[H] 680 Max Oc V 7970 Max Oc

[tommybhoy]

^
Behave boys or I'm sending big Al round(my six year old).

@drunkenmaster,

As stated earlier:

The core size, to me is a moot point as I'm(and most others) only interested in the gaming performance/temps/noise/price.

***Should be noted I forgot about power in my equation above!***


I couldn't care less about die sizes costs when it comes to plugging a card in to play some games, while what you say rings true, I'm not bothered, the same way as I couldn't give a hoot what Nvidia's previous die size was, your talking from a tech/profit point of view, I'm talking from an end user gaming point of view.

Yes Nvidia has turned it around on die/heat/power, but AMD have turned the gaming deficit around, which at the end of the day is what counts with a gaming gpu.

On the plus side, I hope a few guys sit up and take notice of the good things you said about the green team.

@Masterdeadly, the 6950 is still a fine card, don't let the high numbers in benchmarks fool you, be realistic and be sensible with the game settings and it's perfectly fine.

Are you using 1080p yet?

 

[Masterdeadly]

I Got a Dell UltraSharp U2312HM 23" Widescreen LED Monitor - Midnight Grey so yeah

1920x1080 - World of Warcraft is expansion is coming, Diablo 3 Is coming my 6950 is starting to lack on World of Warcraft, the FPS might be low due to the HDD because with WOW it's all about loading textures quickly.

 

[Gerard]

Why don't people just buy whatever they can afford that offers them the features they want and the performance in games they want?

Said it before and i'll say it again, i couldnt give a flying **** whats in my machine as long as it does what i need it to, and at the price point im comfortable with. The more people that tap into that kind of mentality the better imo.

 

[Masterdeadly]

Tommy?

 

[Gibbo]

Hi there

Not a 7970/7950 I know, but this is a awesome deal:-

OK first of all getting 6970 to sub £200 is a milestone in itself and OcUK is now at least £50 cheaper than competitors on a 6970. Secondly however these are the amazing Twin FrozR III & Lightning cards, so the most overclockable and fastest 6970 available.

Basically these cards offer close to GTX 580 performance which starts at £300 and is quicker than GTX 570 which is £200 from here. Compared to 7850 these cards are noticably quicker and trade blows with the more expensive £260 7870.

As such this deal is very very good, so get involved:-


MSI HD 6970 OC 2048MB Twin Frozr III GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE Deus Ex PC Game @ £199.99 inc VAT

The ATI Radeon HD 6970 uses a new GPU architecture from AMD which features dual graphics engines in one chip with 24 SIMD engines and a total of 1536 stream processors with 96 texture units, providing massively parallel computing power for graphics and other accelerated applications. Its core clock speed of 880MHz, together with a dedicated high speed interface to 2GB of GDDR5 memory running at 1375MHz (5.5Gb/s effective) delivers the highest performance in this series. New Tesselation engines bring up to three times the performance of the previous generation, and new Enhanced Quality AA and filtering modes bring the highest image quality ever achieved.

This special Twin Frozr III Edition utilises the same PCB from the flagship lightning cards and as such has both performance and silent modes. With the amazing Twin Frozr III cooler for near silent operation, cooler running and great overclocking potential. There is no better value 6970 on the market!

Features:-
- Same PCB / Components as Lightning Version
- Huge overclocking potential (1000MHz+ Core possible though not guaranteed)
- Near Silent Operation
- Core Clock: 880MHz
- Memory: 2048MB GDDR5
- Memory Clock: 5500MHz (Effective)
- Memory Bandwidth: 176GB/sec
- Processing Cores: 1536
- Texture Units: 96
- ROPS: 32
- Bus Type: PCI-Express 2.1
- Display Connectors: 2 Dual-Link DVI-I, 1 HDMI & 2x Mini-DisplayPort
- HDCP Capable
- DirectX 11 Support
- Shader Model 5.0 Support
- OpenGL 4.0 Support
- ATI CrossFire Ready
- ATI Eyefinity Technology
- ATI Avivo HD
- ATI Stream Technology
- ATI HD3D Technology
- Maximum Power Consumption: 250W (Typical 190W)
- 1x 8pin and 1x 6pin PCI-E power connectors required
- 500W minimum PSU recommended
- Warranty: 3 Years
- Supplied with FREE Deus-Ex PC Game (Subject to availability)


Was [£269.99] Inc. VAT

Only £199.99 inc VAT.

