Which 7970?

[DelightfulDucklings]

Hi all, I have decided to have a Sapphire Vapor-X (dual fan) 7970 and was thinking of getting a GHZ edition because of the better overclock capabilities compared to other stock cards but I have heard rumors that the new ones are all voltage locked which makes me think if I will even be able to overclock it very much at all. The non-ghz edition card I am looking at is here: http://pbtech.co.nz/index.php?z=p&p=VGASAP7973&name=Sapphire-HD7970-3G-OC-Version-PCI-E-3.0-Dual-fan-V

and the Ghz-edition is here: http://pbtech.co.nz/index.php?z=p&p=VGASAP7974&name=Sapphire-VAPOR-X-HD7970-GHZ-EDITION-3G-GDDR5-PCI-E

Just to clarify I am going to overclock no matter which card I get but want to check if they are voltage locked (I really hope not), also is it worth me getting the Ghz edition anyway because I plan to try to get 1150mhz overclock so would I be able to do that on non-ghz edition? I'm pretty sure you can but just checking

Thanks

 

[Keiki646]

Hi all, I have decided to have a Sapphire Vapor-X (dual fan) 7970 and was thinking of getting a GHZ edition because of the better overclock capabilities compared to other stock cards but I have heard rumors that the new ones are all voltage locked which makes me think if I will even be able to overclock it very much at all. The non-ghz edition card I am looking at is here: http://pbtech.co.nz/index.php?z=p&p=VGASAP7973&name=Sapphire-HD7970-3G-OC-Version-PCI-E-3.0-Dual-fan-V

and the Ghz-edition is here: http://pbtech.co.nz/index.php?z=p&p=VGASAP7974&name=Sapphire-VAPOR-X-HD7970-GHZ-EDITION-3G-GDDR5-PCI-E

Just to clarify I am going to overclock no matter which card I get but want to check if they are voltage locked (I really hope not), also is it worth me getting the Ghz edition anyway because I plan to try to get 1150mhz overclock so would I be able to do that on non-ghz edition? I'm pretty sure you can but just checking

Thanks

The questions is why would you want to overclock a GHZ edition in the first place?
The more voltage you add to a hardware the more likely the card it self will decrease it's lifespan

This is an example
"Just say is has a life span of 6 years and you were to overclock the card at a core clock at 1100MHz and a memory clock of 1400Mhz by increase but to do so you need to add voltages for it to be stability. You now have overclock the card at the core to 1200MHz and Memory 1500MHz by doing so (This may mean that it can decrease it's life span by 12.5% and hence be 5.25 years)." Or cause the card to fail or in the worst case fired

To be overclock a card that is already overclock is pointless in the real world and 99% of games will play on the stock settings on extreme settings on a 7970.

That is just my thought But look into ELECTROMIGRATION this will explain


http://www.facebook.com/PcHardwareCustomPc
visit us @ http://pchardwarecustompc.weebly.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/keiki646
http://www.youtube.com/user/646studios

 

[DelightfulDucklings]

The questions is why would you want to overclock a GHZ edition in the first place?
The more voltage you add to a hardware the more likely the card it self will decrease it's lifespan

This is an example
"Just say is has a life span of 6 years and you were to overclock the card at a core clock at 1100MHz and a memory clock of 1400Mhz by increase but to do so you need to add voltages for it to be stability. You now have overclock the card at the core to 1200MHz and Memory 1500MHz by doing so (This may mean that it can decrease it's life span by 12.5% and hence be 5.25 years)." Or cause the card to fail or in the worst case fired

To be overclock a card that is already overclock is pointless in the real world and 99% of games will play on the stock settings on extreme settings on a 7970.

That is just my thought


http://www.facebook.com/PcHardwareCustomPc
visit us @ http://pchardwarecustompc.weebly.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/keiki646
http://www.youtube.com/user/646studios

Thanks, I do agree with you on the fact that on default speed a 7970 will run anything anyway but I'm think in a year it probably won't run everything maxed at above 50fps minimum so thats why I would like to overclock it to get a little boost. The ghz edition only runs 50mhz higher than the other card I listed so I'm thinking it is probably not worth it to get the ghz edition. Also with your point of decreasing lifespan, it is probably true that yes it won't live as long but I plan to replace in 3-4 years anyway so I am not worried about that really. Do you know if the new cards are voltage locked by the way?

 

[Keiki646]

Thanks, I do agree with you on the fact that on default speed a 7970 will run anything anyway but I'm think in a year it probably won't run everything maxed at above 50fps minimum so thats why I would like to overclock it to get a little boost. The ghz edition only runs 50mhz higher than the other card I listed so I'm thinking it is probably not worth it to get the ghz edition. Also with your point of decreasing lifespan, it is probably true that yes it won't live as long but I plan to replace in 3-4 years anyway so I am not worried about that really. Do you know if the new cards are voltage locked by the way?

I will tell you right now that 7970 can run anything for the next 2-3 years on max settings on GHZ edition Stock settings.
Personally Ihad an 5850 since 2010 years and it still play games on high to medium settings until I replace it


http://www.facebook.com/PcHardwareCustomPc
visit us @ http://pchardwarecustompc.weebly.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/keiki646
http://www.youtube.com/user/646studios

 

[Keiki646]

Thanks, I do agree with you on the fact that on default speed a 7970 will run anything anyway but I'm think in a year it probably won't run everything maxed at above 50fps minimum so thats why I would like to overclock it to get a little boost. The ghz edition only runs 50mhz higher than the other card I listed so I'm thinking it is probably not worth it to get the ghz edition. Also with your point of decreasing lifespan, it is probably true that yes it won't live as long but I plan to replace in 3-4 years anyway so I am not worried about that really. Do you know if the new cards are voltage locked by the way?

I have a video that made unlock that voltage issues
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUf1kiBu5-o

This is work with current MSI afterburner

http://www.facebook.com/PcHardwareCustomPc
visit us @ http://pchardwarecustompc.weebly.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/keiki646
http://www.youtube.com/user/646studios

 

[ndslite]

GHz edition is not just a clock speed. Although it comes at 1GHz it is a slightly better version of the Tahiti Chipset.

 

[DelightfulDucklings]

GHz edition is not just a clock speed. Although it comes at 1GHz it is a slightly better version of the Tahiti Chipset.

Yes but the other card is 950mhz core clock (which is 0.95Ghz) so there isn't much difference, also are you sure about the chipset thing?

 

[DelightfulDucklings]

I will tell you right now that 7970 can run anything for the next 2-3 years on max settings on GHZ edition Stock settings.
Personally Ihad an 5850 since 2010 years and it still play games on high to medium settings until I replace it


http://www.facebook.com/PcHardwareCustomPc
visit us @ http://pchardwarecustompc.weebly.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/keiki646
http://www.youtube.com/user/646studios

Ok thanks, I think I will grab the non-ghz card and overclock it to 1050mhz (same as the GHZ edition in boost BIOS) and just leave it there until I see it as neccisary to overclock further, or I will just upgrade at that point idk

Thanks for the input and I'll have a look at that video you sent

 

[DelightfulDucklings]

Best answer selected by DelightfulDucklings.