7950GX2...? Anybody (else) actually get one yet...?

[nitromullet]

Well, it's been about a week since the 7950GX2 launched, which is certainly enough to get it shipped from your favorite e-tailer. That being said, I haven't heard about anyone on this forum getting one. If there is someone who has gotten one already and is just lurking, I would love to hear what you think of the card.

 

[Extelleron]

(I dont' have one)

From what I've heard, there's alot of incompatibility issues and the installation usually requires a mobo BIOS update. Overclocking must be pretty good on it because XFX has a version with I believe 575/1550 clocks or something.

 

[nitromullet]

Can you be a bit more specific than "from what I've heard"...? Do you actually know people that own one that have a lot of compatibility issues? If so, what hardware are they running, and Is their motherboard/BIOS on the compatiblity list on NV's site?

 

[Extelleron]

Here's one:

http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/910/

 

[Polish3d]

I sure wish nvidia would improve upon the signal they broadcast to the monitor (I found the XTX's to be shockingly superior), I'd probably have gotten the GX2 in that case

 

[nitromullet]

Originally posted by: Extelleron
Here's one:

http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/910/

It really isn't very clear what the issue was there...

We put one card in initially (two cores, so we are clear!) and started benching; we were going all fine then after a reboot after a number of benchmarks, it went all down hill. BSOD, freezes in Windows install, freezes getting into Windows, crashes after driver install and more. Installing an older card like the 7800GTX found the system running no problems for a while then it all started over again.

While initial setup was a complete pain, we wouldn?t put that solely down to the graphics cards and because the whole Quad SLI thing didn?t work for us, XFX aren?t to blame - overall the whole setup (once up and running) was extremely bug-free

It sounds like the issues they had were present with other cards as well, plus they still give it a "9 out of 10 and TweakTown?s ?MUST HAVE? Best Performance Award" once they replaced some of the other hardware in their test rig.

Anyway... The point of this thread wasn't so we could throw each other links back and forth as most of us have already read the reviews, but rather for people who own one or have otherwise direct access to a 7950GX2 to us what they think. The numbers are pretty clear at this point, so now I'm more curious about enduser experience.

 

[nitromullet]

Originally posted by: Frackal
I sure wish nvidia would improve upon the signal they broadcast to the monitor (I found the XTX's to be shockingly superior), I'd probably have gotten the GX2 in that case

Superior to what...? The 7950GX2? If not, then you're just FUD'ing my thread... If you do have experience with the 7950GX2, please tell us what you think...

 

[Todd33]

Originally posted by: nitromullet

Originally posted by: Frackal
I sure wish nvidia would improve upon the signal they broadcast to the monitor (I found the XTX's to be shockingly superior), I'd probably have gotten the GX2 in that case

Superior to what...? The 7950GX2? If not, then you're just FUD'ing my thread... If you do have experience with the 7950GX2, please tell us what you think...

He says the same crap in every thread. He thinks one data point makes it scientific fact. I've owned many ATI and Nvidia cards and never see a difference in output.

 

[Polish3d]

True, was just idle musing. I've been debating on which card to get (GX2 or XTX) myself. One data point or not it's the one that matters to what I personally buy which I what I was commenting on. Maybe not technically "appropriate" to the thread but further complaining about it will just derail the thread. I'd like to hear GX2 user experience too, there is some at xtremesystems if you want to look

 

[beggerking]

really? Would you please provide us a link? I couldn't find anything on the net..

 

[Polish3d]

Sure

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=79

There are a couple threads with users who have them.

 

[beggerking]

Thanks! According to users there they seem to be very happy with their 7950gx2..

 

[nitromullet]

Well, it seems like I have to do everything around here myself... So, I picked up a BFGTech 7950GX2 today. I've only had limited time with it so far, so I don't have too much to say, but here are my thoughts so far:

The card/noise: The card itself is a bit longer than the XTX and a GTX, but surprisingly it's lighter than the XTX and it seems very compact for 2 PCB's and two cores. The fan is surprisingly quiet considering the small size, and they seem to kick off quite a bit of heat from the card. I haven't really had enough time to check out the temps in detail, so I'll have to update that later.

IQ:
Well, since the architecture of the cores hasn't changed from previous G7x cores, it's the same. Basically, ATI's AF is better, but NV has the advantage in AA (too bad you can't use it with HDR). That's really about all I'm going to say about that.

Compatibility/Stability:
Since I had previously flashed my motherboard to the latest available Asus BIOS, I didn't have any issues with installing the card. The system detected the card, and the driver install went smoothly. I tried a bit of HL2 and WoW (my two favorite games), and didn't have any stability issues in either game. They both ran at 8xSSAA/16HQAF smoothly, and v-sync worked flawlessly in WoW when I forced it in the driver.

