7970 (ghz), 670, or 680

[Nackles]

I am looking at cards in the $400 range but I am having trouble pulling the trigger. I initially decided on the 7970, but I keep reading about all the trouble AMD is having with the drivers right now. The 680 looks good, but it seems awfully pricey when compared to the 7970. Would the 670 be a significant upgrade to my 560 ti 448? Also I am not sure if my PSU could handle a 7970, but from what I have read a 680 is not quite as power hungry. So... 7970 (and PSU possibly), 670, or 680.

My current setup -
MB - Asus p8z68-v pro gen3
CPU - i5 2500K
GPU - Gigabyte 560 ti 448
PSU - OCZ modXstream pro 600w


This would be the first upgrade on my first build, so I have no experience with AMD and nothing to reference my Nvidia experience to. I also will likely upgrade to a 3 monitor setup in the future so SLI and Crossfire quality/capability are factors.

 

[larrym]

Since you already have a pretty nice setup, you might as well wait for the next generation cards to come out..I heard they will be out this year, but who knows. Unless you have an issue where you must upgrade, I would wait.

 

[blazorthon]

AMD isn't really having trouble with the drivers these days. People still having problems (perhaps with a few exceptions) are mostly having problems not caused by drivers or didn't update drivers properly. The same is true for Nvidia; they both have excellent drivers right now and have for some time (granted Nvidia had a strong head start at first).

The 680 is not worth considering over the 670 because it is considerably more expensive for little to no performance gain over the 670 and the 670 is a significant upgrade over a 560 Ti 448 core. The 7970 GHz Edition consumes significantly more power than the 670, but like with the 680 versus the 670, the 7970 GHz Edition is usually no really worth getting over a 7970 and if you overclock, even the 7950 is pretty much just as good while consuming a lot less power (only a hair over the 670).

Your PSU looks fine even if you had a 7970 GHz Edition anyway IMO, but I wouldn't trust it for having two 670s or two 79xx cards.

Choosing the 670 over a 7950 or 7970 is not really a huge decision because they're all similarly great cards overall. Each has a few advantages in a few areas, but what wins what changes rapidly lately due to both Nvidia and AMD cranking out driver updates so rapidly. If you have doubts on AMD, founded or unfounded, then simply getting a 670- should that put any doubts at ease- is not unreasonable at all. I prefer the 7950, but that's me. I like its MSAA advantage and superior overclocking headroom, but they've all got their advantages. For example, the 79xx cards don't natively support GPU PhysX acceleration and that is a disadvantage in the few games that support it, but they've got better MSAA scaling and far better support for some advnaced lighting features that rely on OpenCL and/or Direct Compute performance.

However, I agree with the above post in that unless you currently have good reason to upgrade, it's reasonable to wait until the next generation to upgrade. Unless what you have seems inadequate, you might be better off waiting a few months.

 

[CaptainTom]

I am looking at cards in the $400 range but I am having trouble pulling the trigger. I initially decided on the 7970, but I keep reading about all the trouble AMD is having with the drivers right now. The 680 looks good, but it seems awfully pricey when compared to the 7970. Would the 670 be a significant upgrade to my 560 ti 448? Also I am not sure if my PSU could handle a 7970, but from what I have read a 680 is not quite as power hungry. So... 7970 (and PSU possibly), 670, or 680.

My current setup -
MB - Asus p8z68-v pro gen3
CPU - i5 2500K
GPU - Gigabyte 560 ti 448
PSU - OCZ modXstream pro 600w


This would be the first upgrade on my first build, so I have no experience with AMD and nothing to reference my Nvidia experience to. I also will likely upgrade to a 3 monitor setup in the future so SLI and Crossfire quality/capability are factors.

Performance wise: 7950=670, 7970=680, 7970 ghz has no equal

I upgraded amd drivers from 13.1 to the new 13.2 beta. NO PROBLEMS. Amd drivers are fine. That is very old news.

 

[CaptainTom]

Since you already have a pretty nice setup, you might as well wait for the next generation cards to come out..I heard they will be out this year, but who knows. Unless you have an issue where you must upgrade, I would wait.

In all honesty this is probably the best plan. However I do agree with the other guy that a good 7950 ( vapor-x is awesome and only $320) is easily the best price/performance wise.

