I dont know what to get, PLEASE help.

[Technoflicks]

Title

HIS Radeon HD 7950 ICEQ (the blower style fan version)
http://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/his-radeon-hd-7950-iceq-turbo-review,1.html
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161407

Or, the Sapphire Vapor-X 7950
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Sapphire/HD_7950_Vapor-X/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202003

Or, the XFX Double Dissipation 7950
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150588
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/4538/xfx_radeon_hd_7950_black_edition_double_dissipation_3gb_review/index15.html

Or, the Gigabyte WindForce 7950
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125414
http://www.techspot.com/review/496-amd-radeon-7950/

Any help would be appreciated. But, do NOT try and suggest me a different video card, I am dead set on the 7950 and you will not be able to change my mind unless the differences and pricing is drastic.

 

[ko888]

Sapphire HD 7950 Vapor-X is best in your list.

 

[Technoflicks]

Sapphire HD 7950 Vapor-X is best in your list.

Thats what I thought at first but then I saw the HIS's temps and they REALLY surprised me since its a blower style cooler, and then I started second guessing myself so I just decided to post this on tomshardware's forums and see what other people thought.

 

[ko888]

Thats what I thought at first but then I saw the HIS's temps and they REALLY surprised me since its a blower style cooler, and then I started second guessing myself so I just decided to post this on tomshardware's forums and see what other people thought.

The Sapphire HD 7950 Vapor-X is the fastest card in your list.

Are you buying for performance or cooling? If performance doesn't matter to you then get the HIS if you want a cooler slower running card.

 

[lostgamer_03]

Get vapor-x, it comes with boost. Which the HIS doesn't.

 

[Technoflicks]

Get vapor-x, it comes with boost. Which the HIS doesn't.

I am going for temps because when the warranty runs out on the video card I am going to do some heavy OCing.

 

[ko888]

I am going for temps because when the warranty runs out on the video card I am going to do some heavy OCing.

A heavy OC is not guaranteed and may not even be achievable. In fact getting any overclock out of the card is not guaranteed.

 

[bigshootr8]

Agreed Ko. A chip can have a general area of how well it will overclock but with the silicon lottery where all chips are not created equal every chip will have different thermal limits. For example when you have a crisp 1 dollar bill there may be a more crisp 1 dollar bill elsewhere.

I prefer the Sapphire Vapor-X on the AMD side you get superior cooling with a vapor cooler which to my knowledge is a more sophisticated version of a heatpipe design and you get superior components.

Black Diamond Choke & Full Solid Cap Design

Choke is an important component of the graphics card. By working with the component engineer, Sapphire’s patent pending choke is 10% cooler and offers 25% more power efficiency than a normal choke. The graphics card will be more reliable and save energy.

Improved reliability and better overclocking are possible by using only high-polymer, aluminum capacitors which posses far superior characteristics than regular aluminum capacitor for a longer product life. When operational temperatures drop by 20°C, the product life span is extended by a factor of ten, when the operational temperature increases by 20°C, the product life span only decreases by 10%.

http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/product/?cid=1&gid=3&sgid=1157&pid=1547&psn=&lid=1&leg=0

 

[Technoflicks]

A heavy OC is not guaranteed and may not even be achievable. In fact getting any overclock out of the card is not guaranteed.

I am aware of that, but that is a small chance that I will not be able to OC at all, plus, I want my video card to run cool and quiet, which is why I first thought of the Sapphire Vapor-X 7950.

 

[bigshootr8]

Yea the Sapphire Vapor-X 7950 is a good place I would say. You get a factory overclock. And in all honesty I can't imagine games really needing much more power then a 7950 at this point right? I'd say get the best card you can afford.

 

[Technoflicks]

Best answer selected by Technoflicks.