# AMD Radeon HD 7000 Series Single-GPU Graphics Card Price-Points Surface



## btarunr (Dec 6, 2011)

AMD is on course to releasing its latest "Southern Islands" GPU family, and a fleet of desktop graphics card SKUs based on it, which will be led by a new high-performance GPU, codenamed "Tahiti", which will make up Radeon HD 7900 series; followed by performance GPU "Pitcairn", on which HD 7800 series will be based; "Thames" and "Lombok" making up the rest of the lineup. According to a report by DonanimHaber, HD 7970 (working name) is expected to be competitive with (or outperform) GeForce GTX 580, and priced at US $499. The HD 7950 will be competitive with (again, or outperform) GeForce GTX 570, being priced at US $399. 

Things get interesting with Pitcairn, which is the successor of "Barts". This performance GPU is designed for sweet-spot SKUs, such as HD 7870 and HD 7850, which will be competitive with GeForce GTX 560 Ti / GTX 560, and priced at US $299 and $199, respectively. The Radeon HD 7670 will be particularly expensive, priced at US $179, followed by HD 7650 at $119. Further, it was reported that HD 7970 and HD 7950 will have a standard memory size of 3 GB.

*View at TechPowerUp Main Site*


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## erocker (Dec 6, 2011)

With the speculation/rumor/whatever that 7870 and 7850 are going to be die shrunk 6970/6950 with performance tweaks I see them competing more with the 570 then the 560. Then again it's just speculation/rumor/whatever...


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## Darkleoco (Dec 6, 2011)

Hmmmm it seems to me that both the 7970 and 7950 should be assured to outperform the GTX 580 and 570 if their is really enough increase in performance to justify an upgrade beyond the 3GB of memory.


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## Delta6326 (Dec 6, 2011)

Anybody want 2x 4850 1gb? I could really use some new cards


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## DarkOCean (Dec 6, 2011)

3gb for 7970 ? thats mean 384 bit or diferent mem chips sizes like on gtx 550ti if its on 256bit 
wonder wich one it is.


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## chron (Dec 6, 2011)

i wonder if the smaller processors will mean smaller video cards


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## TheoneandonlyMrK (Dec 6, 2011)

DarkOCean said:


> 3gb for 7970 ? thats mean 384 bit or diferent mem chips sizes like on gtx 550ti if its on 256bit
> wonder wich one it is.



i heard it touted that would be a 256bit gfx bus plus 128 bit iommu bus making 384 total


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## Crap Daddy (Dec 6, 2011)

Price, if true, says most of what to expect. High price point for the flagship, I'd say high prices for all the top end offerings in the 7000 series, unexpectedly high from AMD. So I think we'll see a fair jump in performance compared to the 580/570. We might see cheaper Nvidia high-end cards when AMD will launch. But I can't justify spending 500$ or Euro for a card if used only for gaming considering what games we are offered today.


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## AltecV1 (Dec 6, 2011)

are they f..king INSANE...this is the worst recession after WW2 and these MORONS are ...........OMG this pisses me off


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## mum1989 (Dec 6, 2011)

fake and where are the AMD 7750 and 7770 and price ? 180 and 189$  ....


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## Darkleoco (Dec 6, 2011)

mum1989 said:


> fake and where are the AMD 7750 and 7770 and price ? 180 and 189$  ....



You disagree with information therefore you regard it as fake? Seems ignorant to me as well to think that TPU is in the habit of posting fake new stories.


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## Casecutter (Dec 6, 2011)

They‘ll need to be real powerhouse's to demand this price.  I don't know why AMD would diverge from what has been a perfectly good and working strategy of ample Perf/$ and Perf/Watt.   Move into stratosphere pricing and it really cuts out who can buy these especially in today economy. I don’t bother that it's delivering GTX590 performance… There’s a price for PC gaming and the constant progression of what the enthusiast needs/requires; however admirable I just feel AMD missing the opportunity to go for the jugular.  Considering the Cayman MSRP for what $300/370 the new pricing is like 33% higher!  They had better bring Game that’s all I have to say. Just besting a GTX580 by 20% for $500 isn't what I’m talking about.  Kick in 25% over the 580... and for $470 and you’ve a smack-down.   

