezi) and see what it does. I don't get it, the Bulldozer comes out and its tested mainly with an Invidia card and not an AMD which is totally backwards! Oh well, I guess your an Intel/invidia fanboy (no offense meant at all) or are being paid to run test setups weird! Then again your not the only site testing this way... Weird!

I'd like to see you put the new tech from AMD (8150 AM3/hd7970 and a AM3+ motherboard people actually use) together and then test or compare it to the old tech (1090T/HD6990/Motherboard people use) to see if the new tech is close to inline with the highest old tech from AMD! Don't include Invidia, reason is to see just how far AMD is taking off with the new architecture. I'f the new is inline or even close with the old from the get go, then AMD is taking off for sure! Test AMD with AMD and test Invidia with Intel, seams to be the way it should be! AMD's CPU, AMD's Chipset, AMD's Video card... That just makes sence...

As I mentioned, no offense with the Invidia Fanboy line but sites dogged the 8150-FX with mainly Invidia testing but if you read reviews with people who actually own them and paired it with the right stough the FX/Bulldozer/Zambezi etc... are great Cpu's!

AFTER that, take a matching Intel motherboard that people actually use, matching Intel cpu/Invidia gtx590 setup and get the true results! Then compare the prices between the 2 and see who's true'ly kickin who's butt atm!

To me, it's kinda like taking a Chevy and Ford (V-8) Similar type pickups and the engines being the cpu's while the transmissions are the video cards, the rest of the trucks being the motherboards and chipsets. Switch the engines (cpu's) and transmissions (Video Cards) between the trucks (motherboards and chipsets) and your either gonna see an improvement or lack there of! Bottom line here is, some things are meant to go together, computers are no exception... Again, just my opinion!

Thanks!

dieterd · Dec 22, 2011, 06:59 AM

well - this is 1.st generation upgraide that in price/preformance sux to previos one!
I mean every strongest single GPU from AMD did cost around 350$ (since hd 2xxx) and every new generation left previos one preformance in smoke - the price preformance was real jump and real reason to celebrate new generation! for this one - obviously not the case. I mean would you care and be pleased in 2010. december about new(that time) hd6970 wich would somke hd 5870, beat gtx 480 and costed more than gtx 480 - NO, that would SUCK!!!! (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/HIS/Radeon_HD_6970/)
then why now are you (moust of you) celebrating this price/preformance regress???
you whant this to happen to every new generation? well - if this would be like that then now hd 7970 should cost x4 times hd 4870 and that would be >1000$ and if it would start from hd 2xxx then ... - I would not be playing/paying PC anymore!

hrvoje · Dec 22, 2011, 07:01 AM

Great job Wizz as always, as for a card, it will need some price cuts (at least for me), as for performance i think its satisfactorily

System Name:	TeraUltima 7 \| Ultima 7
Processor:	Intel Core i3 2100 3.1Ghz Dual Core HT \| AMD Athlon64 X2 5200+ @2.7Ghz
Motherboard:	ASRock Z68 Pro3-M mATX\| ASRock ALiveNF7G-720pHD 2.0 mATX
Cooling:	DeepCool Ice Berg Pro "Black Edition" \| Stock AMD AM2 Cooler
Memory:	G.Skill RipJaws 2 x 4GB DDR3 1333Mhz CL8 \| 2GB Kingston 667Mhz Ram
Video Card:	Palit GeForce GTX 660 OC 2GB \| GeForce 7050 PV IGP 128MB HM
Hard Disk:	1TB Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 SATA3 AHCI\| 80GB Maxtor IDE
Optical Drive:	ASUS DVD MultiWriter SATA w/ LightScribe \| None
CRT/LCD Model:	LG Flatron L1753S 17" LCD Monitor \| 15" Generic CRT Monitor
Case:	Aerocool PGS VS-9 Mid Tower Casing \| ATX Mars 722-2 ATX Casing
Sound Card:	Onboard Realtek ALC892 7.1 HD Audio \| Onboard Realtek ALC662 5.1 HD Audio
PSU:	OCZ Stealth X Stream II 600W \| Generic 550W ATX PSU
Software:	Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit SP1 \| Windows 7 Home Premium
Benchmarks:	http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a338/ViperXtreme/pics/PRIPYAT.jpg