 

[Nackles]

Performance wise: 7950=670, 7970=680, 7970 ghz has no equal

I upgraded amd drivers from 13.1 to the new 13.2 beta. NO PROBLEMS. Amd drivers are fine. That is very old news.

7970 ghz has no equal - correct me if I am wrong, but a ghz is just an overclocked 7970 right? and for that matter, is the 680 a good overclock card?

I'm glad to see there hasn't been driver issues lately, there is so much info (and fanboyism) on the forums it is hard to keep up with some things!

 

[blazorthon]

7970 ghz has no equal - correct me if I am wrong, but a ghz is just an overclocked 7970 right? and for that matter, is the 680 a good overclock card?

I'm glad to see there hasn't been driver issues lately, there is so much info (and fanboyism) on the forums it is hard to keep up with some things!

The 7970 GHz Edition is a 7970 with better binned parts and a different BIOS. It overclocks a little better than the average 7950 and 7970, but it's not really worth a price premium over the 7970 if you overclock and it consumes considerably more power than the 7970 too.

The 680s are good for overclocking (granted not really any better than the 670 and thus generally not worth buying), but generally not as good as AMD's 79xx cards for overclocking.

 

[17seconds]

Don't forget the "Never Settle Reloaded" bundle on AMD cards just announced. Free Crysis 3 and Bioshock Infinite.
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/amd_never_reloaded_settle_bundle,1.html

 

[eightdrunkengods]

Since you already have a pretty nice setup, you might as well wait for the next generation cards to come out..I heard they will be out this year, but who knows. Unless you have an issue where you must upgrade, I would wait.

This is a good plan unless you're currently playing something that you really want to run at max settings but can't.

The 680 is out, IMO. The Windforce 3X 670 is easy to OC and regularly performs as well as the reference 680s.

 

[DarkSable]

Yep, the 680 is a fool's choice now.

It's only 5% faster than a 670 (2-3% after both cards are overclocked), but it costs 25-30% more. When you then consider that both cards max out almost all games at 1080p and 60fps, why in the world would you spend another $1-200?

 

[Nackles]

This is a good plan unless you're currently playing something that you really want to run at max settings but can't.

The 680 is out, IMO. The Windforce 3X 670 is easy to OC and regularly performs as well as the reference 680s.

I want to max EVERYTHING out!! just kidding, but I do have Far Cry 3 (which is having more problems than just not being able to max out) and I want Crysis 3 which I am sure will make my card feel inadequate and is another reason I am considering 79xx over 670.

My current 560 ti 448 gigabyte card has a locked voltage. Is that not normal for gigabyte cards?

 

[CaptainTom]

The 7970 GHz Edition is a 7970 with better binned parts and a different BIOS. It overclocks a little better than the average 7950 and 7970, but it's not really worth a price premium over the 7970 if you overclock and it consumes considerably more power than the 7970 too.

The 680s are good for overclocking (granted not really any better than the 670 and thus generally not worth buying), but generally not as good as AMD's 79xx cards for overclocking.

Yeah this is correct. You can expect a 7970 to get to 1150/1500-1250/1700 clocks. However a 7970 GHz always gets to 1200/1600 and I have seen some get to 1400/1850+. This means on average a GHz edition is 5-10% stronger than a normal one.

Only get the GHz edition if you want the absolute best single GPU (Again especially the Vapor-x version).

 

[CaptainTom]

I want to max EVERYTHING out!! just kidding, but I do have Far Cry 3 (which is having more problems than just not being able to max out) and I want Crysis 3 which I am sure will make my card feel inadequate and is another reason I am considering 79xx over 670.

My current 560 ti 448 gigabyte card has a locked voltage. Is that not normal for gigabyte cards?

I believe almost all 6xx series cards have locked voltages, and most 7xxx don't (I may be wrong). However I do know that sapphire cards tend to be unlocked, but check user reviews on newegg first to make sure

 

[bigshootr8]

Nvidia has taken a heavy stance on overclocking and locking there cards up so that people don't do silly things to there cards and break them. So yes I would say you are correct in all cases except for the cards that have triple overvolting from MSI you wouldn't be able to.

At this point based on what you play and what you intend on playing it would make more sense to get the 7970. Similar price point to the 670 in most cases and you get 2 games one you mentioned you intend on playing one you may find at least bit interesting.

