PowerColor AX7870 2GBD5-M2DH Radeon HD VS. MSI R7870-2GD5T/OC Radeon HD

[Colt45SON]

I'm debating whether there is a difference between the various companies that produce performance GPU's. Is there a difference in performance as well as price? Or is brand name irrelevant? Here are the two cards I am looking at:
PowerColor:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?SID=i0CrzlRiEeOLnupU7pyETQI1hA_a-jo3_84Q_0_0&AID=10440897&PID=1225267&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-cables-_-na-_-na&Item=N82E16814131510&cm_sp=
MSI:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?SID=C00CUlRlEeOf5d5GYZhP-AI1hA_a-jo3_84Q_0_0&AID=10440897&PID=1225267&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-cables-_-na-_-na&Item=N82E16814127722&cm_sp=

Also after reading this article:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-r9-270-review-benchmarks,3669.html
I am not convinced that the 7870 is a worse value than the newer Radeon cards, and it seems worthwhile to jump on them while the price is good before they are discontinued. Does anyone disagree and why?

Thank you for the help. First time post.

 

[Dyers Eve]

I've been looking at those same exact 2 cards to buy. They are clearing out their stock of 7870s in order to push the new r9s so now is a great chance to buy a 7870 cheap. When that Toms article was written, the 7870 wasn't that much cheaper than the r9-270 and didn't make it attractive, prices change very fast in the video card world and now a 7870 for $130ish is very good.

Brand name isn't that relevant. What is relevant is the fans they slap onto the card and the OC they do. The MSI gets a 1050 core clock compared to the 1000 core clock on the PowerColor but the MSI is +$15. MSI has a great dual fan cooling setup and while I've never had a Powercolor, the fan looks weak compared to the MSI.

I don't think the 50 extra core clock will be noticeable. Personally, a product with great reviews and a proven cooling system and a tiny OC is worth $15, but going the super cheap way is fine too, I've done that plenty of times

 

[Rybo]

I'm actually in the exact same boat looking at the exact same cards, haha!
Nonetheless the main difference is the Powercolor card is a reference designed cooler and that cooler would exhaust the heat from the card out the back of the case rather than into the case. Also note the Powercolor card is going to be a mini jet engine when on full load(video on it at end of post) as the Msi card should be rather quiet. I'm leaning more towards the Powercolor card as its cheaper and I'd rather exhaust the heat out the back of my case even though cooling isn't a worry for me.

Powercolor fan noise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBGTwelALY0

 

[Colt45SON]

Thanks for the swift replies guys. I think I'm going to go for the MSI as I will have good circulation for the case and the extra clock speed combined with the afterburner OC utility. The Powercolor heat exhaust out of the case is a great point though. It does seem to be a toss up between the two. Good luck with your choices!

 

[nikoli707]

they both perform exactly the same clock for clock... how good one will overclock vs the other is a matter of luck. the difference between the two is how much noise the fan makes and how hot and how quickly they get hot is the question. if you dont plan on overclocking... just get the cheaper one.

 

[radicall77]

I wish I could hear the relative noise/temperature doing the same graphics tasks.

I ended up getting the Powercolor Radeon HD 7870 and ended up having to change my case as well. The new case is louder than my pre-built PC case in general, but when I am playing a game - they fan kicks in and gets pretty darn loud.

I installed the MSI Afterburner utility and customized my fan curve (yes it works with powercolor cards) - so keeping both temp and noise in check, but generally speaking the fan noise is very distracting. I have to turn up the speakers just to drown the fan noise