which 7950?

[tommybhoy]

Memory clocking is good for the likes of BF3 and Sleeping Dogs, it can give a fair boost, in fps, especially BF3.

I wouldn't loose too much sleep though if you don't have the best as the 79's are pretty fast anyway.

This DD isn't going very far over 1400MHz at all, but Iv'e only really tried it in CrossFireX with the 7970, which can do 1200MHz/1823MHz@1256v, memory running@1668v.

So far the best stable in CrossFireX has been 1050/1400, but it's fast anyway though the scaling has went down when I tried it out on the 12.7/8's with an IceQ that I had for about a week.

I cannot read my VRM temps on this XFX card ? I can on my reference 7970 they show up in gpu-z but nothing shows on the XFX 7950 any ideas ?

It doesn't have the CHiL CHL8228 vrms, it uses custom ones so I doubt it can be read.

 

[LtMatt]

Having a low Asic, doesn't mean it won't clock, it will, if anything it can achieve a higher core clock under water than a high Asic equivalent.

The low Asics need a lot of v's for their maximum potential to be released.

The above is all dependant on the chip lottery first and foremost remember.

Spot on tommy. One thing i also didn't realise is that high leakage chips actually run cooler despite using more voltage simply because a lot of leakage bringing down temps.

I always assumed that the lower voltage 7970's would run cooler but its not the case after doing a few comparisons.

 

[tommybhoy]

My DD 7950 I have is a high Asic matt, but put in a little bit of voltage and it gets very hot super quick, looks like the coolers going to get ripped off it soon.

 

[Rusty0611]

How hot Tommy? And what voltage/clocks?

 

[LtMatt]

My DD 7950 I have is a high Asic matt, but put in a little bit of voltage and it gets very hot super quick, looks like the coolers going to get ripped off it soon.

Yeah high asic puts out a lot of heat. Shame as my card is held back by heat, if i could keep it cooler it will clock higher.

 

[MOOGLEYS]

My DD 7950 I have is a high Asic matt, but put in a little bit of voltage and it gets very hot super quick, looks like the coolers going to get ripped off it soon.

The DD cooler provides no airflow to the VRM's at all it's crap. I ripped mine off and fitted an Arctic Accelero 7970 and the difference is amazing.

With the fans set to %50 they cannot be heard and my max temp on the gpu is 55.c with it set to 1100/1600 1.1v.

Awesome cooler really impressed. After 2 hours of Assassins creed last night it was still completely silent. So much better than the horrid DD cooler.

I will post a pic of how bad it is in a bit..

 

[MOOGLEYS]

This is the VRM cooler part on the DD heatsink. There is virtually no airflow at all to the VRM's. The silver plate is solid so no air passes through, there is a tiny slit at the top for air to pass through but hardly any does unless the fans are running high. This explains why this cooler runs hot and loud...

Even the relatively small heatsinks that came with the Accelero are a huge improvement over the stock cooler and they also get direct airflow.

 

[Devrij]

Christ that is just a big metal bar. I'll admit this is the first time I've been held back by VRM temps (although my gpu gets quite hot too).

It sounds as though low asic is the way you want it unless you're under water. I'd rather push more volts through a cool chip than be limited by temps. It's more frustrating because you know it's there, but you can't have it.

Out of interest, what temps did you have with the stock cooler? I suspect I may be in the market for an aftermarket cooler myself. I get 78C in some games at 68% fans on my twin frozr 7950 at 1100/1350 @ 1.1V. VRMs hit high 80s at that clock, anything higher on volts pushes them over the limit to artifact territory.

 

[MOOGLEYS]

My Asic is %91 I run 1100 core 1600 mem with 1.1v and I'm not getting above 55.c with the accelero and more importantly it's completely silent. With the DD cooler it was hitting 75-80.c and was very loud at anything other than stock.

Only downside to the DD is the locked bios so further overclocking is not possible. I have read the card will take a stock bios but this is good enough for me. I'm loving how quite it is now....

 

[Devrij]

My Asic is %91 I run 1100 core 1600 mem with 1.1v and I'm not getting above 55.c with the accelero and more importantly it's completely silent. With the DD cooler it was hitting 75-80.c and was very loud at anything other than stock.

Only downside to the DD is the locked bios so further overclocking is not possible. I have read the card will take a stock bios but this is good enough for me. I'm loving how quite it is now....

That's very encouraging news for me! I also have a high asic card with similar temps, so the accelero is sounding quite tempting.

 

[MOOGLEYS]

That's very encouraging news for me! I also have a high asic card with similar temps, so the accelero is sounding quite tempting.

With out a doubt. You will void your warranty but over 20.c cooler under load and perfectly silent is well worth it. My idle temp is 26.c now as well....

It's fun to fit and you have to wait hours for the glue to set but well worth it in my opinion it's by far the quietest graphics card I have heard now.

 

[MOOGLEYS]

Here it is fitted it is huge I would have to remove the bottom drive tray to fit two in my Arc midi....

