Opinions on XFX and the 7870

[Nysir]

This is the card I'm currently looking at. Was originally going to go with a different card, but overnight the good christmas deals on Newegg dried up, so this is what I've arrived at. For reference, here's the same card on Newegg, although it's discontinued there.

I'm wondering two things. 1. Is XFX a trusted or even well known manufacturer? I'm not sure it matters, as I've seen even the well known manufacturer's produce terrible cards, but I want to be certain I'm not buying an expensive paperweight.

2. How is the 7870 in general? It seems to beat out the 660 I was originally going for according to Anandtech's benchmarks. However, almost EVERY 7000 series card I look at has a long line of complaints about sudden crashes and blue screens. It scares the crap out of me.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

I had an xfx 7850 DD. Meh card. I had alot of driver problems initially. Used their website to get an RMA authorization that took over a week. In the meantime I got it working with some fair overclocking too so didn't have to do the full RMA dance. I've read alot of negatives about their 78xx cards, especially the cooling. That is a single fan and will probably get a bit loud under load.


here's a saphire dual fan 7870 for around the same price.... $185- free ship after rebate http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-DL-DV...=sapphire+7870

I'd probaby pick the saphire instead if I had to buy a card right now. Otherwise I'd be waiting for stock of R9 280x to come back and for prices to come back down to pre-bitcoin crazy levels.

 

[Nysir]

Oh, nice! I think I'll be grabbing that one. I've always been a fan of Radeon cards, for better or for worse, and most of those cards have been Sapphire, so that helps. Thanks for the input.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I own a 7850 2gb and it's a pretty good card. Will run BF4 on high settings and most every game fairly well. I upgraded to a 280x and am glad I did. Playing sleeping dogs and BF4 on ultra is sweet.
And searching amazon and newegg it seems video card prices are at an all time worse currently. I'd probably wait for a deal on a gtx 770 or 280x to come along. I picked up my 280x for $270 brand new from newegg like 2 weeks ago. They were only in stock for like 10 minutes but deals do come along if you are persistent.

 

[nwo]

I have an XFX 7850 1GB core edition as well as an XFX Double D 7870 2GB.

XFX 7850 1GB I use specifically for mining and it comes awfully close to exceeding the performance (hashrate) of the 7870 XFX Double D. 7870 Double D has voltage locked and runs extremely hot even at 100% fan speed even though it is winter and even though it is underclocked from factory clock speeds (temps get in the 90s!). I have to praise the 7850 though because it runs cool, voltage is unlocked, overclocks & performs great, and I got an awesome deal on it (less than $100).

At $230, I would say you would be much, much better off going with a 270 or 270x. I have a HIS 270 that I picked up for $180 with a free BF4 code. The HIS 270 is leaps and bounds ahead of the 7870. It runs cool, silent, and overclocks like a monster. Not to mention that my mining performance is significantly higher with the 270.

Anyways, for general gaming purposes a 270 is equivalent to a 7870. A 270x is a beffed up version of the 270 or 7870 and it will be slightly faster. If you want a compact, cool, and silent card that will match 7870 performance I would say go with the 270. I would definitely not recommend purchasing a 7870 (especially not that XFX 7870 Core edition) unless you can get it for $150 or less.

 

[Termie]

I have that XFX Core Edition. I also have the Sapphire.

Avoid the XFX. The cooler is woefully inadequate. It runs extremely hot, and was the worst overclocker of three 7870s and one 7850 I've had. Peaked at 1075 core/1300 memory.

The Sapphire is a good card, runs much cooler and quieter than the XFX Core, but at its current price, skip it. Was $130 not too long ago. Just pick up a 270 instead, or better yet, a 270X.

 

[Bubbleawsome]

I personally have just become the proud owner of an HIS 270x, and while i have not tested it the card is a massive beast. Huge. Mind boggling. Tall. god-like.
big.
Very.
From reviews I gather it is cool, and can be quiet with a custom fan curve. It maxed at 60c but was loud at TPU. It seems to be about the same as a 7950 except in compute, and boosts to 1140.

 

[Attic]

Just get the 270 non x for $180.

It has higher memory clock (5600 vs 4800) and roughly the same base clock (950-975 vs 1000). The 270 can easily be over clocked to match stock 270x levels.

Overall the 270 is better and more affordable than the 7870. Get one with dual fans.

 

[nwo]

Just get the 270 non x for $180.

It has higher memory clock (5600 vs 4800) and roughly the same base clock (950-975 vs 1000). The 270 can easily be over clocked to match stock 270x levels.

Overall the 270 is better and more affordable than the 7870. Get one with dual fans.

That pretty much sums it up.

I got all three of my 7870s for $150 or less. But now it's time for the new gen to take over because the old gen cards are overpriced.

 

[faxon]

i own 3 XFX 7850 1gb CORE edition, they definitely overheat when mining. What i did? its in the garage, its already super cold, and the cards were also sandwiched together, but the top of the cooler on all 3 cards was exposed, so i tossed a 3000RPM fan on them. now all 3 cards including the top one run under 70c with the fan profile set to automatic and the card's main fans only spin up a bit now. noise isnt an issue, but i have to run the case with the door off since the fan has no way of easily mounting so im just letting it sit right on top of them on its side. that static pressure though, i can feel the heat radiating away from the case whenever i walk by it, and its going in all directions. if you get several of these cards and dont mind running them on their sides then a 140mm fan should be able to cool the top 3 enough and the 4th one on the bottom a bit, while it gets backup from its own fan. shitty thing though is the cards only get like 300MH/s each, cant run them past 8000TC I17 and none of them are stable if i overclock even a little. got them for $350 shipped though so i can't really complain, thats still better price/performance than any single card lol

 

[nwo]

I got my XFX 7850 1GB Core for under $90 after MIR and masterpass promo. Too bad I was only able to snag one at this price but I didn't really know what to expect. Otherwise if I could get 2-3 more at $100 each, I wouldn't even think twice about it.

I was able to overclock it to 1050/1300 for everyday mining use. I run 8k TC and I18. I get 365kH/s on it. I was able to get it up to 390 with some redic overclocking and overvolting but cg miner would crash after several hours.

Surprisingly, the card does not run very hot, although I do leave the case open because it has terrible airflow. It is also winter here so I am sure that helps. I keep the card at a manual 80% fan speed, even at 100% it is tolerable compared to most other cards but it doesn't make a huge difference in temps. I am running at stock voltage, 1050/1300 with temps in the high 60s/low 70s.