XFX Raedeon HD 7970 Double D or GTX 670?

[Ben R]

Hi all,

Assuming I can get a 7970 for ~$319, Should I opt for it over a GTX 670 ?

I use a 1980x1080 monitor and primarily game. I've been leaning towards the 670 because it was a bit cheaper, but now that the option for the 7970 at that price is an option, is this a no-brainer?

Kind of a time sensitive question so I'd really appreciate any advice

 

[rene13cross]

Yes, I'd go for the 7970. It will last abit longer and OCs really well to the point where it will well pass a GTX 680 in performance.

Are you able to get another 7970 for that price though (non-XFX)? Because the cooler on that card is meant to be terrible.

 

[Ben R]

No, unfortunately, it seems like XFX is the only option. I've owned a few XFX cards, and I have not had any issues, plus they have lifetime warranties.

However, if the fans are actually that bad, would that push towards the 670 instead?

 

[rene13cross]

Nah, I'd still go for the 7970, should be no problem.

 

[Ben R]

OK, because I read some threads saying that for multi monitor, the 7970 hands down, but for single monitors the 670 pulls ahead. Is this not the case?

 

[rene13cross]

Yes, for multi monitor, AMD certainly has the upper hand this generation. The GTX 6xx cards are slightly crippled at huge resolutions whereas the 79xx cards have lots of memory and a huge memory bus to aid performance at those resolutions.
As you can see in my sig I own 2 7950s and they kick ass, even for my triple monitor Eyefinity setup.

 

[Dude496]

Does the XFX have a single DVI port or two? If it has two, it most likely has the 3.1 pcb which does not allow voltage changes...not a big deal if you don't plan on pushing the card past 1100 MHz.

 

[Ben R]

Well I probably wont be OCing very much (knowing myself)

So Is the consensus that I get this 7970 over the 670 regardless of what resolution I play at or for single monitor at 1980x1080, the 670 is the better card?

 

[Ben R]

Does the XFX have a single DVI port or two? If it has two, it most likely has the 3.1 pcb which does not allow voltage changes...not a big deal if you don't plan on pushing the card past 1100 MHz.

Display Output
HDMI Ready:1.4a
Max Supported Resolution (ANALOG):2048 x 1536
Max Supported Resolution (DIGITAL):2560 x 1600
Output - DL-DVI-I:1
Output - HDMI:1
Output - mini DP:2
Output - SL-DVI-D:1
Dual link Support:Y
Display Port ready:1.2

 

[NV88]

Get a 680. The MSI Lightning can be overvolted (with a BIOS flash I believe) and you get access to PhysX in a few games and a few other Nvidia only bits and pieces (Adpative Vsync, TXAA ect). I went for a 2GB Phantom.

 

[Ben R]

Yeah, the 680 is out of my budget. The question is between the 7970 and the 670

 

[NV88]

Then a 670. Check out Asus's Direct CU lineup.

 

[Ben R]

Can you spend a moment explaining your answer? Is it just because I'm using a single monitor, or because you feel the stock 670 outperforms the stock 7970? I'm seeing a lot of mixed advice here. There's also price to consider, the 670s vary widely and I would probably end up getting something like the EVA 670 FTW

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130787&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

But still, that 7970 would save me about $40 which at this point is quite a bit.

Thoughts?

 

[burntpizza]

Oh the hd 7970 is cheaper? then get it, it can beat 680 in bf3. It is better than gtx 670.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/Catalyst_12.11_Performance/23.html

Catalyst 12.11 beta vs nvidia forceware 310.33 beta

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/11/12/fall_2012_gpu_driver_comparison_roundup/

HD 7970 is now faster by a significant margin.
The higher the resolution, the faster hd 7970 is compared to gtx 670.

 

[Ben R]

Yeah, that's pretty much what I had decided

 

[Hookster67]

At this moment AMD has made vast improvements on their drivers. The 12.11 is in beta but works great. There is a significant increase in results with the latest drivers. Also if the special is still going on you get 3 free games with the video card purchase. A big plus in my book. I usually try and get the best or second best card out there expecting it to give me good game play for 2 to 3 years. Then I usually pick up a second one and Xfire them if I need the power. I don't think you can go wrong with the 79XX line. But honestly it is always up to what your willing to spend at the time you buy and will it achieve what you want or need. I like both Nvidia and AMD but at this time the AMD card is my choice because I was willing to spend what the cards price was and looked at what I was getting. I definitely am enjoying the free games and cannot wait to get FarCry3.