Which 670 or 7970?

[Cool4strenz]

Hey guys,

I have a few questions that have been bugging me for a while, but I haven't had the time to ask. I'm planning on getting a 670 for my new build but should I get the MSI Power Edition or the ASUS DC2T? I've heard problems with the DC2T, if there weren't, I'd definitely go for that one. (But I also heard that MSI had been doing some weird voltage thing on the 660tis and the 670s). I also heard problems about 2gb in the future. Should I get a 7970 instead then? I want my GPU to last 3-4 years. The only model my store sells is the 7970 ghz vapor x edition. I read reviews about that too, it seems to be a solid choice except for that it's a 2.5 slot card.

I have an Asrock z77 Extreme6 motherboard. In the future, if I get the 670 or the 7970, should I sli/crossfire it when it runs out of gpu power? Or should I get the 770 or the 8970? I heard that the 8xxx series is coming out Q2 of 2013. Should I wait? Also, if I'm planning on sli and crossfiring, I know the 670s will fit because they are 2-slot cards, but how about the vapor x 7970? It's a 2.5 slot, will it be able to be crossfired on my Extreme6? If it can, will the cooling performance greatly decrease? Also, how bad is the micro-stuttering on crossfire/sli? I want to play Crysis 3 in the future, so I'm a little concerned on the graphics requirements, but I mean, nobody knows the requirements for the game until it's out.

Also, there is adaptive v-sync on the 670 and it also comes with ACIII and Borderlands 2, which means I don't have to spend so much on games and I don't have to buy a 120hz monitor (or should I) ? The 7970 ghz does not have that feature, but I've been looking @ 120hz monitors for a while. I'm thinking of getting a 27" 120hz monitor, but the problem with that is that I'm afraid, because the maximum resolution is 1920x1200, the image won't be as clear because it's stretching those pixels on a large area.

I've been using Nvidia products for a while, I've never used an AMD graphics card, so I'm a bit skeptical about it.

I know there are a lot of questions, but I've been dying to ask them.

 

[ohyouknow]

I would get the 7970 in this current price market. To be honest, best bang for buck.

DC2T. I have it. It's great. Pretty much all of the complaints about the Asus card is caused from the GPU tweak software which was boosting cards beyond their means. I did my research coming in and didn't install it. No problems to this day.

1080p resolution. Either card will be fine and overkill. SLI/xfire in the future sure, but unless you are doing surround/eyefinity it's pointless on that one monitor 1080p.

Best to get a reference design gpu for at least one of them if you plan to do dual cards. Aftermarket gpus with the typical two fan design dump heat into the case. Two of those are going to make the housing toasty.

Hi performance Crysis 3 requires top of the line gpus out already. Google ftw.

7970 best buy out right now. 670 dc top bad rap from user malfunction. Good Luck.

 

[Commandermadi]

If you are going to play on one monitor, both cards will preform greatly either the 670 or the 7970 so at this case I would get the cheapest of them so I will go with the 670. But if you are going to use multiple monitors or higher resolutions, then AMD 7970 will preform greatly. HOWEVER if you are going to use dual cards, then go with SLI because it usually gets less microstuttering than crossfire. But to sum up, both cards will not let you down at that resolution and in the same time, I am pretty sure they will last for 3-4 years, the extra vram for the 7970 doesn't future proof at all.

 

[Cool4strenz]

Alright well I guess I'm going to go with the 670 DC2T and then just swap it with a 770, 780 or 8970 when it comes out. No more SLI/Xfire for me because he microstuttering does seem pretty bad, even in SLI. What power supply should I get, I was thinking of the Corsair HX850. Any other thoughts?

 

[sam_p_lay]

I'll +1 the GTX670. Microstuttering may well get fixed in the future with nVidia hardware. They've been doing a lot of work on it and have made huge progress in delivering amazingly consistent framerates on single GPU setups (even single GPUs exhibit some degree of framerate inconsistency, but nVidia have made awesome progress lately levelling it out). I'm gonna hold out for the GTX770 but I'd get a GTX670 if I was buying now.

 

[Cool4strenz]

But I heard that AMD just released the 12.11 drivers, seems to beat the 670s and 680s.

 

[ohyouknow]

Nvidia also just released some drivers as well. No benchmarks out so far. But really, there will always be a driver update around the corner and GPU around the corner. If you are going to purchase now, I still stand behind a 7970.

 

[lt_dan_zsu]

The 7970, in general, is a little more powerful and a little cheaper. So I would go with that.

 

[Cool4strenz]

Hmm, then I might just get the 7970 Vapor X. Still waiting on a few more comments. I'm buying in around 5 days.

 

[sam_p_lay]

The drivers comment is right - both companies are always releasing new updated drivers. There was an article about a year ago comparing a GeForce and Radeon over 18 months of driver updates, and the GeForce gained more performance in total over the 18 months. These are generally small, incremental improvements though.

Catalyst 12.11 really wasn't a big deal. It was a larger gain that we're used to seeing from a single Catalyst update, but it was still only adding an average of 7%. A little more in some games, none at all in others. 7% is enough to turn 30fps into 32fps.