System Name:	Aluminum Mallard
Processor:	Intel i7 940
Motherboard:	ASUS Rampage III: Gene
Cooling:	Noctua C-12P
Memory:	6GB Corsair Dominator DDR3
Video Card:	ASUS HD5870
Hard Disk:	OCZ Vertex 2 60GB SSD, 2 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 in RAID0
Optical Drive:	DVD Burner, nothing to write home about.
CRT/LCD Model:	HP w2338h
Case:	Corsair 700D
Sound Card:	On Board
PSU:	Corsair TX850
Software:	Win7 Ult 64 bit
Benchmarks:	31 FPS in Dalaran.

System Name:	BEHEMOTH
Processor:	Intel Core i5 2500-K @ 4.6ghz
Motherboard:	ASUS P8Z68-V
Cooling:	Corsair Hydro H100
Memory:	2x4gb Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 9-9-9-24 1.5v
Video Card:	EVGA GTX 560 Ti SuperClocked 950/1900/2100 core/shader/mem
Hard Disk:	Hitachi Deskstar 7K3000 2TB (OS/pro) \|\| 2x SAMSUNG EcoGreen F2 1.5TB RAID0 (storage)
Optical Drive:	Sony Optiarc AD-7240S-0B
CRT/LCD Model:	Samsung SyncMaster 2343BWX @2048x1152
Case:	Antec P280
Sound Card:	HRT MusicStreamer II+
PSU:	SeaSonic X650 Gold
Software:	Win7 Ultimate x64

System Name:	Runs Smooth
Processor:	FX 8350
Motherboard:	Crosshair V Formula Z
Cooling:	Corsair H110 with AeroCool Shark 140mm fans
Memory:	16GB G-skill Trident X 1866 Cl. 8
Video Card:	HIS 7970 IceQ X² GHZ Edition
Hard Disk:	OCZ Vector 256GB SSD & 1Tb piece of crap
Optical Drive:	LG WH10LS30
CRT/LCD Model:	acer H243H
Case:	NZXT Phantom 820 matte black
Sound Card:	Nada
PSU:	NZXT Hale90 V2 850 watt
Software:	Windows 7 Pro
Benchmarks:	Lesbians are hot!!!

Processor:	Intel i7 3770K
Motherboard:	Asus P8Z77-V Deluxe
Cooling:	Thermalright Ultra Extreme 120
Memory:	Corsair Dominator 1866Mhz 2X4GB
Video Card:	Msi 680 Lightning
Hard Disk:	Intel 520 240Gb/Samsung F3 1TB
Optical Drive:	Pioneer Blu-Ray 206BK
CRT/LCD Model:	Samsung S23A950D
Case:	Gigabyte 3D Aurora 570
Sound Card:	Onboard Realtek
PSU:	Corsair AX850
Software:	Windows 7 x64

Dec 22, 2011, 04:45 AM	#26
ViperXTR Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Pasig City, Philippines Posts: 1,028 (1.23/day) Thanks: 108 Thanked 339 Times in 190 Posts System Specs	Nice review! Would love to see some Compute performance figures, its supposed to be one of GCN's defining improvements over the VLIW architecture

Dec 22, 2011, 04:49 AM	#29
Damn_Smooth Join Date: May 2011 Location: A frozen turdberg. Posts: 1,361 (1.85/day) Thanks: 1,434 Thanked 502 Times in 329 Posts System Specs	Nice review W1zz, but you forgot the obligatory "No support for CUDA / PhysX".

