If o/cing gpu and I have strong liquid cooling, 7970>680 ???

[sburck]

From what I read the 680 has a slight edge but the 7970 is more oc'able. So if I'm planning on overclocking and I have sufficient liquid cooling, is the 7970 a better choice from the performance standpoint? The other issue is the drivers, which would make me want to go nvidia...

 

[tekman42]

Read the article here...http://hardocp.com/article/2012/04/04/nvidia_kepler_geforce_gtx_680_overclocking_review/1

After reading you can draw the conclusion that's best for your useage...as for drivers...amd has a better track record of stable and fewer bugs than nvidia as of late...say the past 2-3 years and this provides for more play time and less "pull out all the hair" time.

The two cards are extremely close in the benchmarks and in most cases withing a few percentage points with one gaining a little and the other gaining a little there...the two video cards perform incredibly well so it's a personal preference thing and not really a performance thing.

I would read the article, decide which fits your gaming preferences better and then compare my budget to the actual costs...look at warranties and decide for yourself which you prefer or which card matches up best for you!!!!!

P.S. if power consumption is a thing ie...going green...that's in the article as well...remember less power....the lower the electric bill...the more green you are


Just a thought!

Respectfully,
tekman42

 

[robthatguyx]

i agree with tekman42 with those two cards it comes down to do you like nvidia or amd,all tho overclocking i here all sorts about it with the 7970 and powercolor makes a cards with a cooling block already on it

 

[sburck]

Read the article here...http://hardocp.com/article/2012/04/04/nvidia_kepler_geforce_gtx_680_overclocking_review/1

After reading you can draw the conclusion that's best for your useage...as for drivers...amd has a better track record of stable and fewer bugs than nvidia as of late...say the past 2-3 years and this provides for more play time and less "pull out all the hair" time.

The two cards are extremely close in the benchmarks and in most cases withing a few percentage points with one gaining a little and the other gaining a little there...the two video cards perform incredibly well so it's a personal preference thing and not really a performance thing.

I would read the article, decide which fits your gaming preferences better and then compare my budget to the actual costs...look at warranties and decide for yourself which you prefer or which card matches up best for you!!!!!

P.S. if power consumption is a thing ie...going green...that's in the article as well...remember less power....the lower the electric bill...the more green you are


Just a thought!

Respectfully,
tekman42

Funny you should say that about AMD's drivers. I hear the opposite over and over.

 

[robthatguyx]

superclocked the 7970 is faster i think but normally the gtx680 is faster if you can get a hold of one and in most games people are playing now the 680 reference cards beat the 7970 reference

 

[tekman42]

A few years back when ATI was acquired by AMD...that was true...since AMD took over the company and began releasing better and faster GPU's the opposite has began to be the norm..

The ATI CCC has come a long way and is now a fairly stable platform that has become very solid on it's driver releases...as with all "NEW" drivers there's always a bug or two but those are usually worked out and the final versions have been fairly anticlamatic as far as problems and issues goes.

That's why I said you should read the article for yourself and make your own decision...Nvidia has released an entirely new architecture recently and the prior FERMI cores were woefully inefficient and wasted power plus had a LOT of problems...the new architecture is just that a new release and the drivers have their share of bugs as always...hence your preferences comes into play as to what manufacturer you would prefer.

Wasn't batting for AMD...they have in my opinion...been a much better investment of ones money when it came to value vs performance...their prices had been much more reasonable whereas I likened Nvidia's top card to Intel's top cpu...WAY over priced...for the top performer not to say that ATI hasn't attempted the same thing but this IS a first for the gpu market for ATI having been first out of the gate with a major model that is the fastest so I guess they WERE playing the top dollar gpu and demanding a high price but recently prices have begun to come more inline with what I consider value for money spent.

It's a personal preference and what one wishes to spend on their rigs...Also...availability is an issue as the AMD cards ARE available now and the Nvidia cards are in "extremely" short supply!

Good luck with whatever you choose to use!!

 

[bigj1985]

In my opinion I would go 680 all the way. Just for the fact it does Physx, FSAA, and the new Vsync technology on the card can really come in handy. In terms of raw performance the cards are nearly identical when at MAX OC and the 680 being slightly faster at stock. Just the new tech on the 680 make it a more viable investment in my personal opinion. Others will have differing opinions. The 7970 does come with a whopping 1gb of extra Vram. Mayb that would come in handy on a multi monitor setup using extremely high RES.

 

[robthatguyx]

if you can find one lol

 

[tekman42]

yep, the only place I can seem to find one available is on Ebay and those care a $100-$150 premium over OEM prices!

It isn't worth it...not at the moment!

Talk about price gouging!!!

 

[robthatguyx]

i agree, hopefully the shortage evens out soon because im building a system and am going to need a video card soon

 

[tekman42]

This reminds me of when they released the xbox 360 around xmas and a roommate of mine spent $700 just to have one first!!!

The foundry hasn't been able to keep up with the chip production for these new cards and EVERYBODY over here has to wait or spend huge amounts over MSR...nuts to that...I'll wait a bit to see where the market settles out at!

 

[bigj1985]

if you can find one lol

I know it is hard but you can find one if you look at the right times. I actually created a thread in the video card part of the Forums linking to an EVGA and ASUS SOC GTX 680 that were both in stock for about 3 hours yesterday. I just labeled it "GTX 680 IN STOCK" and linked to the cards. Surprisingly only a few saw it. But I definately could have bought one at retail if I chose to. So they are not impossible to find in stock. But they are damn hard that's for sure.

 

[tekman42]

Congrats my friend...you are ONE of the LUCKY ones!!!

Go for it and enjoy!

 

[amuffin]

Depends on the "liquid cooling."

 

[tekman42]

Understood...keep us posted if you think about it and let us know where it ends up at and what your final build out in your rig ends up being.

We like success stories and what performance actually turns out to be...much appreciated and you have a good one!