[Koniakki]

Guys I came across a really good deal(well I could be wrong tho) for a 6months old Sapphire HD 7970 OC 3GB Dual-X.

The guy says it can do 1200MHz/[email protected] Voltage. Let's assume its true, is that good? I see many good benchmark scores about the Sapphire 7970 in the Benchmarking section and even if most say "Sapphire HD 7970" I believe it's the DUAL-X probably or Vapor-X.

What do you say? Yay or nay? And someone with experience on the Sapphire it would be great if he educated me a bit on that 1200MHz/[email protected] Voltage scenario.

Also I don't mean to be an ass, but I can get it like today/tomorrow if this thread goes well.

Thanks guys in advance.

 

[Grobinov]

1200MHz @ stock voltage is quite good... in comparison mine only does 1100MHz on stock voltage and taps out at 1180 MHz core - so this one should be a decent performer

Dual-X cooler is very good in my opinion - very quiet but it can have an annoying noise in some rpm ranges if you are really sensitive about it

Seeing as you alerady own a nice GTX 680 i'm not sure if you'll see any difference by going with the 7970 tho

 

[Koniakki]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grobinov

1200MHz @ stock voltage is quite good... in comparison mine only does 1100MHz on stock voltage and taps out at 1180 MHz core - so this one should be a decent performer

Dual-X cooler is very good in my opinion - very quiet but it can have an annoying noise in some rpm ranges if you are really sensitive about it

Seeing as you alerady own a nice GTX 680 i'm not sure if you'll see any difference by going with the 7970 tho

Why? Selling my 680 and getting the Sapphire 7970 for 33% less or 2/3 of the 680 selling price.

Also not bothered by noise. I have a 5.1 surround blasting at me when I game with the 680 [email protected]% and also I own a Antec 920. I can say I'm used to noises.

 

[Grobinov]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Koniakki

Why? Selling my 680 and getting the Sapphire 7970 for 33% less or 2/3 of the 680 selling price.

Also not bothered by noise. I have a 5.1 surround blasting at me when I game with the 680 [email protected]% and also I own a Antec 920. I can say I'm used to noises.

Sounds good then

Just make sure you check if its Dual-X or Vapor-X... Dual X has reference PCB so you can watercool if thats your thing but Vapor-X has better custom PCB and 8+8 pin connectors as far as I know

 

[raghu78]

1200 mhz at stock voltage is very good. but make sure you can test the card thoroughly in games and benchmarks. at what price are you getting the HD 7970. anything more than USD 300 is not worth it . a new Sapphire HD 7970 OC card with 2 AAA games sells for USD 390 after rebate.

http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=AT-H7970CB

the sapphire HD 7970 OC card with brown PCB and model number 11197-01-40G is a good card. it should have a AMD marking above the PCI-E connector. its a reference amd pcb design.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102982

 

[Koniakki]

Quote:

Originally Posted by raghu78

1200 mhz at stock voltage is very good. but make sure you can test the card thoroughly in games and benchmarks. at what price are you getting the HD 7970. anything more than USD 300 is not worth it . a new Sapphire HD 7970 OC card with 2 AAA games sells for USD 390 after rebate.

http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=AT-H7970CB

the sapphire HD 7970 OC card with brown PCB and model number 11197-01-40G is a good card. it should have a AMD marking above the PCI-E connector. its a reference amd pcb design.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102982

raghu78 unfortunately I can only dream for those prices. I'm in the EU. Those $300 and $390 you mentioned they are almost euros prices here.

E.g the cheapest 7970 Dual-X I can get is $465(355euros) with the Never Settle Reloaded offer.

 

[raghu78]

which country are you from ? what is the price you are getting the HD 7970 at (in euros)

 

[Koniakki]

Quote:

Originally Posted by raghu78

which country are you from ? what is the price you are getting the HD 7970 at (in euros)

Cyprus. 285 euros. 6 months old. Yay or nay?

New is 355 euros(from where I buy online) as I said above and I can probably bring him down a couple tenners more.

Edit: Btw its the boost edition(1GHz) if it matters. I find it hard to believe he can go 1200Mhz at stock(1.175v). Too good to be true.
I will ask him for some proofs and maybe some benches.

 

[raghu78]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Koniakki

Cyprus. 285 euros. 6 months old. Yay or nay? New is 355 euros(from where I buy online) as I said above and I can probably bring him down a couple tenners more.

think about this before you make a decision

http://www.pixmania.com.cy/cy/gr/21242150/art/vtx3d/radeon-hd-7950-x-edition---3-gΒ-gddr5---pci-express-3.0-(vx7950-3gbd5-2dhxv3).html
http://www.vtx3d.com/products_features.asp?id=111

http://www.pixmania.com.cy/cy/gr/21182540/art/sapphire-technology/radeon-hd-7950-boost---3-gΒ-gddr5---pci-express-3.0-(11196-19-20g).html
http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/product/?cid=1&gid=3&sgid=1157&pid=1841&psn=&lid=1&leg=0

you should be able to get the Never settle reloaded game bundle (Crysis 3 nd Bioshock infinite) as its a worldwide promotion. check with pixmania and AMD. at the same clocks HD 7950 is 5% slower than HD 7970.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/HIS/HD_7950_X2_Boost/31.html

if you can get the never settle game bundle getting a new Sapphire HD 7950 boost is the better option. with a stock voltage of 1.25v you can easily overclock to 1100 - 1150 mhz. HD 7950(1100 Mhz) matches HD 7970 Ghz (1050 mhz).

