XFX Cards

[ukbilleh]

I was looking to get a case and ati 79xx series card from OcUK and had the xfx 7950 double d black edition in mind but see nothing on the store. I'm sure I read here a while ago that there were a lot of problems with XFX stuff and OcUK wouldn't be stocking them anymore am I wrong?

Just seems strange that this card isn't on the store as it seems quite popular.

Also any opinions on a decent 7950 brand for overclocking?

 

[ukbilleh]

Ohhh also forgot to mention I might go the water cooling route later in the year so will also need to be compatible with ek blocks etc

 

[mickyflinn]

MSI HD 7950 Twin Frozr III OC V2


http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-148-MS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1673

 

[Nuclear Fusion]

+1 for 7950 TF3. Great price at £240. In terms of overclocking, it comes down to silicone lottery, but pretty much any 7950 will get a decent overclock easily. I've managed 1250 MHz core on mine using only 1.2v, which is a ridiculous 56% over reference 800 MHz speeds. However, not all 7950's will manage such a high overclock, but the fact that the 7950 TF3 uses a 7970 PCB should help. Most 7950's should manage 1000 MHz on stock voltage, which is still a hefty 25% increase.

 

[ukbilleh]

I'm taking it 1.2v is the limit in terms of 'safe' voltage to apply or would 1.15v be a safer bet to stick at?

Might see if I can grab a tf3 cheap. My only concern with the tf design is the contact patch of the cooler if it's anything like that of the 6950 tf2's. When I had my 6950's I removed the coolers to replace the compound with something more substantial and the surface had really poor machining. You could feel the ridges and hear them when running finger nails across them kinda put me off msi from then on but I do read good reviews of the 7950 tf3.

Anyone ever had the cooler off one to inspect?

 

[Nuclear Fusion]

I'm taking it 1.2v is the limit in terms of 'safe' voltage to apply or would 1.15v be a safer bet to stick at?

Might see if I can grab a tf3 cheap. My only concern with the tf design is the contact patch of the cooler if it's anything like that of the 6950 tf2's. When I had my 6950's I removed the coolers to replace the compound with something more substantial and the surface had really poor machining. You could feel the ridges and hear them when running finger nails across them kinda put me off msi from then on but I do read good reviews of the 7950 tf3.

Anyone ever had the cooler off one to inspect?

Well most people say that the safe limit is around 1.25v for everyday use (the boost 7950's use 1.25v when they boost up to 925MHz, which is vastly excessive for only 925MHz, but shows that AMD themselves use 1.25v at default so I assume it must be safe). I don't actually run it at 1250/1700, I just ran that for a 3DM11 run (to get the highest scoring 7950 ) I just use 1000/1400 at stock voltage for everyday use. I'm planning on trying to get 1300 MHz on the core with 1.25v sometime, but I'm going to wait for a cold day to do that (it gets pretty toasty when you are overclocking this high!).