ORDER NOW















MSI HD 6970 OC Lightning 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE Deus Ex PC Game @ £239.99 inc VAT

These cards are specifically designed to handle the extreme overclocking which eager gamers and media outlets around the world have been waiting for. Industry-leading Power4 architecture and Twin Frozr III dual-fan cooling with innovative Propeller Blade technology brings together a solid power supply with advanced cooling technology. This results in huge boosts to overclocking potential and stability, enabling the air-cooled 6970 Lightning to break the 1GHz core clock barrier with ease. The Lightning series of graphic cards is designed to offer the ultimate in overclocking capabilities and is the superior choice for overclocking enthusiasts seeking to set new world records!

Inheriting the impressive Power4 architecture from previous Lightning cards along with improved components and design in four areas. The PWM module is twice as large as before and provides double the amount of current to the GPU. Memory has its own independent power supply using an 8-pin connector for minimum interference to greatly increase overclocking potential. The next-generation Proadlizer capacitor increases signal stability by leaps and bounds while CopperMOS, the industry's best MOSFET, provides the GPU with a large and stable power supply. Combined, these features provide ordinary users as well as extreme overclocking enthusiasts with a more stable operating environment and the best performance out there.

The all new Twin Frozr III cooling design utilizes the innovative Propeller Blade technology to double the amount of airflow compared to conventional fans. The airflow also covers a large surface to remove heat quickly and effectively, and when you add in twin 9cm PWM fans, SuperPipe technology, and the Form-in-one heatsink, the result is GPU operating temperatures 26°C lower than the reference board when the 6970 Lightning are operating under full loads. Fan noise is also 11dB lower in addition to having much higher overclocking potential.

The MSI 6970 Lightning graphic cards come with the latest version of MSI's exclusive Afterburner V2.1.0 overclocking utility. The utility not only adjusts GPU and memory clock but also manage the GPU/Memory/PLL(VDDCI) voltages to maximize overclocking potential. Thanks to Triple Overvoltage, the overclocking potential of 6970 Lightning is much higher than the reference board and offers enthusiasts ultimate performance.

For hardware enthusiasts, the MSI 6970 Lightning graphic cards come with exclusive extreme overclocking features. Apart from V-Check Points and V-Switch for monitoring and adjusting the GPU/Memory/PLL(VDDCI) voltages in real time, Dual Bios switches help to effectively prevent potential problems stemming from liquid nitrogen cooling. PWM Clock Tuner also helps to increase overclocking potential. All of these come together to make the 6970 Lightning the ultimate graphic cards for extreme overclocking

The MSI 6970 Lightning graphic cards use top-quality Military Class II components including All Solid Cap for overclocking and full-speed operation, SFC for 10% higher efficiency, and 30% increase in maximum current, as well as Hi-c Cap with Tantalum core which boasts 8 times the lifetime of conventional solid capacitors. These high-quality components not only increase the graphic cards' overall service life but also enhance GPU stability.

Specifications:-
- Stream Processors - 1536 Units
- Core Clock - 940 MHz
- Memory Clock - 5500 MHz
- Memory Size - 2048MB GDDR5
- Memory Bus - 256 bits
- Output - Mini DisplayPort*2 / HDMI / DVI*2
- TDP</b> - 269 W
- Card Dimension - 310x127x40mm
- Form Factor - ATX
- DirectX 11 - Yes
- OpenGL 4.0 - Yes
- CrossFireX - Yes
- Eyefinity - Yes
- AVIVO HD - Yes
- PowerPlay - Yes
- HDCP - Yes
- World’s first 18 phase PWM on HD 6970.<br>
- Independent Memory Power support. <br>
- Copper MOS with 2x high current capacity. <br>
- Proadlizer*4 to optimized power supply. <br>
- Twin Frozr III Thermal Design with 26C cooler & 11dB quieter. <br>
- Propeller Blade technology for 20% more airflow. <br>
- Dual 9cm fans with dual 8mm SuperPipes for best heat dissipation. <br>
- Form-in-one heatsink covers memory and modules to dissipate heat efficiency.<br>
- Support voltage adjustment of GPU/Memory/VDDCI<br>
- Military Class II Components for longer product lifespan. <br>
- LPL (Lightning Power Layer) for the stable power supply.<br>
- Usage of the Micro/DIP switches on rear of card voids warranty - For extreme/expert overclockers ONLY!<br>
- Supplied with FREE Deus-Ex PC Game (Subject to availability)
- 3yr Warranty!!


