6850 died - What next (7950 or 7970)

[Tweak155]

7870 doesn't OC quite as well as the 7950. You can expect 1.1Ghz out of a 7950 which makes it considerably faster than an overclocked 7870 - it's worth the $50 difference in my opinion

I'm not a fan of overclocking myself. I'm not a true enthusiast. I just like pretty games

 

[Sidekicknichola]

Just to clear the air....

I bought the 7950 yesterday since I was in a pinch from my 6850 dying on me - total came to $340 w/ tax... I have a rebate which will take it to $320 with tax, not a great deal but the MC return policy meant I could try the 7950 and if I hated it then try 7970 without dealing with shipping back/forth... so I spent a little extra for that convenience.

7950 works great, I was running BF3 on ultra at from 60-75 fps on large maps.
Arma2 (wasteland) was running a 28-40 fps.... this impressed me since before in cities I was dropping to <10 fps at times (Mostly Arma2's fault)

Card works great, but today I saw Tigerdirect has a 7970 for $350 + 4 games (two I would actually play).... probably end up ordering the 7970 and return the 7950 when it arrives.

 

[Tweak155]

Just to clear the air....

I bought the 7950 yesterday since I was in a pinch from my 6850 dying on me - total came to $340 w/ tax... I have a rebate which will take it to $320 with tax, not a great deal but the MC return policy meant I could try the 7950 and if I hated it then try 7970 without dealing with shipping back/forth... so I spent a little extra for that convenience.

7950 works great, I was running BF3 on ultra at from 60-75 fps on large maps.
Arma2 (wasteland) was running a 28-40 fps.... this impressed me since before in cities I was dropping to <10 fps at times (Mostly Arma2's fault)

Card works great, but today I saw Tigerdirect has a 7970 for $350 + 4 games (two I would actually play).... probably end up ordering the 7970 and return the 7950 when it arrives.

Link?

 

[Sidekicknichola]

$350 after rebate (should have said that)
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...0-7976%20GAME4

 

[Tweak155]

$350 after rebate (should have said that)
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...0-7976%20GAME4

While XFX gets a lot of flack, I have their 6870 DD and haven't had issues with it. Also the packaging was awesome, like you bought something worthwhile.

 

[tweakboy]

7870 doesn't OC quite as well as the 7950. You can expect 1.1Ghz out of a 7950 which makes it considerably faster than an overclocked 7870 - it's worth the $50 difference in my opinion

Agreed....

 

[Sidekicknichola]

Also the packaging was awesome, like you bought something worthwhile.

That warm fuzzy you get from robust packaging says a lot for a product.

Still not sure what to do... I still have two weeks to decide if I like the card... I've got an old 6850 (same exact card model) my brother is dropping off for me today, I'll give that a whirl and see if it is my old card just being dead or something else.

 

[Eureka]

That warm fuzzy you get from robust packaging says a lot for a product.

Still not sure what to do... I still have two weeks to decide if I like the card... I've got an old 6850 (same exact card model) my brother is dropping off for me today, I'll give that a whirl and see if it is my old card just being dead or something else.

Sounds like you could actually use the 7970, if you Arma2 is able to bring down your 7950 that bad.

However, before you do that, there's one last thing to try. Turn down every graphical setting you can (including resolution), and see if the FPS jumps in Arma2. If the FPS doesn't increase substantially, you're not GPU limited at you're limited by something else.

 

[Sidekicknichola]

Sounds like you could actually use the 7970, if you Arma2 is able to bring down your 7950 that bad.

Its more on Arma2 than the card... I play with a buddy who has a 680 OC'd and he is usually only about 3-4 FPS higher than me in Arma2 with the 7950.... it is very poorly optimized and doesn't rely on the card as much as the CPU, not really a fair test of the card.

 

[Eureka]

Its more on Arma2 than the card... I play with a buddy who has a 680 OC'd and he is usually only about 3-4 FPS higher than me in Arma2 with the 7950.... it is very poorly optimized and doesn't rely on the card as much as the CPU, not really a fair test of the card.

Either way, sounds like the 7970 will be a better value, if you actually use the two games (or sell all four).

Plus, 7970 will have better value down the line, and more power for the moment. I trust you didn't start the rebate for the 7950? Once you cut out that UPC, things go downhill for you.

 

[VulgarDisplay]

Have you tried overclocking your 7950 yet? If not you're wasting so much potential.

 

[Sidekicknichola]

Have you tried overclocking your 7950 yet? If not you're wasting so much potential.

Not yet, if I returned it I would feel bad if someone was getting the card after I maxed it out... I'll try and leave it stock as long as possible.

