his vs sapphire 7950

[vgchat]

I've heard that sapphire is one of the better brands but atm all of the one's I'm interested in @ newegg are out of stock. Is HiS worth it compared to sapphire? Opinions?

 

[3DVagabond]

Nothing wrong with HIS cards. Every review I've read has been impressive. Whatever you decide on, you might want to do it quickly. It appears that the supply is drying up.

 

[IGemini]

Nothing wrong with HIS. Their IceQ coolers perform very well but be aware, they're pretty monolithic. Make sure your case can fit the card if you plan to buy.

 

[Shmee]

I am also looking at the IceQ from HIS on the egg for $194 to crossfire with the my current sapphire, since the sapphire is out of stock.

Does it have voltage control though?

 

[raghu78]

the his iceq cooler is 295 mm long. blower style cooler . so make sure you can fit the card in your case.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161420

http://www.hisdigital.com/un/product2-725.shtml

a good alternative is powercolor HD 7950 . only 10.43 inches long (265 mm). good cooler. unlocked voltage.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161420

http://www.powercolor.com/Global/products_features.asp?id=455#Specification

as said above supply is drying up. so grab one soon.

 

[raghu78]

I am also looking at the IceQ from HIS on the egg for $194 to crossfire with the my current sapphire, since the sapphire is out of stock. Does it have voltage control though?

yeah it does. but i suggest you wait for R9 290 reviews. don't rush on HD 7950 CF. the R9 290 is going to be an awesome card at USD 450 - 500. a voltage overclocked R9 290 is going to end up on par to HD 7950 CF. but being a single GPU R9 290 will be far superior in actual smoothness and consistency. :thumbsup:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=35603584&postcount=67

 

[Ramses]

I have a hardon for the HIS cards because it's like having a reference cooler that removes the hot air from the case (duh), but actually cools decent and is not super loud at speed. There's cooler things, and quieter things, but there aren't cooler or quieter that take the hot air out of the case as well that I have seen.

I was really disappointed there weren't more options setup that way, and that the reference cards were so overpriced.

 

[3DVagabond]

yeah it does. but i suggest you wait for R9 290 reviews. don't rush on HD 7950 CF. the R9 290 is going to be an awesome card at USD 450 - 500. a voltage overclocked R9 290 is going to end up on par to HD 7950 CF. but being a single GPU R9 290 will be far superior in actual smoothness and consistency. :thumbsup:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=35603584&postcount=67

You do know that's a stock 7950 (800MHz) they are comparing it with. Nobody runs their 7950 @ 800MHz.

 

[raghu78]

You do know that's a stock 7950 (800MHz) they are comparing it with. Nobody runs their 7950 @ 800MHz.

firstly not every game scales at 1.8x - 1.9x. scaling varies from game to game. few like COH 2 or total war rome 2 do not support multi gpu at all.

http://gamegpu.ru/rts-/-strategii/total-war-rome-ii-test-gpu.html

if you take a wide range of games CF scaling is around 1.6x.

having said that here is how the numbers stack up

HD 7950(1100 mhz) = HD 7970(1 Ghz) = R9 280X

the R9 290(950 mhz) is close to 1.9x the perf of HD 7870 and 1.3x the perf of R9 280X. R9 290 with voltage tweaking should be able to run at 1150 mhz on average OC. a rough scaling of 15 - 17% perf scaling puts the R9 290 at 1.5x the perf of HD 7950(1100 mhz) CF.

I don't know about you but I would take the guaranteed performance of a single R9 290 OC at 1.5x perf of HD 7950(1.1 Ghz) CF over the avg 1.6x scaling of a HD 7950 (1.1 Ghz) CF solution. the reasons are simple - consistency and dependability (CF scaling can vary from 0 to 90% depending on game), better frametimes and the overall much superior gaming experience of a single GPU.

 

[Insomniator]

The HIS is back up to $250 so that might make your decision easier.

I picked up the HIS 7950 yesterday when it was 180 AR... I just don't see anything better coming in at that price point for a decent amount of time. Nvidia just released the 760/770 and the R9 270X is a rebadged 7870 with a $199 msrp.

 

[n0x1ous]

Didnt AMD say that the NEver Settle bundles could be saved for future games? So if they add BF4 to the program later this year the game codes could be used for it? Just nabbed a $280 7970 (for upcoming AMD build) with 3 game codes yesterday and trying to decide on keeping or selling the codes....

 

[raghu78]

Didnt AMD say that the NEver Settle bundles could be saved for future games? So if they add BF4 to the program later this year the game codes could be used for it? Just nabbed a $280 7970 (for upcoming AMD build) with 3 game codes yesterday and trying to decide on keeping or selling the codes....

keep the codes. there is a chance that BF4 might be added in Dec. DICE might not allow AMD to announce it till the first complete month of sales has been realized. normally thats around 75 - 80% of sales for these blockbuster PC shooter titles. but there is a good chance that sometime in dec AMD might be allowed to add BF4 to the GOLD rewards program.

 

[vgchat]

Well a bit off topic but I had to pick xfx due to the price tier, hope they're good!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150671

 

[Termie]

Well a bit off topic but I had to pick xfx due to the price tier, hope they're good!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150671

I recommend you cancel that. XFX's design is one of the worst of all the 7950s. It's using what amounts to an HD7870 cooler.

There are plenty of other HD7950s available for less right now on Newegg, including the Sapphire, so no reason at all to choose the XFX.

 

[vgchat]

I'll see what I can do, it's already in packaging with the cancel button gone now, so I'm trying to initiate a chat. Also, those sapphires weren't in stock when I ordered the xfx.

 

[akahoovy]

Amazon has the HIS 7950 for $195 and a $15 MIR, but no included game bundle.