MSI HD 7950 Twin Frozr III OC V2 vs Sapphire HD 7950 Vapor-X OC

[Colquhoun]

Upgrading from a Gigabyte 560 Ti 1GB and I've decided to go for one of these 7950s over a 660 Ti. I just need to decide which one...

MSI HD 7950 Twin Frozr III OC V2 vs Sapphire HD 7950 Vapor-X OC.

The MSI is about £13 more than the Sapphire, but it has a 3 year warranty vs 2 years for the Sapphire.

Anyone used either of these cards?

How do they compare against each other in terms of performance/noise/temps?

Which would OC better?

[Willzzz]

The Sapphire is better in every way imo apart from the warranty. It is a more recent design, MSI have also moved on since then but not released an updated 7950.

You've posted the links yourself, just read them. Although bear in mind that conditions aren't identical between the two reviews.

Overclocks will of course vary from card to card, while Hexus got the MSI to 1170mhz, techpowerup only got the same card to 1020mhz.

[Colquhoun]

Hmm, this noise comparison between five 7950s makes the decision harder, the ASUS is so quiet...

I'm leaning towards the Sapphire so far, but now going to check out the Asus

[Willzzz]

That isn't the Vapor-X version on that page you realise?

The Vapor-X is the same noise level as an Asus 670 which is normally quieter than a 7950.

[Colquhoun]

Oh yeah... can't believe I missed that.

Thinking about the HIS IceQ now, quieter and better for warranty than Sapphire going by what I've heard.

[Willzzz]

There are many good 7950s, it all comes down to price at the end of the day. The Sapphire at £240 is currently a bargain imo, the HIS is £20 extra the choice is basically how much you value the extra warranty.

From the data I can see I would expect the Vapor-X to be quieter than the HIS.
The old sapphire is only slightly behind (0.7db) on your link, but according to Hexus the new cooler is 1.5db quieter.

Both should be pretty silent in a good quality case.