Was [£299.99] Inc. VAT

Only £239.99 inc VAT.

ORDER NOW












This is crazy pricing for such a top of the range 6970 card.

 

[Masterdeadly]

Tommy just seeing what Gibbo posted, how far will one of these 6970's go? 580 Performance maybe?

 

[ALXAndy]

Tommy just seeing what Gibbo posted, how far will one of these 6970's go? 580 Performance maybe?

They will hit stock 580 performance at the limit.

They're usually good for 1050mhz or around abouts there (seen 1035s also).

At that speed they will match a 580 in things like 3dmark 11.

They do have more vram though.

It's a hard sell at the moment. They are priced perfectly, but they have last gen slapped all over them.

I'd love to say they were really quiet, but at high speeds those fans are just as annoying as a blower.

Good card though if you want something solid and well made.

 

[Masterdeadly]

Sounds good, I want Tommy to shed some light on this

 

[tommybhoy]

Sounds good, I want Tommy to shed some light on this

Why me?

^
@Gibbo,

seriously, I think I'm on commission here!

@Masterdeadly, +1 to what Andy said, the only thing to add though is you won't see much going from your 1Gb 6950 other than slightly higher settings, on paper the 580 looked streets ahead but imo, it's not much at all when you factored in the price difference.

I suppose it all depends how much cash you want to throw at your rig, but it costs an awful lot for not much performance gained when you get to the top of the pile.

Why don't you find a good guide for oc'ing your current cpu first, the last I heard your running@stock now, I don't frequent the cpu section but you should head there and post a thread looking for help on how to go about it.

There is probably a guide somewhere already in there if you look but I'm sure someone will point you in the right direction.

 

[Rroff]

My only criticism would be - and I don't think it would really change the outcome as an extra couple of fps would be imposible to notice on screen - their GTX680 overclock is pretty much average for what people are getting (seen a lot of people getting 1250-1270 clocks and a fair few a tad over 1300*) whereas the 7970 is pretty much as far as all but the most golden overclockers go on air.



* We are likely to see factory OC'd versions that hit 1400-1500MHz and _apparently_ a few hand selected cores can hit 2GHz on uprated air cooling.

 

[Masterdeadly]

Tommy I've tried overclocking my CPU it was a waste of time. The overclock that overclockers supplied me caused my PC to artefact at 3.6 GHZ so I'm stuck with that.

The Lightning version of the 6970 is £240 pounds can overclock to 580 standard which is about 20 percent more powerful than my 6950 and my 6950 is 1GB it will soon be collecting the dust

 

[ajones32]

A 680, a 7970 or a 3rd 6970 Lightning? Hmmz.
Might need a new case for a 3rd Lightning so the price will end up being similar . Descisions descisions.

 

[Masterdeadly]

I would go 6970 CF but my CPU will bottleneck and my PSU isn't large enough.

 

[Gregster]

Shame Andy has to bait me once again.

I only said that in real world performance (meaning gaming) there is no difference. You know as well as I do, that the 680 is the faster card overall but in gaming nobody would know the difference, if they sat down in front of two computers with both cards in. Also I said the 7950 would be in the fray also.

Please don't troll me and keep a good thread on track.

 

[flopper]

Shame Andy has to bait me once again.

I only said that in real world performance (meaning gaming) there is no difference. You know as well as I do, that the 680 is the faster card overall but in gaming nobody would know the difference, if they sat down in front of two computers with both cards in. Also I said the 7950 would be in the fray also.

Please don't troll me and keep a good thread on track.

yea 7950 OC you wont notice difference in the same systems compared in practice gaming.

 

[Troezar]

SNIP
EDIT:- of course with a £315 Asus 7950 Direct CU, I know which way I'm going myself

Thanks for the tip DM I've put an order in this direction myself, not what I had intended buying but price/performance is in the region I was aiming for. If I could have found an equally good deal on an Nvidia card I would have flipped a coin

I don't intend going XFire so the three slots doesn't bother me.

 

[Masterdeadly]

Where are these 7950's for £315?

 

[drunkenmaster]

^
Behave boys or I'm sending big Al round(my six year old).

