Which 5970 to go for?

[Macro]

Quick question folks as I hover over the "buy" button. Is there any difference between the assorted (XFX/MSI/ASUS/Sapphire) brands of 5970 in terms of cooling solution, performance, overclockability etc?

I see the XFX Black Edition has access to an overvolt tool to allow greater overclocking but is that just a gimmick?

I'm not too worried about the small price variations between the different manufacturers assuming they reflect a real world difference (although I don't really care about if they include packaged games for the price).

Any thoughts or experiences before I buy?

 

[PraxxtorCruel]

Powercolour. Simples

 

[kmufc77]

I do believe the XFX black is the best one for overclocking etc

 

[cmndr_andi]

I would look at the warranty offered first.

ASUS offer 3 years warranty and the rest seem to offer 2 years or less. Considering the heat and complexity of the cards I would suggest going for the one with the longer warranty as a 5970 is a big investment - and if it dies 2 years and 1 day after purchase you will not be a happy chap.

ASUS also offer voltage tweak technology on their 5970 cards, which is very nice for overclocking. However, I have heard that the VRMs do get very hot on the stock cooled 5970 - so I wouldn't suggest pushing it too far.

 

[PaulyD]

I got the Sapphire 5970 when it was on TWO last week for £480.

Don't worry about included tools to overclock/overvolt the cards, MSI afterburner works fine for ones not included and IIRC the XFX software only works on 32bit.

Have yet to really push the card but can clock the core to the following:

820 on stock volts (1.049)
850 on 1.1v
875 on 1.125v
900 on 1.162v

Just for a test did 930 on 1.2v which was fine as well, could certainly push the card further!

 

[blackninja]

I do believe the XFX black is the best one for overclocking etc

Is your belief based on faith or real results

I ask as I am curious as to what counts as best in this context and does it make a difference if on stock cooler or under water .... I am hovering over the buy button on a waterblock for my Sapphire OC 5970 which is @ 950/1250, 1.225v on the stock cooler at max fan speed which gets it up to around 85c in games ... but it is noisy! (Normal 24/7 is 900/1250 @ 1.149v core, 735/1250 @ 1.0v ... if you are so inclined!)

 

[Macro]

Thanks for the advice folks, sounds like they are all pretty much reference designs with negligible difference? Do any of them have non reference fan/heatsink setups to help with the noise at full load?

 

[=VTA=MANFACE]

I have the sapphire since release day. You won't need to overclock it, it's way too powerful for anything out there. Yes, it is slightly under clocked than two 5870's in CF, but that doesn't make the slightest difference, and you will never notice it, unless you are a borg drone.

 

[up2nogooduk]

I tried both Sapphire 5970 and the XFX BE using after burner.
They both clock the same. only difference being, the XFX is coverd more via warrenty.

I kept the Sapphire 5970 which i got for £480 the other day. it might be on this weeks offers next wednesday again maybe

I have mine, 1.149V @ 900 1250. on auto fan. running rfactor, bfc2 for hours on end with no issues (touch wood ) the fan only goes up when the temps go up of course, but it don't get loud.
I don't need to have the fan set at 60%(which is loud) on manual, as i got good cooling in my case.

I only see the point in having the fan at 60% etc, if someone has bad cooling in the case, or the card gives artifact clitches.

Thing is, i find the reference cards clock better on some, due to some none reference card using cheper componets on there boards. but not all.

I think it's an exellent card

 

[up2nogooduk]

Is your belief based on faith or real results

I ask as I am curious as to what counts as best in this context and does it make a difference if on stock cooler or under water .... I am hovering over the buy button on a waterblock for my Sapphire OC 5970 which is @ 950/1250, 1.225v on the stock cooler at max fan speed which gets it up to around 85c in games ... but it is noisy! (Normal 24/7 is 900/1250 @ 1.149v core, 735/1250 @ 1.0v ... if you are so inclined!)

Hey ninja,

What case you using mate ?
I also have 5970 + 5870
I see you have you're i7 @ 4.2,with 12GB of ram i always thought that was hard to do with 12GB of ram? what ram is that mate, and what you got it @ if you don't mind me asking.

You should try you're card on 1.149V @ 900 1250 or 1200 with auto fan.
No point having it over 900 in the real world. but i did find a nice little boost going from stock to 900 1200
See how she goes when gaming. i have a Silverstone Fortress FT02B-W.
Spot on as the big fans are right behind the the cards pushing air over them. spot on case for that kind of thing, i'd give that case 10 out 0f 10 for cooling, but 9 out of 10 coz i can't seem to work out how to watercool my cpu due to the room. for air cooling its good.

 

[blackninja]

Hey ninja,

What case you using mate ?
I also have 5970 + 5870
I see you have you're i7 @ 4.2,with 12GB of ram i always thought that was hard to do with 12GB of ram? what ram is that mate, and what you got it @ if you don't mind me asking.

You should try you're card on 1.149V @ 900 1250 or 1200 with auto fan.
No point having it over 900 in the real world. but i did find a nice little boost going from stock to 900 1200
See how she goes when gaming. i have a Silverstone Fortress FT02B-W.
Spot on as the big fans are right behind the the cards pushing air over them. spot on case for that kind of thing, i'd give that case 10 out 0f 10 for cooling, but 9 out of 10 coz i can't seem to work out how to watercool my cpu due to the room. for air cooling its good.

Bought this case for my watercooled barton setup when 120mm fans were a rarity in standard cases! Tis a Chieftec full tower modded with 2x120mm fans on the front + 1x120mm at rear + 3x120mm at top ... the 5970 is in the top slot next to the 5870 vapor-x ... good airflow but can do better I think, I may stick a couple of 120mm in the side panel to see what diff that makes! If that don't suit then I'll water cool it - rad & res are already in the case from before. My tri-fire clocks 24/7 are 900/1250 @ 1.149 ... good gaming point that!

Ram is Corsair CM3X2G1600C9 @ 800MHz, 9-9-9-24 .. I use multiple VMs for my day job so it does all get used at times ....