Supremely pleased with Sapphire 7950 OC!

[gramboh]

Squeezed a little more out of my Sapphire 7950 OC, love this card.

1270/1790 @ 1.27v (No, not my 24/7 clocks)

http://3dmark.com/3dm11/2813675 - P9517

Damn... bawse mode clocks, impressive. Your PC is 120% faster than mine according to 3DMark11.

 

[SlowSpyder]

anything > 1200 core and 1500 mem is a pretty above average overclock for 7950. Very nice!

My 7970 does 1250/1800 but I do have it on water. I don't know how anybody can tolerate these fans above about 30% or so they drive me crazy.

Yea, I'm right there with you. I wouldn't call the card loud, but it is noticeable. More noise than I'd like when overclocked, enought that I might drop it back down to ~1GHz to keep the fan speed down. I love the performance, but once overvolted the fan bugs me. :/

 

[wand3r3r]

As you can see from this list of overclocks reviewers have achieved:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?p=33042490#post33042490

You have an exceptionally good card. I just wanted to add this detail to inform buyers that it seems to be luck of the draw.

 

[Absolute0]

What card do you run? And if you mind me asking, what are your normal gaming clocks, temps, and fan noise?

Thanks.

Its a reference model MSI 7970.

1250/1800 are my 24/7 settings. I have the card watercooled, I've got the EC 7970 block on there. (link http://i43.tinypic.com/5w9jzo.jpg)

It's at 1.25v. Idles around 33c, will load as high as 45c, the Sandy Bridge and 7970 combo tend to heat up my water loop quite a bit as I'm only running a 120.2 heatercore.

Fan noise... I couldn't stand this card before I had it watercooled >< That is really the main reason to watercool this card.

Yea, I'm right there with you. I wouldn't call the card loud, but it is noticeable. More noise than I'd like when overclocked, enought that I might drop it back down to ~1GHz to keep the fan speed down. I love the performance, but once overvolted the fan bugs me. :/

Before watercooling, the fan was an order of magnitude louder than anything else in my case. It was so loud that it was distracting. I mean I had to make my volume in BF3 nice and loud so the whine of the graphics card didn't get in the way.

Fan up to 30% is ok but even at 30% made my computer louder
40% was as loud as I can ever remember graphics cards being
50% and above was ridiculous
I went above 50% and showed my roommate and we couldn't believe how loud it is.

I have been watercooling my graphics since 2005. So I have kinda forgotten how ridiculously loud these new GPU fans get.

 

[Stuka87]

Before watercooling, the fan was an order of magnitude louder than anything else in my case. It was so loud that it was distracting. I mean I had to make my volume in BF3 nice and loud so the whine of the graphics card didn't get in the way.

Fan up to 30% is ok but even at 30% made my computer louder
40% was as loud as I can ever remember graphics cards being
50% and above was ridiculous
I went above 50% and showed my roommate and we couldn't believe how loud it is.

I have been watercooling my graphics since 2005. So I have kinda forgotten how ridiculously loud these new GPU fans get.

This is one of the reasons I went with the card that I did (Sapphire 7950 OC). It runs at 46C under load, and is not audible over the system fans. Granted my system may be louder than yours has I have 4 case fans, although all at low RPM.

 

[Absolute0]

46c under load doesn't sound like a reproducible number... multiple reviews (including the one you linked to) show it loading much higher, at stock speeds. Regardless, I am sure the twin-fan system is far better than the 7970 reference cooler I had, which loaded in the 70's at 30% fan speed, which was far louder than any case fans should ever be.

7950 seems like a very strong card.

 

[Stuka87]

Here is one example. Now admittedly its not a long time period. But even after playing for an hour or two, the temps are similar. Right below 50C. HWMonitor does show a max of 56C. But it averages a bit lower than that.

 

[Tempered81]

thats 56c not 46

 

[MustangSVT]

thats 56c not 46

pwnage

"it runs 46c under load" hmm I see....

 

[GoStumpy]

Any chance of a stock vs overclocked FPS comparison in BF3??? :thumbsup::wub:

 

[SlowSpyder]

For whatever it is worth, I have nothing but good things to say about Sapphire's custom coolers. It has been a while, but if I recall correctly, my Vapor-X 5870 over 900MHz never saw higher than very low ~60C temps.

Now that I have my first reference card in years (I love the quiet Vapor-X cards) it is a very noticeable difference. I used to never really notice the noise, but once I got used to silence it is difficult to go back to reference blower fans. Who knows, maybe water or an aftermarket cooler is in my future.

