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Is an upgrade from 2x7970 to 980 worth it?

Narada

Narada

Narada

Associate
Joined
23 Apr 2010
Posts
144
Location
London, UK
Hi guys,

I've been using 2x7970 msi in crossfire for a few years now. And recently I've been thinking about switching to a single 980. Will this give a boost in performance significant enough to warrant an upgrade? I mostly game on games like sniper elite 3, tomb raider, far cry and other big titles. Also will this result in reduced heat production going down to one card and reduced power usage? I've also got problems with the sleep and resume on the mini display port on my 7970 which I'm hoping will be resolved using an nvidia card and nvidia drivers which seem to be more mature. I'm curious to hear your views.

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Thanks.
 
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I think i'm right in saying 2x 7970 are faster than a single 980, tho probably not much... and you will save a lot of heat and power.

On a single 290 I play:

TR, Max IQ + 2x SSAA @ 1080P
SE3, Max IQ + 2x SSAA @ 1080P
FC3, Max IQ + 8x MSAA @ 1080P

A 980 is a decent chunk faster so i don't see it being a problem.
 
Narada said:
Hi guys,

I've been using 2x7970 msi in crossfire for a few years now. And recently I've been thinking about switching to a single 980. Will this give a boost in performance significant enough to warrant an upgrade? I mostly game on games like sniper elite 3, tomb raider, far cry and other big titles. Also will this result in reduced heat production going down to one card and reduced power usage? I've also got problems with the sleep and resume on the mini display port on my 7970 which I'm hoping will be resolved using an nvidia card and nvidia drivers which seem to be more mature. I'm curious to hear your views.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

No ain't worth to change. Your system is pretty powerful compared to a single 980 and you can overclock it also.

At least wait for 20nm cards in 4 months.
Is pointless to lose money now, when in few months there are going to be much superior products out, while you actually downgrade from the 2x7970s.
 
I would have thought 2x 7970's would be a bit faster than a single 980.

Ofcourse, power consumption the 980 will be using a lot less.
 
Your 7970s will be faster as long as they're scaling properly so it would be a slight downgrade in performance but much less power and heat used. If you could wait until AMD or NVIDIA release a more powerful card then that would be a better upgrade.
 
I own a 7990, which is almost the same as 2 x 7970, I would wait for the next generation as 7990 is still faster than a single 980. Unless you are going to game in >1080p
 
Just put a little oc on those cards as by the look of it you have lightnings, so your stock clock is either 1070mhz or 1150mhz (boost edition). They should happily sit at 1200mhz+ with little fuss and the memory should do 1800mhz+.

Unless you're aiming for any nvidia specifics I'd stick with the 7970's, still good performers in the current 28nm congested market we have.
 
i have a similar problem too, do i replace my broken 7990 ( i have to buy another one because it's my fault ) or do i get 970 SLI

thanks
 
Mal X said:
i have a similar problem too, do i replace my broken 7990 ( i have to buy another one because it's my fault ) or do i get 970 SLI

thanks
Click to expand...

If it's within budget I would jump on the latest more efficient tech and that extra bit of vram. If you can get some cheap used 290s thats also an option if the budget is a bit tighter.
 
Hi there! I have been thinking the same thing, although I have 2 reference 7970's - when playing Crysis 3 the fan noise is crazy loud under load. I'd also like to know how the GTX 980 performs in Project Cars, as I get micro stutter in this game.
 
the 7990 is dead cheap but suffers from being way too hot and scary, the coolest 7990 is the Devil 13 which is at least 12 degrees cooler.

a 7970 is still quite expensive as is the 290..............these are too close in price to the GTX970, so the GTX970 wins hand down.

i would never upgrade to a GTX 980, it's not value for money, i'd always go GTX970 SLI.....it looks like it has to be GTX 970 SLI simply because the others aren't dropping in price far enough

another good card is the 295X2, because when you consider the 290X is still way too expensive, it makes the dual card look good value....only 340 quid per gpu.

