Need help choosing a 7950 from newegg. Brand and Boost or not?

[ushy86]

Hi guys. Here's my current system, fairly old but still gets the jobs fairly well these days:

SPECS:
AMD PHENOM 955 x2 3.2 stock @ 3.8ghz oc'd
MSI 560TI TWIN FROZR 1GB
ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AM3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard
650 corsair psu
8gb g.skill ripjaws
pretty old 500gb WD Hard drive
windows 7 64bit
24" Synaps LCD

So what I'm looking for is one of the 7950's of newegg.ca that are hover around the $200-215 range. I need help with brands, because I notice some come with 2 fans some don't. I have also heard some run quiet and some don't, I clearly want the quieter one. Also should I be getting a 7950 boost or a regular one?

Few questions/concerns:
1- will the current cpu not bottlekneck it too much?
2- am i looking to get some nice gains in fps with this card given that im replacing a relatively old 560ti?
3- tied in with number 2, im looking to get rid of stutters i have occur in crowded areas in Marvel Heroes, hoping this will be its fix, unless my old HD is causing the loads/stutters.
And also, I'll need one xfire compatible just in case I decide to go that route one time down the line.

 

[Melderv]

Sapphire HD 7950 Flex with Boost (or the better VaporX) is a great card for the price. XFX has reports about busted fans, HIS has gotten some complaints, too, ASUS is expensive, PowerColor might use less-than-stellar components, and the rest can take a seat. So yeah. But you can choose any, and if you're only buying ONCE every blue moon then pick the Boost.

 

[ushy86]

Thanks for the quick reply! I notice you say HIS has gotten some complaints but it's the only card within the budget I'm looking for that is boosted. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161420 for $219. Also I have read many other reviews and TOMS review says the HIS iceQ runs coolest of the bunch. I just don't know though as I'm a semi pro with this.

Also for the questions I had listed below:
-Am I looking to get great gains in performance coming from the 560ti and will this card not bottlekneck my phenom II 955?

Thanks again and sorry for the hassle.

 

[Melderv]

True, HIS does sport a good cooler, but like XFX who has a great cooling solution as well, they often tend to fail with certain card releases. Some are just unlucky, and those that do tend to post online about it. I wouldn't let that shy you away from picking this particular brand.

If you have a good deal with it, then by all means go get it. I'd think it'd be in the same price as Sapphire, though.

Yes, the performance difference would be quite a lot from the 560ti. It's a great enthusiast card though it's at the bottom of that range.

Seeing as you have an AMD Phenom II X4, the bottleneck would not be as much (but even if there could be a little, you'll still max out current games). If it was an X2, there definitely would be and it won't be pretty.

I WOULD wait for the new AMD releases though. You could be looking at the R9 270X or the R9 280X instead.

 

[ushy86]

Thanks again for the input man, appreciated. I think for my sake given that I'm trying to purchase a card at a ~215 range budget, the HIS will have to do, plus it is boosted. Anything boosted after that, falls in the range of $275+ ..

And I'd have to agree that more people tend to post online if something negative were to occur, however there are many positives about this HIS as well. I guess its 'RNG' as they put it lol.

I'm glad to hear that the cpu will not cause heavy bottlekneck if anything at all, it is still a decent OC'er. I'll have it running at 3.8-4ghz steady with a h20+ .

Once again thank you, and I think I'll be going with that HIS and possibly xFIRE it in the near future... and possibly pick up a new cpu while at it. This should be suffice for my gaming habits for now and the near future.

Cheers.


PS. Can't find best answer tab that usually near the name >_<

 

[Melderv]

Thanks again for the input man, appreciated. I think for my sake given that I'm trying to purchase a card at a ~215 range budget, the HIS will have to do, plus it is boosted. Anything boosted after that, falls in the range of $275+ ..

And I'd have to agree that more people tend to post online if something negative were to occur, however there are many positives about this HIS as well. I guess its 'RNG' as they put it lol.

I'm glad to hear that the cpu will not cause heavy bottlekneck if anything at all, it is still a decent OC'er. I'll have it running at 3.8-4ghz steady with a h20+ .

Once again thank you, and I think I'll be going with that HIS and possibly xFIRE it in the near future... and possibly pick up a new cpu while at it. This should be suffice for my gaming habits for now and the near future.

Cheers.

You're very welcome. My last suggestion would be to wait and see how AMD's new cards turn out. If you don't like them, last gen's cards would at least see a price drop!