AMD Radeon HD 7950 Video Card Review @ [H]

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FrgMstr

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AMD Radeon HD 7950 Video Card Review - The new Radeon HD 7950 marks the launch of AMD's more affordable Radeon HD 7900 series GPU. The Radeon HD 7950 is priced to compete with the GeForce GTX 580. We'll look at performance in comparison to several video cards in single-GPU, dual-GPU CrossFireX, Eyefinity, and Overclocking to see where it truly lands.

11PM CST. Although I am not sure why we are waiting if you can already purchase those. We will be nice though, everyone would go apeshit if we jumped the gun. :p
 
great review, great card. amd really needs to fix pricing. 450.00-600.00 is often the same customer. these guys are going to go all out for 7970. 300.00-400.00 is the customer they should try to target. that customer is now likely to wait for nvidia's response.
 
Good review but AMD blew it on getting my income. Gimped drivers, over inflated prices just seal the deal. I will buy a used 580 or wait for nvidias offering.
 
In my opinion, AMD made a mistake by not clocking these higher out of the factory. It seems most consumers will pay far more attention to a card's stock speed than its maximum overclocked speed.
 
Kind of disappointing at that price point. Less than 50% faster than the 6970 (actually less than 25% in most reviews) and with a price more than 50% greater than the 6970. I realize they are pricing it against the 580, but compared to their own previous generation, it doesn't seem like much of an upgrade. Or rather, it is a performance upgrade, but not a price/performance upgrade like we are used to seeing with new generations.

Edit: Actually going back and looking, it appears the 6970 had only a slightly smaller lead over the 5870 when it came out, and it came out at the same price as the 5870. The 6970 was kind of an exception, but still.
 
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Forceman said:
Kind of disappointing at that price point. Less than 50% faster than the 6970 (significantly less in many games) and with a price more than 50% greater than the 6970. I realize they are pricing it against the 580, but compared to their own previous generation, it doesn't seem like much of an upgrade. Or rather, it is a performance upgrade, but not a price/performance upgrade like we are used to seeing with new generations.
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A 50% performance upgrade would never equal a 50% increase in price during the launch of a new card.
 
Crazy Chuckster said:
Good review but AMD blew it on getting my income. Gimped drivers, over inflated prices just seal the deal. I will buy a used 580 or wait for nvidias offering.
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This... sticking with oc 570 sli and hoping Kepler beats the low bar 7950 crossfire has set.
 
Nice review and I agree with the conclusion, $399 would have opened these up to a much wider audience. As it stands, there's no point in getting a 79xx card if you aren't going to overclock the snot out of it. I did, and the performance is amazing, but the stock clocks should have been much higher on both.
 
yeah AMD has priced their next gen cards to compete with Nvidia's already poor value last gen gtx580. I think we are going to be even more screwed when Nvidia comes out with their next gen cards. they are probably laughing as I am guessing the gtx670 will easily beat the 7950 so now Nvidia will price it accordingly. I bet we end up with $475-$500 gtx670s and $650-$700 gtx680s.
 
$399 and it would have been a complete steal. Now it's just a little steal compared to a 580, and that power consumption?! I am okay with the performance jump not being as huge as expected for the 7K series, start tossing design wins on AMD already. Lemme win a few billion and have them expand into mobile device territory.

(No such thing as gimped drivers for those who don't CF, CFX or EF, mind you.)
 
One review of the 7950 PCS+ shows it beating a stock 590, hard to believe... wow!
 
Sometimes I really wonder the decisions to add a graphics card in [H] reviews. For a $450 price point you should definitely throw in a 6970 instead of a 6950 considering the 6970 launched at $380 (if I remember correctly). I don't think a 6950 should be on there at all.

Either way, seems quite clear that the pricing is completely borked for this card and definitely not worth the $450 investment considering you can get a used GTX 580 for $350 that performs either on par or slightly lower.

EDIT: Seems like a typo since all charts say 6950 but conclusion says 6970... :confused:
 
Seems more and more likely AMD went to nvidia and said this time we will price the card same as yours so you don't have to drop the price on your card. It would be nice if they released a card that would be more in range of 80% of the gamers. I never spend more than 350-400 on a card. I grabbed me a gtx 580 asus directcu ii for 350 and couldn't be happier.

Why not price it 399, these prices are very unlike AMD. AMD is pricing themselves out of comsumer market, it is going to hurt them since they wont have budget cards for another month and I bet Nvidia is more than happy to see them price their cards like this.
 
Good.. fair.. review. Thanks! Performance is about exactly what I expected to see.. shame no shader unlock like the reference 6950's. And the price for the high end aftermarket cooler ones at the egg just about $60 less than a full 7970... I have no clue what they are thinking there. Agree $400~$435 would have been a better starting price point. IMHO they'd be getting a lot of business from people thinking about a 580. But eventually the market will determine how wise these prices are and adjust accordingly. Just keep in mind that the cheapest 580 at the egg is still $499.
 
