[H] reviewed the 7970 December 22, 2011, and I feel like I have not heard many rumors about AMD's upcoming cards, even though it feels like adequate time has passed. Shouldn't we have had our ears tickled a little bit by now? Especially with the 670 storming the castles, I would have thought we would at least hear some teasers. Or I am blind and will get flamed for this thread. I am just curious as to whether or not AMD will be able to fire back something solid at Nvidia after the huge turnaround that the 680/670 presented for Nvidia efficiency wise.
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So when are AMD's new cards coming?
- Thread starter DOOMHAMMA
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AMD has been working on re-releasing the HD7970/HD7950 at higher stock clocks and lower voltage used. I suppose they're more concerned on making their flagship cards better to gain them the title of "most powerful gpu in the world".... and with the newly binned hd7970's soon to be released any day now, I won't be too surprised if it does.
SonDa5
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You can expect the launch of the new Radeon HD 7970 Ghz edition (1075 - 1100 Mhz) in a couple of weeks. and with it an updated HD 7950 too.
Am I safe with my current HD7950? Or are the new ones going to make my card look like a turtle?
FragMagnet
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It will be a Turtle, but with flames painted on the side ! j/k, I have no idea !!
" The Sea Islands series GPUs have already entered tape-out and should start manufacturing at the end of 2012 and will be announced in the first quarter of 2013."
http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120615PD210.html?mod=2
http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120615PD210.html?mod=2
MacLeod
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Yeah yours will be rendered pretty much worthless. In fact you probably wont be able to boot into Windows after the new cards get here. You should just buy one of the new ones and since your old one wont be worth anything there's no point in trying to sell it so just send it to me and Ill dispose of it properly. Since I'm a kind hearted soul, Ill even pay for shipping.
MacLeod
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That sounds about right. A $150 6870 can still max out most all games at 1920x1080. GPU performance is fast outpacing graphic demand so might not be so.bad to wait a little.
Until we get cheaper IPS panels, though that's unlikely to come anytime soon.
My 5870 will serve me at least another 2 years. That's both sad and a little bit pathetic at the same time.
RaDeonXtreme
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You can expect the launch of the new Radeon HD 7970 Ghz edition (1075 - 1100 Mhz) in a couple of weeks. and with it an updated HD 7950 too.
i didnt hear anything about the 7950 getting updated also. Isnt it just the 7970?
You mean like sub-$300 27 inch 2560x1440 IPS panels that are available right now? or that isn't cheap enough for you?
Both are getting updated, although it is possible that AMD kinda ninja-edits the 7950 instead of some big release. The driving goal was to reboot the 7970 and push it ahead of the 680, but the 7950 is the exact same silicon running slower and with part fused off, so it will obviously benefit the same way.
RaDeonXtreme
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crap, now i gotta decide if i should return the xfx 7950 i bought from newegg for $304 and wether the new cards will oc even more.
SonDa5
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Based on pricing history of new release cards I don't see the new HD7950s costing less than $400.
HD7950 at around $300 seems like a good buy. How does your XFX over clock?
RaDeonXtreme
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havent gotten it yet. gonna get it today. i really want to hit 1100mhz.
You can thank lazy developers and crappy console ports for that, not panel price stagnation...
You'll certainly hit 1100MHz most likely, it just a matter of how much voltage it will take to get it stable and what fan speed you'll need to keep it cool. My Sapphire 7950 OC 950MHz edition needed 1.093v to keep statbility at 1100MHz, beyond that, it needed a good bit more voltage and accordingly heat increased as well. 1100MHz was 24/7 stable though and my custom fan profile was tolerable at that speed. I might have kept it if would have done 1200MHz stable with reasonable voltage and quietly but it just wouldn't. The voltage needed for 1200MHz was around 1.225v or so I think and the fans just couldn't keep the temps down without running at 70-80% speed which was just too loud for me.
RaDeonXtreme
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Good info thanks. I just might have to wait for the new cards to come out. I dont know if ill be happy with a 1100mhz clock if the new cards can hit over 1200mhz with lower voltage.
Nobody seems to mention that AMD has caught up to Nvidia in actual performance.
Nvidia is slower this round, no question, and AMD is faster, than 6970 vs 580.
Also what AMD cards are you expecting? AMD has an actual lineup, Nvidia has two cards.
I'm waiting for Nvidia's 660. Where the hell is that? It's been ages late already.
Actually you can thank pirates, that mean there's no incentive to put any effort into single player PC games (except maybe a few online ones that cant be pirated, like Diablo and WoW).
