AMD Introduces the Radeon HD 7970 Graphics Card, The 28nm Era Begins

Cristian_25H · Dec 22, 2011, 06:03 AM

Bring ye a fresh set of bragging rights because today AMD has (paper) launched the first graphics card powered by a 28 nm GPU, the Radeon HD 7970. Equipped with one Tahiti chip, this new, high-end offering is the first to make use of the GCN (Graphics Core Next) architecture which is claimed to deliver an improvement 'of over 150% in performance/sq mm over the prior generation.'

The Radeon HD 7970 also adopts the PCI Express 3.0 standard (which ensures a large, healthy bandwidth), and implements the PowerTune and AMD ZeroCore Power technologies that allow for 'higher performance levels while maximizing power efficiencies'.

"True to the maxim, 'never settle,' AMD is once again aggressively advancing the state of the graphics industry - this time with the arrival of the world's fastest single-GPU graphics card, the AMD Radeon HD 7970," said Matt Skynner, corporate vice president and general manager, GPU Division, AMD. "This graphics card represents a revolution in the graphics industry. To put it bluntly, the AMD Radeon HD 7970 changes everything!"

Spec wise, the HD 7970 offers 2048 Stream Processors, 128 TMUs, 32 ROPs, a core clock of 925 MHz, a 384-bit memory interface, and 3 GB of GDDR5 memory clocked at 5500 MHz. AMD's card also packs a dual-slot cooler which uses vapor chamber technology, has CrossFireX support, and includes four display outputs (Eyefinity is obviously present) - one dual-link DVI, one HDMI 1.4a and two mini DisplayPort 1.2.

The Radeon HD 7970 has a recommended price tag of $549 and is expected to become available as of January 9, 2012. For the full scoop on the very first 28nm card be sure to check out the review found here.

seronx · Dec 22, 2011, 06:15 AM

Dang that was fast!
December 22nd was the launch OBR got owned

WarraWarra · Dec 22, 2011, 06:22 AM

Will have to read the reviews again, missed a few details.

20fps difference on BF3 from 1920x1200 4xA MSAA ?
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_7970/9.html
to
http://www.guru3d.com/article/amd-ra...7970-review/22

Any idea about driver maturity at this time or possible fixes that might be needed.
Now just need a comparison with 2x 6870's / $400 crossfire models that run better than the 6990 in relations to this 7970.
Not sure if AMD would allow a comparison like that at this time on any website.

qwerty_lesh · Dec 22, 2011, 06:41 AM

you sure it includes FIVE outputs?
is one invisible or something?

Cristian_25H · Dec 22, 2011, 06:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by qwerty_lesh

you sure it includes FIVE outputs?
is one invisible or something?

Four it is, don't kick me!

Aceman.au · Dec 22, 2011, 06:51 AM

Wait... It uses PCI-E 3.0, would they word on my motherboard? (ASUS P8P67 Deluxe)

Cristian_25H · Dec 22, 2011, 06:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aceman.au

Wait... It usu PCI-E 3.0, would they word on my motherboard? (ASUS P8P67 Deluxe)

The Radeon HD 7970 works on motherboards with PCIe 2.x, no worries. PCIe is just a big, backwards compatible family

.

Aceman.au · Dec 22, 2011, 06:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cristian_25H

The Radeon HD 7970 works on motherboards with PCIe 2.x, no worries. PCIe is just a big, backwards compatible family

.

Ah... Good... Very keen to throw these @ my PC and see what happens...

H82LUZ73 · Dec 22, 2011, 06:55 AM

Wow I forgot to login to reply on this.......Awesome sauce

,Now where is the Wizz review.

Just read the Wizz review ...Excellent as always .....Looks like a great card right out of the box,Price has me worried though.

Aceman.au · Dec 22, 2011, 06:59 AM

If u want guys... Ill see if I can get 2 for crossfire and compare them with my 2 6870's

WarraWarra · Dec 22, 2011, 06:59 AM

Sorry my bad 2x 6870 BF2 comparison is here not BF3 though.
http://www.guru3d.com/article/amd-ra...7970-review/19

Did see that the 7970 takes a major hit on eyefinity vs 6990 "5760x1080" and I thought this was made specifically for eyefinity 16x screens, maybe a driver bug.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...cn,3104-7.html

arterius2 · Dec 22, 2011, 07:31 AM

Amd, shutup and take my money!!

buggalugs · Dec 22, 2011, 07:53 AM

Nice card, the undisputed king of the single GPU. Huge jump in Tessellation performance, better than a 6990.

