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AMD 7970 of GTX 680, Who is King?

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7970 vs GTX 680 - Who is the real KING? UPDATE: 7970 ~8% better clock per clock

97K views 678 replies 195 participants last post by  pioneerisloud 
#1 ·
Ok , lets see some overclocking performance!
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277

3DMark 11 - L2N Results, GTX 680 vs AMD 7970 - Performance Setting

First Corner: AMD

Intel i7 3960x @ 5.2 ghz
MSI 7970 @ 1800 Mhz
4Gb DDR3 @ 2314 Mhz

Score: P15035

Link

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Second Corner: Nvidia

Intel i7 3930k @ 5.5 ghz
EVGA GTX 680 @ 1842 Mhz
4 Gb DDR3 @ 2400 Mhz

Score: P14912

Link

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WINNER : AMD

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Not only is the Nvidia GPU clocked higher, so is the memory, and the CPU clock. Despite these advantages, the 7970 manages to squeeze out a higher score!

EDIT: The GTX 680 actually turbos to 1110 Mhz, so this is the stock clock used when comparing to a 925 Mhz 7970. Clock per clock is a completely different ball game, and it is important to note because these cards are designed to overclock.

UPDATE: Check here you can see that an overclocked 7970 gets very close and usually passes an overclocked gtx 680 in performance. VR Zone giving the GTX 680 a worse score (8.5, vs 9.0) than the AMD 7970, even given its lower price. Keep in mind the GTX 680 still has a 4.3% OC limit advantage in this specific benchmark. (GTX 680 @ 1335/1800 Mhz AMD 7970 @ 1280/1860 Mhz).

http://www.overclock.net/content/type/61/id/794464/width/600/height/454/flags/
454
No Clear Winner....

source: Xbit Labs

QUOTE:

And finally we can compare the performance boost each card gets from overclocking. It's clear the AMD Radeon HD 7970 benefits more from overclocking in nearly every test both in 1920x1080 and in 2560x1600.

source

Also seen here, we can see overclocked performance is pretty much a tie! Note the GTX 680 is at 1300+ Mhz, while the 7970 is only at 1125 mhz

This is from techpowerUP

700

As seen here, we can see across all resolutions the 7970 @ 925 / 1375 Mhz vs GTX 680 @ 1058 / 1502 Mhz we only see a +6% difference. Note to get to the clocks of the 680, the 7970 will have to be overclocked +14.4%/+9.2% for clock/memory.

source

Now compare these TWO reviews from OCC. they are using identical hardware, and most tests are identical. Watch the 7970 @ 1235/1730 Mhz wipe the floor with the GTX 680 @ 1305/1563 Mhz IN EVERY SINGLE TEST. (Well almost heh)

source 1 - gtx 680 OC

source 2 - 7970 OC

So who really is the Clear winner? Clock per clock the battle gets really close, and maximum overclocks are very close as well.. I dont see why so many review sites jumped the gun to say its the clear victor, when the stock clocks are so high when compared to the 7970. If for instance, Sapphire does release their 1335 Mhz 7970 (here), this would be the victor just based off its clocks alone. With this in mind, there isnt a clear winner.

EDIT: Clock per clock comparison from Pro Nvidia OBR

700

source

HE ACTUALLY MADE A MISTAKE IT LOOKS LIKE THE 7970 IS ~8.0% BETTER ON AVERAGE CLOCK PER CLOCK, NOT 1.8%, I DID THE MATH AVERAGING MY SELF! DO IT TO CONFIRM!

WINNER: AMD

http://AMDFX.blogspot.com
 
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#4 ·
Great research on this data but it may be a little to early to compare on release day! I feel they will be neck and neck in overclocking!

BTW, Why do you have my wife as your AVATAR!!!!!!
 
#6 ·
The GTX 680 is still a very impressive card. But from my stand point, they 7970 and 680 are almost neck and neck in many bench marks with the 680 having a lead of MAYBE 5-8% (still not bad though).

All I care about is this:

How well does the GTX 680 fold?
 
#11 ·
The top 680 GTX graphics score is about 30 points above the top 7970 graphics score as of right now. It's interesting how close these are clock for clock.
 
#13 ·
It will be a big fiasco when the 7990 is released in 1-2 weeks, with up to +100% performance of the gtx 680. I actually thought the gtx 680s performance would be higher than what it is. Nvidia's turbo boost is just better to 1058 mhz+. And apparently it continues to work even when you oc your GPU to high mhz, so most ocing benchmarks dont put this into consideration. If you can somehow disable turbo boost and run the gtx 680 at the exact same clocks as a stock 7970, the difference in performance between them will vanish (averaged).
 
#14 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by polyzp View Post

yes but the highest gtx 680 oc is higher than the highest 7970 oc
rolleyes.gif
Yeah I like both cards quite a bit. For the same price I think it's a toss up. As they are priced currently though the 680 is most definitely the better buy.
 
#15 ·
Nvidia's drivers/features/software are far superior and more feature rich.
They run smoother and have next to no issues.

Very much excited to see the GTX 680's 2560 X 1600 performance.
 
#17 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by amstech View Post

Nvidia's drivers/features/software are far superior and more feature rich.
They run smoother and have next to no issues.
Very much excited to see the GTX 680's 2560 X 1600 performance.
According to Tech Power Up the 7970 is 2% slower at 1600p.

With AMD's better support for SSAA alone I don't think I'd agree with you on Nvidia having better driver features. Stability though for sure has always favored Nvidia. (Although ATI stability issues are often overstated)
 
#18 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by jtom320 View Post

Yeah I like both cards quite a bit. For the same price I think it's a toss up. As they are priced currently though the 680 is most definitely the better buy.
I agree with this! Nvidia pretty much had to price it accordingly. Only when there is an obvious winner can you charge that extra amount. Look at 6970 vs gtx 580 for example. This card is more like the gtx 570, they will release a GTX 685 within 2 months, and the GTX 695 (Dual GTX 680) a few months after that. But AMD is 3 months ahead of the game right now. The long wait isnt justified by the performance of the gtx 680, but by the price!
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#25 ·
I'm no fan boy for either camp and came from a GTX 590 to 2x 7970s. The only reason being that I wanted more horsepower and there was no other choice at the time.

I had every intention of switching to the GTX 680 upon release and even jumped the gun and advertised my cards.

However after seeing the genuine benchmarks I can honestly say that it appears these cards are as close to identical in terms of power as I think you can get.

They're both exceptional. However I don't think you can ignore the fact that the 680 is clocked at 1050+ while the 7970 is at 925 so when the 680 is 'just edging the 7970' that is why!

At the end of the day it really comes down to the performance of each card when they're completely maxed out if you care that much about a victor.
 
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#26 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Smo View Post

I'm no fan boy for either camp and came from a GTX 590 to 2x 7970s. The only reason being that I wanted more horsepower and there was no other choice at the time.
I had every intention of switching to the GTX 680 upon release and even jumped the gun and advertised my cards.
However after seeing the genuine benchmarks I can honestly say that it appears these cards are as close to identical in terms of power as I think you can get.
They're both exceptional. However I don't think you can ignore the fact that the 680 is clocked at 1050+ while the 7970 is at 925 so when the 680 is 'just edging the 7970' that is why!
At the end of the day it really comes down to the performance of each card when they're completely maxed out if you care that much about a victor.
Exactly
 
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