Dual HD 7950's or new GPU ?

CommentariesAnd More · Jul 17, 2013

Hello guys ,
Before we start off, heres my rig -
Intel i5-3570K
ASUS P8Z77 V LE PLUS
XFX HD 7950 Core Edition ( single ATM )
Corsair XMS3 4GB ( upgrading to 12 GB soon )
SeaSonic X 850W
CM HAF XB ( great airflow , 120x3 and 80x2 Fans )
WD 500GB Blue

Just today I got a great news , The GTX 770 is available in some close stores ( Finally ) Also I have money now , and was TBH planning to get a second HD 7950 , before the GTX 770 was coming out , I know a CF HD 7950 beats GTX 770 , 780 , and HD 7970. But the micro stutter and vidoe issues bother me. AMD isn't so interested in clearing these issues. So if I convince my dad to allow to sell the HD 7950 , and I save some money , Should I try for a HD 7970GE , GTX 770 or maybe a GTX 780. If I save all of my pocketmoney , 6k every month , then it goes like this -
GTX 770 -
35K ( approx ) =
17K for HD 7950
18K ( 3 months pocketmoney )

If my dad doesn't agree , Then should I CorssFire , it with the 7950 ? I want to get on ultra on 1080p with 50FPS+ ( buying monitor soon ) Or should I CrossFire it with a HD 7970 ( If yes , does anyone know a compatible GPU ?

Why are you CFing - My current HD 7950 isn't satisfying just yet. I am getting 45 on ultimate in Tomb Raider , So I wonder how I can play Last Light and other power demanding games on Ultra. Or should I wait for AMD to get drivers and by the time get a H80i ( wanna OC that i5-3570K ) and the RAM ?

sam_p_lay · Jul 17, 2013

I'd highly recommend the GTX770. What monitor are you gonna buy?

CommentariesAnd More · Jul 17, 2013

^
Oops , I posted twice , Can you go on this thread ( sam )

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1735953/dual-7950-gpu.html

BTW monitor is most likely to be a BenQ RL2240H -
http://www.flipkart.com/benq-rl2240h-21-5-inch-led-backlit-lcd-monitor/p/itmdfhzdvythcn7e?pid=MOND9ZW92KGR98QR&otracker=from-search&srno=t_2&q=BenQ&ref=05ccfff7-8221-48aa-ad45-8da719e60352

sam_p_lay · Jul 17, 2013

Haha yeah I did notice that thread

Seems to happen often. I'd strongly recommend the LG IPS224V - far better image quality.

CommentariesAnd More · Jul 17, 2013

Not available in India , the best I could find , was this one.

sam_p_lay · Jul 17, 2013

Fair enough! Well grab an IPS panel display if you can - any IPS will be far better quality than a TN panel.

CommentariesAnd More · Jul 17, 2013

What about this -
http://www.flipkart.com/benq-gw2450hm-24-inch-led-backlit-lcd-monitor/p/itmdfpqpxc5b4ad2?pid=MOND9ZW9HQEGGDXQ&icmpid=reco_pp_same_monitor_1

Its a bit tad above budget but seems good.

Oh , heres some more -

http://www.flipkart.com/hp-pavilion-23fi-23-inch-led-backlit-lcd-monitor/p/itmdggttph3cabuf?pid=MONDGGRHYQHM3AMR&icmpid=reco_pp_same_monitor_2
http://www.snapdeal.com/product/benq-rl2450h-24-inch-monitor/1462109?pos=2;18
http://www.snapdeal.com/product/benq-gl2450hm-monitor/1347140
http://www.snapdeal.com/product/benq-ew2430-monitor/1347145
http://www.snapdeal.com/product/dell-s2440l-24-inch-led/591200?pos=9;18
http://www.snapdeal.com/product/asus-vs247h-236-inch-monitor/1390530?pos=6;18
http://www.snapdeal.com/product/samsung-ls23c350hsxl-23-inch-monitor/247108397?pos=8;18
http://www.snapdeal.com/product/aoc-e2462vwh-24-inch-monitor/1428580?pos=7;18

sam_p_lay · Jul 17, 2013

I actually bought one of those myself! I read a really good review of it but I was disappointed so sent it back. I'll take a look what's on Flipkart and let you know if I see anything good for 12,000 or less

sam_p_lay · Jul 17, 2013

Bingo!

