Powercolor HD 7990 Devil 13 6 GB Review

[WiseUp216]

What a shame because I really, really like the look of the card.

 

[exar333]

The results of the card are pretty obvious given that AMD chose not to mass-release this card like previous generations.

With the current 7970 ghz pricing, this seems like a HUGE price premium over getting 2x 7970 solutions.

The 690 is a much better dual-GPU card (performance is slighyl better/more consistent and much better thermals) for about the same price.

Even if you need a lot of number-crunching power, it would be cheaper to just build an extra machine with a cheap dualie and put more 7950s in there.

 

[Silverforce11]

The 690 is a much better dual-GPU card (performance is slighyl better/more consistent and much better thermals) for about the same price.

Not sure if serious, you want to double check that, with a proper sample?

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/revie...rd-review-power-temps-noise-overclocking.html

 

[AnandThenMan]

One thing for sure is this card really comes into its own at ultra hirez, and the power consumption in games is not as bad as I thought it would be. Hardwareheaven.com gave it a 9/10, I would probably rate it an 8/10 assuming you didn't care about the price. So for the intended audience I guess I can see how this card might make sense, I would hope no one would buy this card and run it at 1080p.

 

[Jeff007245]

Its perfect for me... People will always have differing opinions, but this is a great match for my setup and would look amazing in my case. My color scheme is black and red btw...An all AMD setup.

 

[SirPauly]

All this shows is that drivers are not optimised for the this card. Could either mean that theses are not release drivers, or AMD has decided to not release a 7990 and are putting there focus on Sea Islands, or another possibility, but clearly these drivers are unoptimized.

Indeed!

 

[boxleitnerb]

Why is there not a single word about microstuttering in the TechPowerup article? Why do they not investigate these things when testing AFR-configurations? That is so sad as it is an absolute integral part of the experience AFR can give regarding gameplay.

I wrote wizzard about this, maybe he will improve his reviews in the future.

 

[Keysplayr]

That's just ignorance on your part, W1zzard specifically said:



Do we take Furmark power consumption seriously?

Not at all. Especially when it shows AMD in a dim light. I agree though, furmark shouldn't even be considered. Just gaming.

 

[SickBeast]

Its perfect for me... People will always have differing opinions, but this is a great match for my setup and would look amazing in my case. My color scheme is black and red btw...An all AMD setup.

Please tell me you're not going to pair this card with an AMD CPU.

 

[Silverforce11]

Why is there not a single word about microstuttering in the TechPowerup article? Why do they not investigate these things when testing AFR-configurations? That is so sad as it is an absolute integral part of the experience AFR can give regarding gameplay.

I wrote wizzard about this, maybe he will improve his reviews in the future.

Because contrary to the zealous anti-microstutter crowd here.. not everybody can even notice such subtle sub-millisec frame time differences.

Just like left handers..

 

[OCGuy]

Its perfect for me... People will always have differing opinions, but this is a great match for my setup and would look amazing in my case. My color scheme is black and red btw...An all AMD setup.

Ehhh...right on?

 

[boxleitnerb]

Because contrary to the zealous anti-microstutter crowd here.. not everybody can even notice such subtle sub-millisec frame time differences.

Just like left handers..

Was that irony or not? I don't get it.

I have SLI myself and I would not call microstutter "subtle". The frame time differences are not sub-milli but can be in the 5-20ms range depending on fps and profile optimization.

To ignore it because some cannot see it, is absolutely no solution. Then you would have to ignore fps > 60 as well as many people don't notice that either.

 

[Silverforce11]

Was that irony or not? I don't get it.

I have SLI myself and I would not call microstutter "subtle". The frame time differences are not sub-milli but can be in the 5-20ms range depending on fps and profile optimization.

To ignore it because some cannot see it, is absolutely no solution. Then you would have to ignore fps > 60 as well as many people don't notice that either.

I do ignore > 60 fps, i game with vsync on.

Point is, we don't know the % of gamers who notice MS or is annoyed by it. I'm betting heaps more ppl use CF/SLI than ppl who are bothered by MS.

The other point, if you are those special ppl, its suggested that you read articles catered to that, ie. techreport. But asking a major review site to do an entire section in gpu reviews dedicated to a phenomenom that affects so few readers?? A bit much, no?

 

[boxleitnerb]

I do ignore > 60 fps, i game with vsync on.

Point is, we don't know the % of gamers who notice MS or is annoyed by it. I'm betting heaps more ppl use CF/SLI than ppl who are bothered by MS.

The other point, if you are those special ppl, its suggested that you read articles catered to that, ie. techreport. But asking a major review site to do an entire section in gpu reviews dedicated to a phenomenom that affects so few readers?? A bit much, no?

You cannot be sure how many people notice it or are bothered by it. It's not like review sites test MGPU every day. If you do it, do it right. Give your readers all relevant information (VRAM doesn't double, profile dependency and frametime consistency).

