Gigabyte 7870 OC good enough for 2560x1440 resolution?

[kn1ghtrydr]

What's up,
Well with the recent price drops I have a Gigabyte 7870 on order... but now I am thinking about getting a achieva Shimian QH270 monitor (2560x1440). Will the 7870 be good enough, or should I get a Gigabyte/MSI 7950 for $50 more? I am still running an i7-920 stock though so I'm thinking my setup will bottleneck the 7950 anyway.
Thanks,
Jay

 

[Silverforce11]

If u can get newegg special on the 670 for $330 with rebate, its the best deal IMO. @ http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=33877137&postcount=121 bonus code: HARDOCPX822B

Otherwise the 7950 is required. 7870 lacks grunt for that high res.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

7950 or 670 at the minimum both oc

 

[RussianSensation]

That 670 deal for $331 is sold out.

I would get a $310 MSI TF3 or Gigabyte Windforce 3x 7950 for that resolution and just overclock your CPU. It's very easy.

There isn't much performance difference between an HD7950 925mhz and a GTX670 at 2560x1440/1600.

BTW, I can find an HD7870 for $230. That's $70-80 less than a 7950.

 

[Ferzerp]

I'd suggest at least 2 of the top two tier cards from either company for that resultion. A 7870 is nowhere near enough unless you don't care about framerate of settings, or only play graphically weaker games.

 

[RussianSensation]

So you suggest raising the budget from $230-310 to $760 (GTX670 SLI) or $860 (HD7970 GE)? What if the OP can't even afford those options?

 

[Ferzerp]

Then the OP can't properly game at that resolution. I'm not really sure the relevance of that question. If you can't afford something, you don't buy it. It doesn't magically make something cheaper suddenly work better just because that's what you can afford.

So yes, of course I suggest spending at least the minimum to perform the task properly. Who wouldn't?

 

[RussianSensation]

You can game at 2560x1440 on a 7870. It just means running games on High and not Ultra and using FXAA / MLAA or no AA as opposed to MSAA. What if the OP wants the increased resolution for other tasks outside of games such as Excel modelling, design work, etc.? I realize your point that 7870 isn't fast enough to max out games at that resolution but suggesting that someone go from 7870 to GTX670 SLI / HD7970 CF out of the blue is odd, don't you think? If the OP could have afforded those options, why would he have asked about 7870 vs. 7950 in the first place?

A compromise can be made. You can still get HD6990/GTX590 gaming performance with 1 overclocked $310 HD7950. People played games on a single 30 inch monitor with those cards or HD6950 CF last generation. It's not impossible, just involves turning some settings down. Not everyone has $800-1000 to blow on GPUs to get 60-80 fps at 2560x1440.

 

[blackened23]

What's up,
Well with the recent price drops I have a Gigabyte 7870 on order... but now I am thinking about getting a achieva Shimian QH270 monitor (2560x1440). Will the 7870 be good enough, or should I get a Gigabyte/MSI 7950 for $50 more? I am still running an i7-920 stock though so I'm thinking my setup will bottleneck the 7950 anyway.
Thanks,
Jay

Like others said there is no single GPU that can max every game out at 2560x resolution. You have to make compromises here and there, even on a single 680. With that said - you can easily game at that resolution no problems, you just need to lower a setting here and there in a few games. Lets face it, the number of games truly pushing PC hardware are very few - the best games i've played recently (CS:GO, Darksiders 2, among others) are very tepid in terms of PC requirements. For other stuff like crysis 2, you'd have to lower detail a bit.

 

[Ferzerp]

You can game at 2560x1440 on a 7870. It just means running games on High and not Ultra and using FXAA / MLAA or no AA as opposed to MSAA. What if the OP wants the increased resolution for other tasks outside of games such as Excel modelling, design work, etc.? I realize your point that 7870 isn't fast enough to max out games at that resolution but suggesting that someone go from 7870 to GTX670 SLI / HD7970 CF out of the blue is odd, don't you think? If the OP could have afforded those options, why would he have asked about 7870 vs. 7950 in the first place?