A true eyefinity/high res or 3D/120Hz performance card.

Widjaja · Dec 22, 2011, 08:00 AM

It appears AMD are properly pulling ahead of nVidia again.

Seems so long ago now since.....X800pro 256mb SM2.0 beast was top of the GPU heap.

RejZoR · Dec 22, 2011, 08:07 AM

Are there any new software features like MLAA that we got not long ago? Everyone talk about hardware features but no one mentions software goodies.

Maban · Dec 22, 2011, 08:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RejZoR

Are there any new software features like MLAA that we got not long ago? Everyone talk about hardware features but no one mentions software goodies.

Ask a reviewer/newsie for a review/press kit. It contains a lot more info than what the general public gets.

btarunr · Dec 22, 2011, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RejZoR

Are there any new software features like MLAA that we got not long ago? Everyone talk about hardware features but no one mentions software goodies.

Since the NDA is out of the window, I'll post slides from the press-briefing relevant to IQ.

That's about all the information there is, about IQ. No new AA modes.

arterius2 · Dec 22, 2011, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aceman.au

If u want guys... Ill see if I can get 2 for crossfire and compare them with my 2 6870's

would be nice.. but looking at your specs, doubt u could afford it.

NAVI_Z · Dec 22, 2011, 04:54 PM

hmmmm........ i hope AMD hasn't shot itself in da foot again like BD. It might be better to wait n c if these new cards do indeed perform better than the 6xxx series cards. besides we all know how its better to wait for mature drivers especially for those of us who use eyefinity and crossfire. i sure hope its blanks in dat gun hehe....lol

Dec 22, 2011, 06:03 AM	#1
Cristian_25H Staff Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Still on the East Side Posts: 41 (0.08/day) Thanks: 9 Thanked 963 Times in 487 Posts	AMD Introduces the Radeon HD 7970 Graphics Card, The 28 nm Era Begins Bring ye a fresh set of bragging rights because today AMD has (paper) launched the first graphics card powered by a 28 nm GPU, the Radeon HD 7970. Equipped with one Tahiti chip, this new, high-end offering is the first to make use of the GCN (Graphics Core Next) architecture which is claimed to deliver an improvement 'of over 150% in performance/sq mm over the prior generation.' The Radeon HD 7970 also adopts the PCI Express 3.0 standard (which ensures a large, healthy bandwidth), and implements the PowerTune and AMD ZeroCore Power technologies that allow for 'higher performance levels while maximizing power efficiencies'. "True to the maxim, 'never settle,' AMD is once again aggressively advancing the state of the graphics industry - this time with the arrival of the world's fastest single-GPU graphics card, the AMD Radeon HD 7970," said Matt Skynner, corporate vice president and general manager, GPU Division, AMD. "This graphics card represents a revolution in the graphics industry. To put it bluntly, the AMD Radeon HD 7970 changes everything!" Spec wise, the HD 7970 offers 2048 Stream Processors, 128 TMUs, 32 ROPs, a core clock of 925 MHz, a 384-bit memory interface, and 3 GB of GDDR5 memory clocked at 5500 MHz. AMD's card also packs a dual-slot cooler which uses vapor chamber technology, has CrossFireX support, and includes four display outputs (Eyefinity is obviously present) - one dual-link DVI, one HDMI 1.4a and two mini DisplayPort 1.2. The Radeon HD 7970 has a recommended price tag of $549 and is expected to become available as of January 9, 2012. For the full scoop on the very first 28nm card be sure to check out the review found here. Last edited by Cristian_25H; Dec 22, 2011 at 08:19 AM.

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Dec 22, 2011, 06:22 AM	#3
WarraWarra Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 268 (0.29/day) Thanks: 28 Thanked 14 Times in 14 Posts	Will have to read the reviews again, missed a few details. 20fps difference on BF3 from 1920x1200 4xA MSAA ? http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_7970/9.html to http://www.guru3d.com/article/amd-ra...7970-review/22 Any idea about driver maturity at this time or possible fixes that might be needed. Now just need a comparison with 2x 6870's / $400 crossfire models that run better than the 6990 in relations to this 7970. Not sure if AMD would allow a comparison like that at this time on any website. __________________ Created 7009 of 8000 jobs since 1 Oct 2011 in EU. USA visa regime blocks these investment & jobs creation. Last edited by WarraWarra; Dec 22, 2011 at 06:40 AM.

