Amd 7950 Brand Question

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nightmare981

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Jan 15, 2012
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So i recently got a 660 ti for my current gaming rig and really like it. Now im going building a second gaming/server/multimedia SFF rig. :lol: This computer will be host of LAN game servers, bluray video playing, Autodesk maya rendering and some gaming. I was thinking of getting a second 660 ti for this build since ive had a good experience with my current one but i thought of giving a 7950 a try since its in the same price range and looks to give better performance.

Im not too familiar with AMD brands and which ones are decent, better and great... I have 3 cards picked out but i thought i might want to hear from owners or people who know more about AMD. Which is a reputable brand that has a good customer service, higher reliability, good parts and a good cooler? From some reviews, these three cards are decent but ive also seen some bad stories about XFX. MSI doesnt have the best cooler and im not sure about the blower style fan on the HSI...

Msi Radeon 7590 TwinFrozr 3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127667

XFX Radeon 7950 Double Dissipation Black Edition
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150589

HIS Radeon 7950 IceQ Boost Clock
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161420

If you have another suggestion, i would gladly hear it. 😀
 
Solution
bigcyco1
The HIS HD 7950 IceQ X² uses a new cooler that was introduced to the company's lineup recently. It also comes with a nice overclock out of the box and highly capable dual 8-pin power inputs.

Pricing is quite reasonable with $320, given that it is just $10 more than a normal HD 7950 reference design card and significantly cheaper than the GTX 670, which offers a similar performance.

Sapphire's HD 7950 Vapor-X comes with a large dual-fan cooler that uses the company's famous vapor-chamber technology. On the Vapor-X you will also find a "Lethal Boost" button which switches to a second BIOS with higher clock speeds. With this BIOS, clocks are increased to 950 MHz GPU and 1250 MHz memory.I would be all over this card if i wanted a7950.
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Wait... you're building a second gaming computer that won't be used as often, and you're giving it a more powerful video card than what's in your gaming computer?

Out of those cards you linked, the TwinFrozr is actually the best cooler, with the Double D as a far second. Don't even consider the IceQ. XFX makes decent cards and coolers, but that's all they are - decent.

I'd personally look at Gigabyte or Sapphire - they're the top of the line.

That being said, this is a bit of advice coming off topic. Don't buy a second 660ti for your current computer - in SLI you REALLY notice the memory bandwidth issue. Instead, consider putting the 660ti in your secondary computer, and buying a 670 (or 7970) for your gaming computer - either will max out basically anything. (My 670 plays most games on ultra at 120fps.)
 
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If I recall correctly that "blower fan" is not a reference design, it is HIS's custom cooler, the Black Hole Impeller or something like that and it is very cool and quiet according to this review:http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-7950-review-benchmark,3207.html
What are you talking ab out, "MSI doesn't have the best cooler"? Their coolers are AMAZING, same to be said for ASUS. I have also heard great things about the Gigabyte triple fan cooler. To be honest any of those would be great, ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte. I just checked NewEgg and turns out they don't have ASUS 7950s, sad face. I would get the MSI or Gigabyte one.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127667
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125414
 
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What i meant by MSI's cooler isnt the best is the HIS cooler runs cooler and quieter than MSI's Twin Frozr 3. Im leaning toward the HIS since its a blower style for my SFF case and its got a small turbo boost on it to help a little in game. Does the HIS overclock well or does MSI overclock better?
 
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I have the XFX 7950 (not the black edition) and I love it. You get a lifetime warranty which is always great and a good-looking card that runs extremely quite. I used to have an MSI card and I was not happy with it, but most people say they are good.
 
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Is XFX a good brand? If so, is the card i selected above a card you would recommend?
 
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If you have a sff case you should get a blower style fan that exhausts back out of the case. If all the hot air is being dispersed inside your case(which is what those after market coolers do like MSI, ASUS, etc) .So in your case, go with the HIS model of the 7950 that you linked.
This one:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161420
 
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Like I have previously said, go with the blower cooler from HIS if you don't have good airflow in your case and it's really small. Go with the XFX (assuming it's the ghost cooler with dual fans) if you do have the cooling and space, I think the XFX one also has better warranty.
 
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The HIS HD 7950 IceQ X² uses a new cooler that was introduced to the company's lineup recently. It also comes with a nice overclock out of the box and highly capable dual 8-pin power inputs.

Pricing is quite reasonable with $320, given that it is just $10 more than a normal HD 7950 reference design card and significantly cheaper than the GTX 670, which offers a similar performance.

Sapphire's HD 7950 Vapor-X comes with a large dual-fan cooler that uses the company's famous vapor-chamber technology. On the Vapor-X you will also find a "Lethal Boost" button which switches to a second BIOS with higher clock speeds. With this BIOS, clocks are increased to 950 MHz GPU and 1250 MHz memory.I would be all over this card if i wanted a7950.
 
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Solution


So far, Yes! The phone support was fast and the rep was easy to understand. The card itself runs great and looks amazing. I have my card overclocked as well and still no problems. I would recommend the dual fan model: whether you want a factory overclock or not is up to you.

If warranty is not an issue for you that maybe another card would be a better option. In my case, I want a long warranty so this card was the perfect one.
 
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XFX has lost market share since the switching from nVidia to AMD, they are very aggressive right now and offer price matching most of the time and good service. If you see another brand of the same model cheaper let the vendor your using know (send them proof) and ask them to match. Usually XFX will tell them to do it.
 
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