7970 OC vs 680 OC @1080p

[Baabenchier]

I've been searching for reviews on these two and with newest drivers seems like 7970 OC is getting ahead of 680 OC. (source: http://alienbabeltech.com/main/?p=32344&all=1) But those tests were made on higher resolutions, so I'm curious if there's any comparison on fullHD-resolutions? Does the 7970 take lead there aswell, or does 680 keep it's place as no. 1 on that field?

 

[bigcyco1]

I prefer the 680 the 7970GHZ is the king right now though check www.techpowerup.com/

 

[blazorthon]

It mostly depends on the settings with a less impacting dependence also on the game. Lowering the resolution means that you have a lot more performance to work with and how you use that performance is often what defines which card wins and by how much. For example, if you up the MSAA (which is what I'd do to make up for the lower resolution's increased jaggies compared to higher resolutions), the 7970 GHz Edition wins and often by fairly large margins. If you opt for using different settings such as higher tessellation and others, then the two companies may trade blows more often, but the 7970 GHz Edition is generally the winner right now AFAIK. However, it's also usually not by large margins if there isn't huge MSAA/CSAA.

However, individual games have become greater factors because both AMD and Nvidia have recently updated their drivers and got significant performance gains in some games, but the new drivers from each company favor different games.

I prefer the AMD cards because of their apparent affinity for MSAA and superior overclocking, but that's me.

 

[Ironslice]

I don't think it really matters. One card will be faster in one game and the other will be faster in the next. At 1080p however, both cards will completely max out any game you throw at them.

 

[bigcyco1]

If you want to save some money i just go for Sapphire's HD 7950 Vapor-X comes with a large dual-fan cooler that uses the company's famous vapor-chamber technology. On the Vapor-X you will also find a "Lethal Boost" button which switches to a second BIOS with higher clock speeds. With this BIOS, clocks are increased to 950 MHz GPU and 1250 MHz memory.I just bought my son this card and hes really happy with it i am pretty fond of it myself lol.

 

[Limerick]

I agree with blazor. AMD has superior overclocking abilities. I have dual 7950's clocked to 980 MHz which rip apart games. The new driver updates have also yielded higher performance on games such as skyrim, and Battlefield 3. I've noticed my fps has gone up by about 8~14 fps. It seems right now that the 7970 would be best.

 

[blazorthon]

I agree with blazor. AMD has superior overclocking abilities. I have dual 7950's clocked to 980 MHz which rip apart games. The new driver updates have also yielded higher performance on games such as skyrim, and Battlefield 3. I've noticed my fps has gone up by about 8~14 fps. It seems right now that the 7970 would be best.

980MHz on the GPU? Are you only using stock voltage or using a poor cooler? I ask because that's well below average for a good model of 7950 with overvoltage.

 

[bigcyco1]

I agree with blazor. AMD has superior overclocking abilities. I have dual 7950's clocked to 980 MHz which rip apart games. The new driver updates have also yielded higher performance on games such as skyrim, and Battlefield 3. I've noticed my fps has gone up by about 8~14 fps. It seems right now that the 7970 would be best.

980 MHz only ?

 

[Limerick]

980MHz on the GPU? Are you only using stock voltage or using a poor cooler? I ask because that's well below average for a good model of 7950 with overvoltage.

I've heard that I can get it to 1235 MHz but after some problems 2 years ago with pushing my 6950 to far I didn't want to push it far. I may try to push it farther if I'm absolutely sure I don't have the same problem with my 6950 which just died.

 

[bigcyco1]

I've heard that I can get it to 1235 MHz but after some problems 2 years ago with pushing my 6950 to far I didn't want to push it far. I may try to push it farther if I'm absolutely sure I don't have the same problem with my 6950 which just died.

If you know what your doing i don't think you have any issues but i don't suggest overclocking if your not very experienced

 

[Limerick]

If you know what your doing i don't think you have any issues but i don't suggest overclocking if your not very experienced

Well there's no way to learn more without trying. I'll try to get it higher and keep it stable. I think I can probably do it for this one. It's also under warranty so hopefully no bad incidents.