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Dec 22, 2011, 06:51 AM	#6
Aceman.au Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: In front of a PC screen. If not there, Kialla West, Australia Posts: 1,234 (0.68/day) Thanks: 190 Thanked 50 Times in 46 Posts System Specs	Wait... It uses PCI-E 3.0, would they word on my motherboard? (ASUS P8P67 Deluxe) __________________ Derp?™ “mid mars? but interplanetary shipping suuuuucks” -Mussels Before you flame: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger_syndrome I got no idea whats going on lol

Dec 22, 2011, 06:15 AM	#2
seronx Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: USA, Arizona, Maricopa Posts: 940 (0.89/day) Thanks: 36 Thanked 234 Times in 168 Posts System Specs	Dang that was fast! December 22nd was the launch OBR got owned

Dec 22, 2011, 06:41 AM	#4
qwerty_lesh Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 515 (0.24/day) Thanks: 36 Thanked 42 Times in 35 Posts System Specs	you sure it includes FIVE outputs? is one invisible or something?

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Dec 22, 2011, 06:55 AM	#9
H82LUZ73 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Cobourg,Ontario Posts: 1,363 (0.72/day) Thanks: 1,136 Thanked 250 Times in 207 Posts System Specs	Wow I forgot to login to reply on this.......Awesome sauce ,Now where is the Wizz review. Just read the Wizz review ...Excellent as always .....Looks like a great card right out of the box,Price has me worried though. Last edited by H82LUZ73; Dec 22, 2011 at 07:19 AM.

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Dec 22, 2011, 06:59 AM	#10
Aceman.au Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: In front of a PC screen. If not there, Kialla West, Australia Posts: 1,234 (0.68/day) Thanks: 190 Thanked 50 Times in 46 Posts System Specs	If u want guys... Ill see if I can get 2 for crossfire and compare them with my 2 6870's __________________ Derp?™ “mid mars? but interplanetary shipping suuuuucks” -Mussels Before you flame: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger_syndrome I got no idea whats going on lol

Dec 22, 2011, 07:31 AM	#12
arterius2 Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 236 (0.32/day) Thanks: 13 Thanked 36 Times in 28 Posts System Specs	Amd, shutup and take my money!!

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Dec 22, 2011, 07:53 AM	#13
buggalugs Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 731 (0.41/day) Thanks: 25 Thanked 113 Times in 72 Posts System Specs	Nice card, the undisputed king of the single GPU. Huge jump in Tessellation performance, better than a 6990. A true eyefinity/high res or 3D/120Hz performance card. __________________ Asus P8Z77-V Deluxe /Intel 3770K@4.4Ghz/ TRUE Cooler /Corsair Dom 2X4GB 1866Mhz /Intel 520 240GB SSD/ / Samsung 1TB F3 HD / MSI 680 Lightning /Corsair AX850 PSU/ Aurora 570 Case /Samsung S23A950D 120Hz Monitor/AudioEngine A2 Speakers/Osmium Aivia Mechanical Keyboard/Mionix Naos 5000 mouse/Pioneer Blu-Ray 206BK

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Dec 22, 2011, 08:00 AM	#14
Widjaja Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Wangas, New Zealand Posts: 4,024 (1.85/day) Thanks: 242 Thanked 617 Times in 534 Posts System Specs	It appears AMD are properly pulling ahead of nVidia again. Seems so long ago now since.....X800pro 256mb SM2.0 beast was top of the GPU heap.

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Dec 22, 2011, 08:07 AM	#15
RejZoR Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Europe/Slovenia Posts: 3,967 (1.26/day) Thanks: 39 Thanked 753 Times in 541 Posts System Specs	Are there any new software features like MLAA that we got not long ago? Everyone talk about hardware features but no one mentions software goodies. __________________ RejZoR's Little Secrets @ rejzor dot tk

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Dec 22, 2011, 04:54 PM	#19
NAVI_Z Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 214 (0.21/day) Thanks: 405 Thanked 37 Times in 33 Posts System Specs	hmmmm........ i hope AMD hasn't shot itself in da foot again like BD. It might be better to wait n c if these new cards do indeed perform better than the 6xxx series cards. besides we all know how its better to wait for mature drivers especially for those of us who use eyefinity and crossfire. i sure hope its blanks in dat gun hehe....lol

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