 

[Stuka87]

Yeah yeah yeah. Insert foot in mouth. But honestly, I swear I remember seeing 46-48C. Now it may depend on the game. The above screenshot was taken while playing BF3. Other games don't load it down so much.

But anyway, even if it averages 54 (If 56 is a peak) thats still not bad at all for a card thats running at 250MHz faster than a standard 7950 while being quiet at the same time. Especially if reference 7970's are hitting 70C.

 

[Tempered81]

Youre right 56C is still the best Air cooled gpu temperature around. especially considering u have a 250mhz oc on it! What a great card you have there~!

 

[Jhatfie]

Any chance of a stock vs overclocked FPS comparison in BF3??? :thumbsup::wub:

Operation Swordbreaker @ 2560x1600 2xMSAA, FXAA High, Ultra, HBAO ON, 16xAF
Taken from moment stepping out of Hummer until escape from rooftop

7950 @ 1200/1750
Frames, Time (ms), Min, Max, Avg
39605, 683862, 40, 95, 57.914

7950 @ 900/1250 (stock Sapphire 7950 OC clocks)
Frames, Time (ms), Min, Max, Avg
31713, 726606, 30, 72, 43.645

 

[Absolute0]

Ya 56c is still a great load temp, 46c sounded too low

This is about the most my 7970 will do. The core walls up fast after this and 1.3v doesn't help. Mem goes pretty far. Idk where this stands in terms of a 7970, seems pretty average for watercooling, prolly a lil above average on the memory. But most of the guys on Xtremesystems are getting 1250+ core with water. Quite a few 1300-1350.

Just wanted to show OC'd 7970 so to compare to OC'd 7950.

7970 @ 1300/1900 1.25v
3dmark11 = 10,299

 

[railven]

Its a reference model MSI 7970.

1250/1800 are my 24/7 settings. I have the card watercooled, I've got the EC 7970 block on there. (link http://i43.tinypic.com/5w9jzo.jpg)

It's at 1.25v. Idles around 33c, will load as high as 45c, the Sandy Bridge and 7970 combo tend to heat up my water loop quite a bit as I'm only running a 120.2 heatercore.

Fan noise... I couldn't stand this card before I had it watercooled >< That is really the main reason to watercool this card.

Crap, you went water cooling

MrK6 posted a video of the stock cooler and, yes it was very audible, and I'd say a little louder than my stock HD 5870 blower (which isn't unbearable since I'm forced to use headphones now.)

They launched the Alero (sp?) custom 3 fan design at a whopping $85 Going to wait and see if people have positive things to say, than might just get a Ref Sapphire card (starting to lean more towards the the 7970) and strap that bad boy on.

Wait and see I guess.

 

[superjim]

My ref 6970 at 30% fan speed was noticeable and since those cards run hot as-is, the fan would regularly hit 47% during gaming. I have never been bothered by computer/fan noise until I had that 6970. I would have returned it if I didn't game with headphones but even general use without headphones would bother me. Once I read the reviews of the Sapphire 7950 OC with it's great OCing and low fan noise/temps I knew I had a winner. I was fortunate enough to break even on the 6970 when all said and done.

It's hard to justify water-cooling or any aftermarket cooling unless you run a 7970. Putting an $85 aftermarket cooler on a 7950? Should have just bought a 7970.

 

[wahdangun]

Crap, you went water cooling

MrK6 posted a video of the stock cooler and, yes it was very audible, and I'd say a little louder than my stock HD 5870 blower (which isn't unbearable since I'm forced to use headphones now.)

They launched the Alero (sp?) custom 3 fan design at a whopping $85 Going to wait and see if people have positive things to say, than might just get a Ref Sapphire card (starting to lean more towards the the 7970) and strap that bad boy on.

Wait and see I guess.

why not ??? just grab that 7970 and strap that EK block, and clock it to the moon.

go premiums !!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[railven]

My ref 6970 at 30% fan speed was noticeable and since those cards run hot as-is, the fan would regularly hit 47% during gaming. I have never been bothered by computer/fan noise until I had that 6970. I would have returned it if I didn't game with headphones but even general use without headphones would bother me. Once I read the reviews of the Sapphire 7950 OC with it's great OCing and low fan noise/temps I knew I had a winner. I was fortunate enough to break even on the 6970 when all said and done.

It's hard to justify water-cooling or any aftermarket cooling unless you run a 7970. Putting an $85 aftermarket cooler on a 7950? Should have just bought a 7970.

The HD 4850 I had before was quiet, hot, but relatively quiet. Well, before that I had a 4870x2 that suffered a premature death (plant + water + tip over == sad panda). That card insane loud. And for some reason, it never bothered me. Haha. I guess what bothers me is the GF telling me to turn my fans down.

