Can't decide - Asus GeForce GTX 680 vs Sapphire HD 7970 3GB

[SickMick94]

Hi Overclockers, wall of text incoming..

I made a post a few weeks ago about upgrading my system, as of now the only item I have left to upgrade is my GPU and I'm totally torn between two cards.

My initial choice was the Sapphire HD 7970 VAPOR-X GHZ 3GB my second choice is the Asus GeForce GTX 680 4GB, £100 more for 1GB more of vram (although at a slower rate), supposed better single monitor performance and all the benefits of an nVidia card such as their power efficiency and drivers. I have scoured the internet for forum posts and reviews of both cards and just can't decide between the two.

My arguments for the Sapphire are that the VRAM is faster and it's £100 cheaper, but i've heard bad things about AMD drivers with recent games and such, but I'm thinking more developers will be edging towards AMD tech due to them powering the next gen consoles so I'm unsure about this.

In favor of the 680 I'm getting a further 1GB of ram to use with my beloved texture mods and (from what I've read) the single best single monitor performance out of the two (I have not room for a dual monitor setup and apparently this is what the Saphire is better at)

The most I will be gaming at is 1980x1080, playing heavily modded Bethesda games and Guild Wars 2 frequently. The priority of this card is long term usage, I don't want to have to upgrade my GPU for at least 24 months and ideally 3/4 years (which is one of the reasons I'm making sure I have plenty of VRAM). Money isn't a BIG issue, but if I'm getting no return on the extra 80-100 quid across 3 years of gaming then I'd like to know.

I'm pretty set on Sapphire or ASUS, as I have very good experience with both makes and they supposedly have the best reliability out of the cards from various articles I've come across!

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me on this subject as I'm totally stumped as to what decision I should go with.

 

[MOOGLEYS]

7970 is faster 680 is smoother the 7970 is also considerably cheaper. At 1080p either will give you a superb experience.

I would look at a 7950 or 670 as both offer just about the same performance as their bigger brothers for less money.

Good luck I imagine this thread will be a GPU war very soon.

 

[tribz]

7970 is faster 680 is smoother the 7970 is also considerably cheaper.

I'd convinced myself the 680 was smoother after buying one to try. When I put the 7970 back in to test before I sold it, I couldn't see any difference.

I'm not sure whether it was all the various hacks such as SMAA injection, Radeon Pro etc that might have been making the 7970 a little jerky. I've not put them back on since I'm back with the 7970 and its a smooth as the 680 was.

 

[MOOGLEYS]

I'd convinced myself the 680 was smoother after buying one to try. When I put the 7970 back in to test before I sold it, I couldn't see any difference.

I'm not sure whether it was all the various hacks such as SMAA injection, Radeon Pro etc that might have been making the 7970 a little jerky. I've not put them back on since I'm back with the 7970 and its a smooth as the 680 was.

I have a 7970 and did have a 680 before selling and going 670 Sli. On my setup with just the latest drivers installed the 680 was smoother with less stuttering but the 7970 always gave a higher FPS. I imagine you could tweak drivers etc to help but for me out the box the 680 was a better card but not worth the premium over a 7950/670 tbh.

 

[Gregster]

Through guys on here doing lots of testing, clock for clock speeds of a crossfire 7970 Vs 7950, the results were quite conclusive. The games tested were within <5% of each other. This equates to only a few frames per second difference and wouldn't be noticeable without a frame counter running in games.

As you are looking for future proofing, this makes the choices harder, as I firmly believe that it is impossible to tell what will happen in the future however, you are staying 1080P and 3GB of VRAM will be plenty at this resolution.

I would save a few quid by ignoring the 7970 and the 680 and go for 7950 CF. There is a issue of CF setups not running ultra smooth in testing from the top reviewers but AMD have recognised the issue and will be addressing it in a driver release in July. The games that come with the cards can be sold on to recoup some cash and this could work out as cheap as one 680 4GB.

I would consider either of these cards, as both have great reviews from users.

YOUR BASKET
2 x HIS HD 7950 IceQ BOOST 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H795QC3G2M) with Crysis 3 & Bioshock PC Games £251.99 (£503.98)
Total : £515.38 (includes shipping : £9.50).



YOUR BASKET
2 x Gigabyte ATi Radeon HD 7950 Windforce 3X 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Crysis 3 & Bioshock PC Games £251.99 (£503.98)
Total : £515.38 (includes shipping : £9.50).

