What Brand 7979 Would You Buy

[shaynoa]

Considering all the Amd brands avalible at this point in time which brand is the best to buy, MSI Lightning, Gigabyte oc, Asus which of these cards will serve the gamer the best [sorry 7970]
shaynoa

 

[SolMiester]

The cheapest one!

 

[blackened23]

Considering all the Amd brands avalible at this point in time which brand is the best to buy, MSI Lightning, Gigabyte oc, Asus which of these cards will serve the gamer the best [sorry 7970]
shaynoa

I'd buy a MSI lightning if it retailed for 450$, i'm pretty sure i'd take it over the 680 (after using them for a while) but 600$? F that. 680 is the better buy unless you just don't care about cash.

 

[shaynoa]

money is not a problem
shaynoa

 

[DaveSimmons]

Since money is no object, are you planning to crossfire or tri-fire them? What motherboard will they be used in?

Air cooling or water cooling?

That all could affect what cards people recommend since 3-slot cooling could be a problem.

 

[shaynoa]

Air cooled, on a gigabyte Z68X-UD7-B3, with 2600K CPU,

id like Crossfire but is there really any need for that.

i don't need to waste money that why im not into water cooling, seems to be a waste of money when new card are always around the corner
shaynoa

 

[SolMiester]

I would wait for the custom 680 with higher TDP, reference only have 2 x 6pins....meaning OC ceiling of 225w

 

[notty22]

You are going to see custom monster gtx 680's eventually when the whole tdp/turbo boost implementation is taken in to consideration/allowed.
The lightning 7970 looks impressive, one site did not get that great of a o/c , that means little. There is the Asus card as well.
ASUS Radeon HD 7970 DirectCu II Graphics Card Pictured

 

[lehtv]

If you're intending to do multimonitor then 7970 > 680 due to more VRAM and better dual-GPU scaling. --> Sapphire 7970

GTX 680 is the better choice for 1080p though, even with only 2x 6pin. Costs a bit less, performs better at stock, consumes a bit less power. EVGA GTX 680 now, or wait for custom pcb versions.

 

[Stuka87]

I would go with the Sapphire or the MSI 7970. Both are great cards.

 

[shaynoa]

No multi monitor and no dual GPU on 1 card, what is the best card
the game i play is Trainz TS12 for some reason AMD cards are much better for that game i don't know why but they are
the game does require a lot of graphic power and it really is one of the more demanding graphical games
so this is why i ask which AMD 7970 VERSION AND BRAND will give the most toward running the game
Trainz does not like dual GPU's on 1 card however it can make use of 2 of
the same cards in different card slots if a profile is made for it.
shaynoa

 

[Stayfr0sty]

The three brands you mentioned are fine just go with whats cheaper or has longer warranty.

 

[3DVagabond]

Does it matter if it dumps heat into the case? If not then I'd likely get the Gigabyte Windforce 3. It's had really good reviews. There's $20 off right now and free shipping.

If you want to exhaust the heat out of the case, then there's the reference designs. They tend to get loud if O/C'd though. There's also the HIS IceQ model that exhausts out of the case, if you can find one. Doesn't seem to be stocked at many places.

 

[BallaTheFeared]

[H] Hit 1.3GHz with a windforce with good temps, seems like a decent card.

 

[fstime]

Do not buy the ASUS DCII design, it is horrible. Defective on all 7950's and no VRM cooling on 7970's.

I would go reference, maybe the Sapphire OC edition if you want a quieter system.

 

[Meghan54]

I've had Sapphire (incl. OC, FLEX, Vapor-X etc. cards), MSI (incl. Lightning), HIS cards and Asus ( incl. TOP and CU cards), and the most troublesome were the Asus cards. Add to that that the Asus cards have been the only brand of ATi video cards I've had fail, and that Asus's RMA process is horrid, I'd honestly avoid Asus cards at all costs. Their motherboards....great with very good and easy RMA's, but Asus's video cards, not so good.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

^+1

 

[aaksheytalwar]

Either msi lightning or gigabyte windforce

 

[ensign_lee]

The Sapphire Dual-X that I have is WONDERFUL. It is so quiet. At idle, my case fans in my Lian Li Lancool are louder than it. And at load, it's so much quieter than my reference 5870. Easily 2-3x as quiet.

 

[Despoiler]

Sapphire Dual-X for sure.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

Don't buy sapphire. Sapphire voids warranty with after market cooling. Although you may not need after market cooling, better to have the option at least

Or buy a reference plus acceler xtreme 7970 and msi reference. I guess 95% chance you would hit beyond 1200 at least

 

[(sic)Klown12]

About that Sapphire Dual-X, is it just a reference PCB with a custom cooler or is it entirely a custom design?

 

[badb0y]

Why not get a GTX 680?

Just asking.

 

[Nintendesert]

You are going to see custom monster gtx 680's eventually when the whole tdp/turbo boost implementation is taken in to consideration/allowed.
The lightning 7970 looks impressive, one site did not get that great of a o/c , that means little. There is the Asus card as well.
ASUS Radeon HD 7970 DirectCu II Graphics Card Pictured

Liar. That is not a graphics card.

 

[Awkward]

Why not get a GTX 680?

Just asking.

Do you even read?

No multi monitor and no dual GPU on 1 card, what is the best card
the game i play is Trainz TS12 for some reason AMD cards are much better for that game i don't know why but they are
the game does require a lot of graphic power and it really is one of the more demanding graphical games
so this is why i ask which AMD 7970 VERSION AND BRAND will give the most toward running the game
Trainz does not like dual GPU's on 1 card however it can make use of 2 of
the same cards in different card slots if a profile is made for it.
shaynoa