Crysis 2 PC good example, was pirated 4.2 million times or something according to a bittorrent survey of most pirated games of 2011. I bet it sold 500k tops on PC.
Johnny26
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http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/media/?psn=0004&articleID=4524
Should be interesting to see what Sapphire can do with the new chips.
Should be interesting to see what Sapphire can do with the new chips.
Not sure how you define slower, there are games that go back and forth between AMD and Nvidia, no matter how high you overclock either card. Both are very capable and both have games that run slightly better on one than the other. However, I've been on both sides of the fence this generation, owned a 7950 OC and a 670, I can speak from experience that in order for the AMD cards to match Nvidia's performance, the card require more voltage and runs a good bit hotter and louder. This may not matter to some, but I think it will matter to most. You could argue that at maximum clocks a 7970 might be a few percent faster than a 680 in most games, but the difference would be smaller, not likely matter much and the Nvidia card would draw less power and run considerably cooler. These are things that are worth mentioning unless performance is your absolute and only concern, throwing all other factors out the window, but most people do care about these things.
I'm a bit spoiled on cooler running cards these days, I haven't really had a smoking hot card since I got rid of my 4870x2, but I don't like to see temps near 80 degrees either. I know its safe for the card itself, but that heat still has to go somewhere and why would I settle for a 80-85 degree card when I can have one that runs in the low 60's? This is what Nvidia is offering me these days with the 670 compared to a 7950 or 7970 that runs in the high 70's or low 80's.
So if its crappy it's ok to take it? By that logic I will be taking a Hondai! I am also curious as to when the new AMD cards will be ariving but I will more than likel grab a 7950 for now.
Nice! Can't wait for the custom GHz cards to hit.
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I think its fair to say that AMD Radeon HD 7970 Ghz edition is the faster card compared to GTX 680. With the latest drivers AMD pretty much wins majority of the games like Deus Ex, Alan Wake, Anno 2070, Dirt 3, Dirt Showdown, Skyrim, Witcher 2 and Witcher 2 EE. Even the hardocp review perf drop of Radeon HD 7970 Ghz edition in Witcher 2 EE is likely due to a driver issue because the older HD 7970 is as fast as GTX 680.
http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1038861102&postcount=33
Other reviews show the HD 7970 Ghz edition clearly faster than GTX 680 in Witcher 2 EE.
http://www.hardware.fr/articles/869-16/benchmark-the-witcher-2-enhanced-edition.html
Games like Crysis Warhead, Metro 2033 where the HD 7970 was already faster , the gap has widened significantly. In fact the margins by which the HD 7970 Ghz edition wins some of the benchmarks its too big to be ignored. Dirt Showdown (50%), Alan Wake (25%) , Crysis Warhead (15 - 25%), Witcher 2 ( 20%) , Metro 2033 (10% without DOF, 20% with MSAA and DOF). Even Batman with 8x MSAA runs faster on HD 7970 Ghz edition, though with FXAA it runs faster on Nvidia significantly. Things get more favourable as resolution increases and multi monitor is evaluated. HD 7950 OC will achieve the same results with GTX 670 OC. nothing different. Temps can be managed with certain amount of good case cooling (like fans blowing air directly on the card from the side).
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^+1
After the dust has settled, in my eyes the 7970 is the winner.
I am actually disappointed in the GHz, was expecting more. The real story here is the new drivers that now make the 7970 old or new the clear winner.
Also add iRacing (biggest race sim game on the planet) to the list of games that the 7970 beats the 680 at.
http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=229274
test results https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Al_P5Z01QUt0dDJwbXcyWEpaUHZOTDZ1ZEQtNXFqbkE#gid=0
This is before the newest drivers also.
After the dust has settled, in my eyes the 7970 is the winner.
I am actually disappointed in the GHz, was expecting more. The real story here is the new drivers that now make the 7970 old or new the clear winner.
Also add iRacing (biggest race sim game on the planet) to the list of games that the 7970 beats the 680 at.
http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=229274
test results https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Al_P5Z01QUt0dDJwbXcyWEpaUHZOTDZ1ZEQtNXFqbkE#gid=0
This is before the newest drivers also.
Nothing new here from all of your posts, you might as well just copy and paste from every other post you make. You continue to quote the games that favor AMD and neglect to mention any that favor Nvidia to try to prove your point, but that's fine. I have no need to justify anything, those that know the truth know there's more than just what you continue to regurgitate. As I stated, there are games that favor Nvidia, and there are games that favor AMD, its a fact, not a twisted biased opinion.
