Sapphire HD 7950 3GB OC Dual-X or MSI R9 270X 2GB Twin Frozr Gaming OC Edition

[torlen11cc]

Hey,
Which choice is better in the same price?
I want to upgrade my GPU from HD 6950 2GB.

My current PC:
Seasonic 430w
Gigabyte H61M-S2V-B3
i5 2500
8GB RAM
HD 6950 2GB Sapphire dual fan Dirt3
Gigabyte GZ G1 Plus

 

[nurturedhate]

Really isn't that close, it's the 7950.

 

[infoiltrator]

7950 is about equivalent to 280X I think, 280 anyway.
A quick look put between 360 and410 watts total on the 12V rails depending on specific model power supply

The reviews I looked at rate the 7950 and the 6950 at 200 watts, so no problem

 

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

The HD 7950 has been rebadged as the R9 280. That would be the faster option.

 

[h9826790]

7950

 

[3DVagabond]

7950

 

[torlen11cc]

Why 7950? Is there any particular reason?
They have the same performance on 1080p, and R9 270x uses less power.

 

[raghu78]

Why 7950? Is there any particular reason?
They have the same performance on 1080p, and R9 270x uses less power.

you are misinformed. HD 7950 and R9 280 are based on the same Tahiti chip with 1792 sp. HD 7870 and R9 270X use the same Pitcairn chip with 1280 sp. clock for clock R9 280 / HD 7950 is 25 - 30% faster than R9 270X / HD 7870.

http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphi...ew-Tahiti-Continues-Its-Run/Bioshock-Infinite

 

[torlen11cc]

you are misinformed. HD 7950 and R9 280 are based on the same Tahiti chip with 1792 sp. HD 7870 and R9 270X use the same Pitcairn chip with 1280 sp. clock for clock R9 280 / HD 7950 is 25 - 30% faster than R9 270X / HD 7870.

http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphi...ew-Tahiti-Continues-Its-Run/Bioshock-Infinite

HD 7950 is only 3%~5% faster than R9 270X on average:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/R9_270X_Gaming/24.html
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Palit/GTX_750_Ti_KalmX/25.html

 

[KingFatty]

Have you considered the overclocking headroom on both cards?

The 7950 loves to overclock, so if you are considering clock-for-clock performance, you should also consider how much you could easily overclock each card. I think the 7950 looks good in that factor.

 

[torlen11cc]

Have you considered the overclocking headroom on both cards?

The 7950 loves to overclock, so if you are considering clock-for-clock performance, you should also consider how much you could easily overclock each card. I think the 7950 looks good in that factor.

Yes, but I'm not sure about my PSU when it comes to overclocking.

 

[Geforce man]

Well, do whichever you want, you'll probably be happy with either card. That said, I've never seen a single 7950 that can't do 1000Mhz core with stock voltage, and @ 1000Mhz core, they perform better than or = to a 7970 from those charts you linked. That would put its average at 20% or so better than the 270x. Of course you are going to say you can OC the 270x as well, but at the end of the day, the 7950 is the superior card. I personally loved setting the 7950's to be undervolted, and then put them at 1000Mhz core. This gave them incredible performance at wattage that was = to the 7870 (aka 270x).

 

[ZGR]

The 7950 is pretty cheap even compared to the 7870 XT. I'd get the R9 280/7950. Your 6950 is still a capable card though. I'd upgrade your PSU if possible or wait for Maxwell/Tonga as they look pretty efficient.

 

[Rezist]

7950 clock speeds range from 800 to 1000 mhz, I think the lowest sold boost ed was 900 mhz, nearly everyone will do 1000 mhz. So it kinda makes a 7950 in a chart tough to judge. I think they equal a 7970 at 1050mhz or so.

 

[RussianSensation]

HD 7950 is only 3%~5% faster than R9 270X on average:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/R9_270X_Gaming/24.html
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Palit/GTX_750_Ti_KalmX/25.html

TPU's chart uses an 800mhz 7950, not the 925mhz 7950 OC/V2. Additionally, we all know that 7950 overclocks to 1100-1150mhz with ease at <= 1.225V.

10 minutes of overclocking and a 7950 Dual-X outperforms a GTX680 and HD7970Ghz. It's not even close to a 270X.

^ That's with old drivers too.

7950 is one of the most underrated cards. At 1150mhz, it easily trades blows with a GTX770!

A lot of Sapphire 7950s overclocked to 1100mhz at only 1.175V, 1125mhz at 1.20V, 1150mhz at 1.225V. You'd also get 3GB of VRAM instead of 2GB which is going to become handy in the next 2 years you keep your card. The only reservation I have is that 285 should be announced in the next 1-2 days and we should see price drops on existing R9 280 cards.

 

[torlen11cc]

Is a 7950 overkill for 1680x1050 screen resolution?

 

[raghu78]

Is a 7950 overkill for 1680x1050 screen resolution?

OP I think you should wait for the AMD R9 285 graphics card based on the Tonga GPU to launch on Sep 2nd. check the reviews and then decide.

http://www.techpowerup.com/204464/amd-radeon-r9-285-clock-speeds-and-pricing-revealed.html

http://www.techpowerup.com/204467/radeon-r9-285-3dmark-firestrike-performance-revealed.html

http://www.techpowerup.com/204507/sapphire-radeon-r9-285-itx-compact-edition-pictured.html

http://www.techpowerup.com/204505/asus-radeon-r9-285-strix-graphics-card-pictured.html

http://www.techpowerup.com/204517/powercolor-radeon-r9-285-turboduo-detailed.html

performance seems to be slightly better than R9 280 and around 10-15% faster than GTX 760. comes with support for freesync and truaudio which are missing in HD 7950 / R9 280. looks to be more power efficient than the R9 280 / HD 7950. some very interesting designs like Sapphire's R9 285 Mini ITX edition and the ASUS R9 285 Strix edition. its worth waiting out and checking reviews before buying. btw given how next gen console games are just starting to really push the envelope. Games like Witcher 3 which will come out in 2015 would need the kind of power that a R9 285 sports. so a R9 280 or R9 285 is worth getting if you want to play the latest games at max settings at 1680 x 1050 over the next 2 - 3 years.

 

[NTMBK]

Yup, wait until the R9 285 launches. Should be the same performance as the 7950, but with lower power consumption and a lower price.

 

[RussianSensation]

Once 285 launches, there will be clearance sales on R9 280s for $190-200 and you should able to find a $250-260.

EDIT: Oh, a rebadged HIS IceQ R9 280X is selling under the Diamond brand for $240, while PowerColor R9 280 is $185. See I knew this would happen sooner or later.