AMD Radeon HD 7790 Review: Graphics Core Next At $150

[mohit9206]

we know that soon 2gb 7790's will start to appear starting april end which will sell for a $20 premium over the 1gb models bringing the price awfully close to the 2gb 7850 atleast for a while. i want to know if the 7790 is powerful enough to fully utilize upto 2gb of video ram as and when games start utilizing more than 1gb vram at 1080p. considering the 7790 has a 128 bit wide bus am not sure if 7790 can reach upto 2gb of vram usage. i think it can do about 1-1.5gb but not beyond that. the 7850 however i believe can reach upto 2gb. so is it a good idea to wait and purchase a 2gb 7790 or just buy 1gb 7790 without worrying about extra vram. or just skip the 7790 altogether and instead buy the 1gb or 2gb 7850 considering the prices of 7790 and 7850 are so close to each other

 

[blazorthon]

we know that soon 2gb 7790's will start to appear starting april end which will sell for a $20 premium over the 1gb models bringing the price awfully close to the 2gb 7850 atleast for a while. i want to know if the 7790 is powerful enough to fully utilize upto 2gb of video ram as and when games start utilizing more than 1gb vram at 1080p. considering the 7790 has a 128 bit wide bus am not sure if 7790 can reach upto 2gb of vram usage. i think it can do about 1-1.5gb but not beyond that. the 7850 however i believe can reach upto 2gb. so is it a good idea to wait and purchase a 2gb 7790 or just buy 1gb 7790 without worrying about extra vram. or just skip the 7790 altogether and instead buy the 1gb or 2gb 7850 considering the prices of 7790 and 7850 are so close to each other

Considering that the 7850 is just barely on the verge of being fast enough for the 2GB models to have an advantage on occasion, I'd say that the 7790 shouldn't have an issue with 1GB models except for some heavy overclocking and/or Crossfire.

 

[Manrique Mar]

[citation][nom]blazorthon[/nom]PhysX can run on the CPU.[/citation]
I'like Physx. BAA and BAC look really good with them. If Physx can run on CPU, can I get a 7970 and still have a good performance on physx? I got a 3570K@4.5 and debating to upgrade to a 7970 or a gtx 670. Physx support has been the thing that holds my decision. The GTX670's and the "no volt mod" lock on there middle and upper cards it's not welcome in my book...I want to do a little protest buying an AMD solution...but Physx has me grabed. Would a 7970+CPU Physx give me at least 40-45 fps at 1080p?

 

[blazorthon]

[citation][nom]blazorthon[/nom]PhysX can run on the CPU.[/citation]
I'like Physx. BAA and BAC look really good with them. If Physx can run on CPU, can I get a 7970 and still have a good performance on physx? I got a 3570K@4.5 and debating to upgrade to a 7970 or a gtx 670. Physx support has been the thing that holds my decision. The GTX670's and the "no volt mod" lock on there middle and upper cards it's not welcome in my book...I want to do a little protest buying an AMD solution...but Physx has me grabed. Would a 7970+CPU Physx give me at least 40-45 fps at 1080p?

The performance will greatly depend on the game and other factors as well. Should you not be satisfied with the performance you get, you can add a cheap Nvidia card (no older than Geforce 8000) to accelerate it for the AMD card.

AFAIK, PhysX shouldn't be an issue in those games with proper settings at 1080p on your CPU, but I can't make a guarantee on that.

 

[slomo4sho]

[citation][nom]slomo4sho[/nom][citation][nom]Sakkura[/nom]That's launch pricing AND the lack of the rebates and such you'll inevitably see at retail. Plus you're manipulating the quote to suit your agenda; the article says $150, not 160.[/citation]
Actually, the article suggested that this non-reference design they were showcasing would sell for $160

Update: Sapphire's card should sell for $160, $10 more than reference-class 7790s, according to company representatives

[/citation]
You seemed to have missed this piece of the dialog.

[citation][nom]Sakkura[/nom]He didn't say anything about the non-reference one.[/citation]

He didn't? I wasn't aware that the Sapphire HD 7790 Dual-X in this article was reference design.
[citation][nom]ericjohn004[/nom]To me, if your going to spend even 160$ on a graphics card like the one in this article you might as well save up just a little more and go for a GTX 660 or 7870 or at the very least a 7850 for the same price. [/citation]

Now... who is it that is manipulating quotes?

[citation][nom]Sakkura[/nom]So? The article is still about the 7790, not the Sapphire 7790.[/citation]

You, Sir, are a moron or a troll. Either way, reading comprehension goes a long way. Good Day!

graphics card like the one in this article

Courtesy goes even longer. You could have merely pointed out that Sakkura may have misinterpreted the post that Sakkura replied to, but instead, you assumed that your interpretation of it was correct and that Sakkura's was wrong and mocked Sakkura throughout the whole argument over it. Your interpretation was probably the correct one IMO, but that's not really the point by now, especially since it's not likely that we'll know for sure at least until ericjohn004 confirms which was correct.