A compromise can be made. You can still get HD6990/GTX590 gaming performance with 1 overclocked $310 HD7950. People played games on a single 30 inch monitor with those cards or HD6950 CF last generation. It's not impossible, just involves turning some settings down. Not everyone has $800-1000 to blow on GPUs to get 60-80 fps at 2560x1440.

I had a single 480 at 2560x1600, so I know it *can* be done, but to do it right, you really need multiple high end cards. I speak from experience. It got to the point where everything new required more and more visual fidelity compromises to get any where close to a usable framerate. A 7870 is pretty much on par with a GTX 580, and I would go nowhere near 2560xX at this point with one of those. Even a single 680 or 7970 results in compromises. Put two of them together though, and other than crazy super-sampling settings, or things like metro 2033, and you're golden.

 

[futurefields]

Looking at benchmarks it looks like the 3gb and more importantly 384-bit memory bus really benefit the 7950 @ 1440p

The 7870 and 7950 are almost indistinguishable at 1080p except under the most demanding games (Metro 2033 and BF3 Ultra etc... you may need to use 4x instead of 8x AA) according to most benchmarks (anything above 60fps you cant see)

My vote goes to 7870 @ 1080p, or 7950 @ 1440p

 

[RussianSensation]

Even a single 680 or 7970 results in compromises. Put two of them together though, and other than crazy super-sampling settings, or things like metro 2033, and you're golden.

That's the point. As blackened23, myself and others have mentioned, you won't be maxing out games at 2560x1440/1600 with a single-GPU anyway. If the OP cannot afford HD7950 CF, GTX670 SLI or faster, your recommendation offers no solution, other than to keep his current monitor. We have a couple guys here who game on a single 670 on a 2560x1440 resolution and they are doing fine. HD7950 OC is actually faster than a 670 at that resolution for $310. So it's doable.

Watch

Set BF3 on High, turn off Anti-aliasing and you are gaming on an HD7950 Vapor-X faster than a GTX680 on 3x 1080P screens.

Skyrim @ 60 fps on a 7950 using these settings

Dirt Showdown on High with Post-processing to Medium

Max Payne 3 with DX10.1, disabled Tessellation and SSAO, with a mix of High and Very High (still looks great)

So yes, it's 100% possible to get 50-60 fps smoothly on a single 27 inch 2560x1440 monitor but it just means not blindly moving all the sliders in the graphical settings to the max, like not enabling DOF and tessellation in Metro 2033.

Also, 7950 OCed > HD7970 Ghz / GTX680. Can't even compare that to a GTX480. HD7950 @ 1150mhz ~ HD7970 GE, will be 40% faster than a GTX580 easily. That's because Radeons do extremely well at high resolutions. $310 - bargain for the performance it has at high rez.

MSI TF3 is a sure bet for 1100-1150mhz overclocks.

 

[Ferzerp]

Also, 7950 OCed > HD7970 Ghz / GTX680.

Not going to bother responding to the dearth of graphs to show what I already know (if you don't care about visual quality, you can get smoothness). This however, is bad. Comparing OC'ed to stock is just silly.

 

[kn1ghtrydr]

What's up guys,
Thanks for all the info. I decided to go with a MSI 7950 (for some reason the gigabyte one on amazon went up to 349.99) and hopefully OC as far as I can without messing with the stock voltage. I'm kind of excited to see if I get the 7970 pcb haha. I'm hoping this card will keep me happy with my current setup for at least two more years before I build a brand new system.
Right now I am using a dell 2209wa (1680x1050) so I am long due for a monitor upgrade... might as well do it when I get my new GPU! Maybe I'll just get a new 24" 1080p monitor for now though and when those catleaps/shimians come down in price I'll be able to get another msi 7950 at that time for a decent price too.
Either that or I can go eyefinity with two 2209wa monitors... that'll put the 3gb vram to good use right?
Thanks again,
Jay

 

[Fire&Blood]

OP, I have a 7950 and a Catleap, rest of config is in my sig. I run 12.7 beta 1100/1575 24/7, either on 1037v for bitcoin while I'm away and light usage or at 1075v for gaming. So far I've been playing quite a few games at 1440p like BF3, Crysis games and Max Payne 3 without compromising image quality.

