Looking at HD7970s....

Z

Zarkon

Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 16, 2002
Messages
437
Okay. I've been a good nVidia user for years.

I just came into a bit of money (which means I can upgrade my card better than I thought), and have found out that the HD7970s have dropped in price to right around where the GTX 670s are.

My questions is

1) Which one should I get in the $400-450 range?

2) Which MFG? I'd prefer one with a warranty like EVGA's, if at all possible, but I've heard bad things about XFX.

Any other suggestions?
 
OP Gigabyte HD 7970 is a good option. excellent windforce cooler. 3 yr waranty. gigabyte has good reputation.
 
+3 on the Gigabtyte Windforce since your budget allows it. Fantastic cooler and great overclocking ability.
 
So is the consensus to stay away from XFX? Asking 'cause of Lifetime warranty.
 
Thanks for the input, guys. I ended up getting the Sapphire HD7950 that's on sale at Newegg.
 
Like a broken record here, Gigabyte WF3 gets my vote for the best cooler available.
 
Zarkon said:
Thanks for the input, guys. I ended up getting the Sapphire HD7950 that's on sale at Newegg.
Click to expand...

950 core? i got the same, very nice card, great PCB cooling, only issue is, its hard to get it under 70c during Crysis with tons of mods, 8XMSAA etc, if you go over 1.17v

Its almost impossible even with fans on 75/80% but during nights, its like 68c, during day, 71c.
 
Yeah, I got it in today and it was DOA.

There's the XFX they have on sale this week for like $279 after rebate and discounts.
There's the Twin Frozr for $305 AR
A higher-end Sapphire for $305 AR
and what I guess is the Windforce for $310 AR.
 
Zarkon said:
Yeah, I got it in today and it was DOA.

There's the XFX they have on sale this week for like $279 after rebate and discounts.
There's the Twin Frozr for $305 AR
A higher-end Sapphire for $305 AR
and what I guess is the Windforce for $310 AR.
Click to expand...


TFIII or WF.
 
So I get the Gigabyte Windforce today.

The box is opened on one end with the flap slightly torn.

The inside packaging is fine, though, so I put it in my machine....BEEP.....beep beep beep.

Son of a....

So I take the entire computer up to Fry's so we can do some testing. I get a 900W power supply, same thing. They try the 900W and the card in another machine (to check motherboard)....won't even post beep there, and the tech says that he can smell burning.

Two dead cards in a row. Time to tell Newegg how they need to fix this, as I'm currenly down $700 until RMAs and refunds process. -.-
 
The chances of getting two dead cards from different manufacturers are incredibly small. The chances that something else is wrong are much higher. Did you plug in everything, both 6 and 8-pin power connectors? Have you tried only booting with 1 stick of RAM (32GB in a desktop board is already enough to cause trouble).
 
I like sapphire..It kinda depends on what you wanna do..
all-around ..Sapphire,sturdy and no overclocking..XFX,overclocking, MSI or Asus..(i'd go Sapphire)
 
Mr. K6 said:
The chances of getting two dead cards from different manufacturers are incredibly small. The chances that something else is wrong are much higher. Did you plug in everything, both 6 and 8-pin power connectors? Have you tried only booting with 1 stick of RAM (32GB in a desktop board is already enough to cause trouble).
Click to expand...

There are only 2 6-pin slots. Yes, I plugged them in.

Like I said, we tried two different machines, and the tech at Fry's said he smelled something burning.
 
Zarkon said:
There are only 2 6-pin slots. Yes, I plugged them in.

Like I said, we tried two different machines, and the tech at Fry's said he smelled something burning.
Click to expand...
Try booting them in another PC first; your PSU might be killing them. Like I said, expand your troubleshooting net because the chances of getting two dead cards is very small.
 
he already tried that

Zarkon said:
So I take the entire computer up to Fry's so we can do some testing. I get a 900W power supply, same thing. They try the 900W and the card in another machine (to check motherboard)....won't even post beep there, and the tech says that he can smell burning.
Click to expand...
 
