Radeon HD 7950 Owner's Thread

[Binky]

Originally Posted by Smartazz

About to buy a 7950 in anticipation of my Shimian. I'm stuck between the Sapphire on Newegg which is $290. And the MSI Twin Frozr on Amazon that's $313. Does anyone know if the MSI card on Amazon comes with the 3 free games as well? They come with the MSI card on Newegg so I'd assume they would on Amazon as well right?

The sapphire looks like the better deal. I wouldn't assume that the game bundle comes from amazon.

[Attic]

Originally Posted by Smartazz

About to buy a 7950 in anticipation of my Shimian. I'm stuck between the Sapphire on Newegg which is $290 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814202006

And the MSI Twin Frozr on Amazon that's $313 http://www.amazon.com/MSI-R7950-TWIN.../ref=de_a_smtd

Does anyone know if the MSI card on Amazon comes with the 3 free games as well? They come with the MSI card on Newegg so I'd assume they would on Amazon as well right?

Here are the retailors i'd stick with
http://blogs.amd.com/play/this-holiday-never-settle/

Amazon doesn't appear to have the game bundle included at this time. Whereever you buy card should explicity make reference to the never settle or 3 free game plus 20% discount.

[HendrixFan]

Originally Posted by zaydq

Just use Sapphire Trixx or Asus GPU tweak for overclocking then.

Trixx had the same problem, but thankfully I found this thread which helped me:

http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=359671

My clocks are fully unlocked in Afterburner again.

[Smartazz]

Thanks for the advice. I went ahead and bought the Sapphire on Newegg. $270 after mail in rebate with 3 free games is a pretty good deal.

[stylez777]

Originally Posted by Smartazz

Thanks for the advice. I went ahead and bought the Sapphire on Newegg. $270 after mail in rebate with 3 free games is a pretty good deal.

I've been thinking about pull the trigger on that card for 2 days. I've been wanting to pickup a new card now for about 2 weeks. I almost jumped on the Visiontek 7970 ghz deal few days ago but something told me not too (kind glad i didn't few people reporting it doesn't oc too well the ones they got).

So now I am stuck deciding between that Sapphire 7950 for $270 (after rebate), MSI TF3 for $305 (after rebate) or the Sapphire Vapor-X model for $305 (after rebate). Of course I want to get the best possible stable overclock out of the card i get. While the Vapor-X looks to be one of the best coolers out the voltage lock and lack of support in Trixx does bother me. I'd really like to go with the 7970 but my head keeps trying to justify if the extra $100 (on avg) is worth the extra 256 Stream Processors.

Man when I upgrade my pc last time it was such a clear and easy decision now everyday I keep flip flopping on what to do. I had an easier time picking my kids names then i do picking what video card to buy. lol!!

[raghu78]

Originally Posted by stylez777

So now I am stuck deciding between that Sapphire 7950 for $270 (after rebate), MSI TF3 for $305 (after rebate) or the Sapphire Vapor-X model for $305 (after rebate). Of course I want to get the best possible stable overclock out of the card i get. While the Vapor-X looks to be one of the best coolers out the voltage lock and lack of support in Trixx does bother me. I'd really like to go with the 7970 but my head keeps trying to justify if the extra $100 (on avg) is worth the extra 256 Stream Processors.

The Sapphire HD 7950 boost is the card to get. the dual x cooler is good. the user reviews of this card are positive . 1.15 Ghz is quite easily achievable. It will outperform the HD 7970 Ghz at those speeds. For the price its unbeatable.

[Smartazz]

I'm planning to overclock this thing big time, do you think my 620W Seasonic is going to be up to the task?

[m3ta1head]

Results with my TFIII

[Smartazz]

It's waiting for me at home. Can't wait to get off from work.

[zaydq]

Originally Posted by Smartazz

I'm planning to overclock this thing big time, do you think my 620W Seasonic is going to be up to the task?

You'll be fine with a 620W.

Also, holy crap m3ta1head, thats an insane score. Are you running 12.11? I achieved 1200/1800 and i only had a 10k GPU score in 3dmark11 and a 1308 in Heaven @ 1080p with all settings maxed.

[Plimogz]

What is with the memory overclocking headroom on these cards? (I'm thinking of the MSI TF3 in particular; I haven't noticed if the same holds true for all 7950s in general) Really, 1600MHz (a healthy +28% vmem overclock) looks like it could've virtually been guarantied. But folks around here are hitting 1800MHz and still reporting performance increases as if error correction isn't yet kicking in to diminish returns.

1800MHz+! a 44% graphics memory overclock! what's with that? I can hardly fathom it.

[zaydq]

Originally Posted by Plimogz

What is with the memory overclocking headroom on these cards? (I'm thinking of the MSI TF3 in particular; I haven't noticed if the same holds true for all 7950s in general) Really, 1600MHz (a healthy +28% vmem overclock) looks like it could've virtually been guarantied. But folks around here are hitting 1800MHz and still reporting performance increases as if error correction isn't yet kicking in to diminish returns.

1800MHz+! a 44% graphics memory overclock! what's with that? I can hardly fathom it.

Not sure, the temperatures seem relatively fair on them. I've gamed on 1200/1800 and never had diminishing returns or crashes, but the fan does get awfully annoying.

I know for myself, I haven't touched the MVDDC either.

[hyrule4927]

Originally Posted by Plimogz

What is with the memory overclocking headroom on these cards? (I'm thinking of the MSI TF3 in particular; I haven't noticed if the same holds true for all 7950s in general) Really, 1600MHz (a healthy +28% vmem overclock) looks like it could've virtually been guarantied. But folks around here are hitting 1800MHz and still reporting performance increases as if error correction isn't yet kicking in to diminish returns.