As far as civility, anonymity of the internet ensures that benefits of such actions are nonexistent. Considering that one can only interpret written text without the subtle cues of body language and intonations when reading these posts, one can only react to the available information. You could consider my words to be disrespectful and I can interpret yours to be as well. Since this interpretation is highly subjective, how does one argue that ones interpretation of the tone of a written text is right or wrong?

Lastly, I can only be expected to extend the same courtesy extended to me and vice versa.

[citation][nom]slomo4sho[/nom]You, Sir, are a moron or a troll. Either way, reading comprehension goes a long way. Good Day![/citation]

He was being sarcastic .

What subtle cues gave you that interpretation?

 

[pcgeek0179]

I'm counting down the days until this beast launches. The price point is just right for my new budget gaming build!

 

[17seconds]

[citation][nom]blazorthon[/nom]PhysX can run on the CPU.[/citation]
I'like Physx. BAA and BAC look really good with them. If Physx can run on CPU, can I get a 7970 and still have a good performance on physx? I got a 3570K@4.5 and debating to upgrade to a 7970 or a gtx 670. Physx support has been the thing that holds my decision. The GTX670's and the "no volt mod" lock on there middle and upper cards it's not welcome in my book...I want to do a little protest buying an AMD solution...but Physx has me grabed. Would a 7970+CPU Physx give me at least 40-45 fps at 1080p?

The performance will greatly depend on the game and other factors as well. Should you not be satisfied with the performance you get, you can add a cheap Nvidia card (no older than Geforce 8000) to accelerate it for the AMD card.

AFAIK, PhysX shouldn't be an issue in those games with proper settings at 1080p on your CPU, but I can't make a guarantee on that.

The only game that allows AMD users to sometimes run PhysX on Medium is Borderlands 2, but the results are spotty at best. The Batman Arkham games will not work with acceptable framerates. The old AMD PhysX hack is no longer an option for newer games as it does not work with any driver after the 285 series, which are about two years old.

 

[nukemaster]

The only game that allows AMD users to sometimes run PhysX on Medium is Borderlands 2, but the results are spotty at best. The Batman Arkham games will not work with acceptable framerates. The old AMD PhysX hack is no longer an option for newer games as it does not work with any driver after the 285 series, which are about two years old.

City of Heroes did when it was still alive as well. I am almost certain most(if not all) games did when Ageia ran things.

Nvidia uses it as a selling point and works hard to ensure you buy an Nvidia card. While not unheard of in the tech industry, I think it may actually hold back some games from using it because they want the same experience for all users.

This use of a company to make game devs to what you want is not new. The first Assassins Creed game was actually patched to remove the DirectX 10.1 features because they ran faster(and may have looked better) on AMD hardware while Nvidia was still not shipping any 10.1 cards. Again, did it hold back a developer? yes, but it was a "Way its Meant to be Payed" game and Nvidia has deep ties($$$$$) with developers.

I am not saying this as an anti Nvidia thing, I use cards from both and they both have strong points and weak points.

 

[blazorthon]

[citation][nom]slomo4sho[/nom][citation][nom]Sakkura[/nom]That's launch pricing AND the lack of the rebates and such you'll inevitably see at retail. Plus you're manipulating the quote to suit your agenda; the article says $150, not 160.[/citation]
Actually, the article suggested that this non-reference design they were showcasing would sell for $160

Update: Sapphire's card should sell for $160, $10 more than reference-class 7790s, according to company representatives

[/citation]
You seemed to have missed this piece of the dialog.

[citation][nom]Sakkura[/nom]He didn't say anything about the non-reference one.[/citation]

He didn't? I wasn't aware that the Sapphire HD 7790 Dual-X in this article was reference design.
[citation][nom]ericjohn004[/nom]To me, if your going to spend even 160$ on a graphics card like the one in this article you might as well save up just a little more and go for a GTX 660 or 7870 or at the very least a 7850 for the same price. [/citation]

Now... who is it that is manipulating quotes?

[citation][nom]Sakkura[/nom]So? The article is still about the 7790, not the Sapphire 7790.[/citation]

You, Sir, are a moron or a troll. Either way, reading comprehension goes a long way. Good Day!

graphics card like the one in this article

Courtesy goes even longer. You could have merely pointed out that Sakkura may have misinterpreted the post that Sakkura replied to, but instead, you assumed that your interpretation of it was correct and that Sakkura's was wrong and mocked Sakkura throughout the whole argument over it. Your interpretation was probably the correct one IMO, but that's not really the point by now, especially since it's not likely that we'll know for sure at least until ericjohn004 confirms which was correct.