Here's what was tried.

Original dead card in system. Both PCIe slots, with only one memory stick, both with the normal 6 pin connectors and the adaptors that Sapphire included.

Second dead card : In my system as listed. In my system with a 900w PSU (Antec). In another system with that same PSU.

Note: My GTX 460 continues to work just fine in my system.
 
The PSU in my system is a 700w. The one I tried in the other system is a 900w that I temporarily purchased at Fry's.

Anyway, Newegg is making a one-time exception and doing an advanced replacement for the Windforce. I'm going to take the new one to Fry's as soon as it shows to test it before I put it in my machine.
 
Zarkon said:
The PSU in my system is a 700w. The one I tried in the other system is a 900w that I temporarily purchased at Fry's.

Anyway, Newegg is making a one-time exception and doing an advanced replacement for the Windforce. I'm going to take the new one to Fry's as soon as it shows to test it before I put it in my machine.
Click to expand...
Exactly. I'm thinking laterally here just to see what could be the problem. If you get a card that boots first in another system and then again is dead in your system, you've narrowed the problem significantly. It wouldn't be the first time a PSU killed a card once it was pushed (although with only a single card it'd be rare, but getting two DOA cards is also very rare).
 
Right, and that's why the steps when we get the new card is

1) Take to Fry's and test there.
2) Put 900W PSU on my machine
3) Test on my machine.

I see where you're coming from and the truly strange part is that my current card works perfectly with the setup I have, which would lead me to believe that it's not the motherboard itself.
 
So.

It turns out it wasn't the video card. Ever.

Took the new card in to Fry's and they test it, and it worked.

Went and got a RaidMAX 1000W PSU and hooked it up with the video card on my machine -- same error.

Tried reseating everything, tried unplugging the hard drives, tried only one memory slot...didn't matter.

The only thing that was left at that point was the motherboard. So, I got a motherboard and SSD (since I have to reinstall Windows anyway).

Boots up to the bios without a problem.

Spent 2.5 hours tonight (about 8 hours total) and $468 tonight (instead of $150).

Worst part? I have to go back tomorrow and get a SSD mounting kit and a new heat sink. Turns out my Zalman heat sink is too low to the motherboard, and is blocking one of the memory slots on the new motherboard.
 
Zarkon said:
So.

It turns out it wasn't the video card. Ever.


The only thing that was left at that point was the motherboard.
Click to expand...

yea some motherboards dont behave.
good you got it sorted even at a price.
 
Well I just installed my XFX 7950 DD

I know the Gigabyte "Wind Force" and Sapphire "Vapor chamber / Dual X" cards have better cooling. XFX cards look the best, and while don't have as good of cooling, it only really matters if you plan to over-volt and overclock. The Asus Dc2 actually has the best cooler of the bunch. Key word is the Over-Volt part.

Lifetime warranty > better cooling in my book. I can always put a water block on it. Btw the cooling is relatively good. I stay under 80c with 1.150 volts @ 1100mhz core and 1400mem. I can go higher. But i rather have a quiet video card than one that screams at me. I have gone up to 1.2volts but temps go into the mid 80's and fans near max out, and at 80%+ fan speed they are a bit noisy.

Sucks to hear about the motherboard. Good luck.
 
Swapped the motherboard again this morning (needed 8 SATA instead of 6) and got a new heat sink so I can use all of my 16GB of ram (not 32 as I was dreaming about). Everything is good, have Windows 8 installed and am configuring.
 
id go with a GTX 690
less power consumption less noise and only one slot and freak en fast
 
Last edited:
Um. You do realize I already /had/ the card, right?

And that the 7950 is only one-slot? And that the 690 is 3x the price?
 
Zarkon said:
Um. You do realize I already /had/ the card, right?

And that the 7950 is only one-slot? And that the 690 is 3x the price?
Click to expand...
He probably didn't. Good example of a person reading the thread title and typing out whatever inane nonsense first popped into their (barely) functioning head.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top