 

[Koniakki]

Quote:

Originally Posted by raghu78

think about this before you make a decision

http://www.pixmania.com.cy/cy/gr/21242150/art/vtx3d/radeon-hd-7950-x-edition---3-gΒ-gddr5---pci-express-3.0-(vx7950-3gbd5-2dhxv3).html
http://www.vtx3d.com/products_features.asp?id=111

http://www.pixmania.com.cy/cy/gr/21182540/art/sapphire-technology/radeon-hd-7950-boost---3-gΒ-gddr5---pci-express-3.0-(11196-19-20g).html
http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/product/?cid=1&gid=3&sgid=1157&pid=1841&psn=&lid=1&leg=0

you should be able to get the Never settle reloaded game bundle (Crysis 3 nd Bioshock infinite) as its a worldwide promotion. check with pixmania and AMD. at the same clocks HD 7950 is 5% slower than HD 7970.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/HIS/HD_7950_X2_Boost/31.html

if you can get the never settle game bundle getting a new Sapphire HD 7950 boost is the better option. with a stock voltage of 1.25v you can easily overclock to 1100 - 1150 mhz. HD 7950(1100 Mhz) matches HD 7970 Ghz (1050 mhz).

raghu78 thank you for the search based on my Country.

I know all the shops here. You can add another 20euros on top of those price for shipping. PixMania is not based here. It's in France.

So that takes the VTX3D 7950 up to 265euros and the Sapphire 7950 up to 295euros. But I appreciated the trouble you made.

 

[raghu78]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Koniakki

I know all the shops here. You can add another 20euros on top of those price for shipping. PixMania is not based here. It's in France.

So that takes the VTX3D 7950 up to 265euros and the Sapphire 7950 up to 295euros. But I appreciated the trouble you made.

so if you can get the Sapphire HD 7950 boost in local retail shops with the game bundle at 275 euros that is a option worth considering.

 

[Cykososhull]

Dude, 1200mhz on stock? That is really good. I have that exact card and @1175mV, I can only pull 1150/1610. Anything after that and it gets angry and starts to artifact. I would pull the trigger if you can confirm the OC.

 

[Koniakki]

Quote:

Originally Posted by raghu78

so if you can get the Sapphire HD 7950 boost in local retail shops with the game bundle at 275 euros that is a option worth considering.

Oh I now I get it why you mentioned the bundle. I "forgot" from the excitement that this is a used one therefor no games.. lol!

You absolutely right. That's a worthy option to consider of course.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cykososhull

Dude, 1200mhz on stock? That is really good. I have that exact card and @1175mV, I can only pull 1150/1610. Anything after that and it gets angry and starts to artifact. I would pull the trigger if you can confirm the OC.

Well, I hope this not again a "too good to be true" case. Here's hoping for those proofs I asked him.

 

[John-117]

I think 7970 cards have different stock voltages based on ASIC. Some GHz cards have a boost voltage of 1.25v, so 1200 at 1.25v is not so impressive. At 1.175v it's much better.

 

[Derpinheimer]

^Exactly. Its very annoying when people say stock voltage as it means absolutely nothing, so always assume it means 1.25v.

 

[Cykososhull]

Quote:

Originally Posted by John-117

I think 7970 cards have different stock voltages based on ASIC. Some GHz cards have a boost voltage of 1.25v, so 1200 at 1.25v is not so impressive. At 1.175v it's much better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Derpinheimer

^Exactly. Its very annoying when people say stock voltage as it means absolutely nothing, so always assume it means 1.25v.

Very true. MSI AB reports my stock mV as 1.112 but idles at 0.945. I don't think I've ever had a card that was 1.25 stock. On both BIOS, this card reports 1.112mV. If he achieves 1200MHz with that, I'd be damn impressed.

 

[Derpinheimer]

Well glina and I were doing some comparisons.. his card take 1.187v to do 1200, mine take 1.137v for 1200.. but mine uses more power, so even voltage doesnt seem to mean that much.

 

[Koniakki]

I lost the deal... Daammmmmiitttt!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Derpinheimer

Well glina and I were doing some comparisons.. his card take 1.187v to do 1200, mine take 1.137v for 1200.. but mine uses more power, so even voltage doesnt seem to mean that much.

Are talking about 7970 or 7950?

 

[Derpinheimer]

7950s, but my point was his card takes more voltage but doesnt use more power. Very weird.

 

[Koniakki]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Derpinheimer

7950s, but my point was his card takes more voltage but doesnt use more power. Very weird.

On that account then yes, I see your point.

I dont have any hands on experience with the 79xx series but since your card need less Volt for 1200Mhz, how much is the max clocks for each other at 1.25v with lets memory at 7GHz? In again lets say Heaven 4 or Valley or Firestrike or games fixed benches? E.g metro2033, AvP etc.

I'm asking because I'm curious to see if the cards that need less Volt at the same clocks as other ones, overclock/reach higher clocks that those needing more.