EVGA 670 FTW 4GB vs. 7970

[datguy88]

Hello, I have been looking to finalize my first gaming build after a year of saving up, and after believing the GT670 FTW 4GB was the way to go, I stumbled across some of the 7970s at very close prices. Not to mention, they are giving away Far Cry 3, Hitman Absolution, and Sleeping Dogs which I am completely excited for.

Could anyone please tell me which they have found to be better, the 670 or the 7970, and if its the 7970, which one? Also, should Physx, drivers, and planning to SLI/CF in the future play a role in which card to get?

Thank you for any answers as I really want to get into high end gaming, so choosing a card with 3GB+ for vram is a must as I want to max out Battlefield 3 and GTA V when it (hopefully) releases on PC; also, I plan on using many graphic intensive mods like ICEnhanncer GTA IV which are heavy in the vram usage department. I will also be getting an i5 3570k if that helps.

Once again, any tips that can be given would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Rockdpm]

If your gonna go AMD Radeon. XFX is the best company to go with. They are similar to what EVGA is with NVIDIA

 

[ProVisionOman]

Really? I am buying a 7970 for myself and I am getting the Sapphire TOXIC 6GB because I will do some Maya and the VRAM is important. So do you think that's a good buy? If the 680 had that VRAM I would've gone for it and also the computing performance of the 7970 is just astonishing.

 

[bigcyco1]

My friend just bought this card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121671 it's quite the beast lol

 

[datguy88]

My friend just bought this card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121671 it's quite the beast lol

I was looking at that card, but it's a little too far out of my price range which is about under $450 after rebates. This is what the XFX Double D 7970 comes to.

 

[dscudella]

I'd get the Sapphire Vapor-X 7970 $465 shipped $445 after MIR rather than the XFX.

 

[Anik8]

The gtx 670 is better than the 925mhz hd 7970.
When u apply latest drivers for hd 7970 and also latest drivers for the 670, the gap closes but still gtx 670 manges to pull ahead of the 7970 in a relative performance basis.
The graphs dscudella showed didn't include 310.33 drivers mind it.

 

[dscudella]

The 310.33 drivers didn't effect the 670 in any way, shape or form. I already posted that. Only the GTX 660 and GTX 680 were effected and only in certain games. The impact of the drivers were so small that no one is even re running benchmarks.

I'll quote Nvidia again:

This is a beta driver from the new GeForce R310 family of drivers.

New in R310 Drivers:

Performance Boost – Increases performance for GeForce 400/500/600 Series GPUs in several PC games vs. GeForce 306.97 WHQL-certified drivers. Results will vary depending on your GPU and system configuration:

GeForce GTX 680:
Up to 11% in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Up to 6% in StarCraft II
Up to 6% in Batman: Arkham City
GeForce GTX 660:
Up to 6% in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Up to 3% in Batman: Arkham City
Up to 4% in Dragon Age II

Techpowerups 310.33

 

[dscudella]

Here's the same question asked over at Overclock.net. The consensus is the 7970 is better than the 670 and on par with a 680.

This is an endless battle. Multiple people have presented benchmarks for both sides. Many fanboys have thrown in their .02.

 

[bigcyco1]

I think these threads are just hopeless they do no good for anyone everybody fights the best answer is they preform within spitting distance of each other so get which ever you prefer

 

[dscudella]

I think these threads are just hopeless they do no good for anyone everybody fights the best answer is they preform within spitting distance of each other so get which ever you prefer

LOL I agree whole heartedly.

I just found this

Performance Improvements

We’ve increased performance in numerous games over the past year, and today we’re increasing performance yet again, with gains of up to 7.5% on the GTX 660, and 15.7% on the GTX 680. Other GTX 600 Series products will see gains also, though the extent of those improvements will of course vary and be further influenced by a user’s software and hardware configuration.

The percentage increases weren't given and the GTX 670 wasn't even represented.

 

[Rockdpm]

Ha, many fanboys he says but yet... he will fight to the death to "Try" to proove a 7970 is the greatest thing in the world

 

[Rockdpm]

The 310.33 drivers didn't effect the 670 in any way, shape or form. I already posted that. Only the GTX 660 and GTX 680 were effected and only in certain games. The impact of the drivers were so small that no one is even re running benchmarks.

