Which HD7950?

Hi people,

As it stands i've ordered my rig but the original gfx card i picked being the sapphire below but it is out of stock for 2+ weeks so i'm trying to come to a decision as to whether i wait it out or change the card one of the other two alternatives below.

I have searched around the forums looking for the answer for what people think is the better 7950 card but i'm unable to see a clear winner. However the MSI and Gigabyte seemed to trend along with the Sapphire.

- The price difference between them is negligible but i've very picky when it comes to getting the best from the money i'm spending.

3GB Sapphire Vapor-X OC - This one i have currently got on order.
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/3gb-s...es-dp-dvi-hdmi

3GB MSI Twin Frozr V2/OC
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/3gb-m...cores-hdmi-mdp

3GB Gigabyte Windforce 3X
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/3gb-g...-i-hdmi-2x-min


If anyone has an input please post, i'm sure we'll find after enough posts there might be a trend which will help to make up my mind :)

Performance wise there won't be much in it at stock but there are cases of voltage locking being applied to to recent Gigabyte and Sapphire models to reduce overclocking potential.


Gigabyte have a UK RMA base with 2 day turnaround : http://forums.hexus.net/graphics-car...ml#post2680241

I've never yet had to RMA with MSI, but have used Sapphire previously and it took almost 7 weeks to resolve.

Been reading alot about the 7950 now and i'm put off buying it altogether, although the frame rates may be higher it isn't anywhere near as smooth as a 660ti :/

I'd go for the ASUS - http://www.scan.co.uk/products/3gb-a...dmi-2x-mini-dp

Dabs have the Vapor-X for same price as scan. They expect to recieve the stock within 5 working days of your order so might halve the wait compared to scan.
http://www.dabs.com/products/sapphir...81770000&src=3

With the latency that techreport show I believe some of the earlier reviews on different drivers show a different story but it also depends on how sensitive you are to latency as well as how technically good the card and drivers are.

If you do not want a 7950 HD I would think about steping down the ladder and get a GTX 660 instead of a GTX660 Ti and then upgrade earlier than you would have with a GTX 660 Ti. The GTX 660 Ti to me does not seem worth the extra money over the GTX 660 for 1920x1080 resolution I am guessing your at.

I have the msi 7950 it is a great card, but if I was you I would go for gigabyte as there RMA is in the UK and it is great, they also have better cooling then the msi card so you can overclock more. The gigabyte card is the best and the sapphire card is the worst, imo.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by arora

Been reading alot about the 7950 now and i'm put off buying it altogether, although the frame rates may be higher it isn't anywhere near as smooth as a 660ti :/

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With the new amd catalyst drivers 13.1 whql release now as smooth or even better! :rockon:

I'd go for gigabyte 7950. its performance is higher than msi besides RMA service.
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum...-review-5.html

I got the windforce from novatech last week as scan didn't have it in stock, not tested it yet but the reviews say it should overclock like a beast

the vouchers for the free games wasn't included (MoH isn't free anyway, 20% off) so I emailed them and received then the next day with a voucher for Dirt Showdown!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fatguy666

I got the windforce from novatech last week as scan didn't have it in stock, not tested it yet but the reviews say it should overclock like a beast

the vouchers for the free games wasn't included (MoH isn't free anyway, 20% off) so I emailed them and received then the next day with a voucher for Dirt Showdown!

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Latest bunch are voltage locked so don't clock much past stock, interesting to see how you get on.

I have two different Cards (separate Systems) both are equally as good as the other.

The card i mainly use is the HIS HD 7950 IceQ Boost, the scond is the MSI TwinFrozr you mentioned, i am happy with both....the reason why i have the MSI and not two HIS is that the Second PC is a small case, and the MSI Just fits, where as the HIS is a huge beast and stood no chance.

Also something to consider, as they are huge.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Macadee

Latest bunch are voltage locked so don't clock much past stock, interesting to see how you get on.

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Installed the F43 BIOS and that's unlocked the voltage, had to uninstall all the drivers and stuff though to get it to work which turned out to be a frigging nightmare!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fatguy666

Installed the F43 BIOS and that's unlocked the voltage, had to uninstall all the drivers and stuff though to get it to work which turned out to be a frigging nightmare!

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Thats good to know, I had read somewhere that the dies were now laser cut - so they were hardware locked instead of software locked.