Gigabyte Geforce GTX770 WINDFORCE X3 OC 2GB VS SAPPHIRE 7970 DUAL-X 3GB GDDR5 HDMI

GTX 770 is my preference simply because it's the nVidia based card.

Are you looking at a Sapphire 7970 or is it the 7970 GHz Edition? The "GHz Edition" is close to the GTX 770 performance wise. The older/lower 7970 is not as fast. If you want to compare directly compare these:

Sapphire 7970 GHz Edition Vapor-X $349
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202001

Gigabyte GTX 770 Windforce 3 OC Edition $399
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125463

Hands down, no questions, get the GTX 770 then.

You can OC the 7970 to the GHz levels. But the GTX 770 is already faster than that and can still be overclocked. Look at the BF3 reviews I linked to. Both compare the 7970, 7970 GHz Edition, GTX 770, and a GTX 770 OC'd.

The GTX 770 is easily faster/better than the 7970. The 7970 GHz Edition is pretty close. But taking a regular 7970 and OC'ing it to the GHz level still leaves it behind since the GTX 770 can still be OC'd. If they are the same price there's no question: get the 770.

The GTX 770 will play current game titles @ 1920x1080 (full HD) without a problem with high graphic settings.

Don't worry, most of us play on 60Hz monitors. You have to spend a pretty penny to get faster monitors! In my mind getting 120Hz monitors is pointless unless you are doing 3D anyhow.

Yes. The GTX 770 will play your games at higher settings than the 7970 will.

Truth be told the 7970ghz edition can overclock just as well as the 770, but the catch is if you get a lottery card or not. Some cards overclock higher than others. It just depends what you are lucky enough to get your hands on. When it comes to performance they are not really that far apart from one another. If you are playing at 1080p then going beyond 2gb is not needed at the moment, but who knows what the future will require. I will say that if you are planning to go above 1080p then you might want to consider finding something with at least 3gb of vram for semi future proofing. I've played at 1440p and 1600p. It seems more and more games are hitting or coming close to that 2gb limit at higher than 1080p. I personally go for the better deals. The 770 are priced very nice, but I have to say the 7950/7970 are dropping in price.

Most 7950's run off the same pcb as the 7970's. I went and started looking at everything price wise. There are some very good deals on gtx 670's, but I am not going to include it since they are being phased out. Still you could find a good deal on it. The best deal in my opinion at this point in time is this 7950:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202003

It is can overclock to a 7970ghz edition for $285 after rebate and comes with 4 games. It is running sapphire's vapor x cooling. It can overclock to around 1200 core/ 1500 memory on average as long as you don't turn on the boost feature. The boost is voltage locked for some reason which is strange, but the normal setting is not. I did notice most were able to get around that oc without touching the voltage either way.

When the 770 is overclocked it would be faster, but you are paying more. Also, the games could even be sold if you didn't want them for more money on the AMD side. I am always haggling for the best price per performance. I'd say the biggest con of all time for AMD is drivers. Nvidia is usually spot on when it comes to driver updates as quickly as possible. I am still a little ticked at AMD for delaying the crossfire runt frame issue another month, however they do seem adamant that the fix is complete. The less you spend on something; the more money you have to spend on other things.

Conclusion: There is no real right or wrong answer. Look at the price, performance, and what you plan on gaming resolution wise. Are you planning to go past 1080p at some point? These are the kind of questions you need to ask yourself. Be sure to take into account how long you plan to keep the card as well. I'm the type that upgrades every other series of gpu releases which is why I try not to break the bank on every upgrade. I like to look at shiny things, but you don't see me staring at the sun everyday....well nevermind. lol


PS- I am running two 670's in sli. They were an awesome price when they released, but the 770 is now the same price I paid per card. I am by no means a fanboy of either amd or nvidia. I go where the deals are.

Yeah, if you are planning on keeping the card for a while. The quicker one is key. If they are priced that closely where you live then I'd probably go with gtx 770 just for the driver support. The 7950/70 have slightly higher specs, but if you are not big on overclocking then nvidia starts taking the lead with my vote. The 770's are overclocked higher even at stock which is a plus for you. Also, since you are 1080p gaming then you don't have much to worry about with beyond 2gb of vram.

I prefer Evga, MSI, and Gigabyte manufacturers. They have really good coolers on them involving two and three fan setups. I would not buy a normal reference card with one fan on it if you plan on keeping it for a while. The cooler it is; the longer it lasts.