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Educate Me

S

Sowexly

Gawd
Joined
Dec 4, 2011
Messages
544
I'm in an interesting situation where I might be able to get a GTX 590 Hydro Classified for a pretty decent price.

I could not find any "up to date" information on the topic but from when it came out everyone complained that it was a poor overclocker and wasn't worth running on water.

Can anyone chime in to enlighten me about the current events with this card?
 
Sowexly said:
I'm in an interesting situation where I might be able to get a GTX 590 Hydro Classified for a pretty decent price.

I could not find any "up to date" information on the topic but from when it came out everyone complained that it was a poor overclocker and wasn't worth running on water.

Can anyone chime in to enlighten me about the current events with this card?
Click to expand...

What price are you getting it at. Because at USD 350 you can get HD 7950 card with a nice HD 7970 PCB like Sapphire HD 7950 950 Mhz edition. At USD 400 you can get GTX 670 with a GTX 680 PCB like Gigabyte GTX 670 Windforce.

Here is a stock comparsison between HD 7970 Ghz and GTX 590
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/618?vs=516

clock for clock HD 7950 is 3 - 5% slower than HD 7970. HD 7950 at 1.1 Ghz performs like a HD 7970 Ghz (1.05 Ghz).

Moreover is the GTX 590 Hydro classified a used card. if yes how much period is there within warranty.
 
It's new just open box, no use.
I'm just trying to justify the purchase because it would include me going to water, and I planned on it anyway.

EDIT:
I was more interested in it's current overclocking because I won't want to run it stock under water.
To clear this up I'm looking at about 500-600 for it, and it's never been used so I think for that price it's pretty fair.
 
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If a 680, 7970, and 590 were the same price, I'd go for the 590. For that price though, the $500-$600 you are stating, I'd go for the 680 or 7970, especially if you plan to overclock. Not sure if microstuttering is a problem for the 590 still. Either card is great, if you already had the 590, I wouldn't upgrade, but if you have options...
 
At USD 450 you can grab a very well designed custom HD 7970 Ghz

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202001

overclocking this card to 1.25 - 1.3 Ghz will help you keep up with the GTX 590 overclocked. Plus the fact that you are on a single GPU definitely holds a lot of value because you are free of multi GPU issues like microstuttering or SLI working well or not in a particular game.
 
I'll see if I can get some wiggle room on the price tag, I know the seller personally so I wouldn't be paying it off all at once too.
 
Sowexly said:
I'll see if I can get some wiggle room on the price tag, I know the seller personally so I wouldn't be paying it off all at once too.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you already made up your mind.

If not I would get a 7970 1ghz. and if AMD isnt your thing, get a 680 GTX. MSI Lightning IMO.
 
DASHlT said:
Sounds like you already made up your mind.

If not I would get a 7970 1ghz. and if AMD isnt your thing, get a 680 GTX. MSI Lightning IMO.
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I had my eye on it originally but I have this urge to help my buddy out, I don't know if anyone else around his area will want or need a card like this.

I got the price down to 400 :cool:
 
Sowexly said:
I had my eye on it originally but I have this urge to help my buddy out, I don't know if anyone else around his area will want or need a card like this.

I got the price down to 400 :cool:
Click to expand...

Even $400 is a pretty good deal. Specially since you can pay it in payments.

I would say go for it....still not a bad price. It's like getting 2 480 gtx's for $400, which I basically did (well i got 3 so thats $600, but you get the idea)
 
the real question is what res will u be running and what price you can get the card for. then it depends on if the dual gpu 590 is going to be faster than any single/double card combo you can get for the same price. if so then boom! get the 590
 
i would take a single fast card over a dual card setup anyway , get a 7970 and overclock it . . 25 or so less get a evga 670 and it still kicks ass . . go newer
 
the_real_7 said:
i would take a single fast card over a dual card setup anyway , get a 7970 and overclock it . . 25 or so less get a evga 670 and it still kicks ass . . go newer
Click to expand...
Yeah that's what the back of my head keeps telling me but I don't know if I'll be happy with a single card anyway I always want crazy good performance.

Assuming the 590 is twice as fast as my current setup I know I would be happy with it and I think that is a good thing for less space and a free waterblock.
 
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If you plan to overclock the 7970 then you'd get better or equal performance as the 590 and it'll sip far less power doing it without the worry of SLi profiles.

Get the 7970, imo.
 
Anyone who owns the 590 Hydro Copper who could add to this discussion?
If I wanted to save cash I would grab a used 6950/6970 for an easy upgrade.
 
pelo said:
If you plan to overclock the 7970 then you'd get better or equal performance as the 590 and it'll sip far less power doing it without the worry of SLi profiles.

Get the 7970, imo.
Click to expand...

