7950 vs 7970

[Ljonda]

Hello,

I really don't know which gpu to buy. The 7950 is 70 euro less than the 7970 and we all know how valuable is money. I am worried buying 7950 tho cause it's a lot of money and I want to be buying a gpu that will last about 3 or 4 years. So is there a big different between the 7970 and the 7950 or shall I keep my money and get the 7950.

Please let me know your opinion.
Thanks

 

[alvine]

it depends how old your system is and what resolution you're gaming at
if its an older system then get 7950

 

[Ljonda]

it depends how old your system is and what resolution you're gaming at
if its an older system then get 7950

I am building a new mostly gaming build. I will be using the gpu at 1920x1080 resolution.

 

[Spaniard United]

Well ... the 7950 can be overclocked to a stock 7970 easily which gives you the same performance (basically).

That being said the 7970 can also be overclocked so it will remain ahead of the 7950. Either way they are both solid GPUs that should certainly last a few years.

If you're not wanting to overclock at all, the 7970 might be a better option for you simply because it's going to offer more power than the 7950 at stock. Then again, it also depends on what games you play and the options you want. What CPU are you getting?

 

[Ljonda]

Well ... the 7950 can be overclocked to a stock 7970 easily which gives you the same performance (basically).

That being said the 7970 can also be overclocked so it will remain ahead of the 7950. Either way they are both solid GPUs that should certainly last a few years.

If you're not wanting to overclock at all, the 7970 might be a better option for you simply because it's going to offer more power than the 7950 at stock. Then again, it also depends on what games you play and the options you want. What CPU are you getting?

I will be using it for upcoming games such as GTA V, Crysis and Modern warfares.
I am getting an intel i5 3470k since I heard many good reviews about it.

I have never tried to overclock but I am getting a decent z77 motherboard for it and enough wattage for it.
I just want to know if 7970 is worth the extra money.

Thank you for your reply.

 

[Spaniard United]

I'll assume you meant the 3570k in which case go with the 7970. It's worth it and you should have a strong enough system that nothing really gets bottlenecked. The 7970 is faster and stronger and whether you overclock or choose not to, it will stay ahead of the 7950.

 

[Brett928S2]

7990 >>> http://www.powercolor.com/us/products_features.asp?id=423

All the best Brett

 

[Ljonda]

7990 >>> http://www.powercolor.com/us/products_features.asp?id=423

All the best Brett

That costs a lot man. I will stick with the 7970 as Spaniard said.

 

[ANIR0X2K00L]

7990 >>> http://www.powercolor.com/us/products_features.asp?id=423

All the best Brett

That costs a lot man. I will stick with the 7970 as Spaniard said.

Thats ok but if u ask is the extra 70 euro worth it, then a clear no. Go with a 7950 stock or something like the sapphire vapor x that overclocks really good.

 

[javathedot]

When comparing GPUs, it is often overlooked that the main difference between GPUs in the same line of architecture is on the number of stream processors (or CUDA cores for Nvidia).

7950 has 1792 stream processors while the 7970 has 2048.
7950 has 5000mhz memory speed while 7970 has 5500mhz.
7950 has stock GPU clock of 900mhz while 7970 has 925mhz.

the gpu clock is negligible since overclocking 900 to 925 is a piece of cake.
The RAM speed difference is also negligible.

It is worth taking note that games are developed with a finite number of stream processors to use. Buying a card with more stream processors doesn't automatically make a game use those additional stream processors.

The most realizable benefit you can get from a card is through its VRAM, Memory bandwidth interface and clock speed.

Both have 3gb VRAM and 384-bit bandwidth. Clock speed is almost the same. Same architecture. And these numbers are still overkill for most games out there.

Conclusion is, the benefit from 7970 is future proofing. That's all. And the 7950 is still future-proof in its own respect.

I'm using 6790 for crying out loud and i get decent 60 fps avg. at 1600x900, High, Low AA, All effects enabled while playing WOT. It has 256-bit mem bandwidth, 800 stream procs, 840 mhz stock speed, 1gb DDR5.