I think your CPU outperforms mine even at clock for clock, I'm stuck at 3.1GHZ, if you overclock that CPU you should do even better.

If I were buying all over again, my top 3 choices would be that 670 deal that was posted, the Sapphire 7950 or the MSI TF3. My small case struggles with the GPU expelled heat, even with 3 additional fans I barely manage to keep the card below 74C on auto fan. The Sapphire card has better cooling and the 670 is great value at that price, jump it if the deal comes back.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

I have a 7970 oc and most games runs fine at 1440p max as long as I disable msaa including games like bf3, Alan wake, max Payne 3, sleeping dogs etc with mostly the minimum fps as above 60 or so.

 

[SickBeast]

A pair of 7870s would rock that resolution in Crossfire.

 

[Ferzerp]

I have a 7970 oc and most games runs fine at 1440p max as long as I disable msaa including games like bf3, Alan wake, max Payne 3, sleeping dogs etc with mostly the minimum fps as above 60 or so.

Yeah, one can *almost* do it, but as I've aged, I've become less and less tolerant of compromises when I do game.

 

[futurefields]

Yeah, one can *almost* do it, but as I've aged, I've become less and less tolerant of compromises when I do game.

And unfortunately PC development as become less and less tolerant towards optimizing their engines.

Oh well, I guess whatever sells new hardware (gotta keep that wheel turnin) ...

 

[Fire&Blood]

I guess it also depends on the individual. I don't mind averaging 40FPS, some can't stand anything below 60FPS. Considering you CPU could allow for even better average and minimum FPS counts, any of the 3 options I posted would work for you. If you have run 3dmark 11, in the physics test, I max out at 19 FPS. While your (likely better) numbers don't directly translate into gains in games, there are quite a few games where you should get better results than me. A 2-5FPS increase may not sound like much but it matters because it applies to the minimum FPS count. I'm on the verge of breaking 40 FPS minimum in majority of games I play, that bump your CPU could provide should be enough to push you avg FPS counts high enough. Again, I'm comfortable with what I get out of the card, it never hinders me no matter how much is going on the screen and you should be even better off.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

I am not talking of almost. I mean maxed and 60 fps min as long as you disable msaa.

 

[Ferzerp]

Most games as long as you disable certain options isn't good enough for me. That is, by definition, almost.

 

[SickBeast]

The 7870 is a good deal right now, it's why I bought one. Even for bitcoins, it would take a $300 7970 to be competetive with a $195 7870 at equal clockspeeds. Looking at benchmarks, a pair of 7870s is often over 50% faster than a single 7970 or GTX 680. Granted, a single card is better overall, but for someone like me who already has a 7850, it's very tempting to pick up another card in light of the price drops.

I would have gone with another 7850 but they were only $15 cheaper than the 7870 I got, plus I got a lifetime warranty through XFX.

 

[3DVagabond]

If we want to use the ridiculous, "I want to max out every last setting in every single game" criteria, then throw your gaming rig away. As long as AMD/nVidia helps with sponsoring games they will make certain you always need something better than you already have.

Even the 690 (~2x680) isn't enough to give 60fps min with every single slider maxed So, let's get real here, please.

OP, listen to the people who own one and tell you how it runs. If you require 60fps min in every single game with every slider maxed, be prepared to dig a lot deeper into your pockets and pray to the Gods of gaming every game has a profile that scales perfectly for 3way SLI/Crossfire minimum, and every card is an O/C'ing beast.

 

[Ferzerp]

Amusingly, Metro 2033 is one of the things that I called out as one of the few exceptions to th emax all the things desire.

There are always going to be a handful of things out that even the best hardware cannot max. However, I like to be as close as possible.