Looking for a new Video Card

PainKiller89 · Nov 24, 2012, 06:45 PM

Well recently i had bought the gigabyte 7950 but seems the new card will not take any bios and they are voltage locked. I am not interested it in the card anymore so i have went ahead and returned it. Wanted to ask your guys opinion on what card should i get next that is not voltage locked. I would like to know, any help would be appreciated it.

Even at Stock BIOS F42, i can not over clock from 900 to 1000 since the card is locked. Please advise me on what card to get i would like to stick with amd if possible.

Currently installed back my asus 6950 flashed to 6970

erocker · Nov 24, 2012, 06:57 PM

PowerColor AX7970 3GBD5-2DH Radeon HD 7970 3GB 384...

Reference design. Not locked in any way. Good price!

PainKiller89 · Nov 24, 2012, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by erocker

PowerColor AX7970 3GBD5-2DH Radeon HD 7970 3GB 384...

Reference design. Not locked in any way. Good price!

Looking for a card around 300 dollars. I heard if you get a 7950 you can pretty much overclock it and beat the 7970 card.

erocker · Nov 24, 2012, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PainKiller89

Looking for a card around 300 dollars. I heard if you get a 7950 you can pretty much overclock it and beat the 7970 card.

Ah okay, you didn't mention a price range. As far as 7950 beating a 7970 well.. that 7970 can overclock too.

This Sapphire card isn't voltage locked:

SAPPHIRE 100352-2L Radeon HD 7950 3GB 384-bit GDDR...

PainKiller89 · Nov 24, 2012, 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by erocker

PowerColor AX7970 3GBD5-2DH Radeon HD 7970 3GB 384...

Reference design. Not locked in any way. Good price!

Quote:

Originally Posted by erocker

Ah okay, you didn't mention a price range. As far as 7950 beating a 7970 well.. that 7970 can overclock too.

This Sapphire card isn't voltage locked:

SAPPHIRE 100352-2L Radeon HD 7950 3GB 384-bit GDDR...

wanted to ask what if i did get a EVGA GTX 670 FTW, will i get good performance or will get more performance from getting a 7950?

PainKiller89 · Nov 24, 2012, 07:49 PM

Which one should i get?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=-1&IsNodeId=1&Description=7950&page=1&bop=And&Compa reItemList=-1|14-202-006^14-202-006-TS%2C14-202-007^14-202-007-TS%2C14-202-003^14-202-003-TS

james888 · Nov 24, 2012, 07:57 PM

Forget the highlighted ones as they are 7970's and overclocked. I just pulled this from the most recent gpu review. I put this here to show that the 670 is faster than the 7950 at stock. They both overclock well too.

PainKiller89 · Nov 24, 2012, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by james888

http://tpucdn.com/reviews/HIS/HD_797...es/perfrel.gif

Forget the highlighted ones as they are 7970's and overclocked. I just pulled this from the most recent gpu review. I put this here to show that the 670 is faster than the 7950 at stock. They both overclock well too.

Which card do you recommend me getting then?

xxdozer322 · Nov 24, 2012, 08:04 PM

670.

Laurijan · Nov 24, 2012, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xxdozer322

670.

that would not be much better than the 7950

PainKiller89 · Nov 24, 2012, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by james888

http://tpucdn.com/reviews/HIS/HD_797...es/perfrel.gif

Forget the highlighted ones as they are 7970's and overclocked. I just pulled this from the most recent gpu review. I put this here to show that the 670 is faster than the 7950 at stock. They both overclock well too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laurijan

that would not be much better than the 7950

Which one of this should i get then?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=-1&IsNodeId=1&Description=7950&page=1&bop=And&Compa reItemList=-1|14-202-006^14-202-006-TS%2C14-202-007^14-202-007-TS%2C14-202-003^14-202-003-TS

Frag Maniac · Nov 24, 2012, 08:19 PM

I just picked up the Sapphire 7970 Newegg has on MIR for $330. It's already showing as sold out though. I'll let you know what I think of it when I get it.

james888 · Nov 24, 2012, 09:34 PM

I personally have a 7970 and I highly recommend if you can find one for a good price.

