1440p gaming with a 7970?

Y

Yamaguchi

Weaksauce
Joined
Aug 4, 2008
Messages
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Hello,

I wanted to ask you all a simple question. I want to upgrade to this monitor (ROG SwiftPG278Q):

http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=1104&item_id=075295

Only problem is I have one single Asus 7970 I purchased 2 years ago and I from what I've been researching people have mixed opinions on running a 7970 on 1440p. I mainly play games like WoW and Diablo 3 and want them to be maxed out. Obviously ill want to play other games maxed out as well. Would the above monitor be a bad choice since I wont be able to take advantage of the G Sync technology since I don't have an NVidia card?

Any help appreciated
 
Yamaguchi said:
Thanks alot. I'll probably go with the Benq seeing its $170 off right now. Why is the Asus ROG so much more than these two? Is it just because of the 'gsync' nvidia technology?
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Yes, Gsync is currently considered a better technology and thus more expensive.
 
Outsider said:
Yes, Gsync is currently considered a better technology and thus more expensive.
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I think the jury's still out if it's a better technology. They both have their pros and cons.

Gsync is currently more expensive because they add a proprietary module to the monitor to add Gsync support.
 
Outsider said:
Yes, Gsync is currently considered a better technology and thus more expensive.
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Ahh okay. So my 7970 will be enough for running games fairly maxed out on the Benq then? Again ill be mainly playing WoW and D3 but i'd still like to run other games fairly maxed out
 
AFAIK FreeSync is not supported by the 7970 (or R9 280X).

I could max Diablo 3 on a 7850 @ 1080p without any problem, so I guess the 7970 is going to be OK for less graphically demanding games 2560x1440. But, even though it has aged quite gracefully and much better than some nVidia offerings, it is still going to show its age in newer games, especially at 2560x1440.
 
Freesync is not supported by the 7970. If your main games are WoW and Diablo I think you would be ok... Assuming 60fps isn't an absolute must. I did some googling and I see the benchmarks you need are not easy to find. A 7970 is still a good amount of power these days but World of Warcraft isn't exactly optimized for video performance from what I understand. You could consider picking up a 280x for crossfire and then you could even play those games at 4k I think. Perhaps someone more familiar with those games could chime in.
 
atom said:
Freesync is not supported by the 7970. If your main games are WoW and Diablo I think you would be ok... Assuming 60fps isn't an absolute must. I did some googling and I see the benchmarks you need are not easy to find. A 7970 is still a good amount of power these days but World of Warcraft isn't exactly optimized for video performance from what I understand. You could consider picking up a 280x for crossfire and then you could even play those games at 4k I think. Perhaps someone more familiar with those games could chime in.
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If I cant even utilize the freesync on my 7970 is there even a point to getting the Benq? Im probably going to get a R9 390 soonish down the road but I have to make sure my Mobo supports it.
 
Why won't your mobo support the R9 390 if it supports your current 7970?

Anyway, if IPS glow doesn't bother you, I would pony up the extra for the Asus MG279Q. Much better and more vibrant colors with much better viewing angles are worth it.
 
batmanwcm said:
Why won't your mobo support the R9 390 if it supports your current 7970?

Anyway, if IPS glow doesn't bother you, I would pony up the extra for the Asus MG279Q. Much better and more vibrant colors with much better viewing angles are worth it.
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Im pretty sure it still will support a 390 just wasn't fully sure. And just out of curiosity if I wanted to sell my 7970 and buy a R9 390 how much would I be able to sell it for and where would be a good place to sell it?
 
Yamaguchi said:
Hello,

I wanted to ask you all a simple question. I want to upgrade to this monitor (ROG SwiftPG278Q):

http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=1104&item_id=075295

Only problem is I have one single Asus 7970 I purchased 2 years ago and I from what I've been researching people have mixed opinions on running a 7970 on 1440p. I mainly play games like WoW and Diablo 3 and want them to be maxed out. Obviously ill want to play other games maxed out as well. Would the above monitor be a bad choice since I wont be able to take advantage of the G Sync technology since I don't have an NVidia card?

Any help appreciated
Click to expand...

I gamed on a Ghz 7970 for about 8 months @ 1440P. Never had any issues with frame rates. That was about a year ago.
 
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atom said:
Freesync is not supported by the 7970.....

