[RoddimusPrime]

I bought a Dell U2713HM and would like to purchase a graphics card that will be able to handle the new monitor fairly well. I don't have to max out settings, but I still want it to look better than any console game and at least medium settings. And no, I don't care to SLI or Crossfire. As far as a budget goes I guess $500, but I would prefer something more near $300 if possible. That would be ideal.

Thanks.

 

[Quesoblanco]

7950 would be perfect for you.

 

[kpriess]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quesoblanco

7950 would be perfect for you.

I agree--

The more memory the better..

 

[Bit_reaper]

For $300 go 7950 its fine. The more expensive 7970 is better so you get a bit more eye candy. Its just a mater of what you want.

 

[cam51037]

Here comes the party pooper....

A 670 4 GB is a great card as well, but if you want bang for your buck a 7950 3 GB would do as well.

And I know you don't want SLI or X-Fire, but either of those cards in SLI or crossfire would be amazing as well.

 

[ZealotKi11er]

7950 3GB for $300 cant be beat for 1440p. I used a single HD 7970 @ 1440p and could play 80% of the games i have MAX settings. BF3 for example i can play it on Ultra with 0MSAA.

 

[Bit_reaper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cam51037

Here comes the party pooper....

A 670 4 GB is a great card as well, but if you want bang for your buck a 7950 3 GB would do as well.

And I know you don't want SLI or X-Fire, but either of those cards in SLI or crossfire would be amazing as well.

A 670 4 GB just no. The 4GB version is not anywhere near worth it without SLI. Even in SLI its questionable if the extra vram is getting much use. Only with SLI at 5760x1080p and texture modes does the extra vram really kick in. Anything less and its wasted money. The GTX 670 2GB in it self is not a bad choice but for strait up bang for buck the 7950 is better.

 

[RoddimusPrime]

It's looking like a 7950 or 7970 then. Is it worth the step up to the 7970 and what editions/brands should I be looking at?

 

[Bit_reaper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoddimusPrime

It's looking like a 7950 or 7970 then. Is it worth the step up to the 7970 and what editions/brands should I be looking at?

Its hard to say. The 7970 is not as good performance/$ value but it is a noticeable step up. Think of it this way. In game X with settings Y: a standard 7950 would do 53FPS, the standard 7970 would do 60FPS and a 7970 GHz edition would do 65FPS.

A 7950 boost would be a few FPS above the standard 7950. The OC versions of the cards vary depending on how high the factory OC.

So I would say that if you go for a 7970 go strait for the GHz edition or one with a high factory OC.

 

[raghu78]

OP get the HD 7950 boost for USD 300. at the same clocks HD 7950 is 3 - 6% slower than HD 7970.

http://www.legionhardware.com/articles_pages/his_7970_iceq_xsup2_ghz_edition_7950_iceq_xsup2_boost_clock,13.html
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/HIS/HD_7950_X2_Boost/31.html

the Sapphire hd 7950 boost is a good option. good cooler. unlocked voltage. card measures 29cm long. so make sure you can fit the card.

http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?p=AT-7950BST
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202006

 

[RoddimusPrime]

I assume a GTX 660 Ti 3GB such as this would fall short in comparison to a 7950?

 

[adridu59]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoddimusPrime

I assume a GTX 660 Ti 3GB such as this would fall short in comparison to a 7950?

Crippled memory bandwidth... 3GB on a 192-bit bus is a joke.

Not to mention that AMD cards have better value and much better GPGPU performance. The 7950 is a better performer.

 

[twerk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoddimusPrime

I assume a GTX 660 Ti 3GB such as this would fall short in comparison to a 7950?

Very short. At 1440p the 660 Ti would really struggle because of it's low memory bandwidth.

 

[Fulvin]

Yeah, 7950 would be the best pick. OC it some and it will be there with 7970, and perhaps more. 7970 is just the necessary flagship with much worse price to performance ratio.

 

[RoddimusPrime]

So I think I have picked out the various appropriate cards to choose from and would like you guys to help me understand some of the differences and narrow down my picks.

First of all 7950 editions:

Sapphire 7950 100352-2L - $298 ($278 After Rebate)
Sapphire 7950 Flex - $329 ($309)
Sapphire 7950 Vapor X - $339 ($319 AR)

Secondly the 7970 editions:

Sapphire 7970 3GB- $409 ($389 AR)
XFX 7970 Ghz - $469 ($439 AR)
XFX 7970 Black - $429 ($399 AR)

My initial leanings are towards XFX 7970 Black or Sapphire 7950 Flex (assuming the Ghz doesn't add anything). If I only could get another 5 FPS on most games with the 7970, but that extra few frames made it a much smoother experience because it meets the magical 60 FPS, then I might jump on that. Otherwise, if it is a hard to discern experience, I would opt for a 7950. Ideally I can play these games on at least medium settings, if not high. Long term, if the next generation of video cards offers a 20 FPS jump within $100 of the price of these cards then I will buy that and put the money from selling my then old card towards that card. But, in the mean time I need something that is going to provide solid gaming, movie playing, as well as a smooth Adobe CS experience (photoshop, illustrator, premiere pro, indesign).