Your argument about temps don't hold water either, I had a case side door fan blowing directly on my 7950, temps were still too hot for my liking. If you like 75-80c+ temps, that's fine, its not my cup of tea. Nothing has changed in my Antec 1200v3 other than swapping the video card from the 7950 to the 670 and the 670 runs 20c cooler under load.
All this being said, the new clock speeds have made AMD competitive again but the temps of these cards just don't appeal to me. I think if I were still watercooling, I would give a hard look at the 79xx series, but it doesn't change the fact that these card produce a lot of heat to compete with Nvidia's offerings. I would gladly give up 3-4 fps here or there for 20c lower temps under load.
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On emore point worth mentioning is that the new GHz edition is nothing more than a factory overclocked card for all intents and purposes, it just has a reference style cooler on it. The GHz edition 7970 is faster than the 680 in many cases but its still usually within a few fps, and that's not even counting any non-reference style 680 which is overclocked. My point is that it sounds like AMD has worked some voodoo and retaken the performance crown, but its only in how you choose to compare the numbers. If your looking at completely stock reference style coolers, yes AMD has taken a very small lead, but lets be honest, most people are buying non-reference style 680's which are clocked higher and enough to overtake AMD's new clock speeds again. The bottom line is that right now it looks like the max clocks for a 7970 is around 1150-1180MHz on average based on almost all of the reviews of the GHz edition. On average, most 680 users are overclocking around the 1280-1300 range so that's really where your comparisons should be, but one thing I gaurantee with 100% certainty is that a 680 at 1280MHz runs a LOT cooler and quieter than a 7970 at 1180MHz, which is a win in my book for Nvidia.
To correct you there Dirt 3 and Skyrim ran faster on GTX 680 before the latest catalyst drivers. The games that Nvidia runs better are now a clear minority. Any new title which does better like Dirt Showdown has to be ignored because its a GAMING EVOLVED title. FYI even Dirt 3 was a GAMING EVOLVED title in which GTX 680 does well. You would not even acknowledge that the latest drivers are one of the factors in AMD being faster in a majority of games. For you the situation still is as it was at GTX 680 launch.
here is a user running eyefinity 5760 x 1080 setup at 1160 Mhz with 2 side fans blowing on the sapphire HD 7950 950 Mhz edition. his temps stay around 60 - 70c under BF3.
http://www.overclock.net/t/1268397/radeon-7950-or-gtx-670-for-5760x1080/20#post_17532122
FYI eyefinity will mean the card runs hotter because it has to drive multliple monitors. Normally under eyefinity temps increase by 10c in idle and load.
You can be very happy with the GTX 670. But constantly trying to criticize the HD 7950 is a thing you clearly do. You don't acknowledge the strengths of HD 7950. Just because you game at 1080p doesn't mean everybody else does so. Higher resolutions , multi monitor all these run better on HD 7950. Anything good about the HD 7950 is ignored and the drawbacks wrt GTX 670 like power are highlighted. You forget that AMD makes a chip not just for one person. It makes a chip for a market. In their goal to provide a gaming + compute chip they have had to make certain architectural choices. The bandwidth proves its worth in certain games. But you ignore it. the compute is important to many users even though you don't need it. You sound more desperate then me. I atleast acknowledge the GTX 670 is ahead in perf/watt for gaming. There is nothing you give credit about the HD 7950 . NIL.
Let me see your posts when the GTX 780 launches . I will be watching it keenly.
I agree 100%, I was hoping for more, actually really disappointed in the GHz. Just get an old 7970 and OC it yourself for much cheaper. The real win is the new drivers in my eyes.
I still think OC'ed 7970 vs OC'ed 680, I will take the 7970 for much cheaper, especially for my triple monitor setup. The 7970 seems to really best the 680 as the resolution increases.
These are OC vs OC results.
http://hothardware.com/Reviews/AMD-Radeon-HD-7970-GHz-Edition-Review/?page=12
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Al_P5Z01QUt0dDJwbXcyWEpaUHZOTDZ1ZEQtNXFqbkE#gid=0
I've owned both cards, have you?
Yeah but have you owned the 7 series with the new drivers?
I have had a 690 and sold it after my 7970 was doing almost just as good on my triple monitor iRacing only (key word) rig. It's just one of those games that the 7970 does so much better than the 6xx.
Johnny26
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My 2 cents on nvidia and amd cards. I am not an expert just my first hand experience.
