# HD 7970 Help



## sidrenwada (Jan 6, 2012)

Hello Everyone 

I was just wondering what the estimated cost of the HD 7970 will be in Canada and will it be worth it?


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## Ankur (Jan 6, 2012)

I don't know what currency is in Canada but it is ~550$. Yea it is worth it. It is faster than GTX 580.
Depends on what resolution you want to play at (if gaming). It will be able to play any games on ultra settings.


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## JLuchinski (Jan 6, 2012)

I've read that it will cost around $475 to $550 before markup, and I'm going to wait until some more reviews come out to decide if it's worth selling my GTX 580 for.


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## Ankur (Jan 6, 2012)

^ I think 7970 isn't the GPU that can replace your 580. On gaming both match each other almost the same.


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## JLuchinski (Jan 6, 2012)

Yeah it's a pretty damn good card, plus I've never liked ATI drivers.


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## sidrenwada (Jan 6, 2012)

ok so how are the unlocks on it and oc? is it even worth it and what does a gtx 580 go for is the 3gb worth it or just stick with the 1.5?


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## Ankur (Jan 6, 2012)

sidrenwada said:


> ok so how are the unlocks on it and oc? is it even worth it and what does a gtx 580 go for is the 3gb worth it or just stick with the 1.5?


Well I don't know how it OCs, but a GPU should have 2GB or more memory to play latest GPU intensive games like BF3. A 3GB 580$ costs more than 580, so it could be better if a 7970 which is 3GB around 550.


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## sidrenwada (Jan 6, 2012)

hmm ok thanks


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## TekMaster (Jan 6, 2012)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DK4JCMuIUgw

such a beautiful song in the beginning I might add haha

can't wait to get my hands on one (or two for that matter)



> I think 7970 isn't the GPU that can replace your 580. On gaming both match each other almost the same.


Watch vid @ 2:30


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## sidrenwada (Jan 6, 2012)

wow thanks everything i wanted to know  done getting it on the 9th


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## xxmorpheus (Jan 6, 2012)

xfire 6990. nuff said


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## sidrenwada (Jan 6, 2012)

bahaha i dont want to spend 1600$ on a gpu


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## Ankur (Jan 7, 2012)

xxmorpheus said:


> xfire 6990. nuff said



Why Xfire 6990 when you can kill a game with a 7970.


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## sidrenwada (Jan 7, 2012)

its called having more money then brains


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## jonnyp11 (Jan 7, 2012)

Ok, it wont let me see the vid but i've seen a lot of the benches and was about to say something about the performance since those guys were makin it sound not much better. The thinkg killed the 580 averaging about 20% better for 10% more money. As far as pricing newegg.ca seems to be almost the same as .com so i'd you're looking at 550-600 or so, then like a 30 buck rebate or so.


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## Ankur (Jan 7, 2012)

TekMaster said:


> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DK4JCMuIUgw
> 
> such a beautiful song in the beginning I might add haha
> 
> ...


The guy is a noob gamer, lol but he makes good enough vids, but he just tells out specs and no tips and proper reviews.
[YT]qgfK-hUBWfQ[/YT]


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## JLuchinski (Jan 7, 2012)

Yeah he really reminds me of Goldberg.


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## tech savvy (Jan 7, 2012)

AMD should not of aimed for competing against the 5xx series( Fermi), but the 6xx series(Kepler).I'm saying this because, "Fermi" is 40nm and "Tahiti"(AMD) is 28nm, cant really say thats fair really.Of course AMD's new line-up of GPU's are going to be superior to its competitors in all-around performance, its a giving.AMD needs to ride this high horse hard, because when "Nvidia" releases there new line-up(Kepler) @28nm it's going to knock AMD off that high horse.But, hey, thats how it always goes, right?


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## TekMaster (Jan 7, 2012)

Ankur said:


> The guy is a noob gamer, lol but he makes good enough vids, but he just tells out specs and no tips and proper reviews.
> [YT]qgfK-hUBWfQ[/YT]


I've actually corrected this guy on youtube for calling a standard 6-pin IEEE 1394a port USB 3.0 on the new TA990FXE board, lol I was like wow. But I was just using that vid to show the benchmarks vs. the 580
he makes me laugh in the 590 vid playing crysis 2


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## Spesh (Jan 7, 2012)

tech savvy said:


> AMD should not of aimed for competing against the 5xx series( Fermi), but the 6xx series(Kepler).



