7970 Purchasing Thread

Shocked said:
Anything I should know about before I break the seal on this XFX Core 7970, besides the warranty only being two years now?

EDIT: Know it's a reference card, just don't know anything about the quality of XFX's support. I've owned a lot of different brands but the only time I've ever had to use tech support / warranty was Sapphire and that was an absolutely terrible experience.
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I've recently owned 3 XFX cards (2x 5770's and a 6950), and I can say that I never had to get in touch with their customer support for any problems. I have heard good things about them, about decently replaced cards that have problems, but can't say for sure. I've also heard a few bad things, but that's inevitable.

Another question: How is VisionTek's Lifetime warranty?
 
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manofthem said:
I've recently owned 3 XFX cards (2x 5770's and a 6950), and I can say that I never had to get in touch with their customer support for any problems. I have heard good things about them, about decently replaced cards that have problems, but can't say for sure. I've also heard a few bad things, but that's inevitable.
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Yeah. I'm hoping my experience with Sapphire was a rare occurrence. And 99% of my problems with ATi/AMD over the last decade or so have been driver/software related (and plentiful those have been) so other than Sapphire I haven't really been banging down doors complaining about hardware issues.

But I figure anecdotal evidence can give you stuff or policies to watch out for. I figure if I exchange the card it'll be for one with a better warranty rather than anything else. But I think I'm probably too impatient anyway. :p

EDIT: I did a little bit of research about VisionTek the other day. I'm not really sure because most of the stuff I found was from years ago, but the prevailing thought among various forums seemed to be if you get one make 100% sure you register it with them when you get it.
 
If you guys do buy custom versions of the 7970 when they hit be careful.

Some companies may simplify voltage regulation on custom cards in order to cut costs. This may happen on the 7970 and I'd expect it more on custom 7950s.

Of course if you don't OC or OC with voltage tweaking, it probably won't matter.
 
Ok an updated on my TIM replacement. I replaced the original TIM on my 7970s. It was poorly applied. It was a big blob of white thermal paste. It coverd pretty much the entire GPU and some on the entire socket. Cleaning the residue on the entire GPU plus socket took me 45 minutes. It was caked on the little transistors. Eventually with enough isopropyl alcohol 99% I eventually got it all off. I applied the tuniq TX-4. After some gaming I got a reported reading of 90C at full load on both GPUs in starwars the old republic. So I removed the Tuniq TX-4 and replaced it with MX-3. Now my GPU load is at 81C (in crossfire). Now the fan isn't as loud as it was with TX-4. Did it help me? Sure. I assume if everything is working fine for you stick with it. But if you're a neat freak and want the GPU to have the "correct" amount of thermal paste, this will drive you nuts. It was a sloppy job on both my GPUs.
 
xSystemFailurex said:
Aaaaand all 7970s are now out of stock @ newegg.

And here people said these things were too expensive to sell. ;)
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I'll be a little disgusted if they start popping up on a Sunday. Then well know that they are just controlling the market how they want and making top dollar. It should be how it is when consoles come out and be 1 set price, 1st come 1st serve.. They are like drug dealers serving the fiends... :mad:
 
Turtle Man said:
I'll be a little disgusted if they start popping up on a Sunday. Then well know that they are just controlling the market how they want and making top dollar. It should be how it is when consoles come out and be 1 set price, 1st come 1st serve.. They are like drug dealers serving the fiends... :mad:
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Of course its what there doing.. no one would be in a hurry to spend the money and may even talk themselves out of buying if theres no prob waiting to buy. Creating a mad frenzy is easy if they only release 10 of each at a time.
 
eclypse said:
Of course its what there doing.. no one would be in a hurry to spend the money and may even talk themselves out of buying if theres no prob waiting to buy. Creating a mad frenzy is easy if they only release 10 of each at a time.
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That's ignorant. Taking food off the table from the person that puts the food on theirs. Crack dealer mentality and I'm into other collective hobbies, where there are high demands for things, but nothing like this gets pulled by the supplier.

For an example. I'll support my local card shop before buying from an online distributor. He's been in the same location and can barely stay alive because of the e-retailers.

Pretty soon my local shop is going to get a new customer is they ever start carrying quality gear.
 
Turtle Man said:
I'll be a little disgusted if they start popping up on a Sunday. Then well know that they are just controlling the market how they want and making top dollar. It should be how it is when consoles come out and be 1 set price, 1st come 1st serve.. They are like drug dealers serving the fiends... :mad:
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What do you know, MSI 7970 back in stock!
 
Use your noodle. It doesn't serve Newegg to keep stock away from the public. They're putting them up as they receive shipment. Even ignoring common sense, consider 1) newegg has been selling at reasonable and close to MRSP prices since day one, and 2) no other seller consiststly has stock either.
 