My personal experience using the following cards in surround/eyefinity playing bf 3 with max settings using Benq XL2420s at 5980 x 1080 @ 120hz:
3 x EVGA SC GTX 670 4GB = temps in 80s for card 1, card 2 high 70s, same for card 3, very hot and loud, but not as loud as Ref Sapp at 85%, clocks were core 967mhz, boost 1046mhz
3 x Ref Sapphire 7970s = card 1 83, card 2 77, card 3 low 70s, very loud fans at 85%, clocks at 1150 / 1575
3 x Sapphire 7970 OC = card 1 70s, card 2 60s, card 3 50s to low 60s, much much quieter, at 75%, could barely hear them, clocks at 1150 / 1575
3 x Gigabyte 7970 WF OC = card 1 mid to high 70s, card 2 mid to low 70s, card 3 high 60s, clocks at 1200/1600 @ 1.274, quieter than all cards except for the Sapphire 7970 OCs at 75% fan.
AMD drivers have been terrible until the month of June, 12.7s feel very smooth and I am noticing about 10fps increase on average. I really enjoyed playing BF3 using the Sapphire OC cards the most. PC was cooler and quieter and gameplay felt smoother than the GTX 670s. I failed and didnt capture the exact FPS for the cards however, the AMD cards I noticed provided significantly more fps than the GTX 670s. (I believe I dumped the fps in a file and will try to locate and share) Plus I dont care for Nvidias software too much. Also, the GTX 670s felt like they didnt want to be in my case, overall I would rather not play games on PC than own the 670s. Maybe 680s would make a difference. I dunno, but I didnt get 680s because I cant get a hold of 4gb models.
I look forward to the upcoming Sapphire models as my experience tells me that the cards will provide the overall best gameplay experience for multiple monitors as I want to go to 5 x 1 eyefinity.
My personal experience using the following cards in surround/eyefinity playing bf 3 with max settings using Benq XL2420s at 5980 x 1080 @ 120hz:
3 x EVGA SC GTX 670 4GB = temps in 80s for card 1, card 2 high 70s, same for card 3, very hot and loud, but not as loud as Ref Sapp at 85%, clocks were core 967mhz, boost 1046mhz
3 x Ref Sapphire 7970s = card 1 83, card 2 77, card 3 low 70s, very loud fans at 85%, clocks at 1150 / 1575
3 x Sapphire 7970 OC = card 1 70s, card 2 60s, card 3 50s to low 60s, much much quieter, at 75%, could barely hear them, clocks at 1150 / 1575
3 x Gigabyte 7970 WF OC = card 1 mid to high 70s, card 2 mid to low 70s, card 3 high 60s, clocks at 1200/1600 @ 1.274, quieter than all cards except for the Sapphire 7970 OCs at 75% fan.
AMD drivers have been terrible until the month of June, 12.7s feel very smooth and I am noticing about 10fps increase on average. I really enjoyed playing BF3 using the Sapphire OC cards the most. PC was cooler and quieter and gameplay felt smoother than the GTX 670s. I failed and didnt capture the exact FPS for the cards however, the AMD cards I noticed provided significantly more fps than the GTX 670s. (I believe I dumped the fps in a file and will try to locate and share) Plus I dont care for Nvidias software too much. Also, the GTX 670s felt like they didnt want to be in my case, overall I would rather not play games on PC than own the 670s. Maybe 680s would make a difference. I dunno, but I didnt get 680s because I cant get a hold of 4gb models.
I look forward to the upcoming Sapphire models as my experience tells me that the cards will provide the overall best gameplay experience for multiple monitors as I want to go to 5 x 1 eyefinity.
I owned a 7950 with the beta 12.6 Cats, I got rid of it before the beta 12.7's but I find it hard to believe they make a huge difference over the 12.6's, as no other Cat release has ever made more than a 1-2 fps here or there difference, but I would love to see a good comparison between the official 12.4's and the beta 12.7's from a credible source showing this amazing performance difference. My understanding is that AMD finally got crossfire working properly with the beta 12.6's and I would imagine the 12.7's are nearly identical. This is great for crossfire users, but not much value to single card users which is still the vast majority.
And that's fine if you really, really want to play one game that you truly love and want the best possible performance. I've been saying since the 79xx cards were released that they were great cards, and I still say it today, much more impressive than the 6xxx lineup, but I feel when you factor heat and noise into the equation, I think Nvidia has a superior all around product. AMD has clearly caught Nvidia again(at least with factory clock speeds) with the new GHz edition cards, but they both still run very close to each when overclocked and I wouldn't bet on Nvidia sitting idle. I'm sure they have something planned to follow soon as they always do. I'm not brand loyal to AMD or Nvidia by any means, only whichever product offers the most value at the time I feel like buying, performance, as well heat and noise are all factors to me though. While some people care little about heat and noise, I would say the majority do.