AMD's response to the gtx670

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Dark Shroud

Golden Member
Mar 26, 2010
1,576
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Going back to some of the comments made about the 7950, I got one of the XFX overclocked models just before the 680 came out. This one specifically.

Can i get any more out of it than what XFX clocked it at? I hadn't even considered Nvidia when i was looking for cards. I generally do just go by brands i've had success with.

If it's hit its wall with overclocking, i'll probably chalk it up as a loss for not waiting for a price drop, but if i can get more out of it, i'll go for it.

Yes you should be able to add 100mhz easily to that card. A 150mhz bump would also be worth trying.
 

N4g4rok

Senior member
Sep 21, 2011
285
0
0
Yes you should be able to add 100mhz easily to that card. A 150mhz bump would also be worth trying.

In memory clock or GPU clock? This will be the first i've looked into OC'ing a GPu, so i'm trying to gather all my research before i fry something. :p
 

3DVagabond

Lifer
Aug 10, 2009
11,951
204
106
In memory clock or GPU clock? This will be the first i've looked into OC'ing a GPu, so i'm trying to gather all my research before i fry something. :p

O/C'ing is pretty safe with Tahiti. They can handle a lot more voltage than stock. Especially the 7950 which is lower than the 7970 stock. 1.3v is typically the limit. Although I wouldn't want to go there 24/7. You need to turn up the fans too much.

Start with upping the core clock on stock voltage. Once you've reached the stability limit then O/C the memory. The card will stay stable but performance will start to drop off when you get beyond the memory's limit. Usually stepping up 25MHz at a time until you find max clocks.

Once you've done that, if you want to go further then you can start adding voltage. Let us know what the rest of your systems specs are and your cards stock specs and voltages are if you want guidance.
 

N4g4rok

Senior member
Sep 21, 2011
285
0
0
Let us know what the rest of your systems specs are and your cards stock specs and voltages are if you want guidance.

AMD Phenom II X4 970 @ 4.0 Ghz + Corsair H60
ASUS M4A79XTD EVO
XFX Radeon R7950 Black Edition
128GB Samsung 830 SSD + 2TB Hitachi Deskstar HDD
8GB G.SKILL Ripjaws DDR3 RAM @ 1600 Mhz
600w Cooler Master Silent Pro

Bumped the core clock up to 950MHz, going to see how it does for a while. What's your preferred method for stability testing?
 

Forgets

Junior Member
Apr 24, 2012
13
0
0
AMD Phenom II X4 970 @ 4.0 Ghz + Corsair H60
ASUS M4A79XTD EVO
XFX Radeon R7950 Black Edition
128GB Samsung 830 SSD + 2TB Hitachi Deskstar HDD
8GB G.SKILL Ripjaws DDR3 RAM @ 1600 Mhz
600w Cooler Master Silent Pro

Bumped the core clock up to 950MHz, going to see how it does for a while. What's your preferred method for stability testing?


You should be able to get quite a bit more out of it. I went with the sapphire dual fan model. I was only able to get 1025 with default voltage. Been running 1175core 1450 mem for over a week now at 1.24v. The overclock allows me to run BF3 at ultra settings 2560X1440 staying above 60fps 95% of the time. Before the overclock I had to run at high settings to maintain 60fps.
 

Dark Shroud

Golden Member
Mar 26, 2010
1,576
1
0
In memory clock or GPU clock? This will be the first i've looked into OC'ing a GPu, so i'm trying to gather all my research before i fry something. :p

I would say both actually, but start out with the GPU clock then give the memory a bit of a boost after wards.
 

N4g4rok

Senior member
Sep 21, 2011
285
0
0
You should be able to get quite a bit more out of it. I went with the sapphire dual fan model. I was only able to get 1025 with default voltage. Been running 1175core 1450 mem for over a week now at 1.24v. The overclock allows me to run BF3 at ultra settings 2560X1440 staying above 60fps 95% of the time. Before the overclock I had to run at high settings to maintain 60fps.

Do you just use CCC to Overclock it, or is there a more highly recommended way?

I figured 'll take it slow. knock it up every few hours and just do what i do normally. Crysis 2 should put it through it's paces if i want to stress test it.
 

BossToss

Banned
May 14, 2012
5
0
0
Amds response to nvidia and the gtx 670

[EDIT]

Anyone who even considers the 79xx series right now is simply blinded by loyalty.