Dec 22, 2011, 05:07 AM	#31
15th Warlock Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: California, U.S.A. Posts: 1,984 (0.62/day) Thanks: 549 Thanked 510 Times in 215 Posts System Specs	Thanks for the review W1zz, as always excellent work! The card is a match for a GTX580, at 8% higher overall performance according to this review, but 10% higher MSRP price, or even more as you can find 580s for around $450 after rebates and I expect prices of 580s to fall further more after Jan 9. One thing I noticed is performance may have been bottlenecked by the test rig, particularly at lower resolutions giving the 580 an edge on price/performance, although people who get this card will game at high resolutions (5760x1080 in my particular case) so this card may make more sense. Another thing I noticed, but is totally unrelated to the review, is, the screenshot you used for Skyrim is almost the same as the one I submitted for your Skyrim screenshots thread, only yours was taken at a much better angle I feel honored __________________ Main Rig: See System Specs HTPC Game room: Ci7 SB 2600K@4.5Ghz - Asus ROG Maximus IV Gene-Z - EVGA 2xGTX680s SLI - 4x4GBs GSkill Ripjaws - 2x120GBs Vertex 3MIOPS - OCZ 1.25 kW PSU HTPC Bedroom: C2Q Q9550@3.4Ghz - Asus ROG Striker II - EVGA 2xGTX680s SLI - 2x4GBs Kingston HyperX - 2x120GBs Agility 3 - SB Recon3D - Silverstone 1 kW PSU Lappy: Samsung Series 7 NP700G7C - Ci7 IVB 3610QM@2.3~3.3Ghz - 17.3" 1920x1080 120 Hz - GeForce GTX675M - 16GBs 1600Mhz RAM - 512GBs Crucial M4 - 6X BluRay

System Name:	Project Crimson Titan
Processor:	SB-E Core i7 3930K 4.5Ghz@1.31V Vcore
Motherboard:	Asus ROG Rampage IV Extreme
Cooling:	CPU: Corsair H100 push and pull, RAM: 2xCorsair Airflow, VGA: EK full coverage WBs
Memory:	4x4GBs Corsair Vengeance XMP 1866MHz @ 1.5V
Video Card:	2x EVGA GTX Titan SC in SLI
Hard Disk:	OS: 2x128GBs OCZ Vertex 4 RAID 0/Games: 2x1.5TBs WDC Black RAID 0
Optical Drive:	Lite-On 12X Blu-ray Burner
CRT/LCD Model:	3x27" Acer 120Hz 3D HN274 LED LCDs @ 5760x1080 - Nvidia 3D Vision Surround
Case:	Cooler Master HAF X - Zalman MCF2 Fan Controller
Sound Card:	SB X-Fi Fatal1ty Pro on Logitech THX Z-5500 5.1/Razer Tiamat 7.1 Headset
PSU:	Silvestone ST1500 1.5 kW
Software:	Windows 8 Pro 64bit

Dec 22, 2011, 05:08 AM	#32
Dj-ElectriC Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Trollithia Posts: 1,577 (1.56/day) Thanks: 141 Thanked 643 Times in 300 Posts System Specs	I'll go ahead and say that according to some benchmarks online the 11.12 software and the reviewer's software is one serious flop (look at BF3 25X16 result).In summery HD6990 from being the leader he switches place with GTX590. Hoping to see improvements over the next couple of months

System Name:	UTPC \| IRIS \| mITX
Processor:	Core i7 3960X @ 4.4Ghz \| Core i5 3570K @ 4Ghz \| 2500K
Motherboard:	MSI X79-GD65 8D \| Asus Z77 Sabertooth \| ASRock Z77 mITX
Cooling:	Swifty pump, EK block, DD GTX 360MM rad \| Raystorm\MCP655\240MM Rad \| Corsair H80i
Memory:	AVEXIR Core 32GB 1600Mhz \| Patriot VIPER3 Venom-Red 32GB 1600Mhz \| 8GB 1600Mhz
Video Card:	MSI Lightning GTX680 2GB SLI \| Intel iGPU Graphics \| iGPU
Hard Disk:	X2 Seagate barracuda 1TB, Corsair Perf Pro 256GB \| Samsung 830 128GB SSD \ Seagate 3TB \| 2TB Seagate
Optical Drive:	like... plastic media readers and such? o_0
CRT/LCD Model:	Dell U2713HM 27" \| Samsung EU46EH5000 46"
Case:	CoolerMaster Cosmos II \| Fractal Design Define XL R2 \| Node 304
Sound Card:	Some card... Tremor Core \| OB ALC 898 \| ALC 898
PSU:	Antec HCP Platinum 1000W \| Classified Antec 750W \| Antec TPN-750W
Software:	Windows 7 Ultimate 64BIT \| same \| same
Benchmarks:	Over 9000 @ 3DMark V\11

