matrix vs top

Bazippy · 3 Oct 2013 at 22:06

Okay was going to wait for the r 280x but the killer deals on asus 7970's mean i can buy one of those and a new monitor for the price of the 280x(well around £360)
My question is is it really worth £40-£50 difference for the matrix version over the top version!?

Kaapstad · 3 Oct 2013 at 22:16

Bazippy said:
Okay was going to wait for the r 280x but the killer deals on asus 7970's mean i can buy one of those and a new monitor for the price of the 280x(well around £360)
My question is is it really worth £40-£50 difference for the matrix version over the top version!?

In normal use for gaming you probably won't notice the difference.

For benching fun grab the Matrix it's worth the extra.

teppic · 3 Oct 2013 at 22:16

Matrix - improved cooling, improved design, usually higher clocks, unlocked voltage.

If you're happy with a mild OC on the TOP version (1100-1200MHz), just get that. The Matrix may be able to manage 1300MHz or a bit higher.

Bazippy · 3 Oct 2013 at 22:20

Top it is then,i figure i can buy another when needed rather then go crazy with the volts!

teppic · 3 Oct 2013 at 22:24

Given these cards outperform a GTX 770 over £300, the top is amazing value. It's only going to be relaunched as the 280X, so it's not going out of date.

Bazippy · 3 Oct 2013 at 22:26

That was my thought and the 280x should be £300 so seems a bargain but tough desicion

Kaapstad · 3 Oct 2013 at 22:32

Bazippy said:
Top it is then,i figure i can buy another when needed rather then go crazy with the volts!

Make sure you have plenty of room on your mobo as these cards really need a gap between them.

teppic · 3 Oct 2013 at 22:34

Yeah, I'd be wary of 2x3 slot cards unless you have really good air flow. You can always CF with a 2 slot 7970 though, and it will probably be possible to CF with a 280X.

Kaapstad · 3 Oct 2013 at 22:35

Kaapstad said:
Make sure you have plenty of room on your mobo as these cards really need a gap between them.

teppic said:
Yeah, I'd be wary of 2x3 slot cards unless you have really good air flow. You can always CF with a 2 slot 7970 though, and it will probably be possible to CF with a 280X.

As they say on Blue Peter

Here is one I did earlier.

teppic · 3 Oct 2013 at 22:38

Kaapstad said:
As they say on Blue Peter

Here is one I did earlier.

That's like porn

Most boards won't take that spacing though, you'd have the fans right up against the backplate of the second card.

How do you keep all that so dust free?

Bazippy · 3 Oct 2013 at 22:38

The mobo has the clearance and ive always loved fans! trust me i have enough cooling!

Kaapstad · 3 Oct 2013 at 22:42

teppic said:
That's like porn Most boards won't take that spacing though, you'd have the fans right up against the backplate of the second card.

How do you keep all that so dust free?

I don't, I have to turn the vacuum cleaner lose every now and then on the PCs.

Bazippy · 3 Oct 2013 at 22:43

Good old dust gets everywhere!very tidy!

MOOGLEYS · 3 Oct 2013 at 22:48

The Matrix is superb and mine is running 1375Mhz on the core which is not bad for a %61 Asic score card...

It's also very quite and runs nice and cool.

Chrisoldinho · 3 Oct 2013 at 23:15

My TOP (and others from reading 100's of posts) was voltage locked, I understand the Matrix isn't.

I believe there may be some kind of BIOS workaround for this now though, unsure of the source just recall reading it on a forum at some point recently.

Chrisoldinho · 3 Oct 2013 at 23:18

MOOGLEYS said:
The Matrix is superb and mine is running 1375Mhz on the core which is not bad for a %61 Asic score card...

It's also very quite and runs nice and cool.

Don't they pick the worse ASIC score cards, as in theory they will accept more volts and as such you can drive them harder as you have?

MOOGLEYS · 3 Oct 2013 at 23:18

You can adjust pretty much every voltage on the matrix inc Memory, load line and you can adjust VRM frequency. It's a superb bit of kit. It's also very heavy and huge.

MOOGLEYS · 3 Oct 2013 at 23:19

Chrisoldinho said:
Don't they pick the worse ASIC score cards, as in theory they will accept more volts and as such you can drive them harder as you have?

I think so I can ram quite high volts into this and it does not care. If I did the same to my reference it would melt.

Chrisoldinho · 3 Oct 2013 at 23:21

MOOGLEYS said:
You can adjust pretty much every voltage on the matrix inc VRM and load line. It's a superb bit of kit. It's also very heavy and huge.

Yes, I agree it's awesome, sadly the TOP is voltage locked and the memory doesn't overclock well at all (again I recall reading a number of people pointing temperature guns at the VRM's and getting insanely high temps).

teppic · 3 Oct 2013 at 23:21

The Matrix and Lightning are easily the best cards currently available before you get to GTX 780s. So the Matrix for £250ish is excellent value.