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7970 selection choice

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  • Graphics Cards
  • MSI
  • Graphics
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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May 18, 2012 3:52:26 PM

I just bought a MSI Radeon 7950 from newegg and it lasted 2 days. i am now looking to upgrade to a 7970 but i dont know what brand to choose. this is the second time in my life i have bought MSI video cards and they have always been ***. i very much dislike XFX as i have had issues with there warranty processes in the past. i useto use sapphire back in the 90's and early 00's. i read great reviews from diamond cards on newegg but i have always regarded them as ***... what brand should i buy?

More about : 7970 selection choice

a c 126 U Graphics card
May 18, 2012 4:03:23 PM

Well are you after a card with an aftermarket cooler/PCB or just a reference card, if you just want a reference card then any brand will do, its just the same card with a different sticker.

Just an example: Some people may say they haven't had any problem with ASUS, but that doesn't mean to say if you buy an ASUS product you won't have a problem or that ASUS are any more reliable than any other brand...
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a b U Graphics card
May 18, 2012 4:04:33 PM

MSI uses military spec components. It is unusual to hear someone say that they dislike MSI. They also have a great warranty that does not need a receipt. I bought a used MSI 6990, installed an aftermarket cooler, removed the 'do not remove' BIOS sticker and fried it from overclocking with overvoltage and they still replaced it about two weeks ago. XFX also will warranty an item based on the serial number with no need for a receipt. I have returned faulty cards to XFX that I bought used with no reciept. I think you just have had really bad luck. The XFX DD cards come with a liftime warranty. My 2 cents
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a b U Graphics card
May 18, 2012 4:10:44 PM

Alro is right, you can't just get mad because a world renowned manufacturer of fantastic components happens to dish out the one bad to you. It happens sometimes, and honestly you should just have Newegg replace it.
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May 18, 2012 4:10:46 PM

my issue with my old MSI cards were the heat sinks sucked ass. as for the current one it died in 2 days. XFX kept sending me cards that were not repaired and just slapped together.

i would like to do a bit of over clocking on this card and maybe i will try MSI again? i LOVE there mother boards, i use them almost exclusively in every build i do but just have had *** luck with there video cards...
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a c 126 U Graphics card
May 18, 2012 4:15:03 PM

ncc74656 said:
my issue with my old MSI cards were the heat sinks sucked ass. as for the current one it died in 2 days. XFX kept sending me cards that were not repaired and just slapped together.

i would like to do a bit of over clocking on this card and maybe i will try MSI again? i LOVE there mother boards, i use them almost exclusively in every build i do but just have had *** luck with there video cards...


You said it, you've had bad luck with MSI branded graphics cards, Luck isn't a reason to not use a brand, fact is it could have happened with any brand, its not specific to MSI
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a b U Graphics card
May 18, 2012 4:15:32 PM

I currently have 2 XFX 7970 DD's . How much overclocking do you want to do? They will run at 1125MHz/1575MHz totally stable without any voltage increase. I had mine up to 1200MHz but I don't really like overclocking if I have to play with voltages after my last 6990. I am sure it can go higher, I just didn't want to find out how high.
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May 19, 2012 2:08:44 AM

i have my system pretty heavily over clocked atm. memory timings at 9-8-6-21 1T 1877Mhz, 4.92Ghz on the cpu, and 128Mhz on the PCI-e bus. the video card will get similar treatment
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a c 126 U Graphics card
May 19, 2012 8:51:47 AM

Wow... 128Mhz bus, why on earth are you overclocking the PCI-E bus?

Unless your running something like a HD6990 on a x4 lane its not going to make any difference and you risk corrupting your data as the SATA controller is affected by the PCI-E bus.

Maybe you weren't unlucky before.
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May 25, 2012 11:41:48 PM

i noticed a sizable boost in 3dmark after the PCI-E OC using my 5870 and the 7950.
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June 11, 2012 4:49:38 AM

i ended up going with a diamond 7970 after my MSI 7950 died. so far im very happy with it. its much larger and heavier, feels very solid and comes with ruby graphics. i had never considered diamond as a high end company but perhaps i was mistaken
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