I just did a quick search on newegg for graphics cards between $290-$310 and only got 570's 580's 660ti's and 7950's. Out of all those I would go 7950. If you can get a 670 680 or 7970 for a good price do it though.

Like this 670 is $330 with $20 rebate. Frag said he just got a 7970 for that price and that is the better option still. Plus amd gives you those 3 games.

PainKiller89 · Nov 24, 2012, 09:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by james888

I personally have a 7970 and I highly recommend if you can find one for a good price.

I just did a quick search on newegg for graphics cards between $290-$310 and only got 570's 580's 660ti's and 7950's. Out of all those I would go 7950. If you can get a 670 680 or 7970 for a good price do it though.

Like this 670 is $330 with $20 rebate. Frag said he just got a 7970 for that price and that is the better option still. Plus amd gives you those 3 games.

I am thinking around this cards please let me know which one i should get

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=-1&IsNodeId=1&Description=7950&page=1&bop=And&Compa reItemList=-1|14-202-006^14-202-006-TS%2C14-202-007^14-202-007-TS%2C14-202-003^14-202-003-TS

Aleksander · Nov 24, 2012, 09:52 PM

From my experience, just don't go with powercolor

red99 · Nov 24, 2012, 09:56 PM

Ditto on the Sapphire card recommendation as the nVidia cards for now have issues with Direct X 11.1-

james888 · Nov 24, 2012, 09:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PainKiller89

I am thinking around this cards please let me know which one i should get

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=-1&IsNodeId=1&Description=7950&page=1&bop=And&Compa reItemList=-1|14-202-006^14-202-006-TS%2C14-202-007^14-202-007-TS%2C14-202-003^14-202-003-TS

It really is up for you to decide but I would tell you which card I think is the best choice if the link worked. I think it is only a partial link.

NdMk2o1o · Nov 24, 2012, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by red99

Ditto on the Sapphire card recommendation as the nVidia cards for now have issues with Direct X 11.1-

Such as? Also AMD has issues running multiple screens using HDMI ( I run a 7950 so no bias here) so that may well be a consideration, personally I love the gaming performance of my 7950 and OC it can beat out OC 7970's and 670/680's (1200mhz+ core OC)

james888 · Nov 24, 2012, 10:07 PM

Guys guys... all gpu's have some problems or another.

I don't know much about how keplers overclock, I have heard good things, but the 7900 series has some beastly overclocks. My 7970 can do 1200mhz on air stable. Runs a little hot for my taste but stable. Sonda5 has a 7950 at 1300mhz with watercooling. I am pretty sure my 7970 can hit that also once I get my watercooling loop up.

NdMk2o1o · Nov 24, 2012, 10:16 PM

AMD 12.11 drivers and overclocking firmly places the 7950 above the 670 in pure performance

PainKiller89 · Nov 24, 2012, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by james888

It really is up for you to decide but I would tell you which card I think is the best choice if the link worked. I think it is only a partial link.

Here are the 3 cards

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7950 100352-2L Video Card

SAPPHIRE FleX Radeon HD 7950 100352FLEX-2 Video Card OC with Boost

SAPPHIRE Vapor-X Radeon HD 7950 100352VXSR Video Card

Let me know, I had purchased the gigabyte 7950 windforce but the card is locked and i can not go up more then default clock which is 900.

NdMk2o1o · Nov 24, 2012, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PainKiller89

Here are the 3 cards

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7950 100352-2L Video Card

SAPPHIRE FleX Radeon HD 7950 100352FLEX-2 Video Card OC with Boost

SAPPHIRE Vapor-X Radeon HD 7950 100352VXSR Video Card

Let me know, I had purchased the gigabyte 7950 windforce but the card is locked and i can not go up more then default clock which is 900.

Vapour X is a beast, mine hits 1200 core on air without breaking a sweat and demolishes 670's and some OC 7970's

james888 · Nov 24, 2012, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PainKiller89

Here are the 3 cards

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7950 100352-2L Video Card

SAPPHIRE FleX Radeon HD 7950 100352FLEX-2 Video Card OC with Boost

SAPPHIRE Vapor-X Radeon HD 7950 100352VXSR Video Card

Let me know, I had purchased the gigabyte 7950 windforce but the card is locked and i can not go up more then default clock which is 900.