1800MHz+! a 44% graphics memory overclock! what's with that? I can hardly fathom it.

Mine is actually a bit of a lemon when it comes to memory overclocking. Anything above 1375 and I start getting performance degradation.

[Smartazz]

I can't figure out this problem. The card works with my old Samsung monitor over DVI but my newer HP monitor causes it to freeze whether I use DVI or HDMI with it. Very annoying since I'd much rather game on my 1080p display.

Edit: Tried it with my Vizio and it still has that same problem. Even when I'm on the Samsung monitor that works, the computer has trouble shutting down. Maybe I have a dud? I went ahead and tried out a game(Crysis 2) on the monitor that works and it runs, however MSI afterburner is telling me that it's not at the correct clocks so this also sounds like it could be a driver problem.

[zaydq]

Could be a ccc setting. Uninstall the drivers and install them while hooked up to your monitor? Im not too familar with a problem like that so i'm just pulling straws.

[m3ta1head]

Originally Posted by zaydq

Also, holy crap m3ta1head, thats an insane score. Are you running 12.11? I achieved 1200/1800 and i only had a 10k GPU score in 3dmark11 and a 1308 in Heaven @ 1080p with all settings maxed.

Yep, 12.11 beta4.

http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/4739126

[zaydq]

Very nice... seems like the TFIII is still a beastly overclocker now as it was when this thread was first started.

Are you able to do a Heaven run at 1080p with 8x AA, 16x AF, and extreme tessellation? Also, what are your temps like?

[Smartazz]

Originally Posted by m3ta1head

Results with my TFIII

I don't get it. I'm not even close to those scores. I'm running 1150 core and 1300 memory and only score about 9,500 in 3dmark 11.

[Plimogz]

that final 50MHz up to 1200 on core and pushing up to 1500-1600 MHz on mem is what got me over 10K.

But I'll admit that from the scaling I experienced I am surprised that 1215/1850 got him above 11K.

[stylez777]

Finally made my decision and pulled the trigger on the Sapphire 7950 100352-2L. The constant back and forth trying to decide on this card or the Gigabyte 7950 WF3 or the MSI TF3 or a 7970 was just keeping me up at nights lol. All 3 cards being around the same price ($20-$25 difference give or take), and all 3 having good cooling (even if the WF3 is considred the best of the 3) the final deciding factor for me was that in the past I owned a Gigabyte motherboard that had given me nothing but headaches and an MSI video card that crapped out on me. I've never owned a Sapphire product so I'm giving them a shot to impress me

So hopefully Monday I can pop this baby in crank her up and see what she can do. Hoping for good things and keeping fingers crossed for some luck on the silicone lottery I'll be back with some screenshots and all the good stuff once she is here.

[Plimogz]

Good luck bud! But I personally find it odd that you wouldn't want either Gigabyte or MSI: Years of using their VGAs (both manufacturers) and motherboards (lots of Gigas, but only a few K7/K8 MSIs back in the day) showed nothing but quality products and acceptable consumer support. (acceptable in this case meaning that I didn't feel like I had just gotten F*c*** any time I ended up needing to deal with them)

[Slimline]

I pulled the trigger on a Gigabyte 7950 900mhz windforce for 269.99 after rebate The amd promo got me Far cry 3, hitman absolution and sleeping dogs for free. I am stoked! It is a little disappointing considering i just bios flashed my xfx 5850 BE to a 5870 and put aftermarket super quiet cooling on it I sold it to my buddy for 80 bucks.

I am a huge gigabyte fan, love their mobos. However the blue PCB is ugly imo, fortunately my case on this build is solid sided. Cant wait for it to arrive monday and to try out some OC'ing to compare.

[m3ta1head]

Originally Posted by zaydq

Very nice... seems like the TFIII is still a beastly overclocker now as it was when this thread was first started.

Are you able to do a Heaven run at 1080p with 8x AA, 16x AF, and extreme tessellation? Also, what are your temps like?

Heaven run @ 1215/1850


Min fps is lower than normal for some reason-the score should be higher. Temps are good-at these speeds, furmark will get the card up to 78-80C. VRMs stay below 80C, which is perhaps the secret as to why this particular card clocks so well. I've backed off my 24/7 clocks to 1100/1600 @ 1.1v to shed most of the heat-this drops temps by 10-15C all around.

Originally Posted by Smartazz

I don't get it. I'm not even close to those scores. I'm running 1150 core and 1300 memory and only score about 9,500 in 3dmark 11.

Grab the 12.11 beta4 driver, big improvements.

[stylez777]

Originally Posted by Plimogz

Good luck bud! But I personally find it odd that you wouldn't want either Gigabyte or MSI: Years of using their VGAs (both manufacturers) and motherboards (lots of Gigas, but only a few K7/K8 MSIs back in the day) showed nothing but quality products and acceptable consumer support. (acceptable in this case meaning that I didn't feel like I had just gotten F*c*** any time I ended up needing to deal with them)

It really nothing personal against Gigabyte or MSI I know they make quality products. I was going to settle on the WF3 but when i went to buy at newegg the rebate was gone and they charged for shipping where the sapphire still had the rebate and shipping was free that compounded with a fault gigabyte product i had long ago and the msi video card i once owned dying well before it's time just made me want to give sapphire a try.

[Smartazz]

Grab the 12.11 beta4 driver, big improvements.

I am on 12.11, that's why I'm so disappointed.

Looking at my graphics score, I scored 10416 which is about what it should be, however my overall score is way below what I was expecting. My CPU is almost as fast as yours so that shouldn't be the problem. Is there something wrong with my system?