Best HD 7970 - Voltage Locked?

[leoweisman]

So I read a bunch of reviews online and had my heart set on getting the Gigabyte HD 7970 (non GHz), but today I was reading that the recent batch of cards was voltage locked, and could barely be over clocked. I previously regarded the Gigabyte 7970 to be the best value 7970 card, but I get the feeling its not now... If this voltage lock thing is true, what does it mean for the card's performance exactly, and what would a better 7970 be that has a good cooler and isn't locked? My preferred budget is $400 for the card, I can go up maybe $10-15, but something like a $450 is out of my range. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Build:

i5-3570k
ASrock Extreme4
Some 7970
8GB Corsair Vengeance RAM
Corsair TX 650w v2

 

[bigcyco1]

Yeah the voltage is locked which means it cannot be over volted your best bet is http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202008&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&PageSize=10&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&IsFeedbackTab=true#top

 

[leoweisman]

Yeah the voltage is locked which means it cannot be over volted your best bet is http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202008&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&PageSize=10&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&IsFeedbackTab=true#top

So just to double check, can the Sapphire 7970 be overvolted or is it locked like the others?

 

[bigcyco1]

It supposedley is not locked i do not own it so i cannot say for sure

 

[pantherr]

I think people read to much into this voltage locked stuff.Even if it were voltage locked you should beable to get solid overclocks out of them all.1100 mhz+ should be doable on just about all of them without touching voltage.I dunno why anyone with mess with voltage anyways it will just shorten the lifespan of the card.

 

[dknightxs]

asus hd7970 dcuii i hear they r not voltagelocked as they even allow VGA hotwire.