Dec 22, 2011, 05:14 AM	#33
Super XP Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Ancient Greece, Acropolis Posts: 2,209 (0.74/day) Thanks: 1,204 Thanked 534 Times in 362 Posts System Specs	Great review Wiz, thank you. I was hoping for more performance over the HD 6900 series, but this is what we get with new tech. With driver performing updates and new games to take full advantage of this new card, I can see it being worth the price AMD is asking. But right now I believe its approx: $100 too expensive. This is definitely on my TO GET list once price goes down unless I can find a good deal on another HD 6970 for a Crossfire setup. __________________

System Name:	My Red Dragon Gaming PC
Processor:	AMD FX-8350 @ 4.70GHz w/8-Cores - Bus 277 / 1.4v
Motherboard:	Asus Crosshair V Formula ROG - Bios v1801
Cooling:	Corsair H100 Water Cooling (120mm x4 Push/Pull)
Memory:	G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB DDR3-2210 (8GBx2)
Video Card:	Sapphire (ATI) Radeon HD 6970 2GB GDDR5
Hard Disk:	Corsair Force 3 SSD 180GB + WD 32MB buffer 1TB HD
Optical Drive:	LG HD DVD/Blu-Ray/DVD Player/Burner
CRT/LCD Model:	Asus VE248H Black 24" 1080p 2ms LED 10,000,000:1
Case:	CoolerMaster HAF 932 - My Custom Red Dragn MOD!
Sound Card:	SteelSound 5Hv2 8CH HD + EAX® Advanced™ HD 5.0 -SupremeFX X-Fi 2
PSU:	Corsair 750W Gamers Power Supply
Software:	Windows 7 x64 Ultimate
Benchmarks:	I have the worlds Fastest PC ever Built - 1980

Dec 22, 2011, 05:14 AM	#34
Vipeax Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 4 (0.00/day) Thanks: 2 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	W1zzard, I always use your performance summaries as a reference point, but you made a mistake this time. The HD5970 has to be a "bit" off?

System Name:	Awesomesauce \| Laptop (Toshiba A665D-S6091) \| "The Shoebox"
Processor:	Intel Core i7-3770K @ 4.3GHz/1.18v \| AMD PII Mobile X4 X920 @ 2.3GHz\|AMD E-350 APU
Motherboard:	ASRock Z77 Extreme6 \| NWQAE S1G4 (880G/SB850) \| Gigabyte E350N-USB3
Cooling:	Thermaltake Water 2.0 Performer, 2x Cougar CF-V12HB + 5 Rosewill RFA-120-RL
Memory:	G.Skill RJ-X 16GB DDR3-2000 CL11 \| Stock 2*2GB DDR3-1066 CL7 \| 4GB DDR3-1333
Video Card:	XFX DD HD7950 3GB 1175/1500 1.2v w/ Accelero Xtreme 7970 \| ATI MR 5650 1GB DDR3 @ 550/900 \| 6310 IGP
Hard Disk:	Mushkin Chronos 240GB + Seagate Green 2TB \| WD Scorpio Black 750GB \| Samsung F1 1TB
Optical Drive:	ASUS 24x SATA \| Sony Optiarc AD-7703S 8x Labelflash \| Samsung Writemaster 22x SATA
CRT/LCD Model:	ASUS VG236HE 23" 120Hz 1080p \| 16.0" 1366*768 LED laptop glossy LCD \| Samsung 940BW
Case:	NZXT Source 210 \| Toshiba A665D \| Rosewill MI-01-BK ITX "shoebox"
Sound Card:	Realtek ALC898 \| Realtek ALC269 with harman/kardon speakers \| Realtek ALC892
PSU:	Rosewill CAPSTONE 550w (80Plus Gold) \| 75W 19.5v brick \| Seasonic 350w ITX
Software:	Windows 7 Pro x64 + Ubuntu 12.10 \| Windows 8 Pro x64 (laptop)
Benchmarks:	120FPS in the games I play? :P

Dec 22, 2011, 05:41 AM	#36
thunderising Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New Delhi Posts: 682 (0.72/day) Thanks: 0 Thanked 62 Times in 50 Posts System Specs	awesome performance, at 499$ would make a perfect card. Even then, AMD wants to earn back all it risked with 28nm, and having come on top of nVidia again by atleast 1 Quarter, they deserve to price it high, and yet people will buy(somewhat like Intel with CPUs) And CFx SCALING is AMAZING. It leaves the GTX580 Sli in the dust with 7600x resolution gaming. Check hardwareheaven for the review.

