hd 7950 3gb review.. amd beats fermi to a pulp

[BallaTheFeared]

You compare what is available now, not some mythical product that doesn't exist. Enthusiast Kepler will be here in May or June at the very earliest.

It's not mythical if it's actually coming out, what game came out that I missed which requires a next gen gpu offering the same performance as last gens top tier card for about the same price?

Is it because AMD's logo is on it that now after a year I actually need it?

The current state of affairs dictates that waiting is the best option for most users, some may have waited all they could, however there hasn't been anything released that demands anyone with a decent setup not to wait.

This card needs a massive price reduction, silly me for not likely the fact that a company that used to value performance and value now releases 8150's for $280 and 7950's for $500+.

 

[Madcatatlas]

holy cow, are you on some personal anti amd campaign? as has been noted several times, but ignored by your fanboyish attitude, the 7950 costs alot. the gap up to the 7970 is small in some benches, bigger in others. people would rather buy a 7970 or hold on buying a 7950 till nvidia gets out their refresh and competes, resulting in a price drop.

You seem all too focused on the extremes. i know what you post without even reading your post oilfieldtrash... whats that all about?

 

[Lonyo]

I can't remember the last time there has been this much backlash at a highend line videocard release. Seems like AMD did just enough to beat nvidia, but not too much for whatever reason and then priced them relative to last gens performance. I can see why people are bummed.

Has anyone noticed that only one 7950 card is OOS on newegg? The 7970 sold out within hours. Maybe they have a ton of stock though.

People have had their expectations lowered (raised?) by history.
This time AMD just said "fuck it, what's the point in being first to market and doing nothing?"

Simple answer is: don't buy a new card at an uncompetitive time.

Currently this is an uncompetitive period. There is no competition for AMD at the high end, and none lower down (as in, both AMD and NV are being pretty non competitive at the lower ends and maintaining prices).

It's just what happens when there's no competition.
Remember when the HD5800 series came out and then the prices INCREASED shortly after launch?
If anything, AMD is doing NV a big favour by setting the bar low and giving them chance to do something. Eventually NV will respond and the marketplace will change, but AMD don't feel a need to shake up the market this time, and NV aren't making them.

Yes, it's shit pricing, but that's what happens in a 1 competitor market. When there are 2 competitors things might change.
The blame can be equally shared between NV and AMD. NV for letting AMD once again get a lead on a new process, and AMD for choosing to go for money over a competitive marketplace.

When it was the HD6900 vs GTX560/570, there was a lot more pricing competition, and it was good for the consumer.
No competition? Bad for the consumer. Who is to blame for no competition, the party who comes to market, or the party who doesn't?

NV didn't drop the GTX580 prices during the entire year+ they were out until now for one simple reason: They could only be competing against themselves.
AMD won't drop their prices when they are alone. Why? They will be mostly ocmpeting with themselves.

IT'S A BAD TIME TO BUY. INSTEAD OF BITCHING ABOUT PRICES, JUST WAIT. IT'S WHAT YOU SHOULD BE DOING ANYWAY.
BITCH ABOUT PRICES WHEN THERE'S COMPETITION, IF THEY HAVEN'T CHANGED.

 

[Madcatatlas]

It's not mythical if it's actually coming out, what game came out that I missed which requires a next gen gpu offering the same performance as last gens top tier card for about the same price?

Is it because AMD's logo is on it that now after a year I actually need it?

The current state of affairs dictates that waiting is the best option for most users, some may have waited all they could, however there hasn't been anything released that demands anyone with a decent setup not to wait.

This card needs a massive price reduction, silly me for not likely the fact that a company that used to value performance and value now releases 8150's for $280 and 7950's for $500+.

Some people like to argue for the sake of arguing. Hi there balla

 

[MrTeal]

Hmm, lets try this. I think both AMD and NVs high end cards are to expensive and would like the price to drop. Anyone agree with me?

I buy midrange cards, not high end. But It seems the higher the high end cards are, the more the midrange cards are. When prices drop on high end cards their is usually a trickle down effect and everything drops a little. I want a 7800 or Kepler equivalent for about $200, but I bet I'm going to have to settle on the next level down for that. Of course, a 6850 is around $135 on NewEgg and would double the performance of my current 4830, so if NV takes too long with Kepler I can go that way.