As far as civility, anonymity of the internet ensures that benefits of such actions are nonexistent. Considering that one can only interpret written text without the subtle cues of body language and intonations when reading these posts, one can only react to the available information. You could consider my words to be disrespectful and I can interpret yours to be as well. Since this interpretation is highly subjective, how does one argue that ones interpretation of the tone of a written text is right or wrong?

Lastly, I can only be expected to extend the same courtesy extended to me and vice versa.

There's no logical way to interpret what you said as not being offensive as far as I can see and it would seem that I'm not the only one whom thinks that. You outright insulted him. That means that this isn't a subjective thing at that point.

Whether or not we're online is irrelevant as far as this goes. There should never need to be a benefit for one to be at least civil in communications with others, especially in a situation where you can't know that you're right for sure at least until the point in which this argument started over is solved by the member who's post was being argued over. That there are no non-written cues is not important here either because it doesn't take non-written cues to mock someone.

I'll even say as much as this: even if your words were not meant to be an insult, the excuse of there not being unwritten cues over this is not valid. You know what your words are and it's not difficult to simply read them and think about the way that someone else is likely to take them. Telling someone that they have reading comprehension problems for not agreeing with your interpretation of someone else's words is only likely to be taken as an insult whereas telling them that you see another possible and perhaps more likely way to interpret the previous post is not likely to be taken as an insult. You seem like an intelligent person, surely you can understand the difference demonstrated here.

No one spoke to you on this matter until after you joined in with a rude post, so no, you are the one who started off with a lack of courtesy in this debate. You should have been courteous at first if you wanted such courtesy to have a decent chance of reciprocation.

Whether you interpret my words as disrespectful is up to you. Mine were not and still are not chosen specifically to offend and I see no implication otherwise within them as I see in yours. I even apologize if you disagree with that and was offended by them. Whether or not you are offended by them despite my not attempting to offend you is not something that I have a choice in whereas you did have a choice in mocking someone for having a different view than you rather than stating that you saw another possible and perhaps more accurate perspective.

 

[slomo4sho]

[citation][nom]blazorthon[/nom]There's no logical way to interpret what you said as not being offensive as far as I can see and it would seem that I'm not the only one whom thinks that. You outright insulted him. That means that this isn't a subjective thing at that point.Whether or not we're online is irrelevant as far as this goes. There should never need to be a benefit for one to be at least civil in communications with others, especially in a situation where you can't know that you're right for sure at least until the point in which this argument started over is solved by the member who's post was being argued over. That there are no non-written cues is not important here either because it doesn't take non-written cues to mock someone.I'll even say as much as this: even if your words were not meant to be an insult, the excuse of there not being unwritten cues over this is not valid. You know what your words are and it's not difficult to simply read them and think about the way that someone else is likely to take them. Telling someone that they have reading comprehension problems for not agreeing with your interpretation of someone else's words is only likely to be taken as an insult whereas telling them that you see another possible and perhaps more likely way to interpret the previous post is not likely to be taken as an insult. You seem like an intelligent person, surely you can understand the difference demonstrated here.No one spoke to you on this matter until after you joined in with a rude post, so no, you are the one who started off with a lack of courtesy in this debate. You should have been courteous at first if you wanted such courtesy to have a decent chance of reciprocation.Whether you interpret my words as disrespectful is up to you. Mine were not and still are not chosen specifically to offend and I see no implication otherwise within them as I see in yours. I even apologize if you disagree with that and was offended by them. Whether or not you are offended by them despite my not attempting to offend you is not something that I have a choice in whereas you did have a choice in mocking someone for having a different view than you rather than stating that you saw another possible and perhaps more accurate perspective.[/citation]

Although I admit that I incorporate cynicism and sarcasm frequently into my writing, I was not talking about my own words. I have no interest in being politically correct and I see no reason in getting offended by anything that anyone might say to or about me. As I have said, anonymity makes any personal attacks irrelevant so why should I or anyone for that matter be offended by the words of someone they don't know and will, almost indefinitely, never encounter outside of this medium?

 

[Manrique Mar]

[citation][nom]blazorthon[/nom]The performance will greatly depend on the game and other factors as well. Should you not be satisfied with the performance you get, you can add a cheap Nvidia card (no older than Geforce 8000) to accelerate it for the AMD card.AFAIK, PhysX shouldn't be an issue in those games with proper settings at 1080p on your CPU, but I can't make a guarantee on that.[/citation]
Well guess what?.. I have BAC installed and im using a... get this 9800GT@730mhz...I´ll do some tests at 720p and 1080p with GPU Physx And CPU Physx and come back with the scores.