Or blinded by the fact that the 7970 is a better card than the 680.
I have 4 680s and 3 7970s. I prefer my 7970s. They perform identically to 3 680s, and yet have more VRAM, OC better, and are more stable in 3-4 card scenarios.

The only thing the 680 has on the 7970 is the fact that it's faster at 1080p at stock, quieter, and has a lower TDP. At higher resolutions the 7970 is where it's at, due to its wider memory bus.
 
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N4g4rok

Senior member
Sep 21, 2011
285
0
0
The only thing the 680 has on the 7970 is the fact that it's faster at 1080p at stock, quieter, and has a lower TDP. At higher resolutions the 7970 is where it's at, due to its wider memory bus.

The real issue with them was the price. I would have been ecstatic to save $50 on a 7950 had i just waited a little.

I would say both actually, but start out with the GPU clock then give the memory a bit of a boost after wards.

I've got GPU clock set at 975 and memory clock at 1400 with stock voltage. Temps seem alright. Played Dead Space 2 for a while and wasn't sure if i was actually perciving a little jitter in the frame rate, or if i'm looking too hard for it now.
 

SolMiester

Diamond Member
Dec 19, 2004
5,331
17
76
Or blinded by the fact that the 7970 is a better card than the 680.
I have 4 680s and 3 7970s. I prefer my 7970s. They perform identically to 3 680s, and yet have more VRAM, OC better, and are more stable in 3-4 card scenarios.

The only thing the 680 has on the 7970 is the fact that it's faster at 1080p at stock, quieter, and has a lower TDP. At higher resolutions the 7970 is where it's at, due to its wider memory bus.

You have 4 x 7970?, and 3 x 680?, are these in CF & SLI?....Are you still on release drivers with CF?
 

BossToss

Banned
May 14, 2012
5
0
0
You have 4 x 7970?, and 3 x 680?, are these in CF & SLI?....Are you still on release drivers with CF?

Vk60R.jpg


Yes I do own what I said I own. For the 7970s, I was running R11, awaiting the release of 12.5, until I switched to the 4 680s, of which I'm running the 301.34 beta GTX670/690 drivers with a modded .inf.
 
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SolMiester

Diamond Member
Dec 19, 2004
5,331
17
76
Vk60R.jpg


Yes I do own what I said I own. For the 7970s, I was running R11, awaiting the release of 12.5, until I switched to the 4 680s, of which I'm running the 301.34 beta GTX670/690 drivers with a modded .inf.

Just so I have this correct, you have 3 x 7970 in CF on 5 mths old drivers and you are saying that the 7970 is a better card?...LOL
 

dust

Golden Member
Oct 13, 2008
1,339
2
71
Or blinded by the fact that the 7970 is a better card than the 680.
I have 4 680s and 3 7970s. I prefer my 7970s. They perform identically to 3 680s, and yet have more VRAM, OC better, and are more stable in 3-4 card scenarios.

The only thing the 680 has on the 7970 is the fact that it's faster at 1080p at stock, quieter, and has a lower TDP. At higher resolutions the 7970 is where it's at, due to its wider memory bus.

Please remove the above comment. It doesn't put 680 in a good light, therefore it should be removed.:sneaky:
FYI some reviewers already dismissed the CF as a viable option, either because it's slower than 680 SLI, or because it feels choppy even though it is faster in some scenarios. Faster AMD= choppy,clunky,clumsy. Faster SLI= no surprise there.
Bottom line, you are confused, you did NOT experience the same thing:)
 

Rvenger

Elite Member <br> Super Moderator <br> Video Cards
Apr 6, 2004
6,283
5
81
Guys if hes running that many cards, hes probably hitting the VRAM limit on the 2gb 680. I bet he is using more than a 3 monitor setup. Of course the 7970s would outperform in this case. 7970s are great cards, no question about it. They tend to dominate in higher resolutions which should be common sense now.
 

chimaxi83

Diamond Member
May 18, 2003
5,649
61
101
Please remove the above comment. It doesn't put 680 in a good light, therefore it should be removed.:sneaky:
FYI some reviewers already dismissed the CF as a viable option, either because it's slower than 680 SLI, or because it feels choppy even though it is faster in some scenarios. Faster AMD= choppy,clunky,clumsy. Faster SLI= no surprise there.
Bottom line, you are confused, you did NOT experience the same thing:)

I'd say choosing SLI over Crossfire (or vise versa) based purely on a reviewers subjective opinion is pretty dumb. Pure FPS numbers might not lie, but what your eyes see and what my eyes see are subjective. Perhaps you should base your opinion on your own experience?