The Radeon HD 7950 has had a fairly quiet run since its release a little over four months ago, with many customers taking either a step up to the Radeon HD 7970 or a step down to an overclocked Radeon HD 7870. This is regrettable, since the Radeon HD 7950 actually beats the other two cards in efficiency.
Now that the cheaper (and even more efficient) GeForce GTX 670 is readily available at major retailers, the Radeon HD 7950 is starting to come down in price, mostly in the form of rebates. As vendors get realistic about the Tahiti-based board's competitive position, it should become more affordable for a greater number of gamers, effectively taking over the higher middle-class role in AMD's line-up from the Radeon HD 6950.
Today, we're taking a look at the Radeon HD 7950 in its new role. By now, the card is available in a variety of versions, and we have six boards engineered for different strengths. Some overclock well, while others are designed to operate as quietly as possible. We're also including video to demonstrate the acoustic characteristics of each card, believing that graphs sometimes fall short when it comes to conveying this very important aspect of a card's performance. If you are in the market for a graphics card in this segment, you'll know what to buy once AMD's boards reach a price with which you're comfortable.
Five Custom Designs And One Reference Model
We have a quintet of custom Radeon HD 7950 cards from AMD partners, in addition to a reference card from HIS. Naturally, you pay the least for the reference version, making it an ideal choice for fans of water cooling, who'll rip off that heat sink anyway.
Here are the specs for the six graphics cards. The prices don't include rebates, though many of these vendors are pulling prices down substantially by offering money back.
| HIS H795F3G2M | HIS HD 7950 IceQ Turbo | Sapphire HD 7950 OC | Asus HD7950-DC2T-3GD5 | MSI R7950 Twin Frozr 3GD/OC | PowerColor PCS+ AX7950 3GBD5-2DHPP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shaders | 1792 | 1792 | 1792 | 1792 | 1792 | 1792 |
| Texture Units | 112 | 112 | 112 | 112 | 112 | 112 |
| Full Color ROPs | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 |
| Graphics Clock | 800 MHz | 900 MHz | 900 MHz | 900 MHz | 880 MHz | 880 MHz |
| Texture Fillrate | 89.6 GTexel/s | 100.8 GTexel/s | 100.8 GTexel/s | 100.8 GTexel/s | 98.6 GTexel/s | 98.6 GTexel/s |
| Memory Clock | 1250 MHz | 1250 MHz | 1250 MHz | 1250 MHz | 1250 MHz | 1250 MHz |
| Memory Bus | 384-bit | 384-bit | 384-bit | 384-bit | 384-bit | 384-bit |
| Memory Bandwidth | 240 GB/s | 240 GB/s | 240 GB/s | 240 GB/s | 240 GB/s | 240 GB/s |
| Graphics RAM | 3 GB | 3 GB | 3 GB | 3 GB | 3 GB | 3 GB |
| Transistors (Billion) | 4.31 | 4.31 | 4.31 | 4.31 | 4.31 | 4.31 |
| Process Technology | 28 nm | 28 nm | 28 nm | 28 nm | 28 nm | 28 nm |
| Power Connectors | 2 x 6-pin | 2 x 6-pin | 2 x 6-pin | 2 x 6-pin | 2 x 6-pin | 2 x 6-pin |
| Price (Street) | $410 | $405 (for 800 MHz version) | $410 | $430 | $380 | $380 |
Aside from HIS' submission, all of these cards are overclocked by default. Unfortunately, the HIS HD 7950 IceQ Turbo (running at 900 MHz) isn't available in North America, though there's an 800 MHz model with the same cooler.
The HIS HD 7950 IceQ Turbo is one of the most aggressively overclocked cards in our line-up, with a core running at 900 MHz. What makes the card interesting is its proprietary cooling solution, called Direct Heat Exhaust, or DHE. It purports to be both quiet and effective at moving heat away from the GPU and out of the case.
In this case, out of the case means just that. Standard axial-flow fans just push warm air away from the GPU and out into your chassis, forcing other fans to get that warm air out. The IceQ Turbo is built so that a radial fan sucks in the ambient air and then pushes all of it out the back of the card. Generally, the trade-off for adopting a centrifugal fan like this is less-favorable acoustics, so we're curious to see how HIS' submission performs in that regard.