 

[RussianSensation]

Not yet, if I returned it I would feel bad if someone was getting the card after I maxed it out... I'll try and leave it stock as long as possible.

Going from a 925mhz HD7950 to a 1050mhz HD7970 is a 10 fps increase in performance in Arma II without AA:
http://www.computerbase.de/artikel/grafikkarten/2012/test-vtx3d-hd-7870-black-tahiti-le/18/

If you are already going to play the 2 games in that bundle, I think it makes sense to get the 7970 and overclock that. If you are planning to buy 2 games in that bundle, it sounds like the XFX 7970 card would not be more expensive than buying that Gigabyte 7950 + those games.

 

[Sidekicknichola]

If you are planning to buy 2 games in that bundle, it sounds like the XFX 7970 card would not be more expensive than buying that Gigabyte 7950 + those games.

I wouldn't buy them, but if they're free, I'll play them

 

[lehtv]

I'm not a fan of overclocking myself. I'm not a true enthusiast. I just like pretty games

Overclock, and you shall have prettier or smoother running games. All it takes is moving two sliders (power limit to +20, clock speed as far as it goes) and then playing a game for a while (with vsync off to allow for full GPU use) to see if it's stable. If it's not, back down on the clock speed until it is. If it is, push the clock speed some more. That's literally all it takes.

 

[Tweak155]

Overclock, and you shall have prettier or smoother running games. All it takes is moving two sliders (power limit to +20, clock speed as far as it goes) and then playing a game for a while (with vsync off to allow for full GPU use) to see if it's stable. If it's not, back down on the clock speed until it is. If it is, push the clock speed some more. That's literally all it takes.

I did my share of OC back in the day. I think I became defeated when my I7 920 would not OC. I just started buying stuff that was more than what I needed

Helps when you start making more $$ too.

 

[Sidekicknichola]

Helps when you start making more $$ too.

Amen to this...

I loved PC gaming until my parents stopped paying for my stuff in high school, switch to consoles because I could afford it, now that I've graduated and have a "real" job I can buy anything I want, as long as the fiance' will let me.

 

[Tweak155]

Amen to this...

I loved PC gaming until my parents stopped paying for my stuff in high school, switch to consoles because I could afford it, now that I've graduated and have a "real" job I can buy anything I want, as long as the fiance' will let me.

You go girl!

 

[Eureka]

I have a real job and I still can't buy anything I want. [size=-2]One day I will have you, STi. One day.[/size]

 

[Tweak155]

I have a real job and I still can't buy anything I want. [size=-2]One day I will have you, STi. One day.[/size]

I know what you mean. I think a lot of people would consider my salary to be very good / desirable (not to mention my wife is an engineer), but I still feel like I can't just go buy any PC part I want. It's like I constantly have responsibility floating over my head. Sucks.

Plus any money I spend my wife expects to be able to spend as well, yet when she goes and buys stuff I don't nag her for equivalent. I just tell her that's how we put ourselves in a hole, anytime I spend $10 I have to know I'm really spending $20. It's no way to live!

For the record, we get along pretty well on how we spend money, just gotta find that balance!

 

[Sidekicknichola]

I can almost always justify PC parts...within reason. I needed a new GPU, I could have ran out and bought a gtx690 but there is no reason I need that. The $300 of a 7950 means that I have to use it 300 hours on it before it gets me $1/hr in entertainment... and my PC is a HTPC / Gaming PC, so that means at even 1 hr a night on games or watching a movie (lord knows it is way more than that) I'll feel I have gotten my money's worth in less than a year.


I really enjoy playing games, it is such a nice little escape from the world around. If I didn't play a few hours a week (or day), I would be spending a hell of a lot more money going out and doing things.

Plus any money I spend my wife expects to be able to spend as well, yet when she goes and buys stuff I don't nag her for equivalent.

This is so funny, the day I came home with the 7950, she saw the box and was like "What is that thing?... and how much did it cost" ... As she was grilling me I notice two new rugs and a Nu-wave oven. We both looked at each other and almost in perfect harmony said, "We're even".

 

[Tweak155]

This is so funny, the day I came home with the 7950, she saw the box and was like "What is that thing?... and how much did it cost" ... As she was grilling me I notice two new rugs and a Nu-wave oven. We both looked at each other and almost in perfect harmony said, "We're even".

Haha, awesome!

I like your reasoning on buying a card. My wife and I played WoW for 6 months and I got tons of use out of mine - but how good of a card do you need for WoW?

I'm thinking at least a 680 but... I'm not sure!