Not sure which brand of 7950

[MasonP]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Hoping this week, $200-$320

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, watching movies, etc

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: No GPU, i5 3570k CPU. First build

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS: 8GB RAM, Asrock z77 extreme4 mobo

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg (has faster shipping than Amazon)

PARTS PREFERENCES: None

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: Not sure. Getting a Asus VH236H 23.0" Monitor

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I am trying to decide between Gigabyte (currently out of stock EVERYWHERE I look), XFX and Sapphire 7950 3GB GPU. I have heard terrible terrible things about Sapphires RMA process and customer service, but their card is currently in stock and gigabytes is not. I have not heard much about XFX, but the reviews on Newegg seem to be worse than the other two.

I plan to possibly overclock the card a little bit, not too much as this is my first build and I am a total noob with it. I intend on using it mainly for gaming (SC2, Skyrim, GW2, LoL, DOTA2, anything Steam has for sale, etc)

 

[MasonP]

bump

 

[bigcyco1]

I would recommend 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.You can overclock it even further yourself it's a decent card.

 

[MasonP]

Thanks, I'll make sure to check it out. Anyone else have a second opinion? Don't wanna choose wrong haha

 

[jaideep1337]

Yoy can also get the HIS IceQ x turbo 7950. It looks really cool and stays really cool to thanks to the IceQ cooling solution.
Sapphire is good too and between these two brands it really comes down to personal preference
Link here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161420

 

[MasonP]

I like the look of the Vapor-X. I have heard sapphires RMA/Customer service is absolute *** though, should I be concerned?

 

[Mousemonkey]

bump

Don't...

Bump posts


http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/283384-33-read-first

 

[prototype18]

Well you can check Asus version of 7950. That is great and stays cool !

http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=68756&vpn=HD7950-DC2-3GD5&manufacture=ASUS

 

[mahatmacoat]

Speaking personally, I have *never* had a probl;em with any Asus product, and I've been using their kit since the mid 1990's.

I have no personal experience of their 7950 card, but Review here: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-7950-review-benchmark,3207-4.html

It's a group test, so other cards in the article as well. I'm envious, the 7950 far outperforms my 6850

 

[MasonP]

After checking them all out, I think I am going with the Sapphire Vapor X. Although Sapphires RMA and Customer Service seems sketchy, it seems slightly worth the risk for the card

 

[MasonP]

Best answer selected by MasonP.