System Name:	BAH! - - tHE ECo FReAK
Processor:	Athlon II X4 620 @ 1.15V
Motherboard:	ASUS 785G EVO
Cooling:	Stock
Memory:	Corsair Titanium 4GB DDR3 1600MHz C9
Video Card:	Sapphire HD5850 @ 1.049v
Hard Disk:	Seagate 7200.12 500GB
Optical Drive:	LG 22x DVD RW
CRT/LCD Model:	BenQ G2220HD
Case:	Cooler Master Elite 334
Sound Card:	Onboard
PSU:	Corsair VX550W
Software:	Windows 7 Ultimate x64

Dec 22, 2011, 05:58 AM	#37
R_1 Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 449 (0.19/day) Thanks: 4 Thanked 39 Times in 26 Posts	Considering that Jen-Hsun Huang was pretending to hold in his hands 512 cores Tesla GPU back in September 2009, it doesn't look HD7970 to be some super-duper achievement.

Dec 22, 2011, 06:00 AM	#38
krisna159 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: indonesia Posts: 61 (0.04/day) Thanks: 72 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts System Specs	wow nice...great review like always Wizz i cant wait to see this card coming to my country....its time to upgrade now...

System Name:	ireng
Processor:	core i5 3570K
Motherboard:	MSI z77 Mpower
Cooling:	corsair h60
Memory:	corsair vengeance 8gb
Video Card:	POV GTX 460 768mb
Hard Disk:	2tb seagate
Optical Drive:	pioneer DVDRW
CRT/LCD Model:	LG 2284F 1680x1050
Case:	corsair Graphite 600T
Sound Card:	onboard
PSU:	coolermaster 600W
Software:	windows 7 64

Dec 22, 2011, 06:01 AM	#39
Zubasa Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Hong Kong, China Posts: 3,700 (1.53/day) Thanks: 585 Thanked 451 Times in 387 Posts System Specs	Is it me or does it looks like the 32ROPs is whats holding the card back? __________________ ʃ( ◕ ‿‿ ◕ )ʅ “but oh ze noes! i can't convert my porn to iphone so i can watch in the bus .. it doesnt support cuda / badaboom.” -W1zzard

Processor:	AMD FX-8150
Motherboard:	MSI 990FXA-GD80
Cooling:	Noctua NH-D14
Memory:	Team Xtreeem Dark 1600 @1866 4GBx2
Video Card:	PowerColor HD7970 3GB V3
Hard Disk:	OCZ Vertex 3 120G + Max IOPS 120G + Seagate 7200.12 250GB 2 Raid 0 + Samsung HD103UJ 1TB 2 RAID 0
Optical Drive:	HP 1260i 24x Multi-Drive
CRT/LCD Model:	Samsung SyncMaster S24B370
Case:	SilverStone Raven RV01
PSU:	Corsair TX850W
Software:	Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

System Name:	My Comp \| Fiancees Comp
Processor:	i7 2600k 5.0Ghz 1.45v\| i3 2100
Motherboard:	AsRock Fatal1ty Pro P67 \| ASRock H61M-GE
Cooling:	Watercooled
Memory:	16GB G.Skill 2133 DDR3 \| 4GB DDR3
Video Card:	2x 7970 WC 1300/1680 + 9800GT \| MSI 5850 OC
Hard Disk:	128gb SSD + 2x 2TB \| WD 500GB
Optical Drive:	DVD-RW \| DVD-RW
CRT/LCD Model:	Asus 27" LCD \| 25" Hanns G
Case:	CM HAF 922 \| CM Elite 430
PSU:	Enermax Galaxy 1250W \| PC&P 750W
Software:	Win 7 x64 \| Win 7 x64

Dec 22, 2011, 06:12 AM	#41
AsRock TPU addict Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: US\ Uk Born Posts: 8,785 (4.07/day) Thanks: 1,669 Thanked 1,345 Times in 1,167 Posts System Specs	Nice review as always W1z.. Not worth the upgrade for me but expected that anyways. Those with a 6970 may as well get another 6970.