One drawback attributable to HIS' DHE cooler is that this card is taller than a standard PCIe card. It needs about 6.5 inches (16 cm) of clearance, due to those heat pipes.
Although it sports a solid overclock and an aftermarket cooling, the IceQ Turbo's price tag is right in the middle of the pack for our European readers. Unfortunately, the 900 MHz trim isn't available in the U.S., which instead gets an 800 MHz model that ends up being the second most expensive model in our round-up.
The DHE cooling solution is applicable whether you're in Europe or the U.S., though, and we're looking forward to checking on HIS' claims of quiet operation with a centrifugal fan.
The Sapphire HD 7950 OC is one of the cheapest and fastest cards in our line-up with a factory clock of 900 MHz. It consumes two expansion slots and employs a dual axial fan design.
Even though the shroud surrounding the fans is attractive, it's not very practical, since it gets in the way of the power connectors. Apart from being difficult to remove, you have to be careful not to cut yourself on the sharp edges.
The covered heat pipes are situated well enough that they don't touch any of the surrounding parts, and aren't close enough to warm them up.
Asus' HD 7950 DirectCU II is the thickest card in today's round-up, monopolizing not two, but three expansion slots. We've seen the DirectCU II cooling solution work well in the past, though. So, depending on your motherboard and chassis, giving up that third slot might be worthwhile. Additional cooling headroom is capitalized on with another 900 MHz core clock rate.
Two large axial fans should yield quiet operation, though you're forced to accept heated air blown into your chassis.
The card doesn't have any heat pipes poking outside of its shroud, resulting in a clean system build. But be careful of its weight; we'd recommend using a graphics card bracket to hold it in place.
MSI's HD 7950 Twin Frozr III cooling solution is one of the most powerful available, and it still fits within two slots. This card's Tahiti GPU is factory-overclocked to 880 MHz.
Like Asus' board, the Twin Frozr III also employs a dual axial fan design. It's the only card in our round-up covered in metal (the others are plastic). Ports and connectors are easy to reach, and quality is generally top-notch, making MSI's submission the best-built card. Only Asus' HD 7950 DirectCU II gives it a run for its money.
We used a newer version of this card's BIOS for our acoustic measurements, as it provided some noticeable improvements in fan behavior. Unfortunately, the newer version didn't reach us in time for the performance benchmarks, though we were able to confirm that it didn't sacrifice any of its speed.
The Powercolor HD 7950 PCS is factory-overclocked to 880 MHz, just like MSI's HD 7950 TwinFrozr III. Otherwise, it is surprisingly similar to the Sapphire HD 7950 OC, sharing its dual-slot and twin axial fan design. Even the fans it uses are almost identical.
Unfortunately, this includes the fact that it's hard to pull the power connectors out. PowerColor does make the opening in the plastic shroud larger, but you can clearly see that heat pipe in the way in the image below. Fortunately, the card is pretty thin, making it a great candidate for CrossFire configurations.
Although it's a subtle style cue, we do like the matte finish on this card's plastic cover.
Finally, we have HIS' H795F3G2M, which adheres to AMD's reference design. It employs a dual-slot design with one smaller axial fan. If, after seeing a parade of dual-fan models, this one sounds a little underpowered for a graphics card in the enthusiast segment, you're right (as many reviews have shown).
Nevertheless, we're including it as a baseline, particularly since this is the design of choice for enthusiasts who want to install their own third-party cooling solutions. Its 800 MHz factory core clock is (by far) the slowest in our round-up.
Unfortunately, AMD's reference cooling solution is quite loud, which you'll hear in our videos.
| Test Hardware | |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i7-2600K (Sandy Bridge), 3.4 GHz, 8 MB Shared L3 Cache, 95 W, Overclocked to 4.5 GHz |
| CPU Cooler | Prolimatech SuperMega + Noiseblocker Multiframe |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte Z68X-UD5 B3, Z68 Express, LGA 1155 |
| Memory | 2 x 4 GB Kingston HyperX DDR3-1600 |
| Hard Drive | Kingston V100+ 256 GB SSD |
| Power Supply | Corsair AX1200 |
| Operating System And Graphics Driver | Windows 7 x64 SP1 Catalyst 12.4 |
Here in the U.S., we're in the habit of testing with high-end X79 Express-based platforms that give multi-card configurations enough PCI Express connectivity to circumvent any possible bottlenecks. Our European editorial teams often take a more power-friendly approach, given the price of electricity over there.
Previously, they were using an older Core i5-based setup for testing graphics cards. But, not surprisingly, that started to inhibit performance. The latest round of 28 nm-based GPUs pushed them over the edge, and they upgraded to a Core i7-2600K-based machine overclocked to 4.5 GHz, which yields plenty of speed without the gratuitous consumption of our Sandy Bridge-E-based machine.
The motherboard and memory in the German lab remain the same as they were last year. Their power supply is newer, though, now able to handle four graphics cards in four-way CrossFire or SLI arrangements. Also, the new build employs a 256 GB Kingston SSD, to which all games and benchmarks are installed.
The whole setup is installed on a rolling table, so that it can be moved between a climate-controlled room, which is kept at 72° Fahrenheit (22° Celsius), and our noise-dampened room, eliminating the need to take out the graphics cards and put them in a second system. Our climate-controlled room is not suitable for noise measurements below 32 dB(A) due to the proximity of several other machines in it.
In addition to measuring power consumption at idle and under full load, giving us our best- and worst-case figures, we also tested several environments in between, offering more applicable results.
Other than the slight variations corresponding to the higher core clock rates of some cards, there really isn't much difference between them. The Radeon HD 7950s are also quite competitive with Nvidia's GeForce 670, even though the GK104-based boards deliver better performance. The one exception is Blu-ray playback, where the GTX 670 does much better than AMD's 7950.