The first thing I notice about the 2L is the price. This card should overclock really well but for the cheapest. It has the same cooler as my 7970, which does a good job and is pretty quiet below 75%. A good card for a good price.

The flex card has "Flex technology" for eyefinity. If you have or plan on doing eyefinity this might be the best choice.

The vapor card is a beast. Probably one of the best 7950's out there. The vapor cooler is just great. This card probably has higher binning for better overclocking if that is important to you. This card also happens to have been reviewed by tpu here.

Its a tough choice between the 2L and vapor. Is the $30 worth it for you?

PainKiller89 · Nov 24, 2012, 11:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NdMk2o1o

Vapour X is a beast, mine hits 1200 core on air without breaking a sweat and demolishes 670's and some OC 7970's

What are the idle temps ?

PainKiller89 · Nov 24, 2012, 11:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by james888

The first thing I notice about the 2L is the price. This card should overclock really well but for the cheapest. It has the same cooler as my 7970, which does a good job and is pretty quiet below 75%. A good card for a good price.

The flex card has "Flex technology" for eyefinity. If you have or plan on doing eyefinity this might be the best choice.

The vapor card is a beast. Probably one of the best 7950's out there. The vapor cooler is just great. This card probably has higher binning for better overclocking if that is important to you. This card also happens to have been reviewed by tpu here.

Its a tough choice between the 2L and vapor. Is the $30 worth it for you?

What about the XFX Double D Edition? I have heard those are locked maybe? I might go with the vapor edition, not doing eyeinfinity anytime soon.

Nov 24, 2012, 06:45 PM	#1
PainKiller89 Join Date: Nov 2012 Posts: 30 (0.16/day) Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Looking for a new Video Card Well recently i had bought the gigabyte 7950 but seems the new card will not take any bios and they are voltage locked. I am not interested it in the card anymore so i have went ahead and returned it. Wanted to ask your guys opinion on what card should i get next that is not voltage locked. I would like to know, any help would be appreciated it. Even at Stock BIOS F42, i can not over clock from 900 to 1000 since the card is locked. Please advise me on what card to get i would like to stick with amd if possible. Currently installed back my asus 6950 flashed to 6970

Processor:	Intel i7 3770K @ 4.6ghz 1.256v
Motherboard:	Asus Maximus V Formula
Cooling:	Water
Memory:	2x4gb Patriot Viper 2133mhz 10-11-10-25 2T 1.55v
Video Card:	Sapphire HD 7970 1125/1575 1.14v
Hard Disk:	Crucial M4 128Gb / Corsair Force 3 120Gb / Samsung 240Gb / 2Tb Seagate
Optical Drive:	None
CRT/LCD Model:	Acheiva Shimian 27" IPS 2560x1440
Case:	Corsair 500R White
Sound Card:	Onboard
PSU:	NZXT Hale90 1Kw
Software:	Windows 8 x64

Processor:	Intel i7 3770K @ 4.6ghz 1.256v
Motherboard:	Asus Maximus V Formula
Cooling:	Water
Memory:	2x4gb Patriot Viper 2133mhz 10-11-10-25 2T 1.55v
Video Card:	Sapphire HD 7970 1125/1575 1.14v
Hard Disk:	Crucial M4 128Gb / Corsair Force 3 120Gb / Samsung 240Gb / 2Tb Seagate
Optical Drive:	None
CRT/LCD Model:	Acheiva Shimian 27" IPS 2560x1440
Case:	Corsair 500R White
Sound Card:	Onboard
PSU:	NZXT Hale90 1Kw
Software:	Windows 8 x64

Nov 24, 2012, 07:57 PM	#7
james888 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Idaho Posts: 2,288 (3.28/day) Thanks: 457 Thanked 431 Times in 321 Posts System Specs	Forget the highlighted ones as they are 7970's and overclocked. I just pulled this from the most recent gpu review. I put this here to show that the 670 is faster than the 7950 at stock. They both overclock well too. __________________ My Heat Natural Selection 2 (NS2) - FPS/RTS with depth. Link. Studios and publishers seem to have forgotten that games are supposed to be games, not CG films with playable action scenes. Link.

