Need GPU advice-

[bolitebriga]

System Specifications:

I. Processor/CPU: i5 2310-2,9GHz


II. Current Graphics Card: Palit GTX 570


III. Display Resolution: 1080P


IV. Power Supply Unit Specification (Brand, Wattage, Ampage, Age). If possible, please provide a link to a website containing the power supply specifications:

Seasonic 650W

V. Case Specifications(N/A, Model, Length, Low Profile, Cooling, HTPC, Water, Silent):

Thermaltake V6, it can fit graphics cards up to 30 cm, and more in the hard drive space.

Purchase Details:

I. Budget? Please be sure to include currency (If not USD), retailer preferences & specify whether rebates are a viable option.

4000 Kunas, which is about 600 Dollars, no rebates.


II. Any particular preferences (Manufacturer[nV or AMD], Brand[XFX, Sapphire, EVGA, etc], Cooling Solutions)?

Any manufacturer, I'm running on air, never water.


III. Do you plan to have any Multi-GPU solutions such as Crossfire or SLI?
Yes, when I upgrade my Mobo+CPU, unless the next-gen (700, 8000) isn't better as a single card solution.


IV. Have you previously looked at a product(s) which you feel would fit your needs?

HD7950 TwinFrozr III

Sapphire HD7950 w/ boost (dual-x)

V. What are your needs for this GPU? Which games(If any)do you intend to play? If you have this information at hand, what are the desired detail levels?

BF 3, Crysis 3, Skyrim (modded), Far Cry 3, Metro Last Night...

VI. Do you plan on overclocking the card you intend to purchase?
Yes, to about 1100core/6000MHz (effective) memory


Additional Notes
Now, I've read that the TwinFrozr III 7950 comes with bad TIN and usually has a lot of overheating problems and stuff saying the ventilation isn't good, it becomes very load, etc.

For the 7950 dual-x (not vapor-x) I only heard praise, but it becomes very loud at 60% fan speed, but the ventilation and temperatures are okay.

Which one of the 2 would you recommend and why.

 

[raghu78]

i have heard positive feedback on both cards. it might be a good idea to reapply TIM properly and use a very high quality TIM like Coollaboratory Liquid Ultra or Prolimatech PK-1. should reduce temp on whichever card you choose.

msi has 3 yr warranty and sapphire has 2 yr warranty.

if you go with sapphire i recommend the sapphire HD 7950 boost with newegg 2L model and sapphire model no 11196-16-20G. reference PCB design, unlocked voltage.

http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/product/?cid=1&gid=3&sgid=1157&pid=1713&psn=&lid=1&leg=0

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814202006
http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-Radeo...dp/B0098HW1HG/

the newegg 3L model with sapphire model 11196-19-20G uses a custom PCB and does not have VRM temp sensors. here is the 3L PCB

http://www.overclock.net/t/1367119/sapphire-100352-3l-hd7950-stripped-for-your-viewing-pleasure

 

[aaksheytalwar]

With that CPU you would be limited. I recommend upgrading to haswell soon.

 

[MeldarthX]

*sighs* he is already planning on upgrading cpu and motherboard at some point; so Aaksheytalwar why; that's not what he asked for.

Second we have an idea how Haswell might performance; but seeing how you can't buy why how could he upgrade to it soon?

Lets actually help the person and not give him completely useless information.

MSI - had a bad batch; but once that hit rumors still come around......

Sapphire has very solid line up -

What's your case size? I figure you're ok since these are the two cards you're looking at. Honestly either Sapphire or the MSI will be a great card - reapplying the TIM isn't hard...just annoying to have to do it

I'd look at which one is the cheaper deal and snag it

 

[bolitebriga]

Well, I see more people that prefer Sapphire over MSI over this card so I'm going to get the Dual-X I linked, as it is the only Sapphie card in stock where I live. Although, I'm picking it up tommorow so maybe someone that has 7950 TF 3 can also recommend it.

I'm just interested at how much % do the fans become annoying.