HIS HD 7950 3GB $300 AR at NE

[jlin101]

NE has HIS H795F3G2M Radeon HD 7950 3GB f0r $350 - 6% off promo HIS7112B - $30 rebate = $300 shipped, plus 3 free games. This is the cheapest 7950 around (AMD has recently lowered 7950's MSRP to $350). Note this is the reference design. Personally I'd paid $10 more to get the MSI one, for its TwinFrozr III cooler, 7970 PCB and factory overclock.

HIS 7950: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161400

MSI 7950: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127667

 

[Piano Man]

Wow, finally the price at which I thought these cards should have been released at. Probably need to man up and snag me one. The MSI looks like the better of the two. Any opinions from knowledgeable folks on what kind of OC/thermals/noise I can expect?

 

[jlin101]

I have not received my MSI 7950, yet. From all the 7950 reviews I've read in the last few days, MSI TF III and Asus DC have some of the best build qualities. In terms of thermal and noise levels, the MSI is one of better ones (Sapphire/PowerColor have less noise but are warmer; Asus DC takes up 3 slots; HIS IceQ X is also good). MSI is neither the quietest nor the coolest, but it is the cheapest custom design. Needless to say, all the custom ones are better than the stock card. MSI is the only company that uses all metal cooler shroud, giving it a solid/rigid feel, compared to other make's cheaper plastic cover (if this is important to you). Some of the owners comment that the MSI TF3 uses 7970 PCB (with 6/8 pin connectors); and someone even got one with all 2048 shaders. Considering the 7870's sell for about the same or higher price, this is a good deal (note that MSI's TF3 7870 does not fare well in reviews due to high noise). I have a MSI TF3 7850 which is execellent in its temp/noise level.

 

[Rvenger]

These cards are becoming a great value at these price points. The new improved drivers just sweeten the deal.

 

[fei_xng]

"HIS HD", can we have "HER HD"?

Just kidding........

 

[RussianSensation]

Wow, finally the price at which I thought these cards should have been released at. Probably need to man up and snag me one. The MSI looks like the better of the two. Any opinions from knowledgeable folks on what kind of OC/thermals/noise I can expect?

Thermals and noise are good (but not as quiet as PowerColor PCS+)
http://www.computerbase.de/artikel/grafikkarten/2012/kurztest-3-x-amd-radeon-hd-7950/6/

and
http://www.hardware.fr/articles/853-16/thermographie-infrarouge-cartes-graphiques.html

Overclocking should be very good compared to other 7950s:

I wouldn't touch a reference HD7950 though.

 

[Leyawiin]

About damn time. I'm pleased with my ASUS GTX 670 (and glad I bought it at the time), but it should have been $350 at release. This generation of cards really gouged the consumer. AMD finally has their products at a correct price point and hopefully this will put some pressure on Nvidia to do the same.

 

[jlin101]

About damn time. I'm pleased with my ASUS GTX 670 (and glad I bought it at the time), but it should have been $350 at release. This generation of cards really gouged the consumer. AMD finally has their products at a correct price point and hopefully this will put some pressure on Nvidia to do the same.

I, too, am very satified with my Asus GTX 670 Top (the fastest/quietest and coolest-funning high-end card I've ever owned). I, however, thought the $430 price was very reasonable, at a time when GTX 580 retailed for $400-500+. Why do you think 670's are overpriced at $400-450, when it could go head-to-head with 7970's that sold for $550? Is it because GF 104, which 670/680 are based on, is purportedly only a mid-range GPU? Obviously most people think the price nvidia charges for 670/680 is reasonable, thus explaining the low stock and rapid decline of AMD couterpart's price.