.....You could consider picking up a 280x for crossfire and then you could even play those games at 4k I think.
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R9 280x will not work with Freesync either, he'd need one of the ones below, or any newer AMD card in the same market segments as these (390, 390x, etc):

AMD's Website said:
Which AMD Radeon GPUs are compatible with AMD FreeSync technology?:

......All AMD Radeon graphics cards in the AMD Radeon HD 7000, HD 8000, R7 or R9 Series will support AMD FreeSync technology for video playback and power-saving purposes. The AMD Radeon R9 295X2, 290X, R9 290, R9 285, R7 260X and R7 260 GPUs additionally feature updated display controllers that will support dynamic refresh rates during gaming.....
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also don't forget....with crossfire you're probably going to get micro-stutter (whether or not it is noticeable to you is another story), and you'll need a much beefier power supply to power those AMD video cards vs a single card.
 
a 7970 is more than enough for WoW and D3 at 1440p 60 fps.

PJCR45M.gif
y5nCMKa.gif


MG279Q
pros: IPS color and viewing angles, slightly better contrast ratio and black depth than the XL2730Z (i know right?)
cons: lesser motion clarity, no blur reduction (backlight strobing), IPS glow, more expensive

XL2730Z
pros: best available motion clarity with backlight strobing, better dark content IQ because of no glow
cons: TN color and viewing angles
 
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Personally I'd grab the MG279Q for the more vivid colors and viewing angles, as it will be better than TN for general use and slower more colorful games like the ones Blizzard make.

Though I have a 1440p X-Star and a FW900, I'm still using a 7950. The only game that has tanked the 7950 and really made me hungry for an upgrade so far is The Witcher 3, which I'm abstaining from playing until I upgrade - everything else runs pretty well.
 
Odellus said:
a 7970 is more than enough for WoW and D3 at 1440p 60 fps.

PJCR45M.gif
y5nCMKa.gif


MG279Q
pros: IPS color and viewing angles, slightly better contrast ratio and black depth than the XL2730Z (i know right?)
cons: lesser motion clarity, no blur reduction (backlight strobing), IPS glow, more expensive

XL2730Z
pros: best available motion clarity with backlight strobing, better dark content IQ because of no glow
cons: TN color and viewing angles
Click to expand...

but the video card still won't support FreeSync for gaming. not necessarily an issue with those 2 games, but if he wants to play anything else that's more demanding, he would not have that benefit.
 
xXaNaXx said:
but the video card still won't support FreeSync for gaming. not necessarily an issue with those 2 games, but if he wants to play anything else that's more demanding, he would not have that benefit.
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It's fine I won't have the freesync right away. I'm planning on upgrading to a R9 390 in a month or so. I just need to sell my 7970 ...is $200 a reasonable price?
 
Had 7970 for 4 years, bought a reference model not long after launch, 1440p is fine for it. Would recommend IPS for glorious colour but try to see the screens in person before you decide.

Performance wise, could run (at 1.3GHz) Crysis 2 DX11, Ultra, maxed everything incl tessellation, 16x AF, 2x(or 4X? - can't remember)MSAA etc, 1440/60fps with very few drops below 60fps. Driver updates improved FPS and fixed any teething issues.
Didn't game too much on it in last few years but it never really let me down. The 7970 was targeted at such resolutions and really shined there vs competition at the time. At 1080p the nvidia equivalent was slightly better.

Just use MSI to lock FPS and you shouldn't have any tearing issues.

Enjoy, whichever way you decide to go.
 
Odellus said:
a 7970 is more than enough for WoW and D3 at 1440p 60 fps.

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/QUOTE]

Link to charts? I call BS on those numbers.

With my system in sig, i5-4670k and a 290x I am only locked to 60fps if theres not many people around. In a raid or just a regular zone with stuff going on instead of static imagery I can get down to 30-40 fps minimum. Thats with a 4.0 OC currently on the cpu too. So unless you turn the settings down to low/med, thats not gonna happen. My previous card was a 7970, I'm going to be honest and realistic. That will not max out wow with acceptable framerates.

I also have an htpc with a 970, it's a core i3 something, I will pair it up with my 120hz monitor when I have a buddy over and let them play on it. That system will push only ~100fps with settings maxxed and AA off. About 80fps min at 1080p, thats also a good deal more powerful than the 7970. So OP, don't expect to get a very fluid experience with WoW if you want it all pretty, but it is good enough for a mixture of med/high for awhile yet at 1440p.
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