http://www.flipkart.com/dell-s2240l-21-5-inch-led-backlit-lcd-monitor/p/itmdf4zvqauzt2z4?pid=MONDF4ZHPUYJBYPR&ref=616ac820-b6f3-4397-a0d5-2b89fc62bd32

CommentariesAnd More · Jul 17, 2013

Won't mind a lot if its under 14K. Also I am not in a hurry ( saving up ) So yeah , take your time.

CommentariesAnd More · Jul 17, 2013

sam_p_lay :

That response time bothers me alot. Else I had my eyes on it too.

CommentariesAnd More · Jul 17, 2013

Also should I get a HD 7950 in CrossFire or try to sell that GTX 770 ?

sam_p_lay · Jul 17, 2013

I wouldn't worry too much. I can show you an 8ms panel giving faster response than a 6ms if you want! It's not a true measure of responsiveness at all - it's a useless number like the dynamic contrast ratios they quote. If you want real, measured numbers for contrast ratio, input lag etc then you need professional reviews like tftcentral.co.uk. They also do high-speed photography of motion on the screens so you can see zoomed up how much trails/blur there is. My monitor is slower than this one and it games really nicely. You can only see trails on it if you deliberately look for them.

CommentariesAnd More · Jul 17, 2013

Okay , but what about the GPU , on the other thread , one guy is recommending to wait for a driver release by AMD and then decide , the other is telling to sell that HD 7950 and opt for a GTX 770. What do you think ?
Also if the response time isn't that important , Okay I got it , I am buying that Dell S2240L. Or should I get 24inch ( personal preference though ) I want to game on 1080p on ultra or very high and get 50FPS+ , is the HD 7950 CF enough ? I also want it to last for 2 years ( later on I will use it on med-high if necessary )

sam_p_lay · Jul 17, 2013

Well 24"ers are generally pretty expensive. I buy 23"ers because that extra inch is expensive! If you can find one at a price you're happy with, it'll likely be 1920x1200 instead of 1920x1080. As for GPU, I'd definitely say the GTX770. It's almost always best to get a single powerful GPU. I've done Crossfire (and a single dual-GPU card) and it was crap. Best thing is one card. Second best is SLI. Worst is Crossfire. AMD said back in October 2012 that they were fixing Crossfire. I wouldn't hold your breath!

CommentariesAnd More · Jul 17, 2013

Okay , I will get the Dell then. So yeah , lets get GTX 770 if dad agrees , hoping he does.

sam_p_lay · Jul 17, 2013

If he doesn't, it would just mean you have to wait a while?

CommentariesAnd More · Jul 17, 2013

sam_p_lay :

If he doesn't I will CrossFire the 7950 anyways , he allowed for that and the monitor already.

sam_p_lay · Jul 17, 2013

Hopefully AMD get it fixed then!

At least you get a really nice monitor either way.

CommentariesAnd More · Jul 17, 2013

sam_p_lay :

yeah , thanks for helping , I will let you know once I get the monitor.

Pavel Pokidaylo · Jul 17, 2013

There are plenty of people with crossfire setups that love it. I recenty bought a sapphire 7950 and I'm considering getting a second one.
I played Metro last light on this card and it actually performed really well even at stock. I ran the game on Very high (max) settings with MSAA and Tessellation turned off. Like you, I hate not being at 60fps during gameplay but for the most part of the game I was at or near 60fps. The performance was even better when I raised the core to 1100mhz and power to 20%.