GTX970 SLI is spread over two months, total price 600 quid.....plug and play
295X2 is in one hit.....but the pc needs modifying or the Lian LI A10.

it's a tricky decision to make, but the GTX970 is deffo plug and play in only 5 minutes.
 
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From what I recall from some benching the other day my decently OC'd 780 (which is pretty much bang on stock 980 performance) was a hair slower than a very heavily OC'd 7950 CF setup - so aside from stuff where CF doesn't work it would be largely a side grade or a small downgrade depending on the game/program.
 
Mal X said:
the 7990 is dead cheap but suffers from being way too hot and scary, the coolest 7990 is the Devil 13 which is at least 12 degrees cooler.

a 7970 is still quite expensive as is the 290..............these are too close in price to the GTX970, so the GTX970 wins hand down.

i would never upgrade to a GTX 980, it's not value for money, i'd always go GTX970 SLI.....it looks like it has to be GTX 970 SLI simply because the others aren't dropping in price far enough

another good card is the 295X2, because when you consider the 290X is still way too expensive, it makes the dual card look good value....only 340 quid per gpu.

GTX970 SLI is spread over two months, total price 600 quid.....plug and play
295X2 is in one hit.....but the pc needs modifying or the Lian LI A10.

it's a tricky decision to make, but the GTX970 is deffo plug and play in only 5 minutes.
Click to expand...

Think the 970 SLI is a good shout, not sure the 295x2 is is worth the extra £100-£200 it considering you're getting a less efficient card that's not exactly plug and play as you say.
 
dont rush, it'll only be a sidegrade. You wont be impressed with the performance over what you have. I know you can't keep waiting in this game with something new coming along every 6 months, but in this case I'd def encourage waiting a bit.
 
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Mal X said:
another good card is the 295X2, because when you consider the 290X is still way too expensive, it makes the dual card look good value....only 340 quid per gpu.

GTX970 SLI is spread over two months, total price 600 quid.....plug and play
295X2 is in one hit.....but the pc needs modifying or the Lian LI A10.
Click to expand...

a) I do not see where the problem is with the Lian Li A10. Is right sided yes?
If it was left sided like mine, yes you need to find some way to plug it. (put it on top of the case until I by another one for proper watercooling). But that is issue with my case which is 10y old tbh.

b) I do not understand what you mean "plug and play" while 295X2 "is one hit". 295X2 works straight out of the box without any other issue. As any 2 GPUs will work. Also is single card + rad, so as long as you can blow cold air on the rad, it will work regardless how good airflow you have in the case. Something you need to consider on 2 card solutions, or else you face high temps and noise. On top with SLI you need the cards as close as the longest SLI connector you have..... (R9 290/X don't need connector either).

Also the 295X2 PCB cooler is exhaust type, blowing the air out of the case also, not inside the case.

c) Noise. The 295X2 is dead quiet card even overclocked playing Crysis 3 for hours, nor there is any heat issue. As long as you place it according to the manual. Higher level than the card, pipes down, and preferably blowing cold air to it (from outside the case), so you will not try to consider a more complex way for better system flow.

d) 7990. If you are given the option for refund on the 7990, by all means go grab two 970s. None said they are not good cards, and if I was on the market today for a card I would probably get them. But you will see that 2 card solution needs more consideration than single card solution like the 295X2 or the 7990.

RanxZy said:
Think the 970 SLI is a good shout, not sure the 295x2 is is worth the extra £100-£200 it considering you're getting a less efficient card that's not exactly plug and play as you say.
Click to expand...

I do not get what you mean plug and play. Is a damn single card, no connector nothing. Not even have to consider proper case airflow as long as you get the fan blowing cold air on the rad. If your case is right sided (like 99% of the cases are) you have no trouble.

Example here from someone there.

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=26910221&postcount=401
 
I reckon at 1080p, there is around a 25% performance difference between the two setups, in the favour of the 7970's in terms of pure FPS. That said the CF 7970's exhibit quite high frame latency measurements, even in nicely tuned games such as BF4. The 290 series resolved this in some cases (but not all).

I am preparing to do a week long testing session with the 980's and against the 7970's in the same rig including some 4k stuff.
 
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