 

[Devrij]

How are your VRMs with the accelero? That seems to be the big issue for me at the moment

 

[MOOGLEYS]

How are your VRMs with the accelero? That seems to be the big issue for me at the moment

No idea as you can't monitor the vrms on this card. Just looking at the old cooler says the accelero is better. The heatsinks are bigger and are cooled by airflow. I can't see any reason why they would not be better off. My card temps are lower and have not had any issues with artifacting...

 

[Devrij]

No idea as you can't monitor the vrms on this card. Just looking at the old cooler says the accelero is better. The heatsinks are bigger and are cooled by airflow. I can't see any reason why they would not be better off. My card temps are lower and have not had any issues with artifacting...

Yeah, looking at your old heatsink does suggest that. I may have a peek at my card and see what the current setup is for VRM cooling, as that would be a factor for me. Either way, it'd be nice to just have a quiet card.

 

[Rusty0611]

Yeah, looking at your old heatsink does suggest that. I may have a peek at my card and see what the current setup is for VRM cooling, as that would be a factor for me. Either way, it'd be nice to just have a quiet card.

I think you should take a punt and RMA it - I'll kick up a stink for you as well if they reject it and they also charge you for the return. This batch is obviously faulty which has been implicitly acknowledged by OcUK by the fact they've not listed any of the returns on B Grade.

I've got a thread open in CS forum with 5UB for it so easy enough to do .

 

[Devrij]

I think you should take a punt and RMA it - I'll kick up a stink for you as well if they reject it and they also charge you for the return. This batch is obviously faulty which has been implicitly acknowledged by OcUK by the fact they've not listed any of the returns on B Grade.

I've got a thread open in CS forum with 5UB for it so easy enough to do .

The possibility I'm considering is whether high ASIC cards are the ones running hotter while overvolted. It might explain why some people are getting cool cards at high volts and the rest of us are running hotter (my stock temps are reasonable). I'd like to understand the issue and maybe shed some light on it for others in the same quandry if possible. Might help OcUK with their CS in relation to the card as well.

Saying that, I would expect more from an aftermarket cooling solution, so if it turns out that MSI coolers just can't handle the wattage (whatever the cause of the extra heat), then at least I can offer an opinion based on fact rather than being the mopey guy who had one bad experience and moans about it every time the topic comes up.

Thanks for the offer though, I'll definitely keep that in mind!

So far my "FAO 5UB" thread in CS has had 4 views, so we'll see if anyone points him towards it or if I'll have to send him a message in trust to give him a heads-up

 

[tommybhoy]

^

The TF has a metal plate to cool the vrams/vrms iirc, it's possible that you could get away with 'just' sitting an AC on top.

You could also ask 5UB if it's ok to change the tim yourself without voiding your warranty(although I have seen a few cases where MSI have ok'd it, but don't take my word for it, get it in writing first from whoever), it's just the perfect excuse to put an AC on top instead.

@MOOGLEYS, if your bothered about the sag-it will get slightly worse over time due to the weight, Scythe Ninja Wire is perfect to keep the gpu straight, you hook it through the far end of the metal slats and anchor it to the case somewhere, it costs about £6.

 

[Rusty0611]

The possibility I'm considering is whether high ASIC cards are the ones running hotter while overvolted. It might explain why some people are getting cool cards at high volts and the rest of us are running hotter (my stock temps are reasonable). I'd like to understand the issue and maybe shed some light on it for others in the same quandry if possible. Might help OcUK with their CS in relation to the card as well.

Saying that, I would expect more from an aftermarket cooling solution, so if it turns out that MSI coolers just can't handle the wattage (whatever the cause of the extra heat), then at least I can offer an opinion based on fact rather than being the mopey guy who had one bad experience and moans about it every time the topic comes up.

Thanks for the offer though, I'll definitely keep that in mind!

So far my "FAO 5UB" thread in CS has had 4 views, so we'll see if anyone points him towards it or if I'll have to send him a message in trust to give him a heads-up

The ASIC will make a difference but it's marginal. It isn't the difference in temperatures between our cards at the same voltage/clock speed which is what 10-15c?

That's another bad MSI card allbeit one which is on the edge of acceptability. To be fair to you, there's no way you could possibly tell if that is hot or normal without the forums and reports from other people which shows this was a bad batch.

If OcUK don't accept the return given the 'coverage' these faulty cards are providing then I'd be surprised.

 

[MOOGLEYS]

^

The TF has a metal plate to cool the vrams/vrms iirc, it's possible that you could get away with 'just' sitting an AC on top.

You could also ask 5UB if it's ok to change the tim yourself without voiding your warranty(although I have seen a few cases where MSI have ok'd it, but don't take my word for it, get it in writing first from whoever), it's just the perfect excuse to put an AC on top instead.

@Moogleys, if your bothered about the sag-it will get slightly worse over time due to the weight, Scythe Ninja Wire is perfect to keep the gpu straight, you hook it through the far end of the metal slats and anchor it to the case somewhere, it costs about £6.

My pcie power cables hold it up......