I'll quote Nvidia again:

This is a beta driver from the new GeForce R310 family of drivers.

New in R310 Drivers:

Performance Boost – Increases performance for GeForce 400/500/600 Series GPUs in several PC games vs. GeForce 306.97 WHQL-certified drivers. Results will vary depending on your GPU and system configuration:

GeForce GTX 680:
Up to 11% in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Up to 6% in StarCraft II
Up to 6% in Batman: Arkham City
GeForce GTX 660:
Up to 6% in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Up to 3% in Batman: Arkham City
Up to 4% in Dragon Age II

Techpowerups 310.33

Usually when a companys release new drivers. they don't always post every single card that was affected and by how much because it'd be too long of a list. So just because they didn't say oh 670 this 670 this. and instead posted 680 this 680 this doesn't mean that the 670 "Was not" improved with the newest driver. If the OP wanted a 680.. you wouldn't have even mentioned this list because it would go against your evidence in court. Court? yes because thats exactly what people like you turn these threads into... nothing but FANBOY aruging when the original poster just wants a quick answer doesn't need to know clock for clock, which one pisses further... just needs to know WHICH CARD is best

 

[Embra]

I would think that anyone buying a high end gpu would be using the latest and greatest drivers. Could we please stop seeing old bench comparisons?

 

[Rockdpm]

There is none i am aware of for nvidia just AMD i don't know why professional review sites have not done tests with benchmarks of that yet

Then that can only mean one thing....
Paid benchmarks

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSfYWRB34m_T8mwvJbmdJs7RA3c_se0EwFZN6EwAfcYpK9MsDYjcA

 

[datguy88]

I'd get the Sapphire Vapor-X 7970 $465 shipped $445 after MIR rather than the XFX.

How much better does this card perform over the xfx one, like what features make it the better option?

 

[RussK1]

Uh oh! The nVidia crowd is maaad! AMD wins in price and performance. :lol:

Here I'll repost:

12.11 vs 310.33

http://technewspedia.com/geforce-gtx-680-geforce-310-33-vs-radeon-hd-7970-catalyst-12-11-ghz-edition/

http://alienbabeltech.com/main/?p=32344&page=3

More:

http://www.overclock.net/t/1322119/12-11-vs-310-33

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=310.33+vs+12.11

To quote a user:

Wow the 680 actually got pwned.

I won't even mention the widening of the gap when Compute is considered...

 

[bigcyco1]

Uh oh! The nVidia crowd is maaad! AMD wins in price and performance. :lol:

Here I'll repost:

12.11 vs 310.33

http://alienbabeltech.com/main/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Untitled-14.jpg

http://technewspedia.com/geforce-gtx-680-geforce-310-33-vs-radeon-hd-7970-catalyst-12-11-ghz-edition/

http://alienbabeltech.com/main/?p=32344&page=3

More:

http://www.overclock.net/t/1322119/12-11-vs-310-33

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=310.33+vs+12.11

Thanks for posting these i been wondering hopefully http://www.guru3d.com/
www.hardocp.com/
www.anandtech.com/
www.hardwarecanucks.com
www.techpowerup.com/
will post up to date benchmarks soon as those are places i trust

 

[datguy88]

I just checked the xfx 7970 Ghz editions on Newegg, and it seems they don't include the three game bundle anymore, does anyone know what's up with that?

 

[RussK1]

Thanks for posting these i been wondering hopefully http://www.guru3d.com/
www.hardocp.com/
www.anandtech.com/
www.hardwarecanucks.com
www.techpowerup.com/
will post up to date benchmarks soon as those are places i trust

I know what you're saying... but everywhere I look I see the 7970 winning over the 680... for someone to say the 670 is even a factor is delusional at best. The whole fallacy of "believe" when everything proves otherwise... and before this someone chimes in, I'm not saying this being "fanboy" (I don't have an AMD/nVidia avatar calling other people "fanboys", which is funny I have to admit) but rather it's the cold hard truth; whether someone likes it or not.

