7970 Ghz Edition vs GTX 680?

[TheUnknownSources]

I am in the process of building my first computer.I made some posts in this forum, asking for some help creating a build for a computer I was planning on building. For the most parts I'm pretty confident with it, except for the GPU.

My Specs.
CPU: Intel i5-3570k
Motherboard: Asrock Extreme4
CPU Cooler: Cooler MasterHyper 212 Evo
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB)
HDD: WD Caviar Black 1TB
SSD: Samsung 840 Pro 128gb
Power Supply: Corsair CX750M 750W Modular
Case: Cooler Master Storm Scout 2

I was about to get a 7970 Ghz Edition, but somehow I found out the gtx680 & the 7970ghz price range about the same(ish), I'm not sure is it worth to overclock GPU? If so what manufacturer/brand should I go for?

 

[Guest]

what will you be doing with you rig?

 

[ASHISH65]

Hd 7970ghz is faster than gtx 680.hd 7970ghz overclocks better tham gtx 680.Look at asus or saphhire models

 

[TheUnknownSources]

what will you be doing with you rig?

Gaming? I guess..

 

[Guest]

what will you be doing with you rig?

Gaming? I guess..

which games and how many monitors? will you be doing sli or crossfirex in the future?

 

[TheUnknownSources]

what will you be doing with you rig?

Gaming? I guess..

which games and how many monitors? will you be doing sli or crossfirex in the future?

high-end games like Bioshock Infinite, Tomb Raider, BF3, etc, 1 monitor, with 1920x1080 resolution, maybe with sli/crossfirex in the future , cause I think my 750w PSU can handle it.

 

[thasan1]

id say 7970 Ghz edition. or you can buy a 7970 and OC it too 1Ghz. although i don't know how much performance gain and will it be level with a Ghz edition.

 

[TheUnknownSources]

id say 7970 Ghz edition. or you can buy a 7970 and OC it too 1Ghz. although i don't know how much performance gain and will it be level with a Ghz edition.

hmmm...if so which brand would you go for? i heard the gigabyte 7970 is good but they are all voltage locked, so you can't overclock much with that. is it?

 

[ASHISH65]

if you are going for multipgpus in futre then get nvidia as xfire is not so good as sli

 

[smeezekitty]

Gigabyte is generally voltage locked. Sapphire has a good reputation.
What are the choices in your location?

 

[mclovits]

7970 GHz edition is a bit quicker in most games, though a regular 7970 is not. Some people like the "smoother" gameplay Nvidia cards offer, as well as adaptive Vsync (I love this particularly). Though a 7970 GHz is probably best for your purposes. Also, remember, Nvidia is said to be releasing an updated Kepler iteration of cards this month or next. If that's the case, might as well wait for a 770 or 780 as they should be more power efficient and have comparable if not better performance than the current generation of AMD/Nvidia cards.

 

[ASHISH65]

even saphhire is voltage locked i think.look at asus also

 

[smeezekitty]

7970 GHz edition is a bit quicker in most games, though a regular 7970 is not. Some people like the "smoother" gameplay Nvidia cards offer, as well as adaptive Vsync (I love this particularly). Though a 7970 GHz is probably best for your purposes. Also, remember, Nvidia is said to be releasing an updated Kepler iteration of cards this month or next. If that's the case, might as well wait for a 770 or 780 as they should be more power efficient and have comparable if not better performance than the current generation of AMD/Nvidia cards.

No offense intended but, based on the NVidia logo in your avatar, I would guess you have NVidia bias.
Most people do not have any smoothness issues with AMD cards. Saying most people prefer the smoothness of NVidia cards is dodgy at best. RadeonPRO is a free program that provides the functionality of adaptive VSYNC. It would be nice if AMD provided it natively but it isn't a huge issue.

Both manufacturers keep pushing off their new cards releases so its anybodies guess when they finally come out.

 

[TheUnknownSources]

7970 GHz edition is a bit quicker in most games, though a regular 7970 is not. Some people like the "smoother" gameplay Nvidia cards offer, as well as adaptive Vsync (I love this particularly). Though a 7970 GHz is probably best for your purposes. Also, remember, Nvidia is said to be releasing an updated Kepler iteration of cards this month or next. If that's the case, might as well wait for a 770 or 780 as they should be more power efficient and have comparable if not better performance than the current generation of AMD/Nvidia cards.

the thing is my budget for this rig is ~$1300, I don't know anything about 770&780 or what's the price gonna be.

 

[TheUnknownSources]

so the 7970ghz is way to go?