As for price, I'm unaware of any country in which the best 7970 prices are below the best GTX670 prices. Maybe there's been some sudden price cut I don't know about (but I doubt it). GTX670 has been available at a lower price since the two cards launched.

Reasons I'd still take the GTX670 even if the two options cost same money are the benefits of reduced frame latency (so more consistently high delivery of framerates rather than up/down inconsistent performance that just averages out to a good framerate, can post latency benchmarks if needed), adaptive v-sync (for significantly higher and totally unrestricted sub-60 framerates when v-sync is used, let me know if you want more explanation) and PhysX.

I know, PhysX isn't used in loads of games (21 games since 2008), but it's in some major titles now (like Batman Arkham City, Borderlands 2, Metro 2033 or Bulletstorm) and I wouldn't be surprised to see it a lot more next year. And before somebody says that you can't tell the difference, take a look at this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAf [...] r_embedded

Pretty cool no?

 

[Cool4strenz]

Yea, I know of PhysX and their adaptive v-sync, but if I'm getting an 120hz monitor, unless the GPU goes over 120 frames (which I highly doubt), I won't be needing V-Sync right?

 

[sam_p_lay]

Yea, I know of PhysX and their adaptive v-sync, but if I'm getting an 120hz monitor, unless the GPU goes over 120 frames (which I highly doubt), I won't be needed V-Sync right?

Right

 

[Cool4strenz]

So I guess it comes down to whether I'm getting a 120hz monitor or not. If I am, then probably 7970, if not, then 670, thanks all for the replies!

 

[sam_p_lay]

Actually, I'd grab the GTX670 either way (adaptive v-sync was just one of several reasons) but whichever you decide to go with, have fun with it And obviously post back if there's any issues.

 

[lt_dan_zsu]

I saw bf3 upped on the 7970 by almost 20 fps. That is far more than 7%.

 

[sam_p_lay]

I saw bf3 upped on the 7970 by almost 20 fps. That is far more than 7%.

If you're referring to where I said "an average of 7%", let me clarify to avoid confusion - an average of 7%.

In some games it's more and some games there's no improvement at all. On average, 7%.

 

[lt_dan_zsu]

You are making it sound like it barely got past 7 ever. I was just giving an example. But yes average is probably around 7-10%.

 

[sam_p_lay]

It's clear for anyone to see that I wasn't saying that. I already put the word 'average' in bold, but just to clarify, average. Flashing on/off is next, so hopefully we're clear now

 

[Bromeh]

i would definitely go with Nvidia, not because i'm a fanboy but because of the drivers and the overall quality

Amd cards that are supposely "better" get under 30fps in some games Nvidia are at 60fps (for the same performance)

i've only had one issue with the nvidia drivers running a gts 450, i was getting black screens almost once an hour so i wen't back to the old drivers until the new one came out and everything was sloved .... with ATI i always get black screens or those kind of problems

also, amd cards tend to have unstable framerates which is not good for a gamer, (for example : amd -> 30-70FPS, nvidia -> 45-55)


Hope it helps

 

[kracker]

I would go 7970, but it depends on what you do/play.

 

[lt_dan_zsu]

i would definitely go with Nvidia, not because i'm a fanboy but because of the drivers and the overall quality

Amd cards that are supposely "better" get under 30fps in some games Nvidia are at 60fps (for the same performance)

i've only had one issue with the nvidia drivers running a gts 450, i was getting black screens almost once an hour so i wen't back to the old drivers until the new one came out and everything was sloved .... with ATI i always get black screens or those kind of problems

also, amd cards tend to have unstable framerates which is not good for a gamer, (for example : amd -> 30-70FPS, nvidia -> 45-55)


Hope it helps

I'm sorry, but that literally makes no sense. Also I have only had problems with nvidia drivers.

 

[Bromeh]

I'm sorry, but that literally makes no sense. Also I have only had problems with nvidia drivers.

What makes no sense ? that i've only had problems only with amd ? well, everyone had a different experience with different hardware, i was just giving my experience out there

also, the fact of the framerates is real, pretty much every radeon card has more unstable fps than nvidia, maybe my example was a little exaggerated ... but anyway

what kind of problems you had with nvidia drivers ? old cards or high end cards ?

 

[lt_dan_zsu]

You just said a nvidia card gets 60 and amd gets 30, which makes no sense. They have a lot of different cards that all perform differently. Most games get 60 plus fps with the 7950 and 7970.

 

[Bromeh]

ok maybe what i wrote wasn't clear

for example GTX670 and HD 7970

Game : Far Cry 3

-- Nvidia Card --
Average FPS : 50
Minimum FPS : 45
Maximum FPS : 55

-- AMD Card --
Average FPS : 50
Minimum FPS : 30
Maximum FPS : 70


What i meant is that amd card tend to have UNSTABLE FRAMES PER SECONDS

that's it, no bashing on amd but some gamers like me think that a card constantly having different fps non stop is not good for gaming because your game don't constantly run at the same speed and that it weird ...

anyway, tom's has some reviews about those cards and you can either google it

i've done almost 2 weeks of research so i've seen almost every benchmarks about those high end cards, nvidia always winning

 

[lt_dan_zsu]

Oh, now I see what you are saying. That may be true.