HD 7970 vs GTX 670

[dexter98]

Currently the lowest price for both HD 7970 and GTX 670 2GB are $329.99 AR. I guess it's a no brainer that I should pick HD 7970 over GTX 670?

However, I am little hesitant on buying HD 7970 because NVIDIA cards tend to run World of Warcraft better than ATI cards (I play WoW ALOT), and it's better at 3d gaming too (this is something I might try in the future).

Other than what I listed above, are there any other reasons I shouldn't choose 7970 over GTX 670?

BTW this is the $329.99 AR HD 7970 card: SAPPHIRE 100351SR Radeon HD 7970 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card OC with Boost.

Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202008

Is that the latest non-GHz edition from Sapphire? I went to Sapphire website they have like 5 non-GHz edition 7970s listed and none of them is 100351SR.

Lastly, how is this card anyway? Compared to other 7970s, thanks.

 

[nvalhalla]

7970 is faster, and WoW has such low requirements, I can't imagine you would care about the FPS. The cooler on that card is nice, should OC to 1+ GHz easily. That card is normally $380, so the price is great. I say stick with ATI.

 

[technoholic]

I think that is not a Ghz Edition card. It is good that you choose a card with custom cooler. As for Nvidia vs AMD debate: Those cards perform similarly in games. 7970 may jump ahead when overclocked but for the cost of high power consumption. Honestly, both cards will provide you the same level of smoothness and satisfaction, you can be sure of that. A GTX 670 when overclocked can also reach and well surpass the gaming performance of a GTX 680.

Nvidia GTX 670:
- Pure gaming card with high 3d capability
- Acceleration in CUDA and OpenCL -- CUDA and OpenCL lets your GPU compute stuff instead of your CPU and get the work done much more quickly (like some media/content creation apps and some games will take advantage of this in the future))
- Relatively low power consumption
- Price much cheaper than that of a GTX 680 but can reach the same level of performance
- Potential to overclock
- In some games better than HD 7970
- Integrated GPU Physx engine, 3d support, bundled games etc

AMD HD 7970:
- Very strong gaming card with strong compute capability in OpenCL acceleration (often faster than Nvidia cards in OpenCL computing)
- Some higher power consumption compared to GTX 670
- High potential for overclocking with a custom cooler. Same PCB and same specifications with 7970 Ghz Edition. Theoretically you can reach at and well beyond the performance level of Ghz edition and GTX 680, IF YOU OVERCLOCK
- In some games better than GTX 670
- Higher memory bandwidth
- Good multi monitor support
- 3d support (i don't know which card is better at this)

At last, this is all about what you want to do with your PC. If mostly gaming, choose whichever you can find cheaper. If you have choice of games you want to play, then pay attention which card performs better at those. Finally, you can't go wrong whichever you choose

 

[technoholic]

Here is some comparisons/reviews:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/Catalyst_12.11_Performance/20.html
http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/graphics/46905-amd-catalyst-1211-benchmarked/?page=3
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/amd_catalyst_12_11_driver_performance.html
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/57413-amd-12-11-never-settle-driver-performance-4.html

As much as i tried to be objective picking the benches, i don't know what is the situation after Nvidia's new drivers so take these benches with a grain of salt

 

[bigcyco1]

Just to make your choice harder jk Honestly you can not go wrong either way i am shocked members still ask this question.GPU:GIGABYTE GV-N670OC-2GD GeForce GTX 670 Free 2 games w/ purchase, limited offer $329.99 after $20.00 rebate card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125423#top

Reviews of card:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-670-test-review,3217.html
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Gigabyte/GeForce_GTX_670_Windforce/

 

[Hazle]

in case you're looking for something beyond 4xAA and/or FXAA's alleged blurriness and washed out color turns you off, you can crank up the AA further with less of a performance drop compared to the 670 due to it's higher memory bandwidth. this also helps with mods in some games.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-660-ti-memory-bandwidth-anti-aliasing,3283-11.html

plus 3 free games. even if you're not a fan, you may have a use for them.

