Is the AMD HD 7970 6GB a better purchase than the GTX770 4GB?

Paul F · Mar 22, 2014

Hi, I've been checking the benchmarks and the AMD seems to win on half of them while on the other half the nVidia wins, which one do you guys recommend?

I've been buying nVidias lately because of CUDA, I convert videos a lot, but lately it seems that most apps use DirectCompute.

I found both around - I normally purchase from Amazon or NewEgg.

I need it for HD gaming, ray-tracing and video rendering and to use 3 independent monitors (1 VGA/DVI and 2 HDMI, all different models and sizes).

My specs are: i7 930 + Patriot Viper 12GB Triple Channel + Sound Blaster Fatality Xtreme Gamer

Benchmarks: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/829?vs=768

Thanks!

cst1992 · Mar 22, 2014

4GB is a lot of RAM. You don't need 6GB.
Which card is more expensive? and which brand do you prefer?

AshyCFC · Mar 22, 2014

The 770 4GB is plenty of RAM.

If the AMD wins benchmarks and you can afford it though, take the AMD.

Paul F · Mar 22, 2014

cst1992 :

Hello, I added more info that answers your question.

There are 4GB 7970's as well but the 6GB is not much expensive and if I decide to get the AMD then I will probrably pick 6GB if I can.

I posted on another thread a suggestion for a GFX card that supports 3 independent monitors, being 1 VGA/DVI and the 2 others HDMI, that's a requirement for me.

AshyCFC · Mar 22, 2014

If you aren't gaming a R7 260X can do that, as I posted before.

Paul F · Mar 22, 2014

AshyCFC :

Hi, I'm using mainly Anandtech to compare and like I said on some games the nVidia wins and some the AMD wins, I've been using nVidia lately (currently have a GTX 560) and that's why I'm asking you guys an advise if it would be a good idea to switch to AMD in this case.

Thank you

Paul F · Mar 22, 2014

AshyCFC :

I'm gaming actually, I have 90+ games on Steam, most are heavy on the graphics, my current GTX 560 does the job but I'm getting an updated GFX to handle the 3 independent displays and thought it would be a good idea to do an upgrade.

cst1992 · Mar 22, 2014

Paul F :

If you want 6GB and it's not much more expensive, why not.
There are already some threads of people wanting to buy 6GB versions of the GTX 780 Ti card(it uses 3GB originally) for high VRAM games. They're just staying safe. Just don't get bad value for money, that's the main point.

AshyCFC · Mar 22, 2014

Oh okay, for gaming then that's completely different.

I didn't really read the main post very well as I thought it was just a repost of your other topic

The 6GB RAM will help a lot for multi monitor then.

Paul F · Mar 22, 2014

cst1992 :

I agree, I can go for 3-4GB no problem as long as they support 3 independent displays (not for gaming).

Paul F · Mar 22, 2014

AshyCFC :

My concern is that I don't see 2 HDMI ports on the back of these latest cards.

I checked and the 260X is much inferior than the 7970.

AshyCFC · Mar 22, 2014

you can support 3 independent displays (non game) with 2GB VRAM, the 3/4GB VRAM cards won't have trouble.

yes the 260x is vastly inferior to the 7970 but can still run 3monitors non gaming.

Paul F · Mar 22, 2014

AshyCFC :

My problem now is that I need to convert one of the HDMI to DisplayPort, right?

My current gfx has 2 HDMi as I needed but they work as "Dual HDMI" instead of independent.

cst1992 · Mar 22, 2014

You can configure that in options, how you want the monitors to work(double display, independent, clone, etc)

Paul F · Mar 22, 2014

AshyCFC :

cst1992 :

My current gfx doesn't have that option, with the new one I suppose I will be able to but I'm facing now a connector problem.

1 monitor VGA/DVI - 19" 4:3
1 monitor HDMI/DIV - 27" 16:9
1 monitor HDMI/VGA/DVI - 21.5" 16:9 (rotated 90º)

AshyCFC · Mar 22, 2014

display port to HDMI cable:

http://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-Gold-Plated-DisplayPort/dp/B004C9P9TM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395523935&sr=8-1&keywords=display+port+to+hdmi

Paul F · Mar 22, 2014

AshyCFC :

thanks but none of my monitors have display port! It's 2 HDMI and one vga/dvi.

I found only this card to have 2 HDMI and be "new" enough, why that?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125502

cst1992 · Mar 23, 2014

It's the manufacturer's discretion. Some follow NVIDIA's reference design, some their own. The one you're looking at is a custom design. NVIDIA's specifications list the card to have 2 DVI ports and 1 mini-HDMI port.
Both DVI and HDMI have a digital signal. You could connect a converter to a DVI port and use it as HDMI:

If you can find a card with 1 standard HDMI connector and 2 DVI ports, you can connect 3 HDMI monitors to your card.

AshyCFC · Mar 23, 2014

Paul F :

I understand that, you plug the displayport end into the GPU and the HDMI end into the monitor!

Paul F · Mar 23, 2014

AshyCFC :

That's great, I didn't know that there were passive cables for that!

Is it safe now to say that I can plug my 19" to the DVI port, my 21.5" to the HDMI port and my 27" to the display port using this cable and they will be completely independent running on the 7970 or GTX 770?

I'm really inclined to get the SAPPHIRE's HD 7970 Vapor-X 6GB OC Edition and secondly the Gigabyte GTX 770 GDDR5-4GB.

cst1992 · Mar 23, 2014

Yes, cables can work passively. It's just a different arrangement of wires.
All monitors are independently configurable. You can find the options in the NVIDIA control panel or Catalyst control Center(assuming that is what it's called for AMD cards, I'm not a AMD user).

AshyCFC · Mar 23, 2014

Yeah Catalyst is the place to go for AMD cards.

Paul F · Mar 23, 2014

AshyCFC :

I went ahead and just bought the "SAPPHIRE HD 7970 GHz Edition 6GB GDDR5 VAPOR-X".

[strike]This card has mini-displayports instead of the regular sizes ones, which adapter should I use to connect my HDMI monitor to it, active or passive?[/strike]

EDIT: Found the answer here: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-1866451/radeon-r7970-monitors-problem.html

Active
Amazon

Passive
Amazon

cst1992 · Mar 23, 2014

If the cable is short, you don't need active cables. Active cables are needed only for enhancing the signal(or if the signal is big).
Big in the sense, there is a new port coming up (Thunderbolt) which has double bandwidth of USB3.0 (10Gbps) and it is being considered for setups which allow graphics cards to be housed in separate enclosures. That interface has native active interface.

Paul F · Mar 23, 2014

cst1992 :

Thanks man, I just grabbed one of these: Amazon

My cable setup will be:

I just hope that this card won't "join" any of the signals like my current GTX650 did when I plugged 2 HDMIs and the DVI, but keep them separate.

Is the AMD HD 7970 6GB a better purchase than the GTX770 4GB?

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