 

[bigcyco1]

I know what you're saying... but everywhere I look I see the 7970 winning over the 680... for someone to say the 670 is even a factor is delusional at best. The whole fallacy of "believe" when everything proves otherwise... and before this someone chimes in, I'm not saying this being "fanboy" (I don't have an AMD/nVidia avatar calling other people "fanboys", which is funny I have to admit) but rather it's the cold hard truth; whether someone likes it or not.

Well amd new drivers plus the three free games make it to card to pass on but still doesn't make 660 or 670 bad choice if you prefer NV.The price is fair imo.I am a fan of both i try not to sip red/green drink to much.I bought 670's because at the time they were better bang for buck then 7970 i bought my son 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.He really likes his card i am pretty fond of it myself lol but my point is to much argue about which is better both companies make great cards really and you couldn't go wrong either way

 

[Rockdpm]

Well amd new drivers plus the three free games make it to card to pass on but still doesn't make 660 or 670 bad choice if you prefer NV.The price is fair imo.I am a fan of both i try not to sip red/green drink to much.I bought 670's because at the time they were better bang for buck then 7970 i bought my son 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.He really likes his card i am pretty fond of it myself lol but my point is to much argue about which is better both companies make great cards really and you couldn't go wrong either way

Words spoken from a true enthusiast

 

[dscudella]

Words spoken from a true enthusiast

LMAO he agrees with the other Nvidia fanboy but when I correct myself and post something on the 670 (which I shouldn't do because that would incriminate me "in court")

Performance Improvements

We’ve increased performance in numerous games over the past year, and today we’re increasing performance yet again, with gains of up to 7.5% on the GTX 660, and 15.7% on the GTX 680. Other GTX 600 Series products will see gains also, though the extent of those improvements will of course vary and be further influenced by a user’s software and hardware configuration.

you can't be found. Funny thing is, the thread is about the 670 vs 7970. If the thread was about the 680 vs the 7970 we would be having a different conversation. Keep on posting asinine comments, it suits your style.

 

[bigcyco1]

LMAO he agrees with the other Nvidia fanboy but when I correct myself and post something on the 670 (which I shouldn't do because that would incriminate me "in court")

Performance Improvements

We’ve increased performance in numerous games over the past year, and today we’re increasing performance yet again, with gains of up to 7.5% on the GTX 660, and 15.7% on the GTX 680. Other GTX 600 Series products will see gains also, though the extent of those improvements will of course vary and be further influenced by a user’s software and hardware configuration.

you can't be found. Funny thing is, the thread is about the 670 vs 7970. If the thread was about the 680 vs the 7970 we would be having a different conversation. Keep on posting asinine comments, it suits your style.

Who are you calling the other Nvidia fanboy ?This thread needs to be closed it's getting to be to ridiculous imo.

 

[dscudella]

See what these threads turn into. It starts out civil. Then someone posts antiquated benchmarks with old drivers quoting their card is better. Someone rebuts with the correct benchmarks done by a reputable site. Then all it takes is one person to say "nuh uh, mines faster because I have it" and then the whole thread goes to garbage.

If being called a fanboy means that I've linked numerous benchmarks that put Product A over Product B repeatedly and in every scenario, then yes, I guess I'm a fanboy.

I can also continue to back up all my statements, just like RussK1, with solid benchmarks while other people can use the "nuh uh" argument.

 

[Rockdpm]

Who are you calling the other Nvidia fanboy ?This thread needs to be closed it's getting to be to ridiculous imo.

Right, and he clearly was pointing at the 680 vs 7970 because of what he said about the 680 was the only thing mentioned in the drivers junk and because the 670 wasn't mentioned then its not worth of consideration, I think we should just start closing thread about Green team **** card vs Red team **** card because it just turns into a fan boy vs fanboy clock for clock fps for dollar BULL ***


It should be more like- < this one thank you come again

but instead its : which do you guys think i should get? *two seperate fan boys enter room* argue and debtate like an election debate. and the original poster has to wait it out until one side gives up and feeds them their Bull ***