System Name:	weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Processor:	i5 2500k \ i7 3770k
Motherboard:	ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 \ ASRock Z77 Extreme 4
Cooling:	Gemini II S524 \ XIGMATEK Gaia SD1283 with Couger 1500 RPM fans\ ZM-MFC2
Memory:	Samsung 1600 16GB \ Samsung 1600 16GB
Video Card:	XFX HD6770 \ XFX 6970 w/Prolima MK-13 ( With modded 5870 VRM hrstsink )
Hard Disk:	2x intel ssd x25 G2 80GB \ OCZ Solid 3+2 Corsair Force GT's 120GB (Use HDD's for backups only
Optical Drive:	LiteOn DVD 163 \ TEAC exturnal DVD drive
CRT/LCD Model:	Samsung 204B 20.1inch ( Native 12x16 ) \ Toshiba 40" HDTV ( Native 1920x1080 )
Case:	ARK Black HTPC 400BA \ None
Sound Card:	Though video card HDMI ONKYO TX-SR608 +TANNOY MERCURY F4+ Polk Audio RTI4+Polk Audio PSW505
PSU:	CoolMax CXI-600B\ PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad
Software:	Windows Vista Ultimate 64Bit \Win 7
Benchmarks:	Track IR 4 Razer Blackwidow Ultimate ( rma'ed trice and same issue's ) Steelseries XAI

Dec 22, 2011, 06:13 AM	#42
DrunkenMafia Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Cairns QLD, Aussie Posts: 1,868 (0.81/day) Thanks: 230 Thanked 239 Times in 215 Posts System Specs	Wow, great card, and you only gave it a 9.0 W1zz .. Loving the power consumption but was surprised at how slow it is at lower res. It is definitely tuned for 1920 and up. I guess it is roughly the same speed as my 5870 crossfire but with half the power consumption.. Great review, I have been waiting for ages for this!! Maybe the bulldozer dept, should spend some time in the GFX dept. Lol __________________

System Name:	GaMEr / HTPC
Processor:	FX8120 4.5ghz so far NB- 2815mhz / X2 255 @ 3.2ghz (Temp till BD)
Motherboard:	990FX-UD5 / GA-MA785GPMT-US2H
Cooling:	XSPC - 240rad 480rad 5 x 120mm out, 6 x 80mm in / H220-edge 1/2" & 2 x 120mm Magma
Memory:	4gb PI 6,8,6,18 1T 1706mhz / 4gb Crucial D9's 1400 @ 6,6,6,18,1T
Video Card:	2 x 5870's MCW80's + AC ramsinks / Onboard
Hard Disk:	3 x 160 Raptors RAID0 / 60gb vertex 2 + 2 x 2tb WD Greens
Optical Drive:	Samsung DVD / Pioneer DVR216
CRT/LCD Model:	24in Dell Ultra / NEC 32" FullHD LCD
Case:	LL PC71A Full tower / Antec fusion black with Imon remote Modded for WC
Sound Card:	OB / Auzentech cinema 7.1
PSU:	TT 700w TR2 / TT 600w Litepower modded with Noctua S12 fan.
Software:	7 Ult / 7 premium x64

Dec 22, 2011, 06:17 AM	#43
R_1 Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 449 (0.19/day) Thanks: 4 Thanked 39 Times in 26 Posts	Man, some people just don't see any meaningful application for +500 Euro GPU, so it is useless for them. No matter how fast it is I will never buy Ferrari.

Dec 22, 2011, 06:24 AM	#44
BlackOmega Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Michigan, USA Posts: 562 (0.36/day) Thanks: 150 Thanked 157 Times in 117 Posts System Specs	Nice review wiz, what was the actual P score in 3dm11?

System Name:	Black Box
Processor:	Intel i7 3770K
Motherboard:	AsRock z77 Extreme 6
Cooling:	Thermalright Venemous X
Memory:	4 x 4GB Corsair Vengeance LP
Video Card:	2 x Evga GTX 480
Hard Disk:	A-Data 128GB SSD, Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB
Optical Drive:	Pioneer BD-R
CRT/LCD Model:	HANNspree 25" 1080p 2ms
Case:	Lian Li PC-9F
Sound Card:	Creative XFI
PSU:	PC Power & Cooling Silencer MKII 750w
Software:	Win 7 pro x64

