Can't decide between sapphire 7970 OC and msi lightning 7970

[gregr507]

The sapphire is cheaper and in stock, and seems to perform well. My only concern is I've heard multiple complaints about the cards malfunctioning, either random black screens or capacitor noise, etc. But in the reviews it seems to OC well and stay cool, and is actually among the cheapest 7970's, so it's very tempting...

The lightning seems to be the highest quality 7970 by far, but is also more expensive and never in stock. Also can set it to 1070 core right out of the box with the second bios. But I've seen a few reviews where OC's have actually been slightly disappointing, and a few where it is described as louder and hotter than expected.

Anyone have any thoughts on this? Of course there is always the option of the 680 as well... but imo it has a few drawbacks... ugh this is difficult lol

 

[SolMiester]

What are the drawbacks of the 680?

 

[chimaxi83]

What are the drawbacks of the 680?

No voltage control is the only one in my opinion, but its a big drawback.

 

[RavenSEAL]

MSi for sure. As much as I love Sapphire ( 4 cards, no problems)

 

[Ariae]

Yeh I'd go w/ MSI. Not too fond of Sapphire support.

 

[SolMiester]

No voltage control is the only one in my opinion, but its a big drawback.

I was actually interested to see what the OP thought were the drawbacks?, but seriously, lack of voltage control, do you really need to clock it until it breaks? Is it not quick enough at stock or at the limit of its overclock?....

 

[Tempered81]

The 1175mv limit on the GTX680 kinda sucks.

 

[gregr507]

I was actually interested to see what the OP thought were the drawbacks?, but seriously, lack of voltage control, do you really need to clock it until it breaks? Is it not quick enough at stock or at the limit of its overclock?....

I just didn't want to turn this into another 7970 vs 680 thread. But it seems to me that the two perform essentially equally once overclocked. And the 7970 comes with more memory and IMO seems higher quality. But like I said I'd rather not argue over those points, I'm not loyal to either brand so I don't care much

I think I've narrowed the 7970 choices down to these 2 cards, just can't really make up my mind

 

[SolMiester]

I just didn't want to turn this into another 7970 vs 680 thread. But it seems to me that the two perform essentially equally once overclocked. And the 7970 comes with more memory and IMO seems higher quality. But like I said I'd rather not argue over those points, I'm not loyal to either brand so I don't care much

I think I've narrowed the 7970 choices down to these 2 cards, just can't really make up my mind

Hey, i couldnt care what you get, I just wondered what you were referring to when you mentioned drawbacks, as memory has yet to be shown as one!

 

[Tempered81]

I'd get that 7970 Dual X or a GTX 680

 

[Grooveriding]

Between the two of them, clearly the Lightning is the better card. It's $520 though and a reference 7970 is $450.

Have to decide if it's worth the extra $70 to you. If it were me I'd get the Lightning

 

[gregr507]

Between the two of them, clearly the Lightning is the better card. It's $520 though and a reference 7970 is $450.

Have to decide if it's worth the extra $70 to you. If it were me I'd get the Lightning

I'm wondering why everyone says the lightning is better? It certainly seems higher quality, but is it any better OC or heat/noise wise? As far as I can tell the sapphire dual-x is about the same in those regards, maybe even a little better with OC'ing? If only the lightning was in stock

edit - just to be clear, I'm talking about the sapphire dual-x, this one: http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-Radeon-PCI-Express-Graphics-11197-01-40G/dp/B007JGARVU

 

[Grooveriding]

I'm wondering why everyone says the lightning is better? It certainly seems higher quality, but is it any better OC or heat/noise wise? As far as I can tell the sapphire dual-x is about the same in those regards, maybe even a little better with OC'ing? If only the lightning was in stock

OC results will still be luck of the draw with the chip you get. Did not realize you meant the sapphire dual x.

 

[gregr507]

OC results will still be luck of the draw with the chip you get. Did not realize you meant the sapphire dual x.

Yeah sorry I should have made that more clear. With that in mind, does your opinion change?

 

[Zanovar]

Ive had my saphire 7970 OC for a week now,gonna send it back tomorrow though due to cap noise as its doing my head in(sounds like a Cicada on speed in my case).shame as its a brilliant card.

 

[gregr507]

Ive had my saphire 7970 OC for a week now,gonna send it back tomorrow though due to cap noise as its doing my head in(sounds like a Cicada on speed in my case).shame as its a brilliant card.

Damn! I keep hearing how some people love him, then some have issues like this

 

[Grooveriding]

Yeah sorry I should have made that more clear. With that in mind, does your opinion change?

I do not know much about the sapphire. If it is a custom beefed up pcb like the lightning it will also be a good choice. I do like the lightning though, the pcb is a beast.

I http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...53263-msi-hd-7970-lightning-3gb-review-2.html

 

[Rvenger]

Damn! I keep hearing how some people love him, then some have issues like this

Linus had some bad coil whine on his too.

 

[DarkKnightDude]

I've got a MSI 7970 Lightning and to be its worth every dollar. Stays cool, got a great OC on it, and it laughs at every game I've thrown at it. The factory OC was a little disappointing, but I was going to oc it beyond the factory overclock anyway.

 

[Dark Shroud]

What are the drawbacks of the 680?

For me the inside of my case is almost always over 70 degrees despite being well ventilated. I would never see auto-clocking work in a positive way for me.

I'm a Sapphire fan myself, MSI is a close second.

 

[chimaxi83]

I was actually interested to see what the OP thought were the drawbacks?, but seriously, lack of voltage control, do you really need to clock it until it breaks? Is it not quick enough at stock or at the limit of its overclock?....

lol, and? I responded anyway. Yes, if I'm paying $500 for something, give me control over it. There are complaints over the lack of voltage control from users everywhere. Lower end cards not having it, couldn't care less. Flagship cards need to have a feature that's been supported for quite a long time now. Quit being defensive over it buddy :whiste:

 

[SolMiester]

lol, and? I responded anyway. Yes, if I'm paying $500 for something, give me control over it. There are complaints over the lack of voltage control from users everywhere. Lower end cards not having it, couldn't care less. Flagship cards need to have a feature that's been supported for quite a long time now. Quit being defensive over it buddy :whiste:

Defensive...LOL....alrighty then!

 

[(sic)Klown12]

I have the Sapphire Dual-X, and I love it. Right now I'm running it on the stock BIOS at CCC limits, but with the second I've gotten it to 1220/1670 at 1.193v(core)/1.63v(memory). I'll get some time the weekend to test it even further.

As for coil whine, I heard some(was faint and then I had my case open) when I first got it and was testing it with the DX11 tessellation demo when the frame rate was over 1100fps, but I haven't heard any since then.

 

[Jaydip]

lol, and? I responded anyway. Yes, if I'm paying $500 for something, give me control over it. There are complaints over the lack of voltage control from users everywhere. Lower end cards not having it, couldn't care less. Flagship cards need to have a feature that's been supported for quite a long time now. Quit being defensive over it buddy :whiste:

Well something for u if u r kinda adventurous :biggrin:

http://vr-zone.com/articles/asus-gtx-680-directcu-ii-top-2gb-review/15614-3.html

 

[T_Yamamoto]

I have the Sapphire Dual-X, and I love it. Right now I'm running it on the stock BIOS at CCC limits, but with the second I've gotten it to 1220/1670 at 1.193v(core)/1.63v(memory). I'll get some time the weekend to test it even further.

As for coil whine, I heard some(was faint and then I had my case open) when I first got it and was testing it with the DX11 tessellation demo when the frame rate was over 1100fps, but I haven't heard any since then.

Over 1100?!