if you're looking to add another card to run in SLI/CF in the future, the 670's a better choice, though i'll admit i'm not well versed in the subject and am basing this from other member's feedback about SLI vs CF. if you're fine with 2-4xAA /FXAA, and have no plans to get involved with the modding community, the 670 isn't so bad. plus you do get a capable card to run as a dedicated PhysX card in the future once you upgrade to a newer card

 

[technoholic]

Reviews of card:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-670-test-review,3217.html
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Gigabyte/GeForce_GTX_670_Windforce/

Those are very old reviews from the summer. Both companies released newer drivers after that time. Those are misleading cause new driver optimizations provide much different results (differing like 20% or more in FPS). Peace

 

[bigcyco1]

Those are very old reviews from the summer. Both companies released newer drivers after that time. Those are misleading cause new driver optimizations provide much different results (differing like 20% or more in FPS). Peace

There not meant to be misleading there to read up on the card TH releases a monthly video card recommendation it's pretty obvious the cards preform better now.

 

[Star72]

Either card is a good choice. Given that right now that 7970 comes with 3 or 4 free games I'd probably go that route just for that added value.

 

[bigcyco1]

Those are very old reviews from the summer. Both companies released newer drivers after that time. Those are misleading cause new driver optimizations provide much different results (differing like 20% or more in FPS). Peace

The 7970 preforms better in some games and the 670 in others there no 20% difference between them.The 7970 is better for overclocking and overall 5% faster

 

[technoholic]

The 7970 preforms better in some games and the 670 in others there no 20% difference between them.The 7970 is better for overclocking and overall 5% faster

You got it wrong. I say different driver versions will produce different FPS performance (i.e like 20% more FPS in a newer driver). AMD released 12.11 beta and Nvidia 310 (something) beta drivers, these make nice FPS increases in many games. Bottom line: HD 7970 is slightly faster and for the same cost

 

[bigcyco1]

You got it wrong. I say different driver versions will produce different FPS performance (i.e like 20% more FPS in a newer driver). AMD released 12.11 beta and Nvidia 310 (something) beta drivers, these make nice FPS increases in many games. Bottom line: HD 7970 is slightly faster and for the same cost

I read it again.Your right i misunderstood i apologize.OP all the 7950/7970 and 670/680 are within each others range. Get your fav brand or has the features you like.

Source: http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/57413-amd-12-11-never-settle-driver-performance-17.html that is the difference between 7970GHz and GTX 680 so it should be about the same between 7970 vs 670.

 

[dexter98]

From the responses I see here, people seem to compare 7970 GHz edition to GTX 680, and 7970 to GTX 670.

However, Tom's Hardware Graphics Card Hierarchy Chart from the "Best Graphics Cards For The Money: November 2012" article has 7970 pitted against GTX 680, GTX 670 against 7950. Is the chart wrong?

 

[successful_troll]

The fact is that the GTX 670 is about 3 times faster !

 

[bigcyco1]

The 670 and 7970 perform basically the same at stock up to 1080p resolution, trading blows depending on the game. The 7970 will OC better and do better at high resolution (and has way more compute power), the 670 gives you CUDA , PhysX, TXAA, FXAA, ADap. Vsync etc and lower power draw. Both are solid buys around the $400
This is the fastest single video card http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=77488&vpn=MATRIX-HD7970-P-3GD5&manufacture=ASUS

 

[dexter98]

The 670 and 7970 perform basically the same at stock up to 1080p resolution, trading blows depending on the game. The 7970 will OC better and do better at high resolution (and has way more compute power), the 670 gives you PhysX, TXAA, FXAA, ADap. Vsync etc and lower power draw. Both are solid buys around the $400
This is the fastest single video card http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=77488&vpn=MATRIX-HD7970-P-3GD5&manufacture=ASUS

So HD 7970 > GTX 670 if I gaming at 2560x1440 resolution due to the fact that it has higher memory bandwidth and 1GB more VRAM right?

 

[bigcyco1]

Yes a 7970GHz will preform better at 2560x1440

 

[dexter98]

Best answer selected by dexter98.

 

[corzaboy4]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq2BOlE1VQw

the HD 7970 looks much better than the 670? im confused

 

[Keogh_Bradley]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq2BOlE1VQw

the HD 7970 looks much better than the 670? im confused

Have you seen the posting date of that video? It's too out of date to be a reliable source.