660ti or 7950

T

TBJ

Gawd
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Cool and efficient 660ti non-reference or ati 7950?
I only game at 1920 x 1080.
 
I have a 660Ti and I wave the white flag. Unless you can get the 660Ti for much cheaper, you should get the 7950.
 
Sapphire and Gigabyte 7950s are clocked highest out-of-box (Gigabyte also being my favorite company for aftermarket cooling), ASUS DCII for quietest. MSI TF3 is probably somewhere in between the lot of them.
 
http://hardocp.com/article/2012/11/12/fall_2012_gpu_driver_comparison_roundup

"Middle pricing band – This pricing band was far less competitive as the Radeon HD 7950 with Boost simply demolished the GTX 660 Ti across the board with regards to raw frame rates and overall game play experience across our suite of testing.

Low pricing band – Not to be left out, the Radeon HD 7870 held up well on its own, matching the game play experience and raw frame rates to the GTX 660 Ti from the middle pricing band (except for Sleeping Dogs). "
 
It's worth researching the games you play. Some games will perform noticeably better on one brand or another.
 
Games I play? Sorry that's funny, I'm still on a single core processor :eek:

I'm not considering the 7870.
 
lloose said:
I'm pretty sure the op is implying that he is going to get a new system. Unless he has some magic way to get a pci-e card to fit in an agp slot.
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I'm glad someone was paying attention :D
Ya new build.
 
660ti is more comparable to 7870.

7950 is a clear winner here but You have to ask yourself is it worth paying more. Nothing requires so much strenght from a gpu.


I got 7870 from gigabyte (factory oc and great cool fan) and I culdn't be happier. It is very fast and quiet. also 1080p here
 
An overclocked 7950 is about as fast as an overclocked GTX 670 with older drivers.

I would look for a non-reference 7950 with a good cooler.
 
I'm in Canada, so pricing is a little different, the 7950's & 660ti's are about the same price, 300 to 350 dollars per unit, depending on the flavour.
 
TBJ said:
I'm in Canada, so pricing is a little different, the 7950's & 660ti's are about the same price, 300 to 350 dollars per unit, depending on the flavour.
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Prices have fallen for both to <$300 now, even lower with if you count rebates.
 
Blower types are louder aren't they?

edit: I guess I really should type out my proposed build specs and what my expectations are.
 
TBJ said:
Blower types are louder aren't they?

edit: I guess I really should type out my proposed build specs and what my expectations are.
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AMD blowers are usually louder at the same TDP; Nvidia has lower TDP cards this time, so it's no contest. You don't want an AMD card with a blower.

If you're willing to afford a custom-cooled HD7950 3GB, there's really no reason to get anything else. There shouldn't be a single game on the shelf right now that you wouldn't be able to max out AND add a little MSAA/better forms of AA to as well.

As others have mentioned, an HD7870 would serve you well too.
 
Yeah, I wouldn't buy a reference 7950. It comes with a really crappy stock cooler. Those cards also get hot when you overclock.
 
Open air cooler such as XFX Radeon HD 7950 Double D Black Edition 3GB, but without the high noise levels.
 
TBJ said:
The pricing I'm seeing in Canada is 299 after rebates to 350. The nVidia 670's are yet more expensive.
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In terms of 7950s?

MSI TwinFrozr 7950 - $300-> $270AR
XFX Double D 7950 - $300 -> $270AR
XFX Core Ed 7950 - $295 -> $265AR
Powercolor 7950 OC - $280 (no rebate)
Gigabyte Windforce 7950 - $290 (no rebate)

That's just one store.
 
You could pick up an after market cooler as well if you were to buy a reference card.
 