I also agree with what blaze was saying that both companies seem to be doing fine with drivers I have seen a few hickups on the forums with people needing to revert to a older driver for one reason or another but I would say for the most part things are just fine. Also, AMD is starting to work on there latency issues in comparison to Nvidia so I would expect over time for the AMD solution to get stronger and stronger. The only thing that deters me from AMD at the moment is there financial woes and not knowing how they will be affected long term but for right now you can not go wrong with the 7970. If I didn't play games with physx I would run straight for a 7970 in a heartbeat and probably the Vapor-X as blaze mentioned.

 

[CaptainTom]

Nvidia has taken a heavy stance on overclocking and locking there cards up so that people don't do silly things to there cards and break them. So yes I would say you are correct in all cases except for the cards that have triple overvolting from MSI you wouldn't be able to.

At this point based on what you play and what you intend on playing it would make more sense to get the 7970. Similar price point to the 670 in most cases and you get 2 games one you mentioned you intend on playing one you may find at least bit interesting.

I also agree with what blaze was saying that both companies seem to be doing fine with drivers I have seen a few hickups on the forums with people needing to revert to a older driver for one reason or another but I would say for the most part things are just fine. Also, AMD is starting to work on there latency issues in comparison to Nvidia so I would expect over time for the AMD solution to get stronger and stronger. The only thing that deters me from AMD at the moment is there financial woes and not knowing how they will be affected long term but for right now you can not go wrong with the 7970. If I didn't play games with physx I would run straight for a 7970 in a heartbeat and probably the Vapor-X as blaze mentioned.

The thing is, I have seen several Nvidia cards break after heavy overclocking (With high Voltages). However no matter what I do to AMD cards, they never break! If they get to hot they turn off, and if they get unstable then you just have to settle for a lower overclock. But they never break!

What I am saying is it might have been a good idea to lock voltages on their cards since they tend to prefer specific settings to run well. But AMD's cards seem to be much more rugged, and as such don't need the extra protection. It's not that AMD doesn't care.

 

[bigshootr8]

Agreed AMD as a company has been one of those overclocker pushers. Most of the CPU records fall underneath AMD as well so I will agree with that. I'm sure you can overclock a Nvidia card but you would be limited most definitely. And I partially blame Nvidia for this because if they wanted to be in that market they could be.

 

[Nackles]

Thanks to everyone for a lot of good discussion points. After taking most of this into consideration with the factors I already had in mind, I am probably going to go for a 7970 or 7970 ghz.

 

[CaptainTom]

Thanks to everyone for a lot of good discussion points. After taking most of this into consideration with the factors I already had in mind, I am probably going to go for a 7970 or 7970 ghz.

Best 7970 for the money:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125413

Unfortunately the 7970 Vapor-x is out of stock. I would consider waiting for the Sapphire cards to get back in stock...

 

[bigshootr8]

Yea I wish It would show by searching but they have the habit of doing that now when the card is no longer in stock. Must be a hot item.

 

[ice-note]

What about the HIS 7970 Ghz? Is that any good?

Man, that Crysis and Bioshock deal is awweeesome.

 

[bigshootr8]

There is a review for that card here.
http://www.pureoverclock.com/Review-detail/his-7970-iceq-x2-ghz-edition/15/

You can still find the vapor-x its would just be through a different store.

and is cheaper then the HIS card at the moment it looks like.
http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=AT-7970GHZ&c=CJ

 

[ice-note]

Damn it! It's out of stock, too!

Just out of curiousity, how does the Vapor X compare to the GTX 680/670?

 

[bigshootr8]

I'm not sure where it compares with the 7950's however with the 7970 ghz edition cards they are the fastest cards on the market.

Here is a benchmark from Anandtech taken in november. With a comparison with a 680 the second link with a 670.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/618?vs=555

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/618?vs=598

 

[bigshootr8]

Also keep in mind that tomorrow is new release Tuesday so there are chances for items to come in stock in the middle of the week. I checked pcpartpicker the first time and you can continue to check it to. Nothing is worse then impulse buying something

 

[Nackles]

Best 7970 for the money:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125413

Unfortunately the 7970 Vapor-x is out of stock. I would consider waiting for the Sapphire cards to get back in stock...

This is my exact plan at the moment. I have heard so much about the sapphire vapor x, my plan is to get that. If not i will probably go for the gigabyte, the price is nice and I have had 0 problems with my 560 (except for the locked voltage ) I'm not in a big hurry either, so I can afford to wait if I want too.