 

[mclovits]

No fanboy here, TomsHardware even stated in their review of the new 7990 that they preferred the smoothness of the 690, I am just trying to provide options, I know I would have been bummed had I bought a 580 right when the 600 series was released, might be in Unknown's best interest to be patient and see what unfolds towards June, as most rumors (especially those covered by Tom's) regarding new tech recently have been correct (PS4, 7990 release, GS4). Just because I have an Nvidia logo as my avatar doesn't mean I don't think rationally, in fact, I've recommended 7970's on numerous occasions.

Regarding price, I would expect roughly the same as the current gen, though maybe a bit more. Nvidia can't ramp up prices if they want to stay competitive. Here's an article that has some more info from a source that I trust: http://www.techoftomorrow.com/2013/pc/nvidia-gtx-780-5gb-gtx-770-4gb-video-cards-coming/

Though many other sites are reporting releases in the next month or two.
Either way, it's your choice, to be or not to be patient.

 

[thasan1]

so the 7970ghz is way to go?

yeah id say go with the 7970 Ghz edition. but if you can wait for 2 month's see if Geforce 700 series arrives or not then you can buy 780/770 or if it doesn't id say 7970Ghz.

 

[smeezekitty]

No fanboy here, TomsHardware even stated in their review of the new 7990 that they preferred the smoothness of the 690, I am just trying to provide options, I know I would have been bummed had I bought a 580 right when the 600 series was released, might be in Unknown's best interest to be patient and see what unfolds towards June, as most rumors (especially those covered by Tom's) regarding new tech recently have been correct (PS4, 7990 release, GS4). Just because I have an Nvidia logo as my avatar doesn't mean I don't think rationally, in fact, I've recommended 7970's on numerous occasions.

7990? Oh well that is a different story. AMD has a well known issue with crossfire (the 7990 is two crossfired 7970s on one card).

That microstuttering and lack of smoothness is an issue but only when running multiple GPUs.

 

[mclovits]

No fanboy here, TomsHardware even stated in their review of the new 7990 that they preferred the smoothness of the 690, I am just trying to provide options, I know I would have been bummed had I bought a 580 right when the 600 series was released, might be in Unknown's best interest to be patient and see what unfolds towards June, as most rumors (especially those covered by Tom's) regarding new tech recently have been correct (PS4, 7990 release, GS4). Just because I have an Nvidia logo as my avatar doesn't mean I don't think rationally, in fact, I've recommended 7970's on numerous occasions.

7990? Oh well that is a different story. AMD has a well known issue with crossfire (the 7990 is two crossfired 7970s on one card).

That microstuttering and lack of smoothness is an issue but only when running multiple GPUs.

I understand. And I'm not retarded I know what a 7990 is haha. I myself have just had experiences where I have preferred Nvidia gameplay over AMD in single card configs. That's all I'm saying. Anyways my point is, I think it would be smart to wait unless you plan on upgrading during the holiday season Unknown.

 

[bigcyco1]

I think what mclovits is refering to is AMD has been having problems with frame latency, meaning that higher frame rates don't translate into smoother gameplay. They have tried to address the issue in recent driver updates. these were some of the tests a few months ago.
http://techreport.com/review/24218/a-driver-update-to-reduce-radeon-frame-times/5
http://techreport.com/news/24136/driver-software-to-be-tweaked-to-reduce-radeon-frame-latencies-in-series-of-updates

 

[fatboytyler]

even saphhire is voltage locked i think.look at asus also

Sapphire's are not voltage locked. But in the rare case they are, a simple bios flash unlocks it.

Now for your decision, I would say 7970 GHz Edition from Sapphire, especially the 3GB Vapor-X edition. (The 6GB edition is not worth the extra money).

Although, the new 700 series from Nvidia will likely have the advantage, but you also have to wait

 

[TheUnknownSources]

Which? 🙁

HIS ICE Q
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161412

SAPPHIRE DUAL-X
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202008

GIGABYTE GHZ EDITION
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125439

 

[fatboytyler]

I have never used HIS nor heard much about them, so I can't give you an opinion on them. Of the other two though, the Gigabyte will be the fastest out of the box. However, the Sapphire should overclock more/better. The Gigabyte will have a slight edge in the cooling department, but Sapphire's cooler is still top-notch.

However, if you could fork an extra 10 bucks over the Gigabyte and get the Sapphire 7970GHz edition, I would highly recommend it: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202001
As it will be faster out of the box than the other two and will greatly out overclock the others