Sapphire 7870 XT or a HIS/Gigabyte/Vapor-X 7950?

[rails]

Hey guys,
the fan on my radeon 4890 is busting up - think its the ball bearings on the stock fan. Making a loud noise. It's still a good card but instead of paying for a replacement cooler for the card, I thought I might shop for a new one.
I'm looking for some suggestions and comments on the cards AND also on retailers...

First option is the Sapphire 7870 XT or Gigabyte 7870 OC. 7870 XT is Tahiti LE but not sure if it's worth it. Plus. Gigabyte has RMA in UK. Potential problems Ive heard about Gigabyte 7870 is that the current makes (this year) are voltage locked and have coil whine problems in general. (though I think if you google coil whine and any card, youll probably read something with all cards)

Other option is the 7950
-Gigabyte 7950 Windforce
-Sapphire 7950 Vapor-X
-HIS Iceq 2x 7950 (never tried HIS but I hear they are solid cards. Only pixmania sells them)

Considering Gigabyte cause of UK RMA option. (Sapphire has no decent UK support so it's dependent on the vendor... more on that later). Heard that this model might also be voltage locked with current releases.

The Vapor X - good card but I heard the VRM overheats due to a design fault. Also, it only has 1 displayport instead of 2x mini displayport.

Vendors in UK: I would prefer to get my stuff from Amazon due to better support. But they don't do Never Settle Reloaded free game vouchers.

These retailers do games vouchers:
Novatech (never tried them. googled reviews on their support and its a mixed bag)
Pixmania (again mixed bag on support...quite a few negatives 2+ years ago)
Dabs (seems to have more positive reviews out of these 3)
Ebuyer (I would pick them but they only do Gigabyte 7950 with free games out of my list of choices)
(skipping Scan because they are out of stock or more expensive than the others)

So..I guess basically, do I go for Amazon on what I know is great support but no free games (I would really like bioshock inf) or bite the bullet and try one of these retailers for the free games?

Would love to hear back.
Thanks!

[Willzzz]

Dabs are fantastic, Ebuyer are perfectly good too.

[grayg1]

www.overclockers.co.uk also sell HIS cards

[dacads]

aria & cclonline are also good, out of those cards my recommendation would be the Gigabyte 7950 Windforce

[rails]

www.overclockers.co.uk also sell HIS cards

Yeah I noticed...but they seem to be pricier.

[rails]

Thanks dacads.
Any other thoughts on the cards? Also been hearing a bit about Asus DirectCUII 7870....good build so good OC ability apparently.
I still can't decide......... and also whether I should get it with the never settle reloaded offers

[chaotic_russ]

Yeah I noticed...but they seem to be pricier.

since they were taken over they are

[rails]

How can I tell if the gigabyte 7950 wf is voltage locked? I heard some are and some aren't.

And anyone have any feedback on HIS iceq x2 7950?

[flearider]

me i'd stick with sapphire .. mainly cause i only ever had one problem and was sorted in a few weeks with a card upgrade .. and 7950 .. nothing less ..you'll get a bf4 code soon

[rails]

me i'd stick with sapphire .. mainly cause i only ever had one problem and was sorted in a few weeks with a card upgrade .. and 7950 .. nothing less ..you'll get a bf4 code soon

you mean you got the card upgrade given by sapphire or you upgraded your card?
and what do you mean I'll get a bf4 code? from?

[kalniel]

you mean you got the card upgrade given by sapphire or you upgraded your card?
and what do you mean I'll get a bf4 code? from?

It's possible, quite likely even, that when BF4 is released AMD will include it in the never settle promotion.

[Willzzz]

BF4 will be part of a future AMD games bundle.

[dacads]

OCUK tend to be pricier but their CS is great

[kalniel]

OCUK tend to be pricier but their CS is great

[rails]

Does that mean I should wait? I thought it would be a good time to get cards now since this is the 2nd never settle promotion and stocks are running low already on these vouchers.

I think I'm settling on 7870. The savings from not getting 7950 would go towards an earlie upgrade in future. I'd like to get the HIS Iceq X turbo x 7870 but no one sells it. only the regular iceq turbo version. sigh.

[Willzzz]

Wait, why would you buy a non XT 7870?