We chose three different loads to use for measuring thermal performance: idle, gaming, and full, with the latter testing using open and closed cases.
As you might guess, the more aggressively a fan spins up in response to load, the more noise it makes. We'll be able to make a comparison on the next page, where we present the acoustic benchmarks.




HIS' HD 7950 IceQ Turbo and Asus' HD 7950 DirectCU II boast two of the most extreme cooling solutions in this round-up. That's made evident in our results, since both companies finish in first and second place with regard to thermal performance. HIS' cooling solution shines under load and in a closed case, which is a testament to the effectiveness of its DHE design. And remember, it manages to excel while monopolizing only two expansion slots, while Asus requires three.
The PowerColor HD 7950 PCS and the reference design finish in the back of the group. We're expecting PowerColor's card to consequently be one of the quietest. On to the acoustic tests!
On this page you'll find the actual acoustic measurements. The following page should give you a better idea of what the cards actually sound like, though.
As expected, PowerColor's HD 7950 PCS is one of the quietest (albeit one of the hottest-running) cards. Interestingly, Asus' HD 7950 DirectCU II manages to outperform it in the gaming and full-load benchmarks, making it cooler, more quiet, and 20 MHz faster. HIS' HD 7950 IceQ Turbo finishes third in all three benchmarks. AMD's reference design comes in dead last, particularly when it comes to applying a load.



With the exception of the reference model, all of these cards deliver respectable acoustic performance.
Since everybody experiences noise differently, and a quiet, high-pitched sound can be harder to tolerate than a loud, low hum, we have provided videos including the noise of every card under full load. The relative loudness of the audio has been preserved, so the videos can be used to compare the cards directly.

Acoustic Performance After 10 minutes of GPGPU Compute (Bitmining)
Similar to what we found in our measurements, PowerColor's HD 7950 PCS, Asus' HD 7950 DirectCU II, and HIS' HD 7950 IceQ Turbo provide the best noise characteristics.
3DMark 11
It barely makes a difference if a Radeon HD 7950 is clocked at 880 MHz or 900 MHz in 3DMark 11. Compare to AMD's reference 800 MHz, however, and the distinction is much clearer.
All of these boards lose to Nvidia's GeForce GTX 670, though, even though HIS' HD 7950 IceQ Turbo almost manages to catch up to it in Crysis 2. Unfortunately, four of these six boards cost more than the $400 GTX 670, hurting their value proposition against the competition.



