Radeon 7970 or GTX 680?

[bradderzd1994]

I'm looking for some advice, i'm looking to spend about £300 on a new GPU (about 470 USD) I need UK websites if you are going to link me any.

Im stuck between the 7970 and the GTX 680.

I know the 680 is a bit more expensive but i don't mind spending a bit more if im getting a good blast

I heard there's new drivers for the 7970 that makes it really good?

So far i'm liking this card http://www.scan.co.uk/products/3gb-msi-radeon-hd-7970-oc-5500mhz-gddr5-28nm-gpu-1010mhz-2048-cores-2x-dp-dl-dvi-i-hdmi-plus-free-ga

However i don't know which 680 to get. Please give me some help guys ! Thanks a bunch !

 

[bdiddytampa]

Here's a benchmark for those 2 cards, the 7970 is better in some, the 680 is better in others

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/508?vs=555

I think for the price, you can't beat the 7970. The stuff that it is slower than the 680 on isn't game breaking by any stretch, and IMO doesn't justify the extra cash. MSI is a good company in my experience, great aftermarket coolers. Go for the card you have listed, you won't be dissapointed. Good Luck!

 

[blibba]

I'm looking for some advice, i'm looking to spend about £300 on a new GPU (about 470 USD) I need UK websites if you are going to link me any.

Im stuck between the 7970 and the GTX 680.

I know the 680 is a bit more expensive but i don't mind spending a bit more if im getting a good blast

I heard there's new drivers for the 7970 that makes it really good?

So far i'm liking this card http://www.scan.co.uk/products/3gb-msi-radeon-hd-7970-oc-5500mhz-gddr5-28nm-gpu-1010mhz-2048-cores-2x-dp-dl-dvi-i-hdmi-plus-free-ga

However i don't know which 680 to get. Please give me some help guys ! Thanks a bunch !

What resolution do you play at?

If it's not 2560*1600, either of these cards is a waste.

Also, beware GCN frame latency issues.

 

[bradderzd1994]

Here's a benchmark for those 2 cards, the 7970 is better in some, the 680 is better in others

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/508?vs=555

I think for the price, you can't beat the 7970. The stuff that it is slower than the 680 on isn't game breaking by any stretch, and IMO doesn't justify the extra cash. MSI is a good company in my experience, great aftermarket coolers. Go for the card you have listed, you won't be dissapointed. Good Luck!

Thanks for the quick reply i will probrably get that card then will a 550w i have psu be ok for it?

 

[bradderzd1994]

What resolution do you play at?

If it's not 2560*1600, either of these cards is a waste.

Also, beware GCN frame latency issues.

I play at 1900x1080 but i want to play on max settings on games like bf3, league of legends, wow (during 25 man raids etc and populated areas, starcraft at at least 60+ fps

 

[blibba]

I play at 1900x1080 but i want to play on max settings on games like bf3, league of legends, wow (during 25 man raids etc and populated areas, starcraft at at least 60+ fps

Apart from BF3, you could do all of that on max with a significantly lesser card. BF3 is a bit of an odd one atm, ask yourself how much you're willing to pay for that extra notch of AA. I'd go for a 670 or 660Ti, if I were you.

(Not least because two of those titles heavily favour Nvidia.)

 

[bradderzd1994]

Apart from BF3, you could do all of that on max with a significantly lesser card. BF3 is a bit of an odd one atm, ask yourself how much you're willing to pay for that extra notch of AA. I'd go for a 670 or 660Ti, if I were you.

(Not least because two of those titles heavily favour Nvidia.)

Hmm :/ what about future games? I want to be able to play them on max settings 60+ fps (such as gta 5)

 

[bdiddytampa]

the 7970 requires a minimum of 500w PSU, but make sure you have the right power connectors, I can't find anywhere what connectors that model needs though

 

[bdiddytampa]

at 1080p that 670 would be plenty thanks blibba, I wasn't even thinking about that lol.

 

[blibba]

Hmm :/ what about future games? I want to be able to play them on max settings 60+ fps (such as gta 5)

GTA5 isn't even a certain release on PC yet. There's nothing on the horizon that will challenge even a GTX460 on high settings. Max settings perhaps, but again, how much is that difference worth?

Buy what you need now (which I suspect is even less than a 670), by the time you need more everything will be a fraction of the price.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/GPU12/400

 

[bdiddytampa]

depending on where you look though those 2 cards are pretty much the same price, so it would be up to you dude, both great cards, I doubt you would be upset with the performance of either lol. But before you buy either or any card make sure you have the right power plugs from your PSU.

 

[Doostur]

I have spent the last week comparing both cards. Seems like the results differ depending on who does the bench marking. At the end of the day both cards will eat anything you throw at it.

I went on 3d Marks and searched the results. Put in your CPU and compare the results for the 680 and 7970, you will notice that a single gpu will both be similiar and maxed out at the same points.

