Gigabyte 7970 Windforce or EVGA 680 sc+?

[Hazelberg]

Hello!

I am looking to buy a graphics card, and at the moment it's between the gigabyte 7970 and evga 680 sc+.

I have a really nice deal on the evga (normally maybe 20% more expensive), but since the cooler is way inferior I am not sure.

I will use it primarily for gaming, but also some heavy photo editing but that doesn't require much from the gfx afaik.

I will probably overclock in the future, but I'm not 100% yet. Probably only once the warranty is out to not risk anything.

I want the most bang for the buch in performance, but it should still not sound too loud.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Bejusek]

What resolution is your display?
If 2560 wide, than 7970, else 680.

 

[Hazelberg]

What resolution is your display?
If 2560 wide, than 7970, else 680.

I play at 1920 wide, though I have two screens. The second one I only use for internet/chat etc while gaming on though, so no graphics going there.

Also, would you please motivate some more?

 

[Bejusek]

In 2560 pixels wide resolutions HD7970 is faster than GTX680.
In 1920x1080 (or 1200) they perform identical. The advantage of 680 is a lower power consumption, thus less heat and fan noise.

Choosing between the two you mentioned, given that you PSU is powerful enough, I would still buy 7970. Reference coolers were never quiet and I believe this EVGA isn't an exception. However, GTX 6 series coolers are way quieter than those from 4th or 5th generation, so maybe you could live with it or replace it with a aftermarket solution.

 

[redeemer]

In 2560 pixels wide resolutions HD7970 is faster than GTX680.
In 1920x1080 (or 1200) they perform identical. The advantage of 680 is a lower power consumption, thus less heat and fan noise.

Choosing between the two you mentioned, given that you PSU is powerful enough, I would still buy 7970. Reference coolers were never quiet and I believe this EVGA isn't an exception. However, GTX 6 series coolers are way quieter than those from 4th or 5th generation, so maybe you could live with it or replace it with a aftermarket solution.

I wouldnt say heat, actually the 680 gets quite toasty hotter than my 7970 but with a custom fans curve thats taken care of. Fan noise? Well there are a lot of custom 7970's out there so that is not an issue. Now power consumption the 7970 eats roughly 40-50 watts more thats not a lot and it for a desktop so that shouldn't matter

I would only recommend a 680 if you need cuda or 3D, for eveything else 7970!

 

[Hazelberg]

Thank you for the help guys! I'm not really sure which one of you should be given the best answer since both of your last posts motivated me to go with the 7970, so I guess I'll go for nobody to be fair!