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[xbit labs] MSI lightning 7970OC vs GTX 680 DC2 TOP OC head to head - Page 14

post #131 of 137
6/18/12 at 7:52am
Thread Starter 
As an aside I must say I really, really hate AMD's reference fan - it is unchanged from the fan used on the cayman I believe -- Its too bad they didn't change it on this supposed GHz version. I wouldn't say 1200+ is representative for a typical 7970 OC on a reference fan on the original (925mhz) model unless you used an insanely high manual fan curve, and even then it would sound like a jet taking off. I really hope AMD looks into improving that a LOT because the 680 ref fan is hands down better.....

edit: I mean in the context of overclocking, both fans are quiet on auto settings but for overclocking you'll want to use high manual fan curves obviously. And the 680 fan is better at high manual settings.
Edited by xoleras - 6/18/12 at 7:54am
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post #132 of 137
6/18/12 at 8:42am
The amd reference fan is awful dude. It should be an easy fix to. It's too bad because amd reference cards are the best looking cards out there imo. Although I am also a really big fan of the 670/680 evga sig model.
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post #133 of 137
6/18/12 at 8:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by xoleras View Post

As an aside I must say I really, really hate AMD's reference fan - it is unchanged from the fan used on the cayman I believe -- Its too bad they didn't change it on this supposed GHz version. I wouldn't say 1200+ is representative for a typical 7970 OC on a reference fan on the original (925mhz) model unless you used an insanely high manual fan curve, and even then it would sound like a jet taking off. I really hope AMD looks into improving that a LOT because the 680 ref fan is hands down better.....
edit: I mean in the context of overclocking, both fans are quiet on auto settings but for overclocking you'll want to use high manual fan curves obviously. And the 680 fan is better at high manual settings.

They did improve it:
Quote:
Originally Posted by AnandTech 
AMD has made some changes to the shrouding to improve cooling, they haven’t stopped there. The blower has also been tweaked slightly compared to what we’ve seen on the 6970. The 7970’s blower is a bit larger (~75mm) and the fins are slightly larger to make use of that space. Overall this should improve the amount of air moved at speeds similar to the blower on the 6970, though AMD didn’t provide any numbers.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5261/amd-radeon-hd-7970-review/14

I'm not sure it's any worse or better than the 680 fan. AMD just runs a more aggressive fan curve.
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post #134 of 137
6/18/12 at 2:32pm
Quote:
Personally, I'm a little upset that Nvidia opted to use 2GB of memory as the standard, when it's clearly not enough in the scenarios where the power of the card is needed most, such as 1440p/1600p/5760x1080/etc. I've got 3 7970s and 4 680s sitting here, and I'm actually selling the 680s instead of the 7970s, lol.

Ye that, I am really annoyed they went with 2gb aswell.

I really want to get the msi power edition 670 over the 7970 atm, but the 2gb is holding me back.

Not because I am on of those vram naysayers that think you need like 8gb for all the aa, but because I am coming from a 6970 which I have had for almost 2 years.
I am having a hard time justifying paying almost £400 on a card 2 years after my current card and for it to have the same vram.
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post #135 of 137
6/18/12 at 4:20pm
The majority of people use just a single monitor, where 2Gb memory is fine.
They may well make a 680 lightning extreme or something with 4Gb, although personally I'd rather have the 2Gb.
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post #136 of 137
6/18/12 at 4:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by FtW 420 View Post

The majority of people use just a single monitor, where 2Gb memory is fine.
They may well make a 680 lightning extreme or something with 4Gb, although personally I'd rather have the 2Gb.

At 1080p I agree with you. Anything above that requires larger amounts of VRAM if you want to truly max everything. Well maybe not 1200p. Let's go with 1440p and up.
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post #137 of 137
6/18/12 at 10:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by FtW 420 View Post

The majority of people use just a single monitor, where 2Gb memory is fine.
They may well make a 680 lightning extreme or something with 4Gb, although personally I'd rather have the 2Gb.

As I said 2gb is "fine" but I am a bit bitter towards paying £360 2 years later after my 6970 to get the same vram.
Especially since how cheap gpu's were back a few years ago, I got my 6970 brand new for £230.
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