That's the choice I made. I originally planned to buy a card in the $200-$250 range from the 28nm generation, but with the delays and the obvious trend towards higher prices I decided that I would just take the opportunity to buy a $90 6870 and wait out the current crop until nvidia can get some cards out and exert competitive pressure on AMD. Even once the 77xx and 78xx cards ship, if nvidia doesn't have an answer we'll probably see something similar to what we have now: slightly faster at slightly better prices, with much better power consumption. AMD isn't going to cut into their margins unless forced to.

 

[thilanliyan]

I think you're missing the point that these aren't high end cards bud.

It's faster than any single GPU from nVidia but is slower than the 7970...so 2nd fastest single GPU you can buy. High end is not only ONE card is it? IMO the 7950 and 7970 are high end for AMD like the GTX580 is for nV.

 

[BallaTheFeared]

Some people like to argue for the sake of arguing. Hi there balla

And some like to argue with other peoples OPINIONs. :thumbsup:

 

[sandorski]

It's not mythical if it's actually coming out, what game came out that I missed which requires a next gen gpu offering the same performance as last gens top tier card for about the same price?

Is it because AMD's logo is on it that now after a year I actually need it?

The current state of affairs dictates that waiting is the best option for most users, some may have waited all they could, however there hasn't been anything released that demands anyone with a decent setup not to wait.

This card needs a massive price reduction, silly me for not likely the fact that a company that used to value performance and value now releases 8150's for $280 and 7950's for $500+.

Yes, but it's not out.

 

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

It's not mythical if it's actually coming out, what game came out that I missed which requires a next gen gpu offering the same performance as last gens top tier card for about the same price?

Is it because AMD's logo is on it that now after a year I actually need it?

The current state of affairs dictates that waiting is the best option for most users, some may have waited all they could, however there hasn't been anything released that demands anyone with a decent setup not to wait.

This card needs a massive price reduction, silly me for not likely the fact that a company that used to value performance and value now releases 8150's for $280 and 7950's for $500+.

Except, again, the HD 8000 series will be out too. This argument could go all day long, but the simple truth of the matter is that we compare what we tangibly have NOW. How about what I mentioned before, that AMD can easily get 30% more performance out of Tahiti?

And like I said, you are NOT entitled to have bleeding-edge performance for $100 less than the competition. That's a stupid way of doing business, and AMD found out the hard way with the HD 4000 and HD 5000 series where in many products (HD 4870, HD 5850) they gave you Enthusiast performance for Performance prices. It could be better for us because we want GPUs as cheap as they can be, but it's not good for business. If you want to be successful in the industry you need to price relative to what your competition has, not relative to what your manufacturing costs are. That's what AMD's GPU department learned from NVIDIA.

So, again, please explain to me why the HD 7950 needs a price reduction when it's slightly faster, slightly cheaper, cooler-running, and more power efficient than what it's competing against? Why can NVIDIA make you pay top price for top performance yet AMD can't? I won't hold my breath for any rational answers, though.

And comparing the absolute horse crap that the FX-8150 is to an HD 7950 is pretty insulting, particularly because AMD's GPU engineers actually know how to design a good card, right now even better than NVIDIA.

 

[Subyman]

lol! 7950 now with free shipping and a Dirt 3 coupon. That didn't take long. I wonder if newegg gives AMD sales numbers for the day?

Wow, already incentives? They must have not hit their initial sales levels at all.

 

[thilanliyan]

IT'S A BAD TIME TO BUY. INSTEAD OF BITCHING ABOUT PRICES, JUST WAIT. IT'S WHAT YOU SHOULD BE DOING ANYWAY.
BITCH ABOUT PRICES WHEN THERE'S COMPETITION, IF THEY HAVEN'T CHANGED.

QFT. People bitching about the price should just wait. Once nV releases something it will come down, unless nV charges $650 or something. Maybe nV will pull a 4870 and price them well? I doubt it but it could happen.

 

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

Wow, already incentives? They must have not hit their initial sales levels at all.

Almost all AMD cards are that way: most manufacturers include DiRT 3 as part of their bundles. Nice job deflecting, though.

