msi 7950 reference cooler vs msi 7950 twin frozer

[aznb0b]

Are the reference cooler models not as good? I cant seem to find anything about them anywhere, despite my googlefu. I understand how the reference cooler works, but is there a significant downside to the card?

 

[nitromullet]

Are you talking about these? http://www.techpowerup.com/159695/msi-launches-its-radeon-hd-7950-graphics-card-lineup.html

I would say the Twin Frozr would be the better choice.

 

[aznb0b]

Yes. The red model is the one I purchased. Its still a GOOD gpu right? They just dont seem to be very popular. Everything i google comes back as twin frozr. Any idea if theres a downside to that vs the twin frozer?

 

[Face2Face]

Yes. The red model is the one I purchased. Its still a GOOD gpu right? They just dont seem to be very popular. Everything i google comes back as twin frozr. Any idea if theres a downside to that vs the twin frozer?

Yes, the single center fan is nowhere near as good as the Twin Frozr III cooler. The 7950 was an overclocking great for it's time, so this fan configuration was not a popular one among enthusiast. It's fine if you plan on running your card at stock speeds, just not preference if you plan on overclocking. Also, the cooler on your card is not an AMD reference cooler, but an MSI in house design.

 

[nitromullet]

I think that MSI just puts a different shroud over the AMD 7950 reference cooler. They all look the same to me.

 

[Face2Face]

I think that MSI just puts a different shroud over the AMD 7950 reference cooler. They all look the same to me.

I would agree. Nice find

I would be interested if MSI included any heatsinks on VRM #1 and #2?

 

[nitromullet]

It doesn't look like it. The top pic in my post is of the MSI card sans shroud.

Is cooling the vrm's as much of an issue on the 7900's as it is on the 290's? I know that is the major shortcoming for most of the aftermarket coolers for reference 290's.

 

[Face2Face]

It doesn't look like it. The top pic in my post is of the MSI card sans shroud.

Is cooling the vrm's as much of an issue on the 7900's as it is on the 290's? I know that is the major shortcoming for most of the aftermarket coolers for reference 290's.

When overclocking, yes it is.

 

[aznb0b]

I dont plan on overclocking. The only PC game i play as of now is League of Legends, bc my current rig, sans gpu, will not support any other game besides WoW. Hell i cant even run Dota2 on low. Im hoping now that im building a new budget pc for gaming, thst this 7950 will allow me to play pretty much any game I want. And since i dont and never have had a 1080p OR 60fps anything, I wont mind not having every single game on Ultra/max.

Is it possible to buy the twin frozer fan shroud/assembly and swap it out? Or is that even worth doing anyways since im not going to overclock the gpu?

 

[Leyawiin]

I dont plan on overclocking...

Is it possible to buy the twin frozer fan shroud/assembly and swap it out? Or is that even worth doing anyways since im not going to overclock the gpu?

Its not worth it if you're not going to OC. The stock fan will be sufficient. As far as the GPU goes its still capable enough for decent settings. I have an HIS IceQ HD 7950 (non-boost model) with a moderate OC on stock voltage (935/1365). Runs most of my games on high/ultra settings @ 1920x1200. Watch Dogs plays quite well on high settings and textures.

 

[nitromullet]

I dont plan on overclocking. The only PC game i play as of now is League of Legends, bc my current rig, sans gpu, will not support any other game besides WoW. Hell i cant even run Dota2 on low. Im hoping now that im building a new budget pc for gaming, thst this 7950 will allow me to play pretty much any game I want. And since i dont and never have had a 1080p OR 60fps anything, I wont mind not having every single game on Ultra/max.

Is it possible to buy the twin frozer fan shroud/assembly and swap it out? Or is that even worth doing anyways since im not going to overclock the gpu?

The 7950 is a terrific card for 1080p even at stock. I ran one for a while with my 1440p screen, and it was surprisingly good even for that.