@drunkenmaster,

As stated earlier:

***Should be noted I forgot about power in my equation above!***


I couldn't care less about die sizes costs when it comes to plugging a card in to play some games, while what you say rings true, I'm not bothered, the same way as I couldn't give a hoot what Nvidia's previous die size was, your talking from a tech/profit point of view, I'm talking from an end user gaming point of view.

Yes Nvidia has turned it around on die/heat/power, but AMD have turned the gaming deficit around, which at the end of the day is what counts with a gaming gpu.

Firstly, I knock AMD when they deserve it and knock Nvidia when they deserve it, it's not particularly my fault that Nvidia keep screwing up for so long now.

But again, you did miss the point so I'll try one last time.

Die size and things were used to point out WHICH card we are talking about, nothing more or less, tech architecture are interesting points as to why AMD are underperforming per mm2 on their "big card" and exactly why they are so efficient on the smaller card, same goes for the 680gtx. The process basically limits people to making a "worthwhile" discrete card, call it 100mm2, and the max sensible size you can do on a process, give or take just over 500mm2(yields/cost are poor here, and simply not workable above 550mm2 in reality). The mentioning of die sizes is as simple as this, Nvidia's gameplan for years is a 500mm2 "big" core, a 300-350mm2 mid range, and a couple cards between 80-200mm2. The 680gtx IS the midrange 300-350mm2 card, there IS a 500mm2 card coming, it will beat the 680gtx soundly, and it will be the logical replacement for the 580gtx. AMD however go 350mm2 give or take a bit for their "big" card. Last gen it was closer to Nvidia's 500mm2 monster, this gen its closer to the 300mm2 little brother...

This is the key factor which card you are comparing it to, for AMD to have "made up ground" on Nvidia, the 7970 would need to match Nvidia's top end card, simple as that, this is what you are suggesting has happened.


AMD have not caught up with the "big" Nvidia card, Nvidia's smaller card has caught up with AMD's.

Again I'll say, its not actual performance, just the targets, the 8000 series will likely rectify that, I think we'll see a 350mm2 pure gaming card from AMD, while their compute card moves north of 400mm2, but not far north. That will likely compete very well with a high end Nvidia card and push the 680gtx back where it should really be.

 

[TAC4U]

7970 has more vram. -But it doesn't perform any better when gaming.

7970 has far better directcompute performance. Lots of apps use it. -But what percentage of people actually use cards for that? Maybe a couple of percentage, unlikely more than 5%. Yet the power savings offered by the 680 will benefit everybody, whether it's just the card running quieter or the cheaper electricity bill.

The 7970 wasn't a cheap card. -Completely irrelevant.

With absolutely every single last variable taken into account there is absolutely nothing between them. -As has been pointed out time and time again, every review disagrees with you. Not everybody will achieve overclocks like those here, nor will everybody game at these resolutions. If anyone is buying a card for 1080p then the 680 is the better choice.

[Notation my own]

The 7970 and the 680 are both excellent cards and the extra VRAM will be a factor in many people's purchases. But virtually every review has rated the 680 as the better card, even at top resolutions. Not only that but the sales speak volumes - the 680 has been flying off the shelves and virtually everywhere is out of stock or seeing heavily marketed up prices; the 7970 hasn't seen that. And from all the comments I've seen the clocks for the 7970 are higher than is common, which would obviously give AMD the advantage. Overclocks are not guaranteed and should be treated as an added bonus, rather than taken for granted.

We get that you have a downer on nVidia but it's getting incredibly tedious seeing you derail virtually every 680 thread with hysterical rhetoric. I tend to go for AMD cards myself but the 680 offered better value for this generation and I'm very happy with my purchase. I don't feel any need to defend it, nor to put down the 7970. But I will challenge people such as yourself who simply ignore evidence, ignore fact and make up nonsense.

 

[arc@css]

The 7970 and the 680 are both excellent cards and the extra VRAM will be a factor in many people's purchases. But virtually every review has rated the 680 as the better card, even at top resolutions. Not only that but the sales speak volumes - the 680 has been flying off the shelves and virtually everywhere is out of stock or seeing heavily marketed up prices; the 7970 hasn't seen that. And from all the comments I've seen the clocks for the 7970 are higher than is common, which would obviously give AMD the advantage. Overclocks are not guaranteed and should be treated as an added bonus, rather than taken for granted.

+1