Kepler is 7xx. The 6xx chips will be for laptops.


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## SuperDuperMe (Jan 7, 2012)

I knew i was right when i said 600 series was keplar

http://www.custompcreview.com/2011/12/13/nvidia-kepler-600-series-gpu-details-leaked/


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## Ankur (Jan 7, 2012)

tech savvy said:


> AMD should not of aimed for competing against the 5xx series( Fermi), but the 6xx series(Kepler).I'm saying this because, "Fermi" is 40nm and "Tahiti"(AMD) is 28nm, cant really say thats fair really.Of course AMD's new line-up of GPU's are going to be superior to its competitors in all-around performance, its a giving.AMD needs to ride this high horse hard, because when "Nvidia" releases there new line-up(Kepler) @28nm it's going to knock AMD off that high horse.But, hey, thats how it always goes, right?



That is what I tried to explain in the http://www.computerforum.com/205230-radeon-7970-reviews.html thread.




mikeb2817 said:


> I knew i was right when i said 600 series was keplar
> 
> http://www.custompcreview.com/2011/12/13/nvidia-kepler-600-series-gpu-details-leaked/



I found this link inside your link. Seems promising.
http://www.overclock3d.net/news/gpu_displays/nvidia_kepler/1


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## SuperDuperMe (Jan 7, 2012)

Dang i was wrong lol


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## Spesh (Jan 7, 2012)

mikeb2817 said:


> I knew i was right when i said 600 series was keplar
> 
> http://www.custompcreview.com/2011/12/13/nvidia-kepler-600-series-gpu-details-leaked/



Yes, but as I said, the 600 series will be for laptops. The performance desktop solution will be the 700 series.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Nvidia-GTX-780-Performance-Estimates-Surface-240902.shtml


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## SuperDuperMe (Jan 7, 2012)

i beleive ya now haha, i just kept reading everywhere that 600 series was desktop. Seems silly theyve pratically skipped a generation name sake. :/


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## Spesh (Jan 7, 2012)

They did the same with the 300 series. It was only available to OEM's


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## SuperDuperMe (Jan 7, 2012)

Oh yeh, i completely forgot about that, were there any decent 300 series cardS? or just all oem crap?


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## CrayonMuncher (Jan 7, 2012)

Either way if those early leaks on the geforce are accurate, I emphasize the IF, that is a massive performance boost which may mean it would be worth waiting for the new geforce series rather than the new radeons, still that leak on the geforce I would imagine will end up being fake but nvidia do love to have the performance crown so more than likely their gpu will be on top regardless.


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## jonnyp11 (Jan 7, 2012)

Never heard that anywhere before about 6xx being for lappies and 7xx being kepler, where'd you hear that?

but tech savvy, how can they compare the 7970 to the equal gtx6XX if they aren't going to be released for like almost 6 months or so, it is still aimed against them, but at this time they can only compare it against the current cards out and aim to beat them.


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## Spesh (Jan 7, 2012)

jonnyp11 said:


> Never heard that anywhere before about 6xx being for lappies and 7xx being kepler, where'd you hear that?



It's actually fairly common knowledge.


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## CrayonMuncher (Jan 8, 2012)

Spesh said:


> It's actually fairly common knowledge.



Yeah after a bit of research it does seem to be highly likely that it will be the 7xx series for desktops with the 6xx series being oem, but again nothing appears to be confirmed, the slides that have been released/leaked seem to show the 7xx series so Im not sure if that is where it all started or not.


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## Ankur (Jan 8, 2012)

A GPU name starting with 7 sounds always better than starting with 6 lol. If the name one as 680 then it sounds more like 6850 lol. 780 go go


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## jonnyp11 (Jan 8, 2012)

hey, at least that way they'd be on equal gens (sort of, numerically at least), now it'll be 7XX v 7XXX


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## sidrenwada (Jan 8, 2012)

so anyone getting the 7970 tomorrow?


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## Spesh (Jan 8, 2012)

sidrenwada said:


> so anyone getting the 7970 tomorrow?