Processor:	Intel Core i5-2500K @ 4.5GHz
Motherboard:	MSI P67A-GD53
Cooling:	Alphacool Monta 240mm
Memory:	G.SKILL 2GBx4 1600mhz 7-8-7-24-2N
Video Card:	Saphire 7970 OC 1250Mhz/1600Mhz
Hard Disk:	Adata sp900, WD Black 500Gb
CRT/LCD Model:	Vizio VM230XVT 1920x1080
Case:	Corsair 550d
Sound Card:	Auzentech Prelude + jvc rx700
PSU:	COUGAR SX850 850W
Software:	Windows 7 64 Bit
Benchmarks:	8224 firestrike

Nov 24, 2012, 06:57 PM	#2
erocker Senior Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Milwaukee, WI. Posts: 31,960 (12.77/day) Thanks: 2,793 Thanked 12,321 Times in 7,832 Posts System Specs	PowerColor AX7970 3GBD5-2DH Radeon HD 7970 3GB 384... Reference design. Not locked in any way. Good price!

Nov 24, 2012, 07:49 PM	#6
PainKiller89 Join Date: Nov 2012 Posts: 30 (0.16/day) Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Which one should i get? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=-1&IsNodeId=1&Description=7950&page=1&bop=And&Compa reItemList=-1\|14-202-006^14-202-006-TS%2C14-202-007^14-202-007-TS%2C14-202-003^14-202-003-TS

Nov 24, 2012, 08:04 PM	#9
xxdozer322 Join Date: May 2012 Location: Santa Ana, Ca. Posts: 379 (1.01/day) Thanks: 170 Thanked 126 Times in 77 Posts System Specs	670. __________________ heatware. http://heatware.com/eval.php?id=78934

System Name:	Mobydick
Processor:	Intel i7 2600k @ 4.4
Motherboard:	MSI M Power
Cooling:	CM TPC 812
Memory:	Gskill Ripjaw 12gb
Video Card:	Gigabyte GTX 580 SOC
Hard Disk:	Kingston hyper x 3k 120ssd,Samsung 256ssd, seagate 750gb green
Optical Drive:	Asus
CRT/LCD Model:	Dell UltraSharp 2709Wb
Case:	Haf X
PSU:	OCZ fatility 750w
Software:	Windows 7 64bit,Razer Deahadder, Lycosa, Corsair 1500

System Name:	Enslaver :)
Processor:	Intel i5 3570K Ivy Bridge
Motherboard:	ASRock Z77 Extreme4
Cooling:	CPU: Noctua NH-D14, Case: 4x12cm Noctua
Memory:	8GB DDR3 Samsung 30nm MV-3V4G3
Video Card:	ASUS GTX560Ti DirectCUII TOP 1GB
Hard Disk:	OCZ Agility 3 120GB SSD for OS, Seagte internal 500GB Download-cache, Seagate external 2TB for Media
Optical Drive:	Samsung DVD-RW/RAM, LG DVD-RW/RAM
CRT/LCD Model:	Samsung UE40D6200 Full-HD 3D LED LCD TV
Case:	Antec P182, Gunmetal Black Edition
Sound Card:	Razer Barracuda AC-1 soundcard, Logitech Z-5450 5.1 speakers
PSU:	Termaltake Thoughpower 750W, Cable management
Software:	Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 x64

Nov 24, 2012, 08:19 PM	#12
Frag Maniac Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 1,435 (1.55/day) Thanks: 10 Thanked 243 Times in 210 Posts System Specs	I just picked up the Sapphire 7970 Newegg has on MIR for $330. It's already showing as sold out though. I'll let you know what I think of it when I get it.

