7950 vs 7870 vs 6970

[sheletal]

So the 7950 I'm looking at is the XFX core edition: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150590

The downside is, XFX stopped the lifetime warranty on these unless you get the dual fan card at an additional $50: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150589

I could wait for the $300 7870's to launch in a couple weeks or go with a 6970 for $350.

I have the money to spend on the 7950 but I really want to be sure it's worth it so I'm not kicking myself in the ass for wasting $150 in a couple weeks. What do you think?

*edit-Do you think the 7950 prices will drop when the 7850/7870 release?

 

[kajabla]

No, I don't think the prices will immediately drop with new AMD cards. Maybe when Kepler hits, but maybe not.
Do you have a CPU that can handle these cards?
If you're on 1920x1080, the 7950 won't be overkill. It depends what you think is worth money. The lower-end cards will certainly get more frames to the dollar. If $150 isn't a big deal for you, go for it.

 

[khoaaa]

I have a 7950 sapphire normal...810Mhz 1250Mhz...i overclocked it to 1050Mhz 1500Mhz...run the benchmarks +30% increase in scores. U can still overclock more. But i am currently using a $50 CPU Intel G530 until Ivy Bridge comes out. I wonder how far can i go with Ivy Bridge CPU.

 

[sheletal]

I am on a phenom II 965 quad @ 3.8ghz (currently working on OC). I've been thinking about working up to an eight core but, if I understand correctly, number of cores isn't as crucial as processor speed.

I'm driving a 28" monitor so the resolution is at 1920x1200.

 

[kajabla]

My 965 won't hit above 3.8 QQ
Yep, cores above 4 are irrelevant unless you plan to be...multitasking while gaming?
Processor speed isn't even the relevant statistic. All that really matters are benchmarks. A 2500K at 3.8ghz will destroy a 965 at the same speed because CPUs all have different architectures.
I think you'll be pretty OK in most games with this CPU. Skyrim, SC2 and other heavily CPU-dependent titles may not use the 7950 to its full potential, but I think most will.

 

[sheletal]

Best answer selected by sheletal.

 

[sheletal]

My 965 won't hit above 3.8 QQ
Yep, cores above 4 are irrelevant unless you plan to be...multitasking while gaming?
Processor speed isn't even the relevant statistic. All that really matters are benchmarks. A 2500K at 3.8ghz will destroy a 965 at the same speed because CPUs all have different architectures.
I think you'll be pretty OK in most games with this CPU. Skyrim, SC2 and other heavily CPU-dependent titles may not use the 7950 to its full potential, but I think most will.

Thanks for the info. I did order the 7950 last night. It sucks that XFX changed their warranty. I had to spend an extra $50 to get the lifetime warranty with the dual fan card. Better to be safe though.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey