GTX 670 or 7970??? Help

Brett249 · 4 Oct 2013 at 18:29

Right guys, I'm new to the whole computer building scene and I've done a fair amount of research but have become stuck at the choice between a GTX 670 or a 7970?

Any advice and any other suggestions are more than welcome

setter · 4 Oct 2013 at 18:31

Hi and welcome to ocuk forums.

The 7970 is the more powerful card. The 670 is more comparable to the amd 7950 series.

Hyburnate · 4 Oct 2013 at 18:31

http://anandtech.com/bench/product/770?vs=830
This gives a good idea.

swiftmetal · 4 Oct 2013 at 18:32

The Asus 7970 is a really good deal at the moment and probably your best option if you are not bothered about physx

LtMatt · 4 Oct 2013 at 18:34

Hyburnate said:
http://anandtech.com/bench/product/770?vs=830
This gives a good idea.

You picked the wrong 7970, that is the 925/1375 version. Here is the 7970 ghz vs 670.

http://anandtech.com/bench/product/768?vs=830

teppic · 4 Oct 2013 at 18:34

There's no contest, the 7970 is far superior.

See recent benchmark:

http://ht4u.net/reviews/2013/55_dir...2][]=8&filter[2][]=SSAA&filter[3][]=16&aa=all

Brett249 · 4 Oct 2013 at 18:36

Okay so is PhysX worth considering or is the 7970 too good of a deal atm?

teppic · 4 Oct 2013 at 18:38

GPU PhysX is mostly gimmick. It can make games too slow too.

swiftmetal · 4 Oct 2013 at 18:42

PhysX looks pretty in some games but is not a deal breaker at all and the prices of the amd 79** series cards are at a really good price point at the moment but are not likely to stay that way forever.

Hyburnate · 4 Oct 2013 at 18:44

LtMatt said:
You picked the wrong 7970, that is the 925/1375 version. Here is the 7970 ghz vs 670.

http://anandtech.com/bench/product/768?vs=830

Good point xD

Brett249 · 4 Oct 2013 at 18:54

so whats the difference between the 7970 and the 7970 ghz?

SiNBaD187 · 4 Oct 2013 at 19:17

7970 Ghz are higher binned GPU's and start at 1000Mhz

teppic · 4 Oct 2013 at 19:22

The 7970 reference clock is very low. 925MHz I think. They can run over 1300MHz with a voltage bump.

NoNameNoNumber · 4 Oct 2013 at 19:43

Brett, there is a good reason that you're not allowed to buy anything better than a 7950

Brett249 · 4 Oct 2013 at 22:12

Not allowed?

or can't afford it yet like you?

Rusty0611 · 4 Oct 2013 at 23:10

SiNBaD187 said:
7970 Ghz are higher binned GPU's and start at 1000Mhz

They're not binned they're just standard 7970s with 1.25V going through to guarantee 1 GHz clocks.

ExperimentalHDX · 4 Oct 2013 at 23:48

The 7970 gets my vote

DJ_Bucho · 5 Oct 2013 at 00:12

Another vote for the 7970, awesome cards

ubersonic · 5 Oct 2013 at 00:24

Brett249 said:
Right guys, I'm new to the whole computer building scene and I've done a fair amount of research but have become stuck at the choice between a GTX 670 or a 7970?

Any advice and any other suggestions are more than welcome

If their the same price, then the HD7970 every day of the week, the are only a couple of scenarios where the GTX670 would be the better buy. If their not the same price then have you looked at the HD7950? excellent compromise on price/performance if you don't need Nvidia.

Brett249 said:
Okay so is PhysX worth considering or is the 7970 too good of a deal atm?

That's something only you can decide I'm afraid, if you play games that use PhysX and would hate to be without it then yes, if no to either then no.

Brett249 said:
so whats the difference between the 7970 and the 7970 ghz?

The GHz edition is a factory overclocked re-release of the 7970 similar to the GTX770 or HD7950 Boost, it was launched by AMD to reclaim the performance crown from the newly launched GTX680. When the 600 series was first launched AMD's drivers were not as refined as they are today so the standard 7970 was unable to keep up with the 680 (or the GTX670 in most resolutions), this changed dramatically with the wave of driver improvements AMD managed, to the point where both the 7970 and GHz edition beat the 680 prompting Nvidia to release a factory overclocked version of that (GTX770).

no_1_dave · 5 Oct 2013 at 02:28

teppic said:
GPU PhysX is mostly gimmick. It can make games too slow too.

I pity anyone with an AMD card who plays Borderlands 2.
I've seen it on my mates PC without PhysX and it looks plain dull. Anyone who enjoys Borderlands 2 really does need an Nvidia card.

If you don't play Borderlands 2 then you'll not need PhysX... Yet.
Not sure what other games will use it in the future, most current games are a gimmick with it... But Borderlands 2 is amazing with PhysX compared to standard.