KickAssCop said:
Sometimes I really wonder the decisions to add a graphics card in [H] reviews. For a $450 price point you should definitely throw in a 6970 instead of a 6950 considering the 6970 launched at $380 (if I remember correctly). I don't think a 6950 should be on there at all.

Either way, seems quite clear that the pricing is completely borked for this card and definitely not worth the $450 investment considering you can get a used GTX 580 for $350 that performs either on par or slightly lower.

EDIT: Seems like a typo since all charts say 6950 but conclusion says 6970... :confused:
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The 68950 and 6970 were both used.
 
This is absolutely the best review I have ever read hands down. It had everything I could ever ask for a review to have.

If these cards unlock I'm in for two. I've already read a report or 2 that 3 samples out there flashed with 7970 bioses didn't unlock. My hope still isn't dead.

I'll admit my hope has diminished on this.

Back to the review though. It's a masterpiece. If you guys would perform every review in this exact same format I honestly believe I'd have no reason to go anywhere else.

Single GPU, Crossfire + Eyefinity, overclocking. Comparison to previous generation cards etc..

Your review get's the never before obtained hard ocp Platinum award

-------->Insert H Platinum logo here <--------​
 
tricky0502 said:
did you try to flash the card with a 7970 bios?
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Ain't that simple. Dunno the full story yet, but AMD did tell me when I asked that these cards would not be unlocked due to hardware limitations put in place.
 
KickAssCop said:
Sometimes I really wonder the decisions to add a graphics card in [H] reviews. For a $450 price point you should definitely throw in a 6970 instead of a 6950 considering the 6970 launched at $380 (if I remember correctly). I don't think a 6950 should be on there at all.

Either way, seems quite clear that the pricing is completely borked for this card and definitely not worth the $450 investment considering you can get a used GTX 580 for $350 that performs either on par or slightly lower.

EDIT: Seems like a typo since all charts say 6950 but conclusion says 6970... :confused:
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You must have missed page 8.
 
Lord_Exodia said:
This is absolutely the best review I have ever read hands down. It had everything I could ever ask for a review to have.

If these cards unlock I'm in for two. I've already read a report or 2 that 3 samples out there flashed with 7970 bioses didn't unlock. My hope still isn't dead.

I'll admit my hope has diminished on this.

Back to the review though. It's a masterpiece. If you guys would perform every review in this exact same format I honestly believe I'd have no reason to go anywhere else.

Single GPU, Crossfire + Eyefinity, overclocking. Comparison to previous generation cards etc..

Your review get's the never before obtained hard ocp Platinum award

-------->Insert H Platinum logo here <--------​
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Often times we don't receive the proper time to do everything we want to the first time 'round, we do what we can, even with this one, it was a lot of sleepless nights. Thanks for the feedback and comments!
 
I love the review, but I really wish AMD would come out with more information about the midrange and mainstream level cards. Another +$400 card wasn't was I was looking forward to for the rumored Feb release.
 
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Brent_Justice said:
Often times we don't receive the proper time to do so, we do what we can, even with this one, it was a lot of sleepless nights. Thanks for the feedback and comments!
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how long have the cards been in house? i ask because there was a lot of info in this review, more then you see with most new cards.
 
lloose said:
I love the review, but I really wish AMD would come out with more information about the midrange and mainstream level cards. Another +$400 card wasn't was I was looking forward to for the rumored Feb release.
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Soon

tricky0502 said:
how long have the cards been in house? i ask because there was a lot of info in this review, more then you see with most new cards.
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20th
 
Yeah, just read page 8 (actually was skimming through). Good to see 6970 thrown in there. Seems like a hit or miss in terms of performance. Throwing in a second 6970 might be a better option than grabbing a 7950.
 
Yeah...good card, too expensive. Pretty much like others have been saying.

There is supposedly the 1.5 GB version for $399 but it doesn't make much sense to get that IMO.
 
MavericK96 said:
Yeah...good card, too expensive. Pretty much like others have been saying.

There is supposedly the 1.5 GB version for $399 but it doesn't make much sense to get that IMO.
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Yep... $380-400 each for the nice quiet, well-cooled Sapphire version of the 7950 + better crossfire (smooth frametimes + better profile timeliness/support) drivers and I'd be all over two of them. Really price + drivers are what hold me back from wanting them. They're "next-gen" cards but priced at around $500 currently while not delivering THAT much more performance than 450 dollar (after rebate or on any normal sale that happens often enough) GTX 580's that people have owned for over a year.
 
