28 NM Graphics Card Tiers

[Red Hawk]

So, Nvidia has finally released GK 106, filling out its 28 nm product lineup. After reading some reviews, it appears like the order of graphics cards falls rather neatly like this (not taking factory overclocked partner boards or potential overlclocking into account) :

Tier 1: Tahiti and GK104
Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition
Geforce GTX 680
Radeon HD 7970
Geforce GTX 670
Radeon HD 7950
Geforce GTX 660 Ti

Tier 2: Pitcairn and GK106
Radeon HD 7870
Geforce GTX 660
Radeon HD 7850

Tier 3: GK106, Cape Verde, and GK107
Radeon HD 7770
Radeon HD 7750
Geforce GTX 650
Geforce GT 640

In certain games one card might beat another higher up in the same tier, but this seems to be the general order. Does this seem like a reasonable appraisal?

 

[blastingcap]

More or less, yes, though there is some gray area between the tiers. E.g., the GTX 660Ti is arguably Tier 2, though I'd argue it's Tier 1 due to its physical fabrication, despite its memory constraints.

 

[Red Hawk]

Yeah, the line between tier 1 and tier 2 is rather blurry thanks to the 660 Ti. There's a straight drop between the 7850/660 and the 7770/650 to separate tier 2 and tier 3. AMD and Nvidia would do well to fill that gap.

 

[Arkadrel]

Yeah, the line between tier 1 and tier 2 is rather blurry

Also due to overclocking.

You can buy a 7850 and overclock it to 1250mhz or so, and get it to beat the 7950-670 stock performance.

Last generation youd be lucky to get a 20% overclock, now it seems like its "normal" to get 40-50% overclocks.
Crazy you can get a 190$ card to performan like a 300$ one.

 

[Plimogz]

7770 and 650 are both supposed to MSRP for $109?

Seems like a complete blowout at those prices.

 

[Red Hawk]

Also due to overclocking.

You can buy a 7850 and overclock it to 1250mhz or so, and get it to beat the 7950-670 stock performance.

Last generation youd be lucky to get a 20% overclock, now it seems like its "normal" to get 40-50% overclocks.
Crazy you can get a 190$ card to performan like a 300$ one.

I did say that I wasn't taking factory overclocking or potential overclocking into account. IF AMD was confident in giving its cards such clock speeds it would do so.