7970HD vs 7750HD and/or 7770HD Crossfire

[JasonTD]

Hi everybody, long time reader, first time poster here!

I just finished putting together a new system that will serve as a combo work / gaming PC. My work involves a lot of graphics editing (heavy Photoshop use) and occasional / frequent video editing (Premiere, etc). My gaming is pretty eclectic, as I tend to impulse buy way too much stuff on Steam. I'd like to upgrade my graphics power to get some good benefits in both areas. The games I've been playing most recently are The Sims 3 (which kind of chugs on high settings), SimCity, Guild Wars 2, Civilization 5, and XCOM, but I also plan to do some occasional FPS and Skyrim-type play as well.

Here are the specs for the system I've built:

Motherboard: AS Rock LGA1155 Z77 Extreme4
Processor: Intel Core i5-3570K Quad-Core 3.4GHz
PSU: Cooler Master Silent Pro 700W
RAM: 16GB G.Skill Ripjaws X Series (2 x 8GB)
Storage: 2 x 1TB HDD and 1 x 250GB SSD

I'm currently using the graphics card from my previous computer, which is a Sapphire Radeon HD 7750.

Here are the upgrade possibilities I'm looking at:

1) Crossfire with another Radeon HD 7750
2) Crossfire with a Radeon HD 7770
3) Replace the card with a Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970

I'm pretty positive the third option is overall the best one, but I was hoping you could give me some info and thoughts about how *much* of a difference there would be between the two Crossfire configurations and just going up to the 7970. I was able to find plenty of benchmark guides for the three cards on their own, but I wasn't able to glean a lot of info (at least not comparative info I could understand) about the single 7970 versus the two Crossfire setups.

I'm also open to other suggestions if you know of a different upgrade path you'd suggest. I'm trying not to break the bank but am willing to be a little flexible with my spending.

Thanks in advance!
Jason

 

[cookybiscuit]

If you Crossfire a 7750 and a 7770, the 7770 knocks itself down to 7750 levels, no point buying it. A single strong card is always much better than two weak ones, this case is no exemption.

Article itself is concerning something else but here, http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-660-ti-memory-bandwidth-anti-aliasing,3283-11.html

A 7950 isn't even as fast as a 7970 and still destroys two 7750's.

 

[imomun]

Xfire is not better than a single card solution. Why not a hd 7950 ? It has 3GB like the 7970 and saves you some money aswell. heres a comparission review http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/graphics/34761-amd-hd-7950-vs-hd-7970-clocks/

 

[JasonTD]

If you Crossfire a 7750 and a 7770, the 7770 knocks itself down to 7750 levels, no point buying it. A single strong card is always much better than two weak ones, this case is no exemption.

Article itself is concerning something else but here, http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-660-ti-memory-bandwidth-anti-aliasing,3283-11.html

A 7950 isn't even as fast as a 7970 and still destroys two 7750's.

That data presents a very compelling argument. Also, I wasn't aware of the 7770 knocking itself down, so that's some great information to have. Thanks for the insight and the link!

Xfire is not better than a single card solution. Why not a hd 7950 ? It has 3GB like the 7970 and saves you some money aswell. heres a comparission review http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/graphics/34761-amd-hd-7950-vs-hd-7970-clocks/

I didn't realize there was that much similarity between the 7950 and 7970. I've never overclocked a graphics card before (or even a CPU), but I'm not afraid to learn something new. Do you think overclocking the 7950 to get results similar to in that comparison would be a reasonable undertaking for me to do, and if so where would be the best place to start my education for that specific job?

Thanks again for the help. It's fantastic to have such a great resource like this forum.

 

[Kamen_BG]

As you can see,
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/5158/sapphire_radeon_hd_7870_xt_tahiti_le_2gb_with_boost_overclocked_video_card_review/index4.html
An overclocked HD 7950 is faster than a HD 7970 GHZ Edition.

 

[cookybiscuit]

I didn't realize there was that much similarity between the 7950 and 7970. I've never overclocked a graphics card before (or even a CPU), but I'm not afraid to learn something new. Do you think overclocking the 7950 to get results similar to in that comparison would be a reasonable undertaking for me to do, and if so where would be the best place to start my education for that specific job?

Overclocking a card is not difficult at all. You open up the OCing software of your choice, move 2 sliders up a bit, play game, go a bit more, rinse and repeat until your card crashes during testing. Then you know when your stable.

If you need a bit more you can adjust the voltage too.