 

[silverblue]

[citation][nom]slomo4sho[/nom]Although I admit that I incorporate cynicism and sarcasm frequently into my writing, I was not talking about my own words. I have no interest in being politically correct and I see no reason in getting offended by anything that anyone might say to or about me. As I have said, anonymity makes any personal attacks irrelevant so why should I or anyone for that matter be offended by the words of someone they don't know and will, almost indefinitely, never encounter outside of this medium?[/citation]

I hear this all the time. If people weren't offended, they wouldn't react, but we know the latter happens mainly because of the former and not because somebody wants a good fight.

One day, we might not have the cover afforded by anonymity.

Apologies for my wading in; wading back out...

 

[Sakkura]

As far as civility, anonymity of the internet ensures that benefits of such actions are nonexistent. Considering that one can only interpret written text without the subtle cues of body language and intonations when reading these posts, one can only react to the available information. You could consider my words to be disrespectful and I can interpret yours to be as well. Since this interpretation is highly subjective, how does one argue that ones interpretation of the tone of a written text is right or wrong?

Lastly, I can only be expected to extend the same courtesy extended to me and vice versa.

I didn't call you a moron or a troll. In fact I called out the guy who told you to GFYS.

 

[vider]

@Igor Wallossek : Where's the noise table at idle and GPU load?
I'm sure other readers (as well as me) would like to see that table included in the charts.
Could you please update the Review and include the noise table? Thanks!

P.S.
Thanks for the Crysis 3 benchmark! Good to know that this card can deliver an acceptable gaming experience at 1080p and thanks for the nice little review.

 

[lilcinw]

Please add FAHBench (fahbench.com) to your OpenCL benchmarks. It is a standardized benchmark for Stanford's Folding@Home project that measures the expected output of GPUs.

It would be nice if Tom's could give their Folding@Home team the occasional plug also...

 

[amdfangirl]

One day, we might not have the cover afforded by anonymity.

But for now, you can have a moderator monitoring this thread in case of further misbehaviour .

 

[Manrique Mar]

[citation][nom]blazorthon[/nom]The performance will greatly depend on the game and other factors as well. Should you not be satisfied with the performance you get, you can add a cheap Nvidia card (no older than Geforce 8000) to accelerate it for the AMD card.AFAIK, PhysX shouldn't be an issue in those games with proper settings at 1080p on your CPU, but I can't make a guarantee on that.[/citation]

Manrique Mar
3570K@4.5 9800GT@730Mhz 8GB RAM

Please take a look at fps Highest Physx Level in BAC wich is a WTBP Game:
no physx 1080p no physx 1080p 2xmsaa
51 min 42 min
90 max 68 max
73 avg 57 avg

with physx cpu 1080p with physx cpu 1080p 2xmsaa
20 min 20 min
82 max 67 max
44 avg 40 avg

with physx GPU 1080p with physx GPU 1080p 2xmsaa
13 min 14
44 max 44
27 avg 27
I did not test at 720p

 

[cravin]

So... Get a 7850 1gb for $150 with the two free never settle bundle games... or get this POS. HMMM IDK PRETTY HARD CHOICE

 

[AndG]

What are you worry about? Check prices better!
7850 2G - 159.99$ - http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=77602&vpn=FX-785A-CNL4&manufacture=XFX&promoid=1293

 

[blazorthon]

Where is the old link to view these comments in the forums ?

IDK why, but Tom's removed it. To view things in the forums, you can go to the forums and look for this news article in the window on the right side. IDK of another way to get into the old forum view for news articles and reviews.

 

[spentshells]

What are you worry about? Check prices better!
7850 2G - 159.99$ - http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=77602&vpn=FX-785A-CNL4&manufacture=XFX&promoid=1293

nice

 

[Onus]

One day, we might not have the cover afforded by anonymity.

But for now, you can have a moderator monitoring this thread in case of further misbehaviour .

:lol:

 

[aragis]

Why exactly do you think 7850's dominance over the 180 dollar price segment won't last for long? I'm thinking of getting a 7850, is it a bad idea right now?

 

[blazorthon]

Why exactly do you think 7850's dominance over the 180 dollar price segment won't last for long? I'm thinking of getting a 7850, is it a bad idea right now?

Not at all, their point was just that the 650 Ti Boost is supposed to be a little bit cheaper for nearly identical performance on average.

 

[rabbyx7xafc]

What will be the PSU requirement for this GPU? Is there any silly chance of running it in a Generic 500w PSU.... a really good card for budget gamers have to say.....