Not everything was 100% smooth though... I had the system lock up on me when I was messing around in the new control panel. NV has added a goofly little IQ preview in their drivers (similar to ATI's CCC), which I believe was the culprit of the lock. Although, the new control panel feels really "beta" and is somewhat akward to navigate initially, I decided that I would try not opting for the old style interface to see if I can get used to it. I didn't experience any issues in games, but I'll have to have this thing for a bit before I can truely comment on the stability. Similarly, I haven't tried any overclocking, and will not do so until I have determined that she runs completely stable in everything at stock settings.

That's it for now. Hopefully, I get a little more time with the new card later, and I'll update ths thread. if anyone else gets one, please post here as well.

 

[nitromullet]

Originally posted by: Frackal
Sure

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=79

There are a couple threads with users who have them.

Holy shnikes..! I don't beleive I'm actually going to go off topic in my own thread, but did you see the picture of the four GX2's in the Gigabyte Quad PCIe x16 board? It doesn't work properly, but it's still a sight to behold.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=102591

 

[beggerking]

Great review! nitromullet.

how is its performance compared to 1900? is it only a little bit faster? or is it really faster?

how is 16HQAF look?

 

[thilanliyan]

Originally posted by: nitromullet

Originally posted by: Frackal
Sure

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=79

There are a couple threads with users who have them.

Holy shnikes..! I don't beleive I'm actually going to go off topic in my own thread, but did you see the picture of the four GX2's in the Gigabyte Quad PCIe x16 board? It doesn't work properly, but it's still a sight to behold.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=102591

Serious...I wonder if it will ever work in the drivers.

 

[nitromullet]

Originally posted by: beggerking
Great review! nitromullet.

how is its performance compared to 1900? is it only a little bit faster? or is it really faster?

how is 16HQAF look?

Neither WoW or HL2 really put either the GX2 or the XTX to the test, so I can't really say that there is a noticable difference in performance with the two games I tried. Not really much to say about 16xHQAF that hasn't already been said, ATI's AF looks better, period. The trade off though is that 8xSSAA is very playable, and it looks better than the Radeon's 6xAAA.

 

[m21s]

Man O man do I want one of these

Please convince me not too

 

[nitromullet]

Originally posted by: m21s
Man O man do I want one of these

Please convince me not too

I obvioulsy don't have the will power to prevent myself... What makes you think I would be more responsible with your money?

Seriously, this purchasing decision directly contradicts with advice I've given to other people on this forum, and the statement that I was not going to buy another G7x based card. What can I say, something extremely attractive about an all on one SLI card IMO.

 

[m21s]

ME = No Willpower either

I was hoping you would tell me the card is a piece of junk, and hinder my decision

 

[m21s]

Can you pleeeeease give us more info on your nice purchase

 

[Captante]

Originally posted by: m21s
Can you pleeeeease give us more info on your nice purchase

Yes, please keep us updated & congrats on the new toy!

 

[beggerking]

bump. keep us posted..

 

[Cookie Monster]

So are you enjoying ur 8xTRSSAA? hehe (Some users are using modded drivers to use quad SLi as of now)

Some indications of noise and heat would be good.
Nice. What i didnt realise is the fan on the bottom of the card can actually blow the hot air out thanks to the slits. I guess this prevents the bottom card overheating. Clever thinking.

Lowest prices on these beast are 580~ right now which is great.

 

[nitromullet]

Small update, I should have more time play tomorrow evening. Today was busy.

I tweaked around with the profiles a bit this evening, and decided to try out WoW with 16xtrSSAA... Well, it wasn't really too happy with that. WoW was almost playable, but not really at 16xAA. It did look fantastic though. I bumped back down to 8xtrSSAA, and it was smooth a silk. Makes me wish NV would put a few inbetween settings in, like maybe 10x or 12x. There is a noticable difference in both IQ and performance between 8x and 16x, so I could see there being a lot of room for compromise between the two with some AA options between 8x and 16x.

Ok, I know that not everyone cares about WoW, so I'll get into a few other games tomorrow. Right now, I have Oblivion, HL2, and HL2 EP1 installed, so I'll probably dig into Oblivion tomorrow and maybe EP1. HL2 plays pretty much great on anything above a 6800GT or X800XL, so there isn't really any reason to look into that anymore.

As fas as noise goes, it's fairly quiet. The fans do spin up a notch when in 3D mode and stressed (like running WoW with 16xAA), but it simply isn't ever as loud as an X1900XT(X) because the fans don't make that turbine sound. The way the fans are designed, they would work fantastic with an exhausting case fan right next to the card. I never really noticed this from looking at the pictures, but only the inside of the "L" of L-shaped cooler is open while the outside of the L is sealed. Basically, how it works is that the fan sucks in air from it surroundings, and forces it out the inside edge of the L-shape. The folds in the sink are designed to where they channel the air towards the side of the case.

Anyway, I'm kind of bummed that I really didn't have time to play as much as I wanted to today, but so far I like the card.