Processor:	Intel i7 950 @ 3.2GHz
Motherboard:	ASUS P6X58D-E
Cooling:	Corsair H50 push/pull
Memory:	Kingston HyperX 1600 6GB
Video Card:	Sapphire HD 7970 OC @ 1000 Core
Hard Disk:	Plextor M5P 128GB/Seagate 1TB Barracuda
Optical Drive:	ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS
CRT/LCD Model:	Panasonic TC-L32U3
Case:	Antec DF-85
Sound Card:	Yamaha RX-V371 AVR
PSU:	XFX 850w Black Edition
Software:	W7 Ultimate 64 bit

Nov 24, 2012, 09:34 PM	#13
james888 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Idaho Posts: 2,288 (3.28/day) Thanks: 457 Thanked 431 Times in 321 Posts System Specs	I personally have a 7970 and I highly recommend if you can find one for a good price. I just did a quick search on newegg for graphics cards between $290-$310 and only got 570's 580's 660ti's and 7950's. Out of all those I would go 7950. If you can get a 670 680 or 7970 for a good price do it though. Like this 670 is $330 with $20 rebate. Frag said he just got a 7970 for that price and that is the better option still. Plus amd gives you those 3 games. __________________ My Heat Natural Selection 2 (NS2) - FPS/RTS with depth. Link. Studios and publishers seem to have forgotten that games are supposed to be games, not CG films with playable action scenes. Link.

Nov 24, 2012, 09:52 PM	#15
Aleksander Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 3,028 (2.38/day) Thanks: 648 Thanked 280 Times in 228 Posts System Specs	From my experience, just don't go with powercolor

System Name:	Mercury
Processor:	Phenom II x4 B50
Motherboard:	ASUS M4A89GTD PRO
Cooling:	Cooler Master Hyper TX3
Memory:	6GB Ram (4GBx1 Corsair 2GBx1 Nanya)
Video Card:	PowerColor AX6770 V2.0
Hard Disk:	1TB Hitachi, 500 GB WD Blue
Optical Drive:	DVD-RAM
CRT/LCD Model:	Philips 247E-LPH 24" 1920x1080
Case:	Mercury
Sound Card:	Integrated Realtek
PSU:	Corsair 750TX
Software:	Windows 7 64-bit
Benchmarks:	Maybe it is time to benchmark :D

Nov 24, 2012, 09:56 PM	#16
red99 Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 4 (0.01/day) Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	red99 Ditto on the Sapphire card recommendation as the nVidia cards for now have issues with Direct X 11.1-

System Name:	Sandybollocks ///// Brazos balls
Processor:	i5 2500K @4.6Ghz ///// AMD E450 1.65Ghz
Motherboard:	Gigabyte GA-Z68x-UD3H/////Laptop
Cooling:	Noctua - NH-U12P SE2/////Laptop
Memory:	Gskill RipJaws 8Gb 1600mhz @2133/////4GB 1333
Video Card:	Sapphire Vapor-X 7950///// AMD HD6320
Hard Disk:	Corsair Force 3 240GB / Seagate Barracuda XT 2Tb/////500GB
Optical Drive:	Samsung Blu-Ray/////DVD-RW
CRT/LCD Model:	Catleap 2560x1440 27" ///// 15.5" 1366x768
Case:	CM Storm Sniper Black Edition/////Laptop
Sound Card:	AKG K-701 phones & Audinst HUD-MX1
PSU:	OCZ Fatal1ty 750w/////65w power brick
Software:	Win 7 x64 Home Premium
Benchmarks:	Eats all my games ///// it plays games

Nov 24, 2012, 10:07 PM	#19
james888 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Idaho Posts: 2,288 (3.28/day) Thanks: 457 Thanked 431 Times in 321 Posts System Specs	Guys guys... all gpu's have some problems or another. I don't know much about how keplers overclock, I have heard good things, but the 7900 series has some beastly overclocks. My 7970 can do 1200mhz on air stable. Runs a little hot for my taste but stable. Sonda5 has a 7950 at 1300mhz with watercooling. I am pretty sure my 7970 can hit that also once I get my watercooling loop up. __________________ My Heat Natural Selection 2 (NS2) - FPS/RTS with depth. Link. Studios and publishers seem to have forgotten that games are supposed to be games, not CG films with playable action scenes. Link.

Nov 24, 2012, 10:16 PM	#20
NdMk2o1o Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Redditch, Worcestershire, England Posts: 2,642 (2.34/day) Thanks: 332 Thanked 857 Times in 604 Posts System Specs	AMD 12.11 drivers and overclocking firmly places the 7950 above the 670 in pure performance __________________ Bioshock Infinite, FC3, Crysis 3, Shogun 2, Dirt Showdown AMD bundle keys for sale: http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=182837

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