 

[Subyman]

IT'S A BAD TIME TO BUY. INSTEAD OF BITCHING ABOUT PRICES, JUST WAIT. IT'S WHAT YOU SHOULD BE DOING ANYWAY.
BITCH ABOUT PRICES WHEN THERE'S COMPETITION, IF THEY HAVEN'T CHANGED.

Hmmm, are you new to launches and forums? This is the best part about forums, everyone gets to express their opinions on new launches. I can choose not to buy the card and then discuss my reasons with fellow enthusiasts.

I was pointing out that it seems there may be a unanimous decision among enthusiasts on the 7950 after seeing the price and performance looking at the newegg stock. Another member said they are already throwing in incentives (free ship and Dirt 3.) No reason to get mad 😉

 

[sandorski]

Wow, already incentives? They must have not hit their initial sales levels at all.

At release the 5870 came with Dirt 3 as well.

 

[Subyman]

Almost all AMD cards are that way: most manufacturers include DiRT 3 as part of their bundles. Nice job deflecting, though.

I don't see what I'm deflecting. I was only quoting another member. Yesterday shipping was 8 bucks with no game, today it is free ship with Dirt 3. I don't see why they would change the incentives if these things were selling like hot cakes. The 7970 still doesn't have any incentive.

BTW this is not manufacturer related, they all have this deal.

 

[thilanliyan]

So, again, please explain to me why the HD 7950 needs a price reduction when it's slightly faster, slightly cheaper, cooler-running, and more power efficient than what it's competing against? Why can NVIDIA make you pay top price for top performance yet AMD can't? I won't hold my breath for any rational answers, though.

Haven't you heard...nV has better drivers...and they make you "feel" better. Lol. 😀

I have actually run across a couple of people who swear that nV are better and balked when I mentioned ATI. They didn't seem to know much about ATI. nV must have a good marketing team. 😛

 

[MrTeal]

At release the 5870 came with Dirt 3 as well.

You sure on that one? 🙂

 

[nOOky]

It all boils down to simple economics of supply and demand. Businesses price their products based on demand or projected demand. If the 7970 doesn't sell well the price will decrease. If it sells well at it's current price, the price will stay the same or possibly go up. There is no price gouging because as a consumer if you don't like the price you simply don't buy.
I highly doubt prices are set based on what the guys and gals on the Anandtech forums think they should be because of what they are used to them being.
If you think the new cards are overpriced then don't buy one. Speak with your wallet.
I'm continually amazed at the fanboyism displayed for either camp, AMD or nvidia. These are graphics cards, not football teams. I don't understand the extreme loyalty expressed by some, to the point of absurdity.

 

[AnandThenMan]

And some like to argue with other peoples OPINIONs. :thumbsup:

Then let us separate opinions from facts. You claim the 7950 is not a high end card, fair to say this is an opinion. The review on this site says in the title that this is a high end card. I would tend to consider that more of a fact. Agreed?

 

[sandorski]

You sure on that one? 🙂

Pretty sure of it, 60%ish.

 

[Subyman]

Pretty sure of it, 60%ish.

That would be kind of hard since the 5870 came out in 2009 and dirt 3 was released in 2011. 😉

 

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

I don't see what I'm deflecting. I was only quoting another member. Yesterday shipping was 8 bucks with no game, today it is free ship with Dirt 3. I don't see why they would change the incentives if these things were selling like hot cakes. The 7970 still doesn't have any incentive.

BTW this is not manufacturer related, they all have this deal.

Wow, already incentives? They must have not hit their initial sales levels at all.

All of AMD's cards always cost $8 for shipping when they're launched on Newegg. That was it for the 7970, and that was it for the 6970 and 5870. Also, almost all manufacturers include bundles with their cards. Even their current best bang-for-buck card, the HD 6870, is being sold left and right with DiRT 3.

But please, keep trying to make arguments out of thin air.

 

[AnandThenMan]

At release the 5870 came with Dirt 3 as well.

I think you meant Dirt-2.

 

[96Firebird]

Then let us separate opinions from facts. You claim the 7950 is not a high end card, fair to say this is an opinion. The review on this site says in the title that this is a high end card. I would tend to consider that more of a fact. Agreed?

Congratulations, you just took one person's opinion (the reviewer) and claimed it as a fact.

 

[MrTeal]

Pretty sure of it, 60%ish.

Dirt 2 wasn't even released until a month after the 5870s launched.