The reviewer must never make choices for his/her readers. If 60fps is enough for you, ignore all results with higher fps. Same goes for microstutter, noise, power draw etc. But the information has to be there so people that actually are interested in this can make an informed purchasing decision.

 

[exar333]

Not sure if serious, you want to double check that, with a proper sample?

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/revie...rd-review-power-temps-noise-overclocking.html

Did you even read the article?

http://www.techpowerup.com/mobile/reviews/Powercolor/HD_7990_Devil_13/25.html

Better average? Better peak? Better maximum? 690, by a mile. Read the review!

 

[chimaxi83]

Not at all. Especially when it shows AMD in a dim light. I agree though, furmark shouldn't even be considered. Just gaming.

If all you're going to do is post flame bait, don't bother responding.

 

[Silverforce11]

Did you even read the article?

http://www.techpowerup.com/mobile/reviews/Powercolor/HD_7990_Devil_13/25.html

Better average? Better peak? Better maximum? 690, by a mile. Read the review!

Did you read the part about its a broken sample, they had to reapply TIM, reseat heatsink and screws... who knows what else..

How about you the read OTHER review which is completely opposite, with a working sample.

Here: http://www.hardwareheaven.com/revie...d-7990-graphics-card-review-introduction.html

 

[Keysplayr]

If all you're going to do is post flame bait, don't bother responding.

Ugh!!!
You're impossible and diametrically opposed to me. Understood and expected.

What I MEANT was that it UNFAIRLY shows AMD in a dim light. Also, I agree that Furmark should stay out of the power consumption benchmark area completely. Please stop fishing for negative comments from me to report. Thanks in advance.

 

[Keysplayr]

Did you read the part about its a broken sample, they had to reapply TIM, reseat heatsink and screws... who knows what else..

How about you the read OTHER review which is completely opposite, with a working sample.

Here: http://www.hardwareheaven.com/revie...d-7990-graphics-card-review-introduction.html

Ah, so you've only shown what you wanted us to see then?

 

[Jeff007245]

Please tell me you're not going to pair this card with an AMD CPU.

already running 1100t.

 

[chimaxi83]

Ugh!!!
You're impossible and diametrically opposed to me. Understood and expected.

What I MEANT was that it UNFAIRLY shows AMD in a dim light. Also, I agree that Furmark should stay out of the power consumption benchmark area completely. Please stop fishing for negative comments from me to report. Thanks in advance.

Hmm... if that's what you meant, then sorry for the misunderstanding Furmark is garbage for anyone to use in a review for either company's card.

 

[Keysplayr]

Hmm... if that's what you meant, then sorry for the misunderstanding Furmark is garbage for anyone to use in a review for either company's card.

Thanks. And agreed. Furmark is no place for real world benchmarks.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Because contrary to the zealous anti-microstutter crowd here.. not everybody can even notice such subtle sub-millisec frame time differences.

Just like left handers..

I built a system for a friend of mine here with everything matching what I have in my sig except a Maximus V Formula mobo instead of the Gene. We were undecided on GPU setup for 2560x1440 and I searched everywhere to try to get info. Nobody tests microstutter and shows SLi vs crossfire config except a few numbers of 3dmark and game benches etc. That's utterly useless because it doesn't tell you the gameplay experience. So I resorted to finding someone who owns each setup and getting feedback.

To make a long story short, I found someone who owns both a 670SLI and 7950 crossfire setup on the same mobo and CPU config clocked to the same speed. The answers I received was that while most benchmarks show a 7950 averaging higher that doesn't tell the whole story. He told me that he does notice that the crossfire setup has some points in gameplay where the frames literally jump. He can't diagnose it as a hardware issue with the CPU/mobo or anything like that. It's subtle he said but he definitely notices it. He told me the 670 SLI has much less and he can't really see it on that setup. However, the caveat he mentioned with SLI was that it doesn't seem to hold the FPS as high and will be lower overall which creates a slightly less fluid picture than optimal anyway. So he said the game plays smoothly but might not always look it on SLI while crossfire feels jittery and affects gameplay. In his words "crossfire 7950 breaks the gameplay significantly at times."

I have never personally used crossfire but I was considering this setup for the system I built because of the pricing. We decided that the gameplay smoothness was more important than looking at the FPS numbers. So this personal observation was what we based our decision and ultimately decided to go SLI 670s.

Microstutter does indeed matter and should be part of the discussion. Nobody should put up blinders and say "you can't see it anyway...only .0000001% of the users notice it" or whatever. It's like people who claim anything more than 30fps you don't notice, or 60fps. It does make a difference to some so yeah...why not have that discussion and present your findings?

 

[RussianSensation]

Is this card even for sale anywhere in the US?

 

[ViRGE]

Is this card even for sale anywhere in the US?

Is it for sale anywhere at all, for that matter?