• Competitor rules

    Please remember that any mention of competitors, hinting at competitors or offering to provide details of competitors will result in an account suspension. The full rules can be found under the 'Terms and Rules' link in the bottom right corner of your screen. Just don't mention competitors in any way, shape or form and you'll be OK.

7970 owner, wondering what I could upgrade to?

Tephnos

Tephnos

Tephnos

Soldato
Joined
20 May 2011
Posts
6,077
Location
Aberdeen, Scotland
Hey guys,

Been using a 7970 Lightning for a while now, at 1440p, and thinking of upgrading. I am not partial to any team, although I hear Nvidia is far, far better in the power and heat department, so that does sound nice!

I'm really not sure which is the best picks to go with at the moment. I heard something about the 670 having vram issues, so would I be better off with a 980 if I switched to green?

Cheers for any and all advice.
 
If I was going green right now, I would go for the 980 for the full 4GB vram, which you may well need in the near future with modern games at 1440p. In all honesty though, if I were you I'd probably wait for the release of the 300 series from AMD, which looks to be about 2 months away. You should be set gaming wise for much longer with one of those cards.
 
I went from a 7970 to a 970 and certainly noticed a difference, but due to the VRAM issue I am probably going for a 290/x. Could always add another 7970/280x/7950/280
Depends on budget really, PSU and rest of your system
 
I have a 7970 and I am waiting for 380X. It will surely beat the 980 handily and be more future proof. As good card as the 980 is, the asking price is just to high for what you get. That coupled with the fact of why would one reward a company just recently caught lying and fooling it's loyal customers.
 
Ah, just to mention

PSU is 750w Corsair, CPU is i5 2500k OC'd to 4.5Ghz (I'm aware with this being almost 4 years old it is probably time for an upgrade too)
 
For 1440p and given the card you have is basically a 280X really your best bet is see what the 380 cards are like. A 970 is still ok but at 1440p is about equal to a 290 and £50 more.
 
Mhm, seeing a lot of 'hold out for 380x'. If I did that, then although this isn't the right section for it, would I be better off upgrading the CPU instead?
 
I5 2500k is perfectly fine for games.. mine at 5ghz with 970 doesn't have trouble with anything!

i upgraded from a 7970ghz edition to a g1 gaming 970 and seen a massive improvement.. i only game at 1080p 120hz tho.
 
There's no need at all to upgrade the cpu.

I'm also a 7970 user, and if I was looking for a new card I wouldn't consider anything lower than a 780 / 970 or 290 series gpu.
 
Last edited:
I am still on 7950's, really see no point upgrading until there are a pair of cards that can do smooth 4k at 60fps minimums with the majority of high end titles.

Prefereably while consuming less wattage than current cards.
 
What games do you play? Some games prefer the extra threads available on an I7 CPU when running more than one GPU.
 
I've managed to get hold of a used 7970 to crossfire with my 7950 after returning my gtx 970. When it arrives I will let you know how it compares to the gtx 970. It's a stop gap until the 380x arrives but I'm expecting it to match the 970 in the games that support crossfire.

Paid only £70 for it so the best bang for buck upgrade since it was way cheaper than the £260 I paid for the 970. It may take a bit more power but I doubt if the energy cost will be more than £20 extra per year.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom