So, If someone was going to jump on a 7970... what would one want to get? I cannot spend more than 400 btw really... and I don't want to have coil whine either.
You cannot get an HD7970 with after-market chokes for less than $400 unless it's Asus DirectCUII but those are a huge PITA in terms of driver/black screen of death issues. I think the same applies for GTX670 line too. Any card you buy that doesn't specifically have upgraded solid core chokes, you are playing the coil whine lottery, NV or AMD, it doesn't matter.
I notice that you have a 7970, do you have coil whine?
I have it slightly in AvP, during Windows Experience Index update screen, MSI Kombuster "Triangle of Death" GPU Burn-in synthetic test when the GPU gets > 1300 fps on a 2D still screen (!!), but not in any other 3D game. The coil whine tends to come out in situations where there is a "still 2D screen" and GPU goes nuts to 500-1,000 fps. However, I cannot guarantee you won't get coil whine on a 7970 Dual-X like mine, it could be completely non-existent, similar or worse.
I am telling you it has nothing to do with AMD vs. NV. You can buy a flagship $500 GTX680 and it will have it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdaI65gauTQ
It sounds like a mechanical grinding/whistling noise. The ONLY way to guarantee you don't have it is to spend extra for after-market solid core chokes, or if the card specifically says it has them.
Sapphire Vapor-X 7950:
MSI Lightning 7970:
You might be good with MSI TF3 7950 as it still has Military Class III components:
Military Class III Components
- Hi-C CAP for GPU provides more precise voltage.
- SSC (
Solid State Choke) has higher current for better overclocking ability.
- All Solid CAPs have longer lifespan.
http://www.msi.com/product/vga/R7950-Twin-Frozr-3GD5-OC.html#?div=Overview
However, the actual MSI TF3 7950 6+6 pin version has the standard R22 chokes, so it sounds like marketing to me on MSI's part:
Mango123, I haven't heard any complaints about TF3 7950 exhibiting coil whine. Why don't you drop a line in the MSI TF3 7950 Owner's thread and ask if anyone had coil whine on this card?
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2259333