GTX 760 or HD 7950

Zodiakku · May 7, 2014

Yes,i know this has been asked many times before,but bear with me.
I have the option of buying the GTX 760(MSI Twin Frozr Version) new from a local seller.
However,a friend offered to sell me his HD 7950(this version: Linky) for ~$50 less than the price of the GTX 760.
I know the GTX 760 draws less power,is newer and(maybe) runs a little cooler than the 7950,but on the other hand the 7950 overclocks better,i can get it cheaper and i can use Mantle in the few titles that currently support it(besides the larger bandwith and the extra gig of VRAM).

I know that 1 extra gig of VRAM won't make that much of a difference with that slightly larger bandwidth and my resolution(I'll be using the card for 1080p gaming,single monitor setup).
I don't have any plans for SLI/Xfire as this option is way over my budget.My CPU is an i5 4440.

Thanks !

damric · May 7, 2014

The HD 7950. Performance trumps efficiency.

coolguybaddude · May 7, 2014

Well there are millions of threads for this constant amd vs nvidia war & one recent thread solved will give you an idea about 760; sorry about the hd 7950: http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2126351/amd-nvidia.html

http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-HD-7950-vs-GeForce-GTX-760

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1846717/gtx-760-2gb-radeon-7950-3gb.html

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/pc-components/3501176/nvidia-gtx-760-v-radeon-hd-7950-graphics-card-comparison-review/:

One of the disturbing comparisions is here:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/854?vs=855

Well the answers at the forum are good ones but be sure to go through the benchmarks & choose a soultion or post one for sure.

Since you aren't having any future plans so i would recommend the one passing the better benchmarks for long time support.

Zodiakku · May 7, 2014

damric :

I've seen benchmarks where the 760 beats the 7950 in certain games,and benchmarks where the 7950 beats the 760 in the same games.(I know these benchmarks depend on other factors as well,not just the GPU).
I've also been reading about how AMD drivers are a mess when compared to nVidia drivers,and how nVidia has some better technologies(e.g. Shadowplay,Geforce Experience, Adaptive VSync,TXAA and HBAO+).
Also,i have a 500W psu,80+ gold certified.Is this enough to hold the i5 4440 and the 7950(with overclocking) ?

damric · May 7, 2014

Which model PSU exactly?

Zodiakku · May 7, 2014

damric :

This one: http://forums.vr-zone.com/hardware-depot/2935414-quick-review-super-flower-sf-500p14xe-hx-golden-green-golden-silent.html

damric · May 7, 2014

Yummy Superflower

You are all set!

Zodiakku · May 7, 2014

damric :

So my PSU will hold.
I'm still not sold on the 7950's superiority though

Do you have some experience with it(or with the 760) ?

damric · May 7, 2014

The HD 7950 has a ton of overclocking headroom. Just about all of them will do over 1200MHz, with some hitting 1300MHz.

At stock it will trade punches with the GTX 760, but when both cards are at max overclock, it's a massacre.

Zodiakku · May 7, 2014

damric :

Thank you for your answers.

I'll wait for some more opinions before i pick a solution.

coolguybaddude · May 7, 2014

Well one thing i would recommend of is good cooling system you ought be having before taking overclocking consideration unless you live in cooler parts of the world than mine!!!!

. Well HD7950 will be a tough but still good choice as far as i see.

Zodiakku · May 7, 2014

coolguybaddude :

I know MSI's cooler is top notch,and my case has 5 fans with good airflow.Don't know about the 7950's cooler though.

damric · May 7, 2014

The Sapphire model you linked in original post shows a really good cooler. Look at the massive heat pipes :O

Twin frozr rules though

coolguybaddude · May 7, 2014

Zodiakku :

The onboard coolers are just enough to spell the heat & can take upon the OCing as is the strength of amd.
As you say an msi cooler with 5 fans so good for you; as case needs to be cooled to help the 7790's fans.
I actually am troubled with bran new 7770 that why i said cooler parts of the world.

coozie7 · May 7, 2014

It's pretty much down to your own preferences, there's not really enough between these two to separate them performance wise, as the benchmarks show.

Luckily the Sapphire is one of the better cooled 7950s but I doubt it will match the GTX760 you have in mind for either temperatures or noise, and that may be the deciding factor rather than which card beats the other by 5 FPS, if you value quiet I'd go for the GTX760.

At 1080 the HD7850 shows some of its main advantage: that large memory and bandwidth, and with games like BF4 and Titanfall already pushing 3Gb I say that is the AMD advantage, better at higher res or with large textures so, probably, better as a long term purchase, but only if you insist on the highest levels of detail or texture size.

Given this decision to make again (I got a 7950 last year) I'd probably opt for the GTX760, just because I like a quiet system.

Not had any issues with drivers, but then again I don't mess around much with the system software or run a multi monitor setup and still refuse to get involved with either SLI or Crossfire.

Zodiakku · May 7, 2014

coozie7 :

I'd like it to be quiet,but i guess i could live with a bit of noise.
You mentioned something about highest levels of details or texture size,what games does your 7950 struggle with at ultra ? Have you ever overclocked it ?

coozie7 · May 8, 2014

One point: My rig's old...very, very old so it's mildly overclocked (3.4GHz from 2.6GHz) i5 750 isn't a match for your i5 4440.

Depends on what you mean by 'ultra', one thing the HD series is no fan of is AA, keep that at 4x or lower and Metro 2033/Metro LL/TR will all play above 35 FPS at the ingame 'ultra' or 'very high' settings, even FC3 runs constantly at 47 FPS (its set through Radeonpro to remove the maddening stutter so 47 is actually the minimum) with all the bells and whistles turned up, so I wouldn't say, for me, it's struggling.

Yes, I've overclocked, but I'm lazy, cautious and poor

so no overvolting to push it hard, but it's happy enough at 950/1450 (from 800/1250) on a XFX PCB, It'll go higher but gets unstable and I'm not going to burn the card for the sake of a few extra FPS but I suspect the Sapphire would go higher.

Noise is subjective: If I can hear my rig running, under load, from more than 6 feet away, during the day, it's too loud because I work odd hours and nobody wants a leafblower in the next room at 3 A.M. in the morning.

Zodiakku · May 11, 2014

coozie7 :

Thanks for all the answers guys. I will follow your advice and get the 7950

.
I'll try and push it a little when overclocking,although i probably won't overvolt it either.The Sapphire can go higher than 950/1450 on the stock voltage.I think i can get at least 1100-1150/1500 without overvolting,and that is enough OC for the time being.I don't want to risk and overvolt it for 5 extra fps.
The Sapphire cooler is pretty good and i've got 5 fans in my case,so my temps will be well within the limit.
I'm just hoping my psu will hold the cpu,the card with the OC and all those fans.

GTX 760 or HD 7950

Honorable

Illustrious

Honorable

Honorable

Illustrious

Honorable

Illustrious

Honorable

Illustrious

Honorable

Honorable

Honorable

Illustrious

Honorable

Champion

Honorable

Champion

Honorable

Share this page