 

[MOOGLEYS]

Personally 7950 Crossfire is a little overkill for 1080p if the O/P is at 60Hz. One card now and another latter down the line might be a better option. A single 7950 will run everything at 1080p without any major concerns.

 

[Gregster]

Personally 7950 Crossfire is a little overkill for 1080p if the O/P is at 60Hz. One card now and another latter down the line might be a better option. A single 7950 will run everything at 1080p without any major concerns.

This is true but the future proofing is why I put 2 of them.

 

[Rusty0611]

Personally 7950 Crossfire is a little overkill for 1080p if the O/P is at 60Hz. One card now and another latter down the line might be a better option. A single 7950 will run everything at 1080p without any major concerns.

It doesn't. If you like all the eye candy and good frame rates you need two. If you want to drop some settings then one is fine.

@OP: single 7950/7970 is as smooth as a single 670/680 for most people. There are some issues both sides with regards to perceived smoothness at the mo.

 

[MOOGLEYS]

It doesn't. If you like all the eye candy and good frame rates you need two. If you want to drop some settings then one is fine.

@OP: single 7950/7970 is as smooth as a single 670/680 for most people. There are some issues both sides with regards to perceived smoothness at the mo.

Again it's your opinion and mine but I do feel a single 79xx or 670/680 is more than enough for 1080p especially 60Hz.

More than likely but having and still owning both the 6xx series to me gives a much better gaming experience but again this is just my opinion.

If I was the O/P I would grab a single 7950 or 670 and see how it goes another can always be added later if it is required or needed.

 

[melmac]

What might help you decide is will you be upgrading your monitor anytime soon to a 120hz monitor? 3D is better on Nvidia cards, so if you were planning on trying 3D at some stage the 680 will be a better buy.

If not, then get the 7970. I understand what people are saying about the 7950 been nearly as good, but if you are keeping your card for 2 years minimum then you should get the best you can afford right now. Plus with the quality of games you get bundled with AMD cards at the moment, it's a no brainer really.

 

[Rusty0611]

Again it's your opinion and mine but I do feel a single 79xx or 670/680 is more than enough for 1080p especially 60Hz.

More than likely but having and still owning both the 6xx series to me gives a much better gaming experience but again this is just my opinion.

If I was the O/P I would grab a single 7950 or 670 and see how it goes another can always be added later if it is required or needed.

It's not my opinion that you have to turn down settings to maintain a decent FPS with a single 7950/670 in some games. It's just a fact.

Try FC3 or TR max settings with either of those cards and you'll see not great performance. Hence my comment that two is needed to max out games with playable FPS or you can drop some settings. I don't see the problem with this statement.

 

[MOOGLEYS]

I played tomb raider at 1440p and a single 680 and did not have any major performance issues.

No problem with your statement mate I just feel for 1080p 60Hz crossfire 7950/70 or Sli 670/80 is a tad overkill.

 

[Rusty0611]

I played tomb raider at 1440p and a single 680 and did not have any major performance issues.

Try Ultra shadows, TressFX and SSAA 4x .

 

[MOOGLEYS]

Try Ultra shadows, TressFX and SSAA 4x .

680 is gone now mate. Pretty sure I used ultra shadows and definitely had fancy hair on. No idea with AA but it was not jaggedy but most things at 1440p look good even with low AA settings.

 

[melmac]

Why are you guys arguing about crossfire or sli? The OP is requesting help choosing between the 680 and the 7970.

 

[Suarez7]

Why are you guys arguing about crossfire or sli? The OP is requesting help choosing between the 680 and the 7970.

Because this is the graphics card forum where nearly every thread gets derailed from the original point.

 

[Yaayuh!]

 

[LtMatt]

If you want my advice id get the 7970 because its faster, cheaper and comes with better games. AMD drivers are great and very fast, never have any serious issues with them personally. Heavily modded games might require lots of vram as well so the extra 1gb of the 7970 might come in handy.

 

[Suarez7]

If you want my advice id get the 7970 because its faster, cheaper and comes with better games. AMD drivers are great and very fast, never have any serious issues with them personally. Heavily modded games might require lots of vram as well so the extra 1gb of the 7970 might come in handy.

+1, I've had both and the 7970 has been better for me, don't worry about this nvidia is smoother hearsay.

 

[Something Else]

The past issues of ati drivers are just past issues now. I can honestly say I havent had a single driver crash since last year some time.

with current pricing of the 7970 its really a no brainer to get one.

I personally wouldnt get a sapphire card though, I have one and the cooler is loud, its the Dual X cooler and when it spins up it vibrates and its irritating. I would go gigabyte.