They got a shipment on Sunday and have people working the warehouse and online on Sunday to update the stock?

I believe its computer controlled to add a certain amount of the 5000 units they got on day one at a time to create a frenzy.. hell its working cause even after hearing the screen tearing,driver issues,high pitch ringing and eyefinity probs i may have, here i'm still hunting for one all week long. Theres constantly selling out seriously quick cause of avalability. Like i said.. if there was an unlimited stock pile up on the web site, people would take there time and think long about it beforehand.. whats the hurry?
 
eclypse said:
They got a shipment on Sunday and have people working the warehouse and online on Sunday to update the stock?
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Yes. I can't believe you actually think a big online retailer's warehouses don't operate 7 days a week. Do you think UPS or Fedex planes and sorting facilities shut down on Sunday just because they don't deliver packages to houses and businesses on the day or that the cargo, freight and rail companies that bring supplies from across the globe take a day off? It's actually MORE plausible, not less, to believe the warehouses run all the time. The back operations of big companies run 24/7 and they get supplied by other companies around-the-clock.

I believe its computer controlled to add a certain amount of the 5000 units they got on day one at a time to create a frenzy..
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The operative words there are "I believe..." You actually have no evidence or any knowledge that this is how Newegg works. For the rest of us less conspiracy-minded, the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

hell its working cause even after hearing the screen tearing,driver issues,high pitch ringing and eyefinity probs i may have, here i'm still hunting for one all week long. Theres constantly selling out seriously quick cause of avalability. Like i said.. if there was an unlimited stock pile up on the web site, people would take there time and think long about it beforehand.. whats the hurry?
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While the lack of supply may have increased your desire for the item, it turns off other shoppers who may "come to their senses" and decide not to buy the card after all. It goes both ways and you're failing to consider the downside to being out of stock. The fear that people would either give up entirely or go find it somewhere else is a strong motivation for a retailer to sell all available stock rather than try to game demand by selectively withholding stock.

It's pretty plain you're convinced this is how things work and you're going to believe them regardless. I just think your assumptions are implausible or one-sided and don't stand up to scrutiny.
 
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I'm sure it happends all the time for everything.. people are not stupid. Happends at every console release since the PS2... that hard to find Chirstmas toy.. theres always 1 every year you cant find cause the stores are stock piling inventory for a certain weekend where they want to make sure you come to there store with your chistmas money. De Beers controlling the Diamond market by holding back the flow of diamonds to keep the price up.. or the countries not giving out correct info on how much oil they have to drive the prices up.. Can go on and on.
 
I worked for UPS for 4 years. The only thing moving on a Sun. is someones organs for transplant or Legal documents for some one on deathrow.
 
When Gigabyte or MSI come back in stock ill order them :).. Just got my refund from tigerdirect, and Newegg refund coming.
 
Turtle Man said:
I worked for UPS for 4 years. The only thing moving on a Sun. is someones organs for transplant or Legal documents for some one on deathrow.
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Which is completely meaningless since Newegg's inventory is likely coming on pallets by a freight company from a distributor. With the number of warehouses Newegg has, I assume the video cards popping in and out of stock have more to do with when each warehouse takes delivery and is able to inventory the items. The annoying part is only Newegg seems to have a good stock. I am still waiting to purchase from someone where I don't have to pay tax in California.
 
siliconnerd said:
Which is completely meaningless since Newegg's inventory is likely coming on pallets by a freight company from a distributor. With the number of warehouses Newegg has, I assume the video cards popping in and out of stock have more to do with when each warehouse takes delivery and is able to inventory the items. The annoying part is only Newegg seems to have a good stock. I am still waiting to purchase from someone where I don't have to pay tax in California.
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Im going by what ddarko was saying, that UPS turns 7 days a week. I was just saying I know they don't. Im sure a private logistics company handles all their freight.
 
haha.. dont even have any good accesseries either.
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Looks like a mini DP to HDMI and a DVI to HDMI.
 
Well I bit the bullet and got the MSI. I just could not wait it out. Damn.
 
Damn, if I knew people were willing to buy them at such markup I would've bought more than the 2 I grabbed on Thursday to resell them. I am now considering resellling mine when they get here tomorrow. The pair only cost me $200 out of pocket plus I have more cash coming in from the 6970s and 6950 I have yet to sell. Decisions, decisions.
 
I'm getting ready to resell my 2 Sapphires. I tried them and realized I switched to Nvidia for a reason. I can't stand these things, the drivers, the tearing issues, the glitches, the stuttering, the weirdness trying to run Crossfire + Eyefinity. Not...worth...it... I'm just hoping to get what I originally paid + shipping and I'll be happy. Could care less about a markup.
 