 

[bigcyco1]

Well there's no way to learn more without trying. I'll try to get it higher and keep it stable. I think I can probably do it for this one. It's also under warranty so hopefully no bad incidents.

If your happy with it leave it alone :lol:

 

[Limerick]

If your happy with it leave it alone :lol:

It's pretty damn powerful as is right now. I'm running games on 1920x1080, game setting maxed out, @ around 100+ fps.

 

[bigcyco1]

It's pretty damn powerful as is right now. I'm running games on 1920x1080, game setting maxed out, @ around 100+ fps.

Nice!

 

[Limerick]

Nice!

I know. I think I'm set for maybe 3~4 years hopefully I can squeeze out more with it.

 

[redeemer]

A good after market 7950 can hit 1200mhz easy and pretty much destroy everything out there.

 

[bigcyco1]

A good after market 7950 can hit 1200mhz easy and pretty much destroy everything out there.

+1 my sons card is a violent monster :lol:

 

[CaptainTom]

I've been searching for reviews on these two and with newest drivers seems like 7970 OC is getting ahead of 680 OC. (source: http://alienbabeltech.com/main/?p=32344&all=1) But those tests were made on higher resolutions, so I'm curious if there's any comparison on fullHD-resolutions? Does the 7970 take lead there aswell, or does 680 keep it's place as no. 1 on that field?

Idk they are so close... BUT ONE IS $80 cheaper!!! No comparison! The 7970 GHz is so much more for your money.

 

[Limerick]

Agreed. 7970 is the best option hands down in my opinion

 

[bigcyco1]

Idk they are so close... BUT ONE IS $80 cheaper!!! No comparison! The 7970 GHz is so much more for your money.

He makes a good point about price

 

[redeemer]

For 1080p though MSI 670 PE is pretty much up there, the 7970Ghz is more suited for 2560x1440p. Like I said before the 7950 is you like tweaking and messing around with clocks is the best bang for the buck. For out of the box performance I would go for the 670 PE as its a bit cheaper and 2GB is plenty for 1080p

 

[blazorthon]

For 1080p though MSI 670 PE is pretty much up there, the 7970Ghz is more suited for 2560x1440p. Like I said before the 7950 is you like tweaking and messing around with clocks is the best bang for the buck. For out of the box performance I would go for the 670 PE as its a bit cheaper and 2GB is plenty for 1080p

7950 Boosts and some otherwise factory overclocked models are on-par with the 670 and some even the 680 and factory overclocked 670s while being up to more than $100 cheaper. You don't need to be an enthusiast to see that the 7950 has a huge performance per dollar win.

Furthermore, the Gigabyte WindForce 7970 GHz Edition can be bought for only a little over $410 and it has a considerable performance advantage over the 670 PE while being cheaper than the 670 PE thanks to it having an even greater factory overclock. The PE cards also have MSI's overvoltage wth inadequate components for the voltage that has been shown to decrease reliability compared to other 670s.

If anything, I'd suggest an Asus DCII 670 or something over the MSI PE models.

 

[Limerick]

Yeah there is just no sense in getting the 670 when the 7950oc'ed beats overclocked 670s and is on par with stock 680s. So the point you try to make redeemer is nonsensical.

 

[bawchicawawa]

go for the 7970 and wait for the beautiful 12.11 drivers =]

 

[Maximus_Delta]

2 words - NEVER SETTLE.

The 7970 makes the most sense on every level now:
Price.... Check
Performance.... with 12.11, Check
Future proof.... 3GB VRam and 384bit memory bus, CHECK !!!!

Nvidia cheaped out on their latest cards, cheaply built, just compare the PCB with a 7000 series... its all about maximizing profit for nVidia. AMD is the enthusiasts choice head and shoulders above nVidia.