For me in the end, I went with the 7970 vapor x sapphire due to price. I got it for $399.99 shipped. I used the $100 I saved and upgraded to a Samsung 840 Pro SSD

 

[blibba]

I have spent the last week comparing both cards. Seems like the results differ depending on who does the bench marking. At the end of the day both cards will eat anything you throw at it.

I went on 3d Marks and searched the results. Put in your CPU and compare the results for the 680 and 7970, you will notice that a single gpu will both be similiar and maxed out at the same points.

For me in the end, I went with the 7970 vapor x sapphire due to price. I got it for $399.99 shipped. I used the $100 I saved and upgraded to a Samsung 840 Pro SSD

Please do not give OP the impression that 3dMarks or average FPS are appropriate or vaguely useful metrics by which to compare cards.

 

[Doostur]

^ Key word is " I ".

Its not a coincidence both cards being spoken about are very similar in testing even on the "crappy" 3d mark testing. In the end what I am trying to say it what everyone else is... the cards are pretty much equal.

 

[cbrunnem]

Here's a benchmark for those 2 cards, the 7970 is better in some, the 680 is better in others

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/508?vs=555

I think for the price, you can't beat the 7970. The stuff that it is slower than the 680 on isn't game breaking by any stretch, and IMO doesn't justify the extra cash. MSI is a good company in my experience, great aftermarket coolers. Go for the card you have listed, you won't be dissapointed. Good Luck!

i think anands test are outdated because the difference between the 7970 and 680 in bf3 used to be that big but AMDs drivers improved it a lot and at high resolutions past nvidia if i am not mistaken.

Apart from BF3, you could do all of that on max with a significantly lesser card. BF3 is a bit of an odd one atm, ask yourself how much you're willing to pay for that extra notch of AA. I'd go for a 670 or 660Ti, if I were you.

(Not least because two of those titles heavily favour Nvidia.)

aa can be huge at high resolutions and far distances in bf3. its like going from 720p to 1080p in some situations. i had a friend go from 1680x1050 and his kdr almost doubled. eye candy isnt just eye candy, it helps performance when you can clearly and distinctly see whats around you especially in a fps like bf3 that is extremely competitive.

GTA5 isn't even a certain release on PC yet. There's nothing on the horizon that will challenge even a GTX460 on high settings. Max settings perhaps, but again, how much is that difference worth?

Buy what you need now (which I suspect is even less than a 670), by the time you need more everything will be a fraction of the price.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/GPU12/400

this is bad advice. if you buy what you need now in a short amount of time you will have a card that is not what you need and will want or need to buy another card. the key is to buy more then what you have now but not over spend for it. its better to buy better cards less often then worse cards more often

Please do not give OP the impression that 3dMarks or average FPS are appropriate or vaguely useful metrics by which to compare cards.

if you dont judge by fps then WTH do you judge by????? what looks prettier or which one is green or red? so confused on your logic. what shall i use as a metric from now on if avg fps cant be used???

 

[blibba]

Regarding cheap cards often vs. expensive cards rarely, there is a balance to be struck. I think a 680 is too far. Personally I spent £40 on a GTX460 this year, it will be one or two years before I need to upgrade again. A GTX680 would have to last for a decade or more to provide comparable value. Of course the GTX680 will be faster than a £40 graphics card for the first few years, but not terribly usefully so, except in a couple of games. I play a variety of games at 2048*1152, and I've yet to find anything the 460 doesn't max. That said, I don't play BF3. Even then, though, the difference between "High" and "Max" is huge in FPS but minimal in image quality.

Regarding judging performance, you should use latency-based metrics. What you see when a game is unplayable is frames taking too long to render - not too few frames being rendered during the gaming session. Currently Techreport is the only competent reviewer of GPUs - http://techreport.com/graphics/

 

[bdiddytampa]

@cbrunnem please don't take this the wrong way, but did you log on here to bash everyone else's advice? or did you have an answer for the OP? Do you have updated benchmarks? To me benchmarks are a guideline, and shouldn't be taken as an ace in the hole. The point of showing him those benchmarks were to give him an idea of how close they perform, and the extra money for a 680 was not necessarily gonna give him reciprocal return. If you have information to add please do so, but PLEASE don't get on here and just bash people, it's counterproductive.

 

[cbrunnem]

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/57413-amd-12-11-never-settle-driver-performance-5.html
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6393/amds-holiday-plans-cat1211-new-bundle

Personally I would go for either the 7970 non ghz edition then overclock or the 670 and overclock. You don't get much more performance with the 680. Also I would stay clear from a reference card and go for one with an aftermarket heatsink and fan.

 

[sanilmahambre]

HD 7970 is better with respect to price tag

I think you should go for Sapphire HD7970 VapourX!

Its easy to overclock aggressively coz of its super silent and efficient cooler