Radeon HD7950 -- Which one to get?

[colonelciller]

Hi all,

I'm quite sure that the 7950 is the card for me (good gaming, good compute/CAD).

What I don't know (totally clueless actually) is which of particular variations I should get. Any advice would be appreciated... even if it is just the brands to avoid.

Thanks in advance 🙂

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Sapphire is quite popular for price and overclocking.

 

[colonelciller]

Thanks for the advice!
I'll look into Sapphire then, I do like the prices 🙂

 

[sublime420ec]

HIS makes really good cards imo they run sooo cool and overclock very well!

look at the HIS HD7950 turbo ddr5 3gb
or

HIS HD7950 boost ddr5 3gb


can't go wrong with them....plus they blow air over the core and the hot air out the case with the black hole style turbo fan unlinke some of the 2 -3 fan variants that just blow the air onto the block....

 

[WaTaGuMp]

This Sapphire has unlocked voltage for overclocking and also has boost, not the cheapest though. Others can chime in on unlocked cards, since I know this one does for sure.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814202007

 

[lehtv]

7950 Vapor-X is also voltage unlocked and powered by 8+8-pin. It runs extremely cool.

 

[raghu78]

go with sapphire hd 7950 boost 11196-16-20G. reference AMD PCB design. unlocked voltage. good cooler.

superbiiz has it for USD 300 (280 after rebate) with shipping after applying $7 OFF your order over $49 w/code: SBZSHAKE, ends 03/11 .

http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=AT-7950BST

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814202006

you can see the AMD name and logo above the PCI-E connector. newegg allows to zoom and you can find the number 109-C38137-00 above the pci-e connector.

http://www.ekwb.com/news/131/19/

"We have completed internal testing of our newest EK-FC7950 water block, built specificaly for the AMD Radeon HD 7950 graphics cards based of AMD 109-C38137-00 PCB. Once again we have managed to manufacture the highest performance (both hydraulic and thermal wise) water cooling product."

the sapphire flex mentioned above also uses the same reference PCB. but you need that only if you want to use triple monitor eyefinity without displayport.

 

[lehtv]

You sure that's unlocked, raghu78? IIRC that's the exact same SKU I had, and it was locked to 1.25V. It's a decent OC'er thanks to the high stock voltage, and it's quiet.

I sold it away because I had a Vapor-x in RMA and I got back a dual 8-pin card.

 

[raghu78]

You sure that's unlocked, raghu78? IIRC that's the exact same SKU I had, and it was locked to 1.25V. It's a decent OC'er thanks to the high stock voltage, and it's quiet.

I sold it away because I had a Vapor-x in RMA and I got back a dual 8-pin card.

I have seen users on ocn clearly state and show voltage control with the latest trixx and msi ab.