Best Brand of amd 7870 2gb

[mastermoirich]

Hello everyone,

I've been getting some help from some excellent people on this forum and I am looking to purchase a 7870 2gb. The issue I'm having is brand selection. I've read everything from brand doesn't matter to specific brands to trust. But each thread i read gives a different answer on what brands.

SO...please vote on your recommendation..

 

[minidruid]

From my personal experience i dont like Gigabyte cards and prefer either MSI or Sapphire when it comes to AMD gpu's.

 

[andrewcarr]

I'd like to add that there are lots of cards I wouldn't mind buying. Here are them all
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125418
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161404
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202010
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127662
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121649
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127681
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102996
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161423

Any of these I wouldn't hesitate to buy at the right price. If it was right now though I think the one HIS would be the winner since it scored the best in this article (it's the same cooler).
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-7950-review-benchmark,3207.html
conclusion
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-7950-review-benchmark,3207-14.html

 

[wake4x4ptball]

where is XFX

 

[kracker]

XFX not preferred?

 

[mastermoirich]

Sorry....i forgot to add it to the poll when i created it. I will certainly keep a manual tally of you xfx votes. Your opinions are appreciated.

 

[wake4x4ptball]

i would go saphhire HSI or XFX i have XFX right now and it nice

 

[mastermoirich]

umm...."HSI"..is that "MSI" or "HIS"

 

[andrewcarr]

I meant to make mine for HIS lol. But there are two brands I tend to stay away from both XFX (never getting one) and PowerColor (same goes for this brand). Both regularly suffer from coil whine.

 

[mastermoirich]

also...anyone have any thoughts on why there is a $70 difference for these 2 cards when all of the specs are the same?

Is the core edition better quality?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150604

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150605

 

[andrewcarr]

Rip off. I wouldn't ever get XFX as I said before.

 

[mastermoirich]

i don't know how much it matters but your linked article is about 7950's....and i am getting a 7870...

I sort of feel like no matter what choice i make, some will like the card, and others will not.

 

[andrewcarr]

I linked that article and said

"If it was right now though I think the one HIS would be the winner since it scored the best in this article (it's the same cooler)."

All the coolers are the same as the 7870 cards so the review is still relevant just the FPS will be slightly lower. So you can look at the temperature and noise and get a feel for what is the best.

So everything in the article but the power consumption and overclocking is good info.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-7950-review-benchmark,3207.html

 

[maxinexus]

Rip off. I wouldn't ever get XFX as I said before.

Xfx not bad. I have only good experience with them. When I had GS7900 when I RMA it they send me 8800GT. When I had GTX280 I RMA and got GTX285....when I had 6950 RMA it I got 6950 lol but with dual cooler...not bad it it except the RMA process.

Anyway, now I have MSI...the build quality seems much better( metal). I would not get gigabit it feels cheap (platic)

 

[mastermoirich]

Ok i'll keep the HIS in mind (although the article says the turbo isn't avail in N.A., and the non-turbo is meh; however i havent looked to see if that is still the case)

 

[stickmansam]

I like gigbyte the best. It has what I think is the best cooler in class with Windforce 3x and they are generally pretty good with Quality Control. Both me and my friend are using 7850OC's without issues and also ran a Gigabyte p965 and EP43 without issues for years (5 ish).

 

[bc5]

I voted MSI, but I wouldn't buy one of these anyway when I could pick up an EVGA GTX660.

 

[andrewcarr]

The turbo model is in the US (I even posted under that article on the third page of comments the newegg link to it the day it came out).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161415
Although it was since discontinued.

But anyways that's irrelevant to this discussion since that's a 7950 and this is a 7870. There are overclocked versions but I'd say just to get the regular version and to overclock it yourself.
Stock- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161404
Overclock- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161423

 

[mastermoirich]

hmmm..well MSI seems to have the most votes despite the article you linked. I don't know how to overclock...so i'm guessing i'll need to spend some time in the OC threads.

 

[andrewcarr]

Overclocking for noobs.

Go to this screen when you install the software.
http://cdn3.wccftech.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/AMD-Overdrive.png
Slide the bar up and click click on the test button (it's not in the picture but it is in the newer software versions, that one is a bit old). If it passes you're set. If it's your first time and you have an AMD card that's all I suggest so you can't screw it up and ruin your new card.

MSI isn't a bad brand at all and I also highly recommend their cards. But their also the best for overclocking so if you want to go even higher overclock setting in the future you can install other overclocking programs such as MSI afterburner.

 

[stickmansam]

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/gigabyte_radeon_hd_7870_oc_review,1.html

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/06/19/gigabyte_radeon_hd_7870_oc_video_card_review/

 

[mastermoirich]

Narrowed down to 3 choices...Help!

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161404

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127662

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127681

 

[wake4x4ptball]

either MSI with dual fans for OC

 

[bc5]

Would it be really annoying if I posted a link to make you think twice about using a Radeon at all?

Something like... http://techreport.com/review/23981/radeon-hd-7950-vs-geforce-gtx-660-ti-revisited

And http://techreport.com/review/24022/does-the-radeon-hd-7950-stumble-in-windows-8

If you don't want your mind to be changed, best to not read those

 

[mastermoirich]

Thank you for your articles. And i hate you

Edit: After spending quite a bit of time reading the comments after those reviews it seems that there is a lot to be desired in terms of appropriate testing methods. For starters Stock amd vs OC Nvidia....wtf? If that were a professional study for an engineering or science journal it would be thrown out due to the number of imbalanced variables, especially considering it produced results that are in direct opposition to countless of other reviews.

So while i do appreciate the links, i still think the AMD is the choice, AND it is $70 cheaper, AND comes with two games, AND can be OC'd.