[Robilar]

I was planning on going back to a gaming system in the next couple of weeks. I had originally planned either paired 680's or paired 7970's. I have had both setups in the past and generally found SLI to be better for Battlefield 3 (less microstutter, faster).

I have been away from enthusiast hardware for awhile so when I started doing my research, I asked for opinions. I know that drivers for the AMD cards made pretty big advances in 2012 so there were a number of comments that the 7970 was now faster than the 680 (stock vs. stock).

I was reading through the analysis by HardOCP relating to drivers in 2012 and based on 1920x1080 resolutions (I will be using a single 120hz, 27" monitor), it looks like for single card, the 680 is still faster.

Are 7970's crossfired faster overall than 680's in SLI? Do they have less micro stutter? I am trying to determine the basis for the recommendations I got before pulling the trigger.

I may end up grabbing a single Titan on their release as an alternative (despite it being a bit slower apparently than 680's in SLI).

Single card, it looks below that the 680 is 15% faster than the 7970.

Thoughts?

 

[Swiftes]

I reckon wait for Titan results mate, then make a decision

 

[rdr09]

what's the date of the review? here is my 7950 at stock using the same settings. my i7 2700K at 4.5GHz . . .



i made sure it was full 64 at caspian. using 12.11 driver.

 

[Robilar]

What driver version are you using? It looks like the HardOCP article (which came out today) is using the 12.11 CAT's. Are you using 4xAA and 16x AF?

They are using a 3770K clocked at 4.8ghz.

 

[raghu78]

HD 7970 Ghz will match GTX 680 in BF3

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/11/12/fall_2012_gpu_driver_comparison_roundup/4

BF3 MP 1920 x 1080 Ultra 4X MSAA

HD 7970 ghz - avg 73.1 fps.

This is BF3 Strike at Karkand with latest drivers - AMD Catalyst 13.2 Beta 4 vs Nvidia GeForce 313.96 beta

http://www.computerbase.de/artikel/grafikkarten/2013/test-17-grafikkarten-im-vergleich/25/

BF Aftermath -Nvidia GeForce 310.70 whql vs AMD Catalyst 12.11 beta 11

http://gamegpu.ru/action-/-fps-/-tps/battlefield-3-aftermath-test-gpu.html



also you are better off running a voltage overclocked single HD 7970 GPU at 1.2+ Ghz or a single GTX 680 (1.3 Ghz). you should be close to 95 - 100 fps. For 1080p you don't need more than that.

 

[Robilar]

Using a 120hz monitor, you kind of do need a more consistent frame rate. I ran 680's before with a 27" 120hz and the difference between a single card and two was pretty significant (not just synthetic frame rates but actual game play).

My question relates more to which set runs better apples to apples. My last go round with 7970's in Crossfire, I had some serious issues with micro stutter (as well as flickering textures which drove me nuts) and of course the flickering black screen.

I don't know if these issues have been resolved.

 

[rdr09]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robilar

What driver version are you using? It looks like the HardOCP article (which came out today) is using the 12.11 CAT's. Are you using 4xAA and 16x AF?

They are using a 3770K clocked at 4.8ghz.

i think it was beta 11. here are my settings . . .

 

[Robilar]

Thanks for posting that. Have you run a pair in Crossfire?

 

[rdr09]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robilar

Thanks for posting that. Have you run a pair in Crossfire?

i you are asking me - no. i do need another card to take advantage of the 120Hz i have available. i am scared of crossfire issues, too.

 

[raghu78]

SLI is generally better. you could wait for AMD's new memory manager driver and see if it reduces microstuttering in CF. Titan is a very good option if you have the money. a single voltage unlocked Titan could really get you smooth and perfect 120 hz 1080p gaming.

 

[FlawleZ]

I believe the micro stuttering was largely addressed with the frame latency issues that have since been resolved with the later drivers.