Sapphire HD7950 Boost Edition or Gigabyte HD7870 OC Edition?

Pesmerga

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Jun 12, 2013
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So I'm trying to build a new gaming PC and I'm not sure yet about the graphic card. The 7950 seems better but I didn't manage to find a lot of reviews about it. Also, the difference between them is around 50 euros so quite substantial. I'm mainly looking forward to play Total War: Rome II at least on high settings.

About overclocking, I'm not really comfortable with it since I'm certainly no expert.. but if I can overclock without any risks, voltage tweaking and such, I might consider it.

Links to the cards for specific details:

Sapphire - http://www.computeruniverse.net/en/products/90499046/sapphire-hd7950-3gb-ddr5.asp
Gigabyte - http://www.computeruniverse.net/en/products/90455462/gigabyte-radeon-hd7870-oc-edition.asp

Thanks
 
The 7950 is a much faster cards, but I guess it would depend if it was 50 euro worth faster to you. I don't believe Total War will be very GPU intensive, and looking at the specs it seems very much more CPU intensive as most strategy games are.

What other games will you be playing? If the answer is none, even a cheaper 7850 could most likely max out that game.
 
not sure about other games yet but the Witcher 3 for sure when it comes out.. although it might be a while :p was also thinking about getting the 7870 and making it Crossfire in the future if I need to, since one is probably enough for Rome II

since it's CPU intensive you think it will make a lot of difference if I get and i5 instead of an i7? again there's around a 100 euros difference :/

was thinking about posting the PC I want to build but I didn't find the right forum haha
 
Thanks for the link! probably a stupid question but 2x OCed 7870 would be better than a single 7970 right?
 
Yes, but the single fastest GPU you can get is usually the better choice as you avoid a whole range of issues from heat to driver problems with multiple GPU setups. Personally I have not had much issue with CF/SLI, but many people have and it is better to avoid unless you have no other choice.
 
Thanks for the link! probably a stupid question but 2x OCed 7870 would be better than a single 7970 right?

Faster? Yes. But with crossfire issues, you may want to stay away. But there are others who are completely satisfied with their crossfire setup who can chime in. Basically, there are some frametime issues with the setup that gives the perception of stuttering. So you'll be technically getting a faster framerate, but it won't feel any smoother than single card gaming (so I've read/heard). There are ways to get around it, and it's all above my experience level because I've never used a dual-GPU setup before.
 
I have 7970 cfx and would not recommend right now, too many issues to even get into. However, a single 7950 like the one you are looking at is a great way to go. Amd is supposedly working on some vastly improved cfx drivers right now, so could be an option in the near future.
 
Thanks for the feedback guys :) I'll probably buy this in July/August so I'll base my decision on prices then although the 7950 seems to be the better choice. Thanks again!
 
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