Help recommending a 7950 or 7970

[Jon55]

So I'm finally going to pick up a 79XX series card, but I'm considering whether or not I should go the 7950 or 7970 route, and which manufacturer to go with. In the past I've always like XFX. It'd be mainly used for gaming of course, and although I'm currently only using a 1080p Samsung TV as a monitor, I do plan on picking up a much high res monitor in the future (and I like maxing out as many settings as possible).

I'm considering whether or no to go with a basic 7970 or a "deluxe" 7950 (such as the Sapphire 7950 that has two fans and apparently OC's like crazy). But then even with OC'ing the 7950 will never have the shader count or memory bus that the 7970 has, so I'm torn. It's apparently like a $60 difference.

 

[xBanzai89]

Whats $60 when you're nearly spending $500 already?

 

[heatthegreat]

Never understood wanting to buy a high end card while penching pennies at the same time. If you're going to spend that much, go for the best. It sounds like you want a 7970, considering your concerned about a deluxe 7950( which can probably reach the speed of a stock 7970) and lack of shader count and memory bus ( which a 7970 already has ).. Just get a 7970 and have fun

 

[Jon55]

You guys make a good point, and I agree. From what I understand, the 7950 OC's very very well, and there are several non-reference cards available now. I'm having trouble finding any non-reference 7970s in stock at all.

It's not necessarily the money I'm concerned about, it's more of a "do I go with a basic reference 7970 that's currently marked up in price or a "deluxe" 7950 (such as the Sapphire 7950 that has two fans and apparently OC's like crazy) which is in stock now from a number of different manufacturers."

 

[Forceman]

Why not just wait for a basic 7970 at a normal price? But even $60 is only 15% or so, and the performance difference is more than that. The 7950 is not a good buy.

 

[Jon55]

Why not just wait for a basic 7970 at a normal price? But even $60 is only 15% or so, and the performance difference is more than that. The 7950 is not a good buy.

Interesting. How so?

I also was looking to get the card within the next week, and I have doubts that the non-reference 7970s will be back in stock anytime soon (I believe they've been out of stock for a while now).

 

[biggles]

First of all, I am predicting the 7950 price will drop before the 7970 does. Specifically, I think it will drop below $400 for the base model within a month. There is not a lot of enthusiasm for the 7950 based on forum threads here and elsewhere. If you think I might be right and select the 7950, might want to wait a bit.

Anyway, when deciding between the 7950 and 7970 I do not think you would go wrong either way. Both are very good cards. The 7950 is a little less card for a little less money.

I also like the Sapphire 7950 with dual fans, and that is the one I would get if buying one today.

 

[Kaynar]

Whats $60 when you're nearly spending $500 already?

This.

 

[cannondale06]

well since no one has asked and you have no sig can you please tell us the full details of your current pc?

 

[K1tty]

I'd say either go reference 7970 or "reference" 7950. From testing the Asus 7950 ($450 card) I don't see how there would be any benefit to having a negligibly better cooler. The card stays very cool with the stock fan (70c max I've seen) and I've gotten clocks up to 1150 core on the maximum voltage allowed by GPU-Tweak.

 

[ThisMonsterLives]

I went with the cheaper 7950 since I figured I would replace it within 6 months anyway.

 

[2wiced]

Cheaper? Do you mean you went with the stock version?

 

[magoo]

You need to decide not based on money, but performance.

If you are planning on getting a 30" monitor in the near future, then you will need all the muscle you can buy to push it.

That's where the 7970 will see excellent use.

you may squeek by with a 7950 with a smaller monitor.

the only benefit the non-reference models show at this point are less fan noise.

I have two reference MSI 7970 and they are beasts. Both have clocked over 1150 on stock voltages and are rock solid gaming in 24" Eyefinity. They are out performing my previous setup of a 6990 and a 6970 in crossfire.

Swing for the fence.

 

[Neon01]

If you're just buying one, I think the 7970 is pretty compelling. It's a somewhat substantial performance bump, it's not that much more money, and it has a better/more effective cooling setup.

If you're going for crossfire, on the other hand, the decision gets a little tougher.

edit: whoops, looks like you made your decision, so disregard my post. I'm sure you'll be really happy with it.

 

[Jon55]

well since no one has asked and you have no sig can you please tell us the full details of your current pc?

Knew I forgot something in my original post. A quick breakdown:

i5 2500K
ASUS Z68 mobo
8GB DDR3
6950 2GB (which I will be selling to a friend)
Antec Earthwatts 750
Corsair 600T
An SSD and a few HDDs

I'd say either go reference 7970 or "reference" 7950. From testing the Asus 7950 ($450 card) I don't see how there would be any benefit to having a negligibly better cooler. The card stays very cool with the stock fan (70c max I've seen) and I've gotten clocks up to 1150 core on the maximum voltage allowed by GPU-Tweak.

I'm curious why people keep suggesting reference cards. From what I've seen (and forgive my ignorance if I'm wrong) reference cards are usually more expensive than non-reference cards, and come with "worse" cooling solutions (I say worse, but really I'm just assuming a non-reference GPU would have something equal or better than a stock reference cooler). So to me it just looks like reference cards are kind of a novelty.

You need to decide not based on money, but performance.

If you are planning on getting a 30" monitor in the near future, then you will need all the muscle you can buy to push it.

That's where the 7970 will see excellent use.

you may squeek by with a 7950 with a smaller monitor.

the only benefit the non-reference models show at this point are less fan noise.

I have two reference MSI 7970 and they are beasts. Both have clocked over 1150 on stock voltages and are rock solid gaming in 24" Eyefinity. They are out performing my previous setup of a 6990 and a 6970 in crossfire.

Swing for the fence.

Good point. I'm not entirely sure what kind of monitor I'll be picking up, but I want something better than lowly 1080p. As far as reference/non-reference goes, so far I've found that non-reference cards not only have better cooling solutions, but are typically cheaper too (see my above reply to K1tty).

First of all, I am predicting the 7950 price will drop before the 7970 does. Specifically, I think it will drop below $400 for the base model within a month. There is not a lot of enthusiasm for the 7950 based on forum threads here and elsewhere. If you think I might be right and select the 7950, might want to wait a bit.

Anyway, when deciding between the 7950 and 7970 I do not think you would go wrong either way. Both are very good cards. The 7950 is a little less card for a little less money.

I also like the Sapphire 7950 with dual fans, and that is the one I would get if buying one today.

Interesting. Is it generally expected/recognized that the 7950s will drop in price within a month?

edit: whoops, looks like you made your decision, so disregard my post. I'm sure you'll be really happy with it.

Hm? I haven't said I made a decision yet. I still welcome any input

 

[Forceman]

I'm curious why people keep suggesting reference cards. From what I've seen (and forgive my ignorance if I'm wrong) reference cards are usually more expensive than non-reference cards, and come with "worse" cooling solutions (I say worse, but really I'm just assuming a non-reference GPU would have something equal or better than a stock reference cooler). So to me it just looks like reference cards are kind of a novelty.

The reference cards (on Newegg) are either $549 or $559, while the cheapest non-reference is the EVGA at $579, then $599 and $609. I'm not sure why you would think the non-reference cards would be cheaper. As for performance, I'd say it depends on the design of the card - normally they run cooler, but they don't always perform any better. A lot of people complained about the XFX DD cards, for example, and with non-reference cards you have to deal with issues of them being larger (slot-wise) and dumping the hot air inside the case instead of outside. So there are trade-offs either way.