 

[Novuake]

As you can see,
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/5158/sapphire_radeon_hd_7870_xt_tahiti_le_2gb_with_boost_overclocked_video_card_review/index4.html
An overclocked HD 7950 is faster than a HD 7970 GHZ Edition.

LOL and a HD7970 GE can be OCd as well... Just saying...

And besides, 3D mark is the only one where it shows it like that. In the rest of the review the HD7970 GE still wins every time.

Well done for selective posting!

 

[spentshells]

As you can see,
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/5158/sapphire_radeon_hd_7870_xt_tahiti_le_2gb_with_boost_overclocked_video_card_review/index4.html
An overclocked HD 7950 is faster than a HD 7970 GHZ Edition.

great link

 

[spentshells]

As you can see,
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/5158/sapphire_radeon_hd_7870_xt_tahiti_le_2gb_with_boost_overclocked_video_card_review/index4.html
An overclocked HD 7950 is faster than a HD 7970 GHZ Edition.

Only issue is benchmarks usually do not indicate in game performance.

7850 1GB scored 6100 3dmark 11

570gtx oc to 920 core scored 2000 mem scores 5190

the 570 is so much better in ever single game I feel dumbfounded and no longer trust benchmarks but I would rather confirm in game

 

[Guest]

LOL and a HD7970 GE can be OCd as well... Just saying...

And besides, 3D mark is the only one where it shows it like that. In the rest of the review the HD7970 GE still wins every time.

Well done for selective posting!

No it dont a 7950 overclocked to 1100 mhz beats out a 7970 ghz edition in every game pretty much.Well done for getting your facts straight.Let me add every 7950 ive owned i hit 1100+ mhz without voltage tweaking.7970 imo is a waste of money to just not as big of waste as a gtx 680

 

[Novuake]

No it dont a 7950 overclocked to 1100 mhz beats out a 7970 ghz edition in every game pretty much.Well done for getting your facts straight.Let me add every 7950 ive owned i hit 1100+ mhz without voltage tweaking.7970 imo is a waste of money to just not as big of waste as a gtx 680

Dude I own an HD7950, actually own 2. You are LYING through your teeth.

A 1100MHz HD7950 DOES NOT BEAT an HD7970 GE in games. Never... Not even close. Its PHYSICALLY impossible.

Yes if you OC it a lot it will appear to beat it in SYNTHETIC benches.

For goodness sake both mine are at 1180GHz and neither could beat an HD7970 GE. AND thats not even considering a HD7970GE can also OC.

 

[Guest]

You do realize that a 7970 ghz edition is no better then a regular 7970 overclocked to 1000 mhz right?Ive owned 3 7950's and 2 7970's trust me i know what im talking about.Its something on your end sorry man but your just wrong

 

[Novuake]

You do realize that a 7970 ghz edition is no better then a regular 7970 overclocked to 1000 mhz right?Ive owned 3 7950's and 2 7970's trust me i know what im talking about.Its something on your end sorry man but your just wrong

You're...
http://cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/250x250/24904069.jpg

LOL an HD7970 GE is not OVERCLOCKED if it came out of the factory at 1000MHz, and it can OC somewhat more as well.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-7970-overclock-review,3186-3.html

In that review they OC to +/- 1200MHz. So whatever, done arguing. You lost all credibility in my eyes and in anyone who has any sense at all.

 

[Guest]

You do not read well do you? I never said the ghz edition was overclocked you dolt....I said a regular 7970 overclocked to 1000 mhz will run the same as the ghz edition whats so hard to understand about that really?Dont feel bad that you overpaid for a ghz brand when a regular 7970 gets you the same performance when overclocked.ghz edition i understand can be overclocked further but its not worth $125-$150 price tag over a 7950 that can run neck and neck with a ghz at 1100 mhz.Growup to those stupid signs do not get you anywhere kid....

 

[Novuake]

You do not read well do you? I never said the ghz edition was overclocked you dolt....I said a regular 7970 overclocked to 1000 mhz will run the same as the ghz edition whats so hard to understand about that really?Dont feel bad that you overpaid for a ghz brand when a regular 7970 gets you the same performance when overclocked.ghz edition i understand can be overclocked further but its not worth $125-$150 price tag over a 7950 that can run neck and neck with a ghz at 1100 mhz.Growup to those stupid signs do not get you anywhere kid....

I am fully aware the GE is just a faster HD7970. I also agree with you that an HD7970 GE is not worth the extra money. BUT I do disagree with you that an OCd 1100MHz HD7950 is faster than a HD7970 GE.