The Gigabyte HD 7950 OC with the windforce 3x cooler is one of the coolest and quietest. for 290 bucks its a steal. With 12.11 drivers HD 7950 (1.15 Ghz) is faster than GTX 680 (1.25 Ghz). this feedback comes from users like psyside who have had GTX 680 and have sold it and got HD 7950. ask around on overclock.net too.

http://ncix.ca/products/?sku=67546&vpn=GV-R795WF3-3GD
 
Hey :)

I'm sorry to interrupt the discussion, but what is a reference card and a non-reference card? I'm also trying to build a new machine, but I'm on the process of learning :)

Thanks in advance :)
 
raghu78 said:
The Gigabyte HD 7950 OC with the windforce 3x cooler is one of the coolest and quietest. for 290 bucks its a steal. With 12.11 drivers HD 7950 (1.15 Ghz) is faster than GTX 680 (1.25 Ghz). this feedback comes from users like psyside who have had GTX 680 and have sold it and got HD 7950. ask around on overclock.net too.

http://ncix.ca/products/?sku=67546&vpn=GV-R795WF3-3GD
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So many fails with this post. I can finally understand why some real estate agents think they are still honest. Readers are given incorrect tips from person A using comments passed along from person B with a product sales link, instead of referring to actual official reviews from review sites such [H].
 
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At 1080p, you could probably get away with a 7870. That said, go for the 7950 if you have the cash.
 
kniaugaudiskis said:
A really nice comparison: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/Catalyst_12.11_Performance/23.html. A stock GTX660Ti is pretty much on par with a stock HD7950 on average, however a HD7950 handles higher resolutions better due to wider memory bus as well as is a better overclocker.
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The bus part is FUD, and the HD7950 on average is a class ahead of the GTX660 Ti. It's price/performance that the HD7950 wins on, and makes it the 'best buy' for single-card use.
 
[H]ero;1039324981 said:
Hey :)

I'm sorry to interrupt the discussion, but what is a reference card and a non-reference card? I'm also trying to build a new machine, but I'm on the process of learning :)

Thanks in advance :)
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A reference card is built to the specs outlined by the chipset manufacturer (ATI or nVidia). A non-reference card can differ in layout, cooling, or both.
 
IdiotInCharge said:
The bus part is FUD, and the HD7950 on average is a class ahead of the GTX660 Ti. It's price/performance that the HD7950 wins on, and makes it the 'best buy' for single-card use.
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Depends on what kind of performance difference you reckon as "a class ahead". Still, if you take a closer look at the benches I've provided, at single monitor resolutions they`re really close (overclocking aside).
 
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kniaugaudiskis said:
Depends on what kind of performance difference you reckon as "a class ahead". Still, if you take a closer look at the benches I've provided, at single monitor resolutions they`re really close (overclocking aside).
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http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/11/12/fall_2012_gpu_driver_comparison_roundup/

after reading this article it should be clear that HD 7950 is in the class of GTX 670, GTX 680, HD 7970. clock for clock HD 7950 is 3 - 5% slower than HD 7970. HD 7950(1.1 Ghz) matches HD 7970 Ghz(1.05 Ghz). On average voltage overclocks of 1.15 Ghz HD 7950 would crush the GTX 660 Ti even at 1.3 Ghz.
 
Yeh, the 7950 is really kicking ass atm. If I didnt already upgrade to 680's this gen, I'd be all over 7950 CFX. 660ti is outclassed easily.
 
raghu78 said:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/11/12/fall_2012_gpu_driver_comparison_roundup/

after reading this article it should be clear that HD 7950 is in the class of GTX 670, GTX 680, HD 7970. clock for clock HD 7950 is 3 - 5% slower than HD 7970. HD 7950(1.1 Ghz) matches HD 7970 Ghz(1.05 Ghz). On average voltage overclocks of 1.15 Ghz HD 7950 would crush the GTX 660 Ti even at 1.3 Ghz.
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I'm not talking about which overclocks better, which is obvious that the HD7950 does. The article you've pointed out includes a very little amount of games compared to the one I've provided, so drawing final inferences just from that is not accurate IMHO.
 
kniaugaudiskis said:
I'm not talking about which overclocks better, which is obvious that the HD7950 does. The article you've pointed out includes a very little amount of games compared to the one I've provided, so drawing final inferences just from that is not accurate IMHO.
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techpowerup tests a HD 7950 at 800 Mhz. they do not test a HD 7950 Boost. also if you max out power option to +20% the HD 7950 Boost will run at 925 Mhz always and be 3 - 5% less than HD 7970 (925 Mhz). that would put the HD 7950 Boost on par with GTX 670. remember i am not talking overclocking. just enabling the card to run at max boost speeds because the clocks are throttled at 0% power option. the HD 7950 boost when overclocked competes with GTX 680 overclocked. To mention the GTX 660 Ti as a competitor is far away from the reality.
 
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