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Gigabyte 680 WindForce VS 7970 WindForce

masscrazy said:
So i've kind of changed my mind.

Am thinking lightning now, considering its £420 but still £30 over the Windforce... decisions decisions...



PhysX is it worth it?
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Can always have PhysX and ATi card. I have a GT240 just for doing PhysX using modified drivers.

So playing stuff like Arkham Asylum/City looks great and has the extra bonus of PhysX.

I'm very happy with the Windforce and at £389 delivered I was very happy at price, also because I offset cost by selling old cases and my 6950 so I think I only put in £90 after selling stuff.

It's a shame OCUK don't have the Windforce for sale.
 
OLDCell said:
Can always have PhysX and ATi card. I have a GT240 just for doing PhysX using modified drivers.

So playing stuff like Arkham Asylum/City looks great and has the extra bonus of PhysX.

I'm very happy with the Windforce and at £389 delivered I was very happy at price, also because I offset cost by selling old cases and my 6950 so I think I only put in £90 after selling stuff.

It's a shame OCUK don't have the Windforce for sale.
Click to expand...

Yea £389 has tempted me, but for extra £30 i could go lightning.
 
OLDCell said:
But is the extra £30 going to get you any more? Pretty much all 7970s perform as good as the last. The only other contributing factor is the silicone lottery.
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I think in this situation yes the £30 will get me more. Its lightning with a better ability to overclock. Between any other custom 7970 £30 wouldnt be worth it, like between the Sapphire OC and Gigabyte Windforce, but the lightning is different.
 
masscrazy said:
I think in this situation yes the £30 will get me more. Its lightning with a better ability to overclock. Between any other custom 7970 £30 wouldnt be worth it, like between the Sapphire OC and Gigabyte Windforce, but the lightning is different.
Click to expand...

Guru3D reviews for Windforce and Lightning using exact same setup the difference is within margin of error limits.

Windforce - BF3 1920x1200 = 50FPS
Lightning - BF3 1920x1200 = 52FPS

Windforce - Crysis2 1920x1200 = 68FPS
Lightning - Crysis2 1920x1200 = 68FPS

Windforce OC - Crysis2 1920x1200 = 74FPS
Lightning OC - Crysis2 1920x1200 = 75FPS

You can go for Lightning, but just for comparison using Guru3D as it's the same test bed they ran them on you can see the margin is within error limits.
3DMark 11 is high on the Lightning by a few hundred but not much in it.
 
OLDCell said:
Guru3D reviews for Windforce and Lightning using exact same setup the difference is within margin of error limits.

Windforce - BF3 1920x1200 = 50FPS
Lightning - BF3 1920x1200 = 52FPS

Windforce - Crysis2 1920x1200 = 68FPS
Lightning - Crysis2 1920x1200 = 68FPS

Windforce OC - Crysis2 1920x1200 = 74FPS
Lightning OC - Crysis2 1920x1200 = 75FPS

You can go for Lightning, but just for comparison using Guru3D as it's the same test bed they ran them on you can see the margin is within error limits.
3DMark 11 is high on the Lightning by a few hundred but not much in it.
Click to expand...

Tis true, however 1440p results may be different.. Also i can bet the lightning will overclock higher...
 
masscrazy said:
Tis true, however 1440p results may be different.. Also i can bet the lightning will overclock higher...
Click to expand...

It actually clocked worse than the Gigabyte, but it's silicone lottery again so no guarantee that the extra money spent will result in extra clocks.

The highest screen res they test on is 2560x1600 and its a 1FPS difference in favour of the Lightning, again within margin of error. All screen res they tested were within margin I think 4FPS being the highest difference but again its a margin of error result.

I'm not knocking the lightning or justifying the Windforce, I think any 7970 is a great card to buy. If you and others are happy with the price you pay then that's what matters.

Do I buy £50+ designer jeans or just nip to Asda, Sainsbury or Tesco and grab a £10 pair, well the Super Markets win in this situation for me as I have a limit I'm willing to pay for jeans as that's what I think they are worth.
 
OLDCell said:
It actually clocked worse than the Gigabyte, but it's silicone lottery again so no guarantee that the extra money spent will result in extra clocks.

The highest screen res they test on is 2560x1600 and its a 1FPS difference in favour of the Lightning, again within margin of error. All screen res they tested were within margin I think 4FPS being the highest difference but again its a margin of error result.

I'm not knocking the lightning or justifying the Windforce, I think any 7970 is a great card to buy. If you and others are happy with the price you pay then that's what matters.

Do I buy £50+ designer jeans or just nip to Asda, Sainsbury or Tesco and grab a £10 pair, well the Super Markets win in this situation for me as I have a limit I'm willing to pay for jeans as that's what I think they are worth.
Click to expand...

I would say that the higher price for the lightning should give higher clock because of the extra power you and tweaking abilities. But as you say its fine margins. Think the WF will be the one. Or will it.....:rolleyes:
 
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