The GTX 770 and Radeon 7970 are definitely faster than a 7950 but I doubt they will make such a huge difference. I've seen benchmarks and gameplay where an overclocked 7950 was on par with and sometimes even beats a gtx 770 at stock. Just yesterday I was over my friends house and he has the same rig as me the only difference being is that he has a GTX 680 and he was playing Metro 2033. I saw his FPS and went home and played the same level and I was getting higher FPS on my 7950.

I can't vouch for crossfire as I have not tried it yet myself and I am also waiting for feedback on that new driver. If the issues are resolved more or less I will probably order another 7950 because I'm fairly certain I'll be able to play practically any game at a solid 60fps with two of these. A GTX 770 or Radeon 7970 may net you a small boost in performance over a 7950 and they may last a little while longer in terms of future proofing but they are over 100 dollars more expensive. I may end up selling the 7950 and ordering two GTX 770s but I doubt it. I'll most likely order another sapphire 7950 and be happy for a few years.

CommentariesAnd More · Jul 17, 2013

Pavel Pokidaylo :

There are plenty of people with crossfire setups that love it. I recenty bought a sapphire 7950 and I'm considering getting a second one.
I played Metro last light on this card and it actually performed really well even at stock. I ran the game on Very high (max) settings with MSAA and Tessellation turned off. Like you, I hate not being at 60fps during gameplay but for the most part of the game I was at or near 60fps. The performance was even better when I raised the core to 1100mhz and power to 20%.

The GTX 770 and Radeon 7970 are definitely faster than a 7950 but I doubt they will make such a huge difference. I've seen benchmarks and gameplay where an overclocked 7950 was on par with and sometimes even beats a gtx 770 at stock. Just yesterday I was over my friends house and he has the same rig as me the only difference being is that he has a GTX 680 and he was playing Metro 2033. I saw his FPS and went home and played the same level and I was getting higher FPS on my 7950.

I can't vouch for crossfire as I have not tried it yet myself and I am also waiting for feedback on that new driver. If the issues are resolved more or less I will probably order another 7950 because I'm fairly certain I'll be able to play practically any game at a solid 60fps with two of these. A GTX 770 or Radeon 7970 may net you a small boost in performance over a 7950 and they may last a little while longer in terms of future proofing but they are over 100 dollars more expensive. I may end up selling the 7950 and ordering two GTX 770s but I doubt it. I'll most likely order another sapphire 7950 and be happy for a few years.

I see , but do you think your friend had underclocked the GPU for some reasons ? I mean the 7970 was some 4-5 FPS behind the GTX 680. Wondering , nothing else. Also do you think I can get a second HD 7950 from a different brand , version , with same clocks and memory ? ( mine's a XFX HD 7950 Core edition )

sam_p_lay · Jul 17, 2013

The performance difference is considerable - over 30% at stock. That's enough to turn 30fps into 40fps (or 60fps into 80fps if you prefer). 7950s do usually overclock well (though it's pure luck if you get one with a lot of headroom - seen many threads of people disappointed they're not overclocking as high as expected).

It's silly to compare any overclocked card to any stock card though. If you can overclock a 7950 you can overclock a GTX770 (or GTX680 etc). So you should either compare stock to stock or overclocked to overclocked. I compare stock speed because like I say, overclocking headroom varies hugely - there's just no guarantee. There's a reason people call it the "silicon lottery".

sam_p_lay · Jul 17, 2013

Also, does anyone know how effective Crossfired 7950s would be at different clock speeds? I know with SLI it's not even possible to mix clockspeeds. I think Crossfire allows it, but mixing slower and faster cards can actually drag down performance (and it'll certainly make it harder for Crossfire to avoid microstutter). So if you do Crossfire them, you should ideally clock them both at the same speed. Would be interesting to see if any benchmarking has been done on this.

Pavel Pokidaylo · Jul 17, 2013

I've been trying to find some 7950/7970 and 760/770 crossfire/sli benchmarks and gameplay reviews but can't seem to find anything good. If you know of a page please let me know

Dual HD 7950's or new GPU ?

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