Further, you get the same performance for twice the power. See here (average graph = Maxed Crysis 2):

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GeForce_GTX_680_Direct_Cu_II/26.html

alNGc.gif


Those numbers are not "at the wall" system power measurements, they are the power consumption of the card itself. If you go with the GTX 590, I just hope you don't mind you video card sucking down over 300w :D
 
Sowexly said:
Anyone have some fancy charts showing me how well the 7970 does while OC'd?
Click to expand...

Sure thing.

This is the 7970 GHz edition (in green, clocked at 1050 MHz). Stock 7970 speed (in blue) is 925 MHz:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_7970_GHz_Edition/28.html

xQgtT.gif


Every review I've seen has shown the stock 7970 can go AT LEAST that high at stock volts, and can usually top 1100-1200 MHz with a voltage tweak. If you get it above 1100 it will meet or exceed the GTX 590 in everything.

HardOCP also has their own overclocking review for the 7970, where they pushed the card to the limits:

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/04/10/sapphire_hd_7970_oc_edition_video_card_review/3

They pushed the core speed to 1150 on stock voltage and 1280 with higher voltage.
 
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A 7970 Overclocked versus a GTX 680 overclocked..... I think we know the GTX 680 is better there. GTX 670 with its OC headroom is better than a 7970 IMO but it really depends which is offered cheapest. So go with what is offered cheapest since you most likely won't notice a difference gaming on them 1920x1200 and lower. What resolution will you be gaming at? It will make a diference in some configurations. Liquid cooling is not going to help you price/performance wise. It never has to my knowledge.
 
I'll be gaming on my FW900 so likely 1920x1200 but I sometimes put it to 2304x1440
The lighting GTX 680 is stupid expensive so that's out of the question
 
Sowexly said:
So everyone thinks I would be better off with a 7970 Lighting eh?
Click to expand...

Doubtful you will notice a difference either way, they are pretty close. Of course a single card solution is generally better, but no one NEEDS these cards. Its about having fun, and if you want to get one and play with some watercooling, then I would do it.

Too many people are obsessed with min/maxing out their performance (and I have been guilty of this also) when honestly once they start playing a game they wouldn't see the difference. The whole debate between the 670/680/7950/7970 cards is actually very nitpicking. If you think you will have fun playing around watercooling that 590, then do it. It might not be the best performance for the dollar, but there is more to it than that. And if you want to help out your buddy by buying it thats another reason to give it some consideration.
 
DaedalusHelios said:
A 7970 Overclocked versus a GTX 680 overclocked..... I think we know the GTX 680 is better there. GTX 670 with its OC headroom is better than a 7970 IMO but it really depends which is offered cheapest. So go with what is offered cheapest since you most likely won't notice a difference gaming on them 1920x1200 and lower. What resolution will you be gaming at? It will make a diference in some configurations. Liquid cooling is not going to help you price/performance wise. It never has to my knowledge.
Click to expand...

There is no clear winner this generation. These cards trade blows depending on games and it would be wiser to see the games you play most and then decide. Across a wide range of games HD 7970 wins more games against GTX 680 when both are at their max overclocks. price perf is definitely with AMD. You can get a HD 7970 Ghz for USD 440 - 450. these cards easily run at 1250 Mhz with voltage tweaking

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/02/08/gigabyte_radeon_hd_7970_oc_video_card_review/3
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/04/10/sapphire_hd_7970_oc_edition_video_card_review/3

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125413
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202001

IMO get the Sapphire HD 7970 Vapor-X. uses the same cooler found on the HD 7970 Toxic. 8 phase power design. new vapor-x cooler. good choice of display connectors - dual link DVI, DVI, HDMI, displayport

http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/product/?cid=1&gid=3&sgid=1157&pid=1679&psn=&lid=1&leg=0
 
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raghu78 said:
There is no clear winner this generation. These cards trade blows depending on games and it would be wiser to see the games you play most and then decide. Across a wide range of games HD 7970 wins more games against GTX 680 when both are at their max overclocks. price perf is definitely with AMD. You can get a HD 7970 Ghz for USD 440 - 450. these cards easily run at 1250 Mhz with voltage tweaking

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/02/08/gigabyte_radeon_hd_7970_oc_video_card_review/3
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/04/10/sapphire_hd_7970_oc_edition_video_card_review/3

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125413
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202001

IMO get the Sapphire HD 7970 Vapor-X. uses the same cooler found on the HD 7970 Toxic. 8 phase power design. new vapor-x cooler. good choice of display connectors - dual link DVI, DVI, HDMI, displayport

http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/product/?cid=1&gid=3&sgid=1157&pid=1679&psn=&lid=1&leg=0
Click to expand...

Honestly the games I play do lean in the Nvidia direction. I do use games that use PhysX so I have a need for at least one Nvidia card in my system. I also have badaboom for easy converting which uses cuda. I suppose it doesn't have to be a primary card to run hacked physX.

I thought GTX 680 was a clear winner for me but I wouldn't know first hand as I use previous generation cards right now anyway.
 
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