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Refund from RMA (6950) what to buy now?

1K views 36 replies 13 participants last post by  king8654 
#1 ·
Yo guys, just got mail that I will recieve a full refund for my 6950 which I RMAed because of coil whine. I could just jump right in and buy a 7950, but I'm not 100% sure. And if I wait for 8000 series I'll be without a GPU a while.

Opinions?
 
#5 ·
OP the HD 7950 is a performance beast. clock for clock HD 7950 is 5% slower than HD 7970. HD 7950 can be easily overclocked to 1.1 Ghz with voltge tweaking. At those clocks HD 7950 matches HD 7970 Ghz and will be close to twice the performance of HD 6950 . especially in the latest demanding DX11 games like BF3, Farcry 3. also if you can get it with 3 free games its even more awesome.
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#6 ·
I'd go with the 7950. 8000 will be better, but it will probably be awhile with no GPU.
 
#9 ·
That is good to here!

Is there any 7950 with a backplate though? I loved the backplate on my reference 6950.
 
#10 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stefy View Post

That is good to here!
Is there any 7950 with a backplate though? I loved the backplate on my reference 6950.
I'm not too sure but usually backplates are more common on the top-tier cards (e.g. 7970)
 
#11 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by raghu78 View Post

OP the HD 7950 is a performance beast. clock for clock HD 7950 is 5% slower than HD 7970. HD 7950 can be easily overclocked to 1.1 Ghz with voltge tweaking. At those clocks HD 7950 matches HD 7970 Ghz and will be close to twice the performance of HD 6950 . especially in the latest demanding DX11 games like BF3, Farcry 3. also if you can get it with 3 free games its even more awesome.
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I owned a 7950 and a 7970. Highest score I got with the 7950 on unigine was approx 1050 at 1250/1600. I got 1400 with the 7970 clocked to 1230/1500... and my 7970 is a very very poor clocker. This is far from being 5% difference. Hell, the 7970 is nearly 3 times faster than my 5870. Note: these scores are done with my older set-up i7-870/evga 200 @ 4.2GHz

Be sure you pick a unlocked voltage card. I would get the cheapest too. Gigabyte are among the cheapest and they have very good coolers.
Coil whine, every card has it. It is worst on some cards, my 7970 is silent although. I can hear it when the card is rendering crazy amount of FPS like 1000+
 
#12 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Just a nickname View Post

I owned a 7950 and a 7970. Highest score I got with the 7950 on unigine was approx 1050 at 1250/1600. I got 1400 with the 7970 clocked to 1230/1500... and my 7970 is a very very poor clocker. This is far from being 5% difference. Hell, the 7970 is nearly 3 times faster than my 5870. Note: these scores are done with my older set-up i7-870/evga 200 @ 4.2GHz
Be sure you pick a unlocked voltage card. I would get the cheapest too. Gigabyte are among the cheapest and they have very good coolers.
Coil whine, every card has it. It is worst on some cards, my 7970 is silent although. I can hear it when the card is rendering crazy amount of FPS like 1000+
i got 1300 at 1175/1575 with my 7950 using 12.11.
 
#14 ·
#15 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Just a nickname View Post

I owned a 7950 and a 7970. Highest score I got with the 7950 on unigine was approx 1050 at 1250/1600. I got 1400 with the 7970 clocked to 1230/1500... and my 7970 is a very very poor clocker. This is far from being 5% difference. Hell, the 7970 is nearly 3 times faster than my 5870.
something must have been wrong. you might be comparing different driver versions or your HD 7950 could have been faulty.

here is bruennis Gigabyte HD 7950 at 1280 Mhz running heaven 3.0 extreme. stock windforce3x cooler

http://www.overclock.net/t/1317282/gtx-680-or-amd-7970/250#post_18605841

here is sonda5 running Sapphire HD 7950 at 1325 Mhz running 3D Mark 11 Xtreme . watercooling

http://www.overclock.net/t/1334760/the-tech-report-radeon-hd-7950-vs-geforce-gtx-660-ti-revisited/450#post_18784632

this is a hexus review comparing both HD 7950 and HD 7970 at the same clocks. the HD 7950 is 3 - 7% slower than HD 7970. an avg of 5% is correct.

http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/graphics/34761-amd-hd-7950-vs-hd-7970-clocks/?page=2
 
#16 ·
The 7970 is out of the question anyway, too expensive for what it offers imo.

Found a backplate, but only for ref design. Oh well
frown.gif
The Vapor X is voltage locked as well, shame.
 
#18 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stefy View Post

The 7970 is out of the question anyway, too expensive for what it offers imo.
Found a backplate, but only for ref design. Oh well
frown.gif
The Vapor X is voltage locked as well, shame.
OP the Sapphire HD 7950 boost with 925 mhz boost is the best option. model no 11196-16-20G. uses a reference HD 7950 PCB. voltage unlocked. comes with a higher stock voltage and can hit 1.1 Ghz even at stock voltage for a nice balance of performance and power / temps .

http://www.komplett.no/k/ki.aspx?sku=761887#info
 
#20 ·
Changed my mind before pulling the trigger. How is the Twin Frozr 7950 V2? It's $15 cheaper than the Sapphire.
 
#21 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stefy View Post

Changed my mind before pulling the trigger. How is the Twin Frozr 7950 V2? It's $15 cheaper than the Sapphire.
In spite of the massive number of posts in favor of the Sapphire, I would actually vote for the Twin Frozr. MSI makes, in my opinion, the best non-reference cooler out there. Every since my 560ti Twin Frozr II I've been a big believer in that thing's ability to keep a card cool.

My vote goes for the Twin Frozr. Cheaper and likely only a degree or two of temp difference.

Though, honestly, I've been scared away from 7950's with the recent reports of frame stutter and latency they've been having....
ninja.gif
 
#23 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by coachmark2 View Post

In spite of the massive number of posts in favor of the Sapphire, I would actually vote for the Twin Frozr. MSI makes, in my opinion, the best non-reference cooler out there. Every since my 560ti Twin Frozr II I've been a big believer in that thing's ability to keep a card cool.
My vote goes for the Twin Frozr. Cheaper and likely only a degree or two of temp difference.
Though, honestly, I've been scared away from 7950's with the recent reports of frame stutter and latency they've been having....
ninja.gif
Always wanted a Twin Frozr, best looking cards imo. But ye, from the research I've done so far, the Twin Frozr seems like a solid card too, but maybe not entirely up there with the Sapphire.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Deluxe View Post

What kind of store gives a full refund for a card that gives some coil whine??
If I was that store owner, i'd tell you to buzz off because coil whine is normal.
To a certain degree, maybe, but when I started up some games and the FPS would go sky high, the coil whine was REALLY loud. I think it was a 100% valid reason to turn in the card.
 
#24 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stefy View Post

but when I started up some games and the FPS would go sky high, the coil whine was REALLY loud. I think it was a 100% valid reason to turn in the card.
That is completely normal, and most cards will do that when you're in a menu that has no FPS cap.
I would not dare sending a card back that did that.
 
#25 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Deluxe View Post

That is completely normal, and most cards will do that when you're in a menu that has no FPS cap.
I would not dare sending a card back that did that.
Well, I did and got my money back. Also my old GTX 260 never made that kind of noise. And yeah, I'm pretty sure most cards don't go that high. My buddie's card never goes even close to that noise level either. That's not what this thread is about anyway.

According to Tom's http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-7950-review-benchmark,3207-13.html
The Sapphire couldn't go 1050Mhz on stock voltage, while the Twin Frozr could. Of course it depends on the card etc, but I think both these cards are good.
 
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