Not me. 

I will be waiting to see what Nvidia come up with before selling off my 580's.


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## JLuchinski (Jan 9, 2012)

Spesh said:


> Not me.
> 
> I will be waiting to see what Nvidia come up with before selling off my 580's.



 Same here, Nvidia has there CES show tomorrow as well so hopefully they reveal more info.


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## jonnyp11 (Jan 9, 2012)

why tomorrow, newegg has them today and already sold out of 3

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...67&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&Order=PRICE&PageSize=20


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## JLuchinski (Jan 9, 2012)

I thought they were going to use xdr2 RAM instead of GDDR5?


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## salvage-this (Jan 9, 2012)

Spesh said:


> Not me.
> 
> I will be waiting to see what Nvidia come up with before selling off my 580's.



I'm with you here.  Any news on the release date?


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## jonnyp11 (Jan 9, 2012)

JLuchinski said:


> I thought they were going to use xdr2 RAM instead of GDDR5?



I thought so too, idk what happened


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## jonnyp11 (Jan 9, 2012)

salvage-this said:


> I'm with you here.  Any news on the release date?



Look like 2 above your post, the 7970's are out and several have sold out on newegg


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## salvage-this (Jan 9, 2012)

jonnyp11 said:


> Look like 2 above your post, the 7970's are out and several have sold out on newegg



I was talking about the release date for the nVidia 6/7 seires (whatever they decide to go with.)


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## Ankur (Jan 9, 2012)

They should have designed the exterier of this card a bit like Asus Matrix. The cards just don't look like a 7970.


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## StrangleHold (Jan 9, 2012)

JLuchinski said:


> I thought they were going to use xdr2 RAM instead of GDDR5?


 


jonnyp11 said:


> I thought so too, idk what happened


 
Have no idea, thought so too. AMD hasnt said a word about it. Maybe it was just a bogas leak/review.



Ankur said:


> They should have designed the exterier of this card a bit like Asus Matrix. The cards just don't look like a 7970.


 
Thats the way all AMD reference cards look at release.


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## jonnyp11 (Jan 10, 2012)

other than a not as interesting design this one isn't the same as the others, dual fan too

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150586


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## CrayonMuncher (Jan 13, 2012)

Spesh said:


> Not me.
> 
> I will be waiting to see what Nvidia come up with before selling off my 580's.



You telling me that gtx 580 sli with an oc of 1Ghz isnt powerful enough


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## 87dtna (Jan 13, 2012)

I didn't see one person ask the OP what resolution he runs.

Some people recommending a 3gb gtx580 because 1.5 isn't enough..........

Well guess what people, if he's running 1080p like the 98% of the rest of us are, even a gtx570 1.25gb is overkill for any game and plenty of memory.

And I think I read he's replacing a gtx580 with a 7970?  Seriously?  Talk about having more money than brains...

noobs


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## CrayonMuncher (Jan 13, 2012)

Haha your right as well, I just checked I only read the bit, and commented, about the HD7970 benches.

IMO, as I already said, it would be best to wait for nvidias response to see which is better that is if you have to have the latest and greatest gpu.


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## sidrenwada (Jan 13, 2012)

the res i'm running is 5760x1080


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## 87dtna (Jan 14, 2012)

So, is your sig accurate now?  A gts450 and a 565 BE?  If so, your CPU is a bottleneck even more than your current video card.  A 7970 would be pointless.

And Nvidia cannot run triple monitor single card.  You have to have SLI for triple monitor....unless you buy a gtx590.  So if you have a gts450 like your sig says, you aren't running 5760x1080.


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## Spesh (Jan 14, 2012)

CrayonMuncher said:


> You telling me that gtx 580 sli with an oc of 1Ghz isnt powerful enough



Actually if I run BF3 @ 4960x1600 with all the eye candy turned on then it isn't enough (even @ 2560x1600 it can be a little jumpy). For most other games I would say my graphics solution is adequate.

I treat my computer as a hobby rather than a necessity.


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## Spesh (Jan 14, 2012)

87dtna said:


> So if you have a gts450 like your sig says, you aren't running 5760x1080.



Lol, fail.


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## 87dtna (Jan 14, 2012)

Spesh said:


> Lol, fail.