If anyone knows in particular how these cards fair with Adobe CS programs (such as those listed above), I would love to know that as well.

 

[adridu59]

I wouldn't go with XFX, their cards are more noisy and tend to have more QC issues than others.

Flex = aimed towards multi-monitors
Vapor-X = bigger heatsink (through ther performance is almost the same)

AMD cards have optimizations for Adobe Creative Suite as well as Nvidia's. It supports OpenCL just fine.

 

[RoddimusPrime]

Quote:

Originally Posted by adridu59

I wouldn't go with XFX, their cards are more noisy and tend to have more QC issues than others.

Flex = aimed towards multi-monitors
Vapor-X = bigger heatsink (through ther performance is almost the same)

AMD cards have optimizations for Adobe Creative Suite as well as Nvidia's. It supports OpenCL just fine.

I suppose there is the Gigabyte Ghz version ($429) or the PowerColor 7970 ($379 / $359 AR).

Also, what if I could get the regular Gigabyte 7970 for $325?

Keep in mind I want cool and quiet as well as quality. That Power Color 7970 is tempting at that price.

 

[Bit_reaper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoddimusPrime

So I think I have picked out the various appropriate cards to choose from and would like you guys to help me understand some of the differences and narrow down my picks.

First of all 7950 editions:

Sapphire 7950 100352-2L - $298 ($278 After Rebate)
Sapphire 7950 Flex - $329 ($309)
Sapphire 7950 Vapor X - $339 ($319 AR)

Secondly the 7970 editions:

Sapphire 7970 3GB- $409 ($389 AR)
XFX 7970 Ghz - $469 ($439 AR)
XFX 7970 Black - $429 ($399 AR)

My initial leanings are towards XFX 7970 Black or Sapphire 7950 Flex (assuming the Ghz doesn't add anything). If I only could get another 5 FPS on most games with the 7970, but that extra few frames made it a much smoother experience because it meets the magical 60 FPS, then I might jump on that. Otherwise, if it is a hard to discern experience, I would opt for a 7950. Ideally I can play these games on at least medium settings, if not high. Long term, if the next generation of video cards offers a 20 FPS jump within $100 of the price of these cards then I will buy that and put the money from selling my then old card towards that card. But, in the mean time I need something that is going to provide solid gaming, movie playing, as well as a smooth Adobe CS experience (photoshop, illustrator, premiere pro, indesign).

If anyone knows in particular how these cards fair with Adobe CS programs (such as those listed above), I would love to know that as well.

I would not get any of thous.

My recommendation would be either the

GIGABYTE HD 7950 $299.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125414

or

GIGABYTE HD 7970 GHz $429.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125439

There are better overclocking cards but the GIGABYTE's are reasonably priced and the windforce x3 is one of the best coolers on the market.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoddimusPrime

I suppose there is the Gigabyte Ghz version ($429) or the PowerColor 7970 ($379 / $359 AR).

Also, what if I could get the regular Gigabyte 7970 for $325?

Keep in mind I want cool and quiet as well as quality. That Power Color 7970 is tempting at that price.

If you can get a regular GIGABYTE HD 7970 for $325 take it. Take it and run. Its a very very good deal.

 

[burticus]

TITAN! Go big or go home! Come on, it's only a grand (choke). 3 measly car payments.

 

[RoddimusPrime]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bit_reaper

I would not get any of thous.

My recommendation would be either the

GIGABYTE HD 7950 $299.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125414

or

GIGABYTE HD 7970 GHz $429.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125439

There are better overclocking cards but the GIGABYTE's are reasonably priced and the windforce x3 is one of the best coolers on the market.
If you can get a regular GIGABYTE HD 7970 for $325 take it. Take it and run. Its a very very good deal.

So you would take their 7950 over the Sapphire Vapor X or Flex? A lot of people OC the Sapphire cards enough to match the 7970. Would be nice to do that with the 7950.

Also, the Gigabyte at $325 I reference is second hand, but I don't know if that makes a difference. I know it is running at 1050 core and 1600 clock and supposedly runs fine. I typically stay away from second hand for the very fact of having a warranty though.