Dec 22, 2011, 06:50 AM	#47
Compelling Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: US Posts: 3 (0.01/day) Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts System Specs	It amazes me that you test this card with an intel cpu???? I personally would like to see new architecture with new architecture! Test the HD7970 with a Crosshair V Formula and a FX-8150 (Zambezi) and see what it does. I don't get it, the Bulldozer comes out and its tested mainly with an Invidia card and not an AMD which is totally backwards! Oh well, I guess your an Intel/invidia fanboy (no offense meant at all) or are being paid to run test setups weird! Then again your not the only site testing this way... Weird! I'd like to see you put the new tech from AMD (8150 AM3/hd7970 and a AM3+ motherboard people actually use) together and then test or compare it to the old tech (1090T/HD6990/Motherboard people use) to see if the new tech is close to inline with the highest old tech from AMD! Don't include Invidia, reason is to see just how far AMD is taking off with the new architecture. I'f the new is inline or even close with the old from the get go, then AMD is taking off for sure! Test AMD with AMD and test Invidia with Intel, seams to be the way it should be! AMD's CPU, AMD's Chipset, AMD's Video card... That just makes sence... As I mentioned, no offense with the Invidia Fanboy line but sites dogged the 8150-FX with mainly Invidia testing but if you read reviews with people who actually own them and paired it with the right stough the FX/Bulldozer/Zambezi etc... are great Cpu's! AFTER that, take a matching Intel motherboard that people actually use, matching Intel cpu/Invidia gtx590 setup and get the true results! Then compare the prices between the 2 and see who's true'ly kickin who's butt atm! To me, it's kinda like taking a Chevy and Ford (V-8) Similar type pickups and the engines being the cpu's while the transmissions are the video cards, the rest of the trucks being the motherboards and chipsets. Switch the engines (cpu's) and transmissions (Video Cards) between the trucks (motherboards and chipsets) and your either gonna see an improvement or lack there of! Bottom line here is, some things are meant to go together, computers are no exception... Again, just my opinion! Thanks!

System Name:	Say What
Processor:	AMD 1090T
Motherboard:	Asus Crosshair V Formula
Cooling:	Noctua D-14
Memory:	G.Skill Ripjawsx 16g 1866
Video Card:	XFX HD6990/Have Sapphire Toxic HD6950 until answer
Hard Disk:	OCZ 120g SSD/Intel 80g SSD
Optical Drive:	DVD/CDRW
CRT/LCD Model:	Asus 27' LCD/LED
Case:	Antec Lanboy Air
Sound Card:	None
PSU:	Corsair AX1200
Software:	Windows 7 64-bit
Benchmarks:	No Clue...lol

Dec 22, 2011, 06:59 AM	#49
dieterd Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 120 (0.15/day) Thanks: 17 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts System Specs	new generation sux! well - this is 1.st generation upgraide that in price/preformance sux to previos one! I mean every strongest single GPU from AMD did cost around 350$ (since hd 2xxx) and every new generation left previos one preformance in smoke - the price preformance was real jump and real reason to celebrate new generation! for this one - obviously not the case. I mean would you care and be pleased in 2010. december about new(that time) hd6970 wich would somke hd 5870, beat gtx 480 and costed more than gtx 480 - NO, that would SUCK!!!! (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/HIS/Radeon_HD_6970/) then why now are you (moust of you) celebrating this price/preformance regress??? you whant this to happen to every new generation? well - if this would be like that then now hd 7970 should cost x4 times hd 4870 and that would be >1000$ and if it would start from hd 2xxx then ... - I would not be playing/paying PC anymore!

System Name:	The "Average Joe's after work gaming and porn browsing PC"
Processor:	i5-760 @stock speed
Motherboard:	Asus P7P55-whatever
Cooling:	Scythe Mugen2
Memory:	2x2GB
Video Card:	HD6850 Asus
Hard Disk:	1TB 7200
Optical Drive:	DVD
CRT/LCD Model:	23'' samsung
Case:	Nexus one
Sound Card:	nope
PSU:	Nexus RX-630(0)
Software:	Win 7 HP 64bit

Dec 22, 2011, 07:01 AM	#50
hrvoje Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 59 (0.02/day) Thanks: 3 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts System Specs	Great job Wizz as always, as for a card, it will need some price cuts (at least for me), as for performance i think its satisfactorily __________________ Dust kills...