Again, gtx 670 or HD 7950

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enforcer1412

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Aug 28, 2012
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Hi all, I am new to the high end pc gaming and overclocking, also my English is not so great so please, be patient with me. :D
I am building my rig for the 1st time and so far the only thing left missing is the VGA as I'm a short on cash. My rig is up and running well with mb asrock z77 extreme 4, i5 3570k and 8 gb ram dual channel. I am planning to get my VGA at the end of this week or next week and I am deciding between the gtx 670 and hd 7950. I am currently living in Australia and the prices here tend to mess up a bit as it is much higher than in The U.S. Here are my choices I have in mind:

Sapphire ATI HD 7950 OC Edition PCI-E 3.0, 3GB 384-bit GDDR5, 900/5000 Mhz, DVI, HDMI, 2x Mini DP, DX11.1, Fan
http://www.arc.com.au/pub.php?gid=23524&pid=42825&p=product
AUD $377

Gigabyte GV-N670OC-2GD GTX 670 OC EDITION PCI-E 3.0 2GB 256-bit DDR5
http://www.arc.com.au/pub.php?gid=23527&pid=43914&p=product
AUD $466

The gap is $89, with this I could save up a little and get a decent monitor :) which I will get later as I am using my 42" plasma full HD TV to use with the system. I wish I was in The U.S, everything is much cheaper :(. To my point, which one should I get and is best bang for the bucks? and I dont plan on ugrade it for at least another 2 years. FYI, games I play most are RPG and action like Diablo 3, Guildwars 2 and Darksiders 2. Also I tend to play a bit of FPS like Crysis and BF 3 but not much. Also, if you guys have any other recommendation, please do. Thanks very much. :hello:
 
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Maybe this Sapphire card isn't as good as the Gigabyte in this case. I don't have personal experience with them, so I have to go by overall quality between brands to make a recommendation. I should have done more research into the specific cards, my bad. Choose whichever one you want, but I might lean towards the Gigabyte if it has more headroom. However, are its temps better than the Sapphire?

enforcer1412

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Aug 28, 2012
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thanks guys for the replies- Again, which 7950 I should get? The gap between the Sapphire above and a MSI is about $40, is it worth getting the MSI? or just stick with the Sapphire?
 

enforcer1412

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I saw on the site that the Sapphire is a solid buy so I think it must be ok then. I have not heard much about that brand since I am new to the industry, so a little bit supspicious though :??:
 

enforcer1412

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yes, its legit, the site is very popular in Australia. They usually have ridiculous sales but very low in stock. Last week I checked, the have the 7950 HIS IceQ Turbo for $299 also, and now its gone... gonna grab this gigabyte now then.
 

enforcer1412

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Dang, I didnt have a chance to order the gigabyte for $299 cuz I didnt put my cash into my account until this morning and then it sold out... Now the proce is back to $359... $20 cheaper than the Sapphire one, still a good buy right?
 
I think that Gigabyte, although ok, is not as good as Sapphire and MSI. I'd also put them below Asus, but above XFX's latest work. At $20 cheaper, it is still a good deal, but I don't think that I'd call it as good as the Sapphire. Some of Gigabyte's older cards are great (I've heard that they had one of the best 6850s and then their quality dropped a little since then).
 

enforcer1412

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I just did a research and found the gigabyte one for $340, $37 cheaper than the Sapphire. I saw reviews on Vortex site said that the gigabyte one is on par with the MSI one, how come? and also it has more headroom for oc. So in the end, is it worth to spend $37 more to get the Sapphire?
 
Maybe this Sapphire card isn't as good as the Gigabyte in this case. I don't have personal experience with them, so I have to go by overall quality between brands to make a recommendation. I should have done more research into the specific cards, my bad. Choose whichever one you want, but I might lean towards the Gigabyte if it has more headroom. However, are its temps better than the Sapphire?
 
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enforcer1412

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Aug 28, 2012
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Here are some review about the card:
http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/gigabyte_hd7950_windforce_review,1.html
and this one is between gigabyte and msi:
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/53456-gigabyte-hd-7950-windforce-msi-hd-7950-twin-frozr-iii-review.html
There are no review between gigabyte and sapphire so I cant say much.
Im pretty set on this gigabyte card since Im on budget and still need cash to get a monitor. Anyways, Do you guys have any recommendation for a decent monitor around $200? Im choosing between this one:
http://www.mwave.com.au/sku-27140056-ASUS_VE248H_24_Full_HD_Widescreen_LED_Backlight_Monitor_1920_x_1080_Resolution_2
and this one
http://www.mwave.com.au/sku-27140194-ASUS_VS247H_236_Full_HD_Widescreen_LED_Backlight_Monitor_1920_x_1080_Resolution
I am pretty easy on the eye as soon as there are no lag and really awful color. Any other thought are sincerely welcome.
 


I like the second option more, but I'm not not an expert on displays.
 
I would get this one -> ASUS VE248H

Better Warranty
3 year LCD monitor warranty
3 year panel warranty
2-way free standard shipping for repairs
Complimentary ASUS Rapid Replacement (cross-shipping)

Key Features

2ms Trace Free Technology delivers incredible detail for smooth motion playback during fast-moving scenes
AI Light automatically detects the lighting environment and adjusts display brightness to prevent your eyes from having a blinding sensation
Splendid Video Intelligence Technology lets you optimize color and contrast to your liking from the six preset color modes and three skin tone modes via the Splendid hot key
Clean cable management design for a clutter-free appearance in any setting
Aspect Control lets you control aspect ratio and adjust it for your maximum viewing comfort
3 year system warranty, 3 year panel warranty
 

enforcer1412

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Aug 28, 2012
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So I got the Gigabyte 7950 today. It runs pretty cool but there is one problem I got and it is really annoying. When I play Sleeping Dogs for about 5-10 minutes, everything goes great but then suddenly the screen went black, doesnt show anything at all but the system is still running fine. When I push the windows key on the keyboard then the game appears again but not in full window mode anymore. I dont know whether it is because of my TV or the card. I am currently running the newest Catalyst so chance because of software is very low. Do anyone has the same issue with me?
I just test again with Darksiders 2 and everything runs fine... Dont know whats wrong.
 
Did you boot into safe mode, get rid of all previous graphics drivers with Driver Fusion (anything else might miss parts of the drivers including the regular uninstall process which is garbage), reboot, and then install new drivers? If you don't do it this way (or something similarly thorough), you might end up with problems such as what you've described.
 
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