But the HD 5870's fan is making an usual whine that is rather irritating, why I don't want to go stock cooler since it turns out it was common in the 5K series and popped up again in the 6K series. So just avoid that obstacle all together.

why not ??? just grab that 7970 and strap that EK block, and clock it to the moon.

go premiums !!!!!!!!!!!!!

If I had a water loop already in place, sure, but I have to add that to the budget?

No way!

Go Premiums!

 

[rageofthepeon]

If I had a water loop already in place, sure, but I have to add that to the budget?

No way!

Go Premiums!

I'm still deciding parts for watercooling my system but I'm at $363 and still have yet to decide on tubing/pump/reservoir/fittings. Granted it is a 360 + 240 radiator GPU + CPU loop but it sure is getting up there :'(.

At least I'll be able to re-use parts in future builds. That and having some sexy temperatures I guess.

 

[MrK6]

I'm still deciding parts for watercooling my system but I'm at $363 and still have yet to decide on tubing/pump/reservoir/fittings. Granted it is a 360 + 240 radiator GPU + CPU loop but it sure is getting up there :'(.

At least I'll be able to re-use parts in future builds. That and having some sexy temperatures I guess.

You can lose a lot of money in the details, and items like compression fittings really add up. That said, it's mostly a one time investment, save for new tubing once a year and the odd water block upgrade every few years.

 

[Absolute0]

Water cooling is a great investment if you want to maintain a high overclock, run cooler and quieter, have an awesome looking computer, and impress your friends

My setup is totally outdated and has trouble dissipating the heat from new components, but it's from 2005/2006. Hard to believe this pump has been running for 6 years! So it is a long-term investment.

But considering temps and noise from overclocked CPU/GPUs these days, water is very nice. The 120mm fans on the radiator (or 180mm fans even) don't have to spin so fast so your whole system can be much quieter.

Only problem is buying new GPU blocks. I am using my POS swiftech apogee on the CPU and it still works (thx to ASRock having s775 holes on their budget board i use) and I had been using a modified Swiftech MCW60 on my GPU up until this year.
The water blocks for GPUs are very expensive. I could have gotten MCW60 to fit, but it's just a POS compared to the EK block I've got on.

 

[skipsneeky2]

That looks very disappointing. I'm looking at 1080p since that's what I have. BF3 same as 580 and Skyrim same average fps as the 7950 an 7970.

I bet that article came out prior to the BF3 update that fixed performance for the 7000 series but i could be wrong.

BF3 results look very disappointing indeed and unless average jumped 5fps or something,i guess if i got a steal of a price on a gtx580 i couldn't feel bad as BF3 is my primary game and the 7970 is the only card smacking the 580 around in this title.

Any posters with updated bench's after the last BF3 patch for 7000 series would be very welcomed.:thumbsup:

 

[Jhatfie]

I used to have a custom watercooling setup, did it for many years but over time i grew tired of tearing it apart every time I got new hardware, which was often. Performance was fantastic, allowed for some great overclocks. I have conceded that I will give up a little overclocking headroom sticking with air, but luckily some of the latest air coolers are very good and quiet and the OC penalty is not nearly as big as it was in the days of crappy air coolers (in comparison to todays). Undoubtedly I could get another 100mhz on my cpu core and another 50mhz for my gpu, but the effort is no longer worth it for me.

 

[superjim]

I used to have a custom watercooling setup, did it for many years but over time i grew tired of tearing it apart every time I got new hardware, which was often. Performance was fantastic, allowed for some great overclocks. I have conceded that I will give up a little overclocking headroom sticking with air, but luckily some of the latest air coolers are very good and quiet and the OC penalty is not nearly as big as it was in the days of crappy air coolers (in comparison to todays). Undoubtedly I could get another 100mhz on my cpu core and another 50mhz for my gpu, but the effort is no longer worth it for me.

This is exactly my situation too. Loved WCing but at the end of the day it's not worth it when I don't "need" that much power. If I were to WC anything today, it would be the GPU since 1) it's the hottest component of any computer (non-integrated) and 2) you generally see more benefit from a GPU OC than a CPU OC (Skyrim notwithstanding). How many of us use our CPUs to crunch data 24/7?

The big problem with WCing the GPU is the cost of blocks. I'm not a fan of using the piece-meal solutions from Swiftech where the core gets the block and everything else gets heatsinks. Full block or nothing and full blocks are not cheap. I won't even get into how blocks are almost always one-time uses for a specific GPU. Makes upgrading harder when it's new GPU + the cost of a full block.