GoldenTiger said:
Yep... $380-400 each for the nice quiet, well-cooled Sapphire version of the 7950 + better crossfire (smooth frametimes + better profile timeliness/support) drivers and I'd be all over two of them. Really price + drivers are what hold me back from wanting them. They're "next-gen" cards but priced at around $500 currently while not delivering THAT much more performance than 450 dollar (after rebate or on any normal sale that happens often enough) GTX 580's that people have owned for over a year.
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What's crazy is all of them (some way more than others) are going for more than retail on Newegg, which seriously makes you wonder why you would buy one when a 7970 is only $50 more or so.
 
KickAssCop said:
Yeah, just read page 8 (actually was skimming through). Good to see 6970 thrown in there. Seems like a hit or miss in terms of performance. Throwing in a second 6970 might be a better option than grabbing a 7950.
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Ok after reading some normal reviews. I am almost contemplating a 7950 since OC on it is faster than 7970 stock. I know 7970 is faster too when OC but still, worth getting a 7950. Will wait for some WHQL drivers and a month or so before I take the plunge.
 
MavericK96 said:
What's crazy is all of them (some way more than others) are going for more than retail on Newegg, which seriously makes you wonder why you would buy one when a 7970 is only $50 more or so.
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Definitely, once you're that close.
 
I don't understand why some of you are complaining about the price. There is absolutely no need to price a card lower than what they need to do so in order to sell it. For many people out there, a $450 video card that is faster than the GTX580 is a pretty good deal. That is the great thing about competition, as i'm sure prices will start dropping once nVidia has something that can compete against ATI's offerings. It would be stupid for any company to rock bottom price a card they know very well will be selling for much higher prices. Besides, you guys know very well that even if ATI priced the card at $399, it would be selling nowhere near that as cards are always marked up like crazy when the retailers expect low supply volumes. It is smart in the sense that ATI is taking away some of the potential markups and pocketing it themselves instead of letting the retailers rape you.
 
amdgamer said:
I don't understand why some of you are complaining about the price. There is absolutely no need to price a card lower than what they need to do so in order to sell it. For many people out there, a $450 video card that is faster than the GTX580 is a pretty good deal. That is the great thing about competition, as i'm sure prices will start dropping once nVidia has something that can compete against ATI's offerings. It would be stupid for any company to rock bottom price a card they know very well will be selling for much higher prices. Besides, you guys know very well that even if ATI priced the card at $399, it would be selling nowhere near that as cards are always marked up like crazy when the retailers expect low supply volumes. It is smart in the sense that ATI is taking away some of the potential markups and pocketing it themselves instead of letting the retailers rape you.
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Totally with you on this. I paid 370$ for my X1900XT and it wasn't even the highest model. The Radeon 9700 Pro was 399$ and it was quite the beast for the years it lasted me. So for a mere 80-100$ more I get a card with some insane features and the ability OC to a card that cost over 100$ more all while there is not much competition at this price point? I say good deal. AMD has spent to long shooting itself in the foot with low prices and now everyone expects it to be so. I'm sure they'll go down on price once the 28nm process matures and after nVidia releases whatever it will.
 
I like the fact that Asus came right out with the DC2T version at launch...Good move.
 
Great review, nearly the same performance as a 7970 for $100 cheaper.. I'm in for one. Went with the Asus reference card at $469 with Free Dirt3 and I had a $10 off coupon. Sold my 6870 for $180 a few weeks back so for $280 it should be a good upgrade.
 
K1tty said:
Great review, nearly the same performance as a 7970 for $100 cheaper.. I'm in for one. Went with the Asus reference card at $469 with Free Dirt3 and I had a $10 off coupon. Sold my 6870 for $180 a few weeks back so for $280 it should be a good upgrade.
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It's 20% slower than a 7970 for 15% less (at the price you paid, some of them are almost $500 right now). At MSRP it might be okay (about 20% to 20% performance/cost difference) but at the current inflated prices it seem silly to get one unless you are under a tight budget and can't afford the 7970.
 
While I think the card is appropriately priced based on performance, it's at a weird customer segment spot.
 
Why would ATI price the 7950 cards lower than the GTX 580? At least this card is slightly faster than the GTX 580, it would have sucked if it weren't, yet another decent card from ATI.
 
John Vuong said:
Why would ATI price the 7950 cards lower than the GTX 580? At least this card is slightly faster than the GTX 580, it would have sucked if it weren't, yet another decent card from ATI.
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It came out 14 months later, is next-gen and on a new node. One would expect they could come up with something at less than the price of a 580 that could beat it out, but at the moment they're $500 (same as a 580) for only a little more performance a LOT later and with an arguably worse multi-card experience. It's just not that impressive by now.
 
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