Astral Abyss said:
I'm getting ready to resell my 2 Sapphires. I tried them and realized I switched to Nvidia for a reason. I can't stand these things, the drivers, the tearing issues, the glitches, the stuttering, the weirdness trying to run Crossfire + Eyefinity. Not...worth...it... I'm just hoping to get what I originally paid + shipping and I'll be happy. Could care less about a markup.
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Sorry to hear that. I've no issues personally, been gaming all weekend on my 7970, single card only though.
 
Astral Abyss said:
I'm getting ready to resell my 2 Sapphires. I tried them and realized I switched to Nvidia for a reason. I can't stand these things, the drivers, the tearing issues, the glitches, the stuttering, the weirdness trying to run Crossfire + Eyefinity. Not...worth...it... I'm just hoping to get what I originally paid + shipping and I'll be happy. Could care less about a markup.
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No issues here in crossfire. Did you reformat?
 
The lack of any mini-dp to ANYTHING connectors with my XFX 7970 was a let down when compared to so many other brands. Still loving the card it stays cooler than any card I previously owned thats for damn sure.
 
Astral Abyss said:
I'm getting ready to resell my 2 Sapphires. I tried them and realized I switched to Nvidia for a reason. I can't stand these things, the drivers, the tearing issues, the glitches, the stuttering, the weirdness trying to run Crossfire + Eyefinity. Not...worth...it... I'm just hoping to get what I originally paid + shipping and I'll be happy. Could care less about a markup.
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I have a Quad-Fire set-up 4X 7970, and been gaming all week-end without a single problem.

Sorry for you. PEBKAC? If 4 can work fine, then 2 should be easy to work with.

Also, we are still using beta drivers, and beta utilities to OC those cards... First official drivers shoulds be out in a couple of days. Just wait a bit.
 
{NG}Fidel said:
The lack of any mini-dp to ANYTHING connectors with my XFX 7970 was a let down when compared to so many other brands. Still loving the card it stays cooler than any card I previously owned thats for damn sure.
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Write to XFX asking for the adapters you need, many people in the forums have gotten them in the past.
 
LigTasm said:
Anyone gone from 580 SLI to a single 7970? I'm considering it if the performance is close enough.
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I'm moving from EVGA 580 1.5GB SC SLI to a single MSI 7970. Had tons of problems with a 6970 CFX and while SLI has been much better to me I think I'm ready to just go single card. I'm pretty sensitive to micro-stuttering and I'm tired of dealing with it...plus I game on 1080p so I'm not worried about insane performance (although I would love to maintain 120 fps on my 120hz monitor).

At worst I'll add a 2nd 7970. And knowing me I'll probably be moving to Kepler later on down the road if Nvidia can bring the goods. :)
 
A single 7970 should be slaughtering 1080p, and keep in mind, it's early on with the drivers, that will improve over time.
 
So, I need to rma replace one of my sapph 7970s through newegg. Any thoughts on how they'll handle it? If they'll have stock to send out or not? Or if they'll make me wait if they don't have stock.
 
Tiporaro said:
So, I need to rma replace one of my sapph 7970s through newegg. Any thoughts on how they'll handle it? If they'll have stock to send out or not? Or if they'll make me wait if they don't have stock.
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Best bet is to call them up and find out.
 
Tiporaro said:
So, I need to rma replace one of my sapph 7970s through newegg. Any thoughts on how they'll handle it? If they'll have stock to send out or not? Or if they'll make me wait if they don't have stock.
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What do you expect?
For newegg to just grab some out of thin air?
They can't replace what they don't have.
Contact Sapphire's RMA company in US.....AlthonMicro( or start a ticket with Sapphire for RMA) and see if you can RMA it to them, but chances are you will get a rebuild and not a NIB.

2wiced said:
I wish tigerdirect lowered the price of the msi card!
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Once newegg has stock that price will go to normal.
Probably tomorrow or the next day.:D
 
magoo said:
What do you expect?
For newegg to just grab some out of thin air?
They can't replace what they don't have.
Contact Sapphire's RMA company in US.....AlthonMicro( or start a ticket with Sapphire for RMA) and see if you can RMA it to them, but chances are you will get a rebuild and not a NIB.



Once newegg has stock that price will go to normal.
Probably tomorrow or the next day.:D
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I called tigerdirect they said the MSI is priced higher because they fulfill that order outside of tigerdirect. Or something like that. So looks like ill wait for Newegg. If newegg doesnt have the MSI at around 560 not 580+shipping. Ill order Gigabyte or Asus. I like serial warranty.
 
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