Crysis 2 (DirectX 11)

Overclocking
We overclocked each card as much as possible without increasing their voltage settings. Half of them managed to hit 1050 MHz, while the other half maxed out at 1025 MHz.
Bear in mind that doing this pushes power consumption into Radeon HD 7970 territory, though performance is also able to exceed a GeForce GTX 670 in Crysis 2. HIS' HD 7950 IceQ Turbo even manages to edge out the GeForce GTX 680 by two-tenths of a frame per second. The caveats, of course, are that the GeForce-based cards were running at their stock frequencies and that factory-overclocked versions of those cards are already available, too. Moreover, Crysis 2 is a game that scales well with GPU clock rate, and it's known to work well on AMD's hardware. Titles like Battlefield 3 and DiRT 3, which favor Nvidia-based board, instead show the GeForces on top.

Summary And Conclusion
Overall, two very different graphics cards rise to the top. First, we have HIS' HD 7950 IceQ Turbo sporting a tall two-slot thermal design. It manages to edge out the other five boards, taking first place in performance and cooling, along with third place in acoustics. Second, there's Asus' HD 7950 DirectCU II, a heavier three-slot card that generates the least noise, finishes a close second in cooling performance, and still posts competitive benchmark results. PowerColor's HD 7950 PCS runs quietly, but suffers much warmer operating temperatures. And the other two factory-overclocked submissions are both hotter and louder. Finally, AMD's reference design demonstrated the worst performance, the least-attractive acoustic profile, and the highest temperatures. Its only redeeming quality is price.
There's an elephant in the room that keeps us from wholeheartedly recommending any Radeon HD 7950, though: GeForce GTX 670. Although two of the six cards we tested currently cost less than a reference $400 GTX 670, the rest actually cost more. The least-expensive Radeon HD 7950s give you an approximately $20 savings (before rebates), but neither showed particularly well here. Unless you have an application where the 7950's compute potential is absolutely imperative, you'll probably want to hold off until these cards become a little more affordable (which they're already in the process of doing).
Best Cooling Performance: HIS HD 7950 IceQ Turbo
The DHE cooling solution on HIS' HD 7950 IceQ Turbo really works. Not only does it cool well, but it outperforms the thermal solutions of the other cards we tested. It also manages to beat them in the gaming benchmarks without generating that much extra noise.
Although this board won our recommendation in Europe, we're not able to give it an endorsement in the U.S. As we've seen HIS do in the past, it's only selling this higher-clocked Turbo model overseas. North American customers can get the HD 7950 IceQ (no Turbo), but it runs at a reference 800 MHz and costs more than $400. Sure, it's more attractive than AMD's reference design. But it's certainly not a front-runner at that lower speed.
Best Noise Performance: Asus HD 7950 DirectCU II
If you don't mind losing three expansion slots to a single graphics card, and are alright tracking down a bracket to keep this heavy board in place, then Asus' HD 7950 DirectCU II does wonders to the baseline acoustic performance of AMD's reference Radeon HD 7950. Its cooling performance is bested only by HIS' impossible-to-buy HD 7950 IceQ Turbo, and an aggressive 900 MHz core clock rate tops our charts.
Solid Choices: Sapphire HD 7950 OC, MSI HD 7950 Twin Frozr III, and PowerColor HD 7950 PCS
If you don't feel like stepping down to HIS' HD 7950 IceQ (since the Turbo isn't available here in the U.S.) and the wide/heavy Asus HD 7950 DirectCU II isn't doing it for you, then the other three cards in our round-up might be more interesting. All of them are solid choices capable of delivering admirable performance.
MSI HD 7950 Twin Frozr III: Solid design, top build quality; a recently-released BIOS makes it a great card for overclocking.
PowerColor HD 7950 PCS: Slim enough to enable two cards in a CrossFire configuration; very quiet; unfortunately, unplugging power connectors can be difficult.
Sapphire HD 7950 OC: Not as quiet; again, unplugging power connectors is difficult.
Dead Last: AMD's Reference Card
The only reason to consider the reference design is if you want to attach a third-party cooling solution. Otherwise, the price difference is just not large enough to justify buying a slower, louder, hotter card over any of the models in today's round-up.


























