choice between 2 7950's, which one? The HIS at £162 or the IceQ boost at £191?

[TonyTurbo78]

If the IceQ will fit in your case its easily worth the extra dollar!

My fiancé keeps telling me your rough Gibbo to keep raising the price on this IceQ lol...I was waiting to get paid today, came home and saw you have increased the price again lol...still a steal though.

Hey Gibbo, why did you stop selling the Sapphire WF3 7950? The card is a freaking beast, was hoping to get another to cross it but you don't sell it anymore.

 

[Gibbo]

My fiancé keeps telling me your rough Gibbo to keep raising the price on this IceQ lol...I was waiting to get paid today, came home and saw you have increased the price again lol...still a steal though.

Wait until tomorrow, I shall sort it so its a little cheaper, but based on whats coming our 7950's could potentially be going up more.

Wait until after 10am tomorrow and it will be a few quid less, not much but it all helps.

 

[FoxEye]

and of course there are dozens of people here that swear by the IceQ

Would be nice if someone could confirm what I read (or disprove it). From a user roundup of 7950s on another forum:

This card is in the style of a reference card, but isn't. It ships with significantly lower voltage and clocks at stock than any other model, so the cooler scores decently on reviews when in reality it's only competitive due to being nearly 0.2v lower in voltage and underclocked.

The cooler is absolutely horrible relative to the other aftermarket models, it uses a radial fan which have half the CFM as normal, axial fans, and just a single fan instead of 2 fans. Furthermore, it's heatsink is 1/3rd the size of other aftermarket coolers. It's basically an oversized reference cooler.

That said, the internals of the card are solid if you plan on replacing the cooler anyways. It's really just a reference card in sheep's clothing.

 

[TonyTurbo78]

Wait until tomorrow, I shall sort it so its a little cheaper, but based on whats coming our 7950's could potentially be going up more.

Wait until after 10am tomorrow and it will be a few quid less, not much but it all helps.

Every penny mate, especially when I've got my eyes on a new 1440 panel as well Couldn't chuck one of those in for me instead of the Haribo could ya

 

[LtMatt]

Apparently HIS undervolt that card to make it seem that the cooler is better than it really is? That's quite shocking if true

That sounds like a load of clap trap.

EDIT

Just saw your other post above. Interesting, maybe there is some truth in it.

 

[Gibbo]

Every penny mate, especially when I've got my eyes on a new 1440 panel as well Couldn't chuck one of those in for me instead of the Haribo could ya

Won't fit in the box sorry.

 

[Gibbo]

That sounds like a load of clap trap.

EDIT

Just saw your other post above. Interesting, maybe there is some truth in it.

It is, otherwise how come so many people are running OC's of 1200-1300MHz on the core, its also one of the best if not the best clocking 7950 on the market, see the very thread on this forum, many users have a stable 1200MHz plus core speed 24/7 with ease.

 

[David Bisset]

Would be nice if someone could confirm what I read (or disprove it). From a user roundup of 7950s on another forum:

It depends what you're wanting it to do and are comparing it with. The passage you quoted was comparing with aftermarket coolers that dump heat into the case - they have advantages and disadvantages. Comparing the IceQ with other rear venting coolers and its very good. Tbh even compared with other coolers that dump into the case though the quoted text is inaccurate. The IceQ Boost we're recommending does not ship at lower clocks, thats the standard IceQ (common in North America but not here) so basically the person writing it has got the wrong card.

Edit: Looking in the IceQ Boost owners thread reveals a couple of people have had bad coolers and got them replaced - perhaps the guy you're quoting had a bad example and didn't return it?
My 7850 is on the same cooler and runs cool & quiet.

 

[FoxEye]

It is, otherwise how come so many people are running OC's of 1200-1300MHz on the core, its also one of the best if not the best clocking 7950 on the market, see the very thread on this forum, many users have a stable 1200MHz plus core speed 24/7 with ease.

In that case Mr Gibbo, why is it by far the cheapest 7950?

In this world you tend to get what you pay for. If HIS were making one of the best 7950 cards on the market, they wouldn't sell it for so much less than the competition

 

[David Bisset]

In that case Mr Gibbo, why is it by far the cheapest 7950?

In this world you tend to get what you pay for. If HIS were making one of the best 7950 cards on the market, they wouldn't sell it for so much less than the competition

You were slating the 7950 IceQ Boost - which isn't the cheapest.

Edit: Right back at post 2 the point being raised was: Get the IceQ if you're willing to spend the extra, otherwise get the cheapest.... (Also an HIS card)
I think we've gone full circle by mistake!

 

[ubersonic]

In this world you tend to get what you pay for. If HIS were making one of the best 7950 cards on the market, they wouldn't sell it for so much less than the competition

The world isn't that simple, the Honda NSX-R and Toyota Supra were better than the Ferrari 355 in pretty much every way imaginable except the badge on the bonnet yet it cost 2-3x as much.

 

[humbug]

In that case Mr Gibbo, why is it by far the cheapest 7950?

In this world you tend to get what you pay for. If HIS were making one of the best 7950 cards on the market, they wouldn't sell it for so much less than the competition

The HIS IceQ is an unknown gem, people buy what they know.

I agree with Gibbo, high overclocks are most consistent on the HIS IceQ, most just don't even look at them.

 

[Gibbo]

In that case Mr Gibbo, why is it by far the cheapest 7950?

In this world you tend to get what you pay for. If HIS were making one of the best 7950 cards on the market, they wouldn't sell it for so much less than the competition

It was not, was one of the most expensive.

Then AMD announce new cards.

Some board partners panic and did me some stupid deals, of course I took advantage and passed onto my customers.

By your logic does that also mean the Asus 7970 TOP and Matrix are also low quality because they are cheaper than all other 7970's on the market now because of a crazy deal I created with Asus?

 

[gijohn2]

Ima be gutted if the price drops lower then £185.99 I could have saved a couple of quid....

The length could be a bonus in my case, if I can bridge the gap with my HD then my lower front fan will be providing constant cool air for it to churn out the back (y)

 

[humbug]

Ima be gutted if the price drops lower then £185.99 I could have saved a couple of quid....

Thats not going to happen, Jesus Christ, they are already practically given a way....

 

[gijohn2]

Thats not going to happen, Jesus Christ, they are already practically given a way....

Jolly good, hopefully this will be a trouble free card! My first new 650ti was faulty so sent it back and stayed with my 465 for a while, then found a great deal on the bay for a msi 760gtx hawk for £180..never arrived so PayPal claim started! (The guy had 450 positive 1 negative and 1 neutral at the time)

Third time lucky