Do tell why it's a fail, because Nvidia surround doesn't work on 3 monitors unless you have 2 cards.


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## Spesh (Jan 14, 2012)

87dtna said:


> Do tell why it's a fail, because Nvidia surround doesn't work on 3 monitors unless you have 2 cards.



I'm agreeing with you. Isn't he the guy that had 3 x 7970's in his sig, before they were even released?


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## 87dtna (Jan 14, 2012)

O I dunno.  I haven't been paying that close of attention to this thread.  With the hardware he has, I'm certain he cannot afford 1 7970 let alone 3.... :/


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## CrayonMuncher (Jan 14, 2012)

Spesh said:


> Actually if I run BF3 @ 4960x1600 with all the eye candy turned on then it isn't enough (even @ 2560x1600 it can be a little jumpy). For most other games I would say my graphics solution is adequate.
> 
> I treat my computer as a hobby rather than a necessity.



Yeah running at that res I would imagine you would need some more power


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## Okedokey (Jan 15, 2012)

Remember, most monitors max at 60FPS real.  That is they're 60Hz and anything above that is a waste.  I run 2 580's and on Skyrim, i get between 40 - 70FPS, maxed on 1920 x 1080 with texture packs (these make a big difference).

BF3 about 120FPS.  So whatever decision you make, especially when swapping a high end card for another, remember, its only worth it if you aren't getting the FPS you need (ie above 60fps) on your current games - or go for multi monitors or 3D.



87dtna said:


> I didn't see one person ask the OP what resolution he runs.
> 
> Some people recommending a 3gb gtx580 because 1.5 isn't enough..........
> 
> ...



That is simply not correct.  My SLI system with 1.5GB VRAM often gets maxed with BF3 and the Skyrim situation as described above.   I wish i had've got the 3GB versions.


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## FuryRosewood (Jan 15, 2012)

Im beginning to see where the vram becomes a issue myself...and id honestly go for 3gb if i could, just to make sure i did not hit that wall


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## 87dtna (Jan 15, 2012)

Yeah 120fps, what a massive bottleneck that 1.5gb is.


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## Okedokey (Jan 16, 2012)

87dtna said:


> ... even a gtx570 1.25gb is overkill for any game and plenty of memory...
> noobs



Im not saying I have issues with 1.5GB VRAM at 1920 x 1080, but with 3 x 30" monitors I do.  Secondly your statement is simply incorrect - period.


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## 87dtna (Jan 16, 2012)

bigfellla said:


> Im not saying I have issues with 1.5GB VRAM at 1920 x 1080, but with 3 x 30" monitors I do.  Secondly your statement is simply incorrect - period.



Wow, you completely took that statement out of context!

Thats hilarious, because here's what I said RIGHT before what you quoted-



87dtna said:


> *if he's running 1080p like the 98% of the rest of us are*, even a gtx570 1.25gb is overkill for any game and plenty of memory.



So, by your own words now, my statement IS correct....PERIOD.


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## Okedokey (Jan 17, 2012)

At 1080P, 1.25GB of VRAM is simply not overkill.  I was referring to drops in FPS.  But to suggest its overkill is not true.  I commonly saw VRAM saturation at 1080P with 1.5GB.  Period.


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## 87dtna (Jan 17, 2012)

Alright, I'll admit I shouldn't have said overkill but I was just trying to emphasize the point that 3gb is not *needed* for 1080p.  2560x1600, yeah sure no problem I'd definitely spring for the 3gb.

I've never even used 1gb at 1080p, but I've never played skyrim I guess it's a vram intensive game I dunno.


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## tech savvy (Jan 23, 2012)

Spesh said:


> Kepler is 7xx. The 6xx chips will be for laptops.



"Nvidia said earlier that only 700 series will be the real Kepler cards, so all the 600 cards will just be updated and renamed 500 series. That's why they only expect to "be competitive in performance with the HD 7970" and not beat it."


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## Spesh (Jan 23, 2012)

tech savvy said:


> "Nvidia said earlier that only 700 series will be the real Kepler cards, so all the 600 cards will just be updated and renamed 500 series. That's why they only expect to "be competitive in performance with the HD 7970" and not beat it."



Yes I saw that statement.


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