The problem is probably TSMC and the yields. A great design and execution, but woefully hampered by manufacturing and we all know it's availability that drives price.  I suppose they could wait a month or so a build inventory, but the piece price would still be the same while then everyone will cry they're delayed. You got to go, with what you can.


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## Sinzia (Dec 6, 2011)

Hmm, 3 GB of ram? sounds good for those running eyefinity/surround like me.

The 1.2 GB on my GTX470's prevents me from using my 3 displays with all the eye candy I want.


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## Darkleoco (Dec 6, 2011)

Casecutter said:


> They‘ll need to be real powerhouse's to demand this price.  I don't know why AMD would diverge from what has been a perfectly good and working strategy of ample Perf/$ and Perf/Watt.   Move into stratosphere pricing and it really cuts out who can buy these especially in today economy. I don’t bother that it's delivering GTX590 performance… There’s a price for PC gaming and the constant progression of what the enthusiast needs/requires; however admirable I just feel AMD missing the opportunity to go for the jugular.  Considering the Cayman MSRP for what $300/370 the new pricing is like 33% higher!  They had better bring Game that’s all I have to say. Just besting a GTX580 by 20% for $500 isn't what I’m talking about.  Kick in 25% over the 580... and for $470 and you’ve a smack-down.
> 
> The problem is probably TSMC and the yields. A great design and execution, but woefully hampered by manufacturing and we all know it's availability that drives price.  I suppose they could wait a month or so a build inventory, but the piece price would still be the same while then everyone will cry they're delayed. You got to go, with what you can.



As you put it GTX 590 performance for $ 200 less is not a good thing


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## amd/atifiend (Dec 6, 2011)

eh i've got a pair of 6870's and don't plan on upgrading for a few years. it will be interesting to see if these 7xxx chips will live up to the hype tho.

3gb of ram?! I can see why they are so expensive. more chips in there so it cost more.


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## dj-electric (Dec 6, 2011)

I REALLY hope that HD7970 won't just "outperform" the GTX580. after that much time and at 28NM less then "CRUSHING the GTX580" is barly acceptable


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## Casecutter (Dec 6, 2011)

Darkleoco said:


> As you put it GTX 590 performance for $ 200 less is not a good thing


While it is, do I... you, the gaming community generally really need it or willing to pay?  Those who have the means can/will, and I suppose that's good for the rest of us. Though, to get a 7870 (basically a faster/lower power 6970) for what's said to be $300 at the start has a good feel to it!


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## Darkleoco (Dec 6, 2011)

Casecutter said:


> While it is, do I... you, the gaming community generally really need it or willing to pay?  Those who have the means can/will, and I suppose that's good for the rest of us. Though, to get a 7870 (basically a faster/lower power 6970) for what's said to be $300 at the start has a good feel to it!



Depending on resolution and the number of monitors in a potential eyefinity setup then yes a "fair" size portion of people are more than willing to pay it, just look at the people currently with  CF 6950's or 6970's as well as those with GTX 580's in SLI.


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## Casecutter (Dec 6, 2011)

Dj-ElectriC said:


> "CRUSHING the GTX580" is barly acceptable?


A GTX580 is about 10% above a 6970, give us a percentage to ballpark CRUSHING (25% as I tosed-out... not crushing ENOUGH?


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## EpicShweetness (Dec 6, 2011)

erocker said:


> With the speculation/rumor/whatever that 7870 and 7850 are going to be die shrunk 6970/6950 with performance tweaks I see them competing more with the 570 then the 560. Then again it's just speculation/rumor/whatever...



Just outta curiosity would you be able to then crossfire a 6950/6970 with a 7850/7870, it might be a dumb question though. I believe the drivers separate crossfire according to core classification and code number (69xx,68xx,67xx etc).


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## happita (Dec 6, 2011)

Hmmm. 3GB worth of memory on a video card? Seems a bit too overkill, even for the enthusiasts. 2GB seems to be plenty in todays hardcore PC gaming standards. Its the dam Rambus they're using , I'm hoping they provide a 2GB version of that XDR 7950 for a lower price point, however that's wishful thinking.
But I guess if the performance is increased enough, I think the price is justified. But I always hate it when new flagships debut at $499, I really really do.


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## erocker (Dec 6, 2011)

EpicShweetness said:


> Just outta curiosity would you be able to then crossfire a 6950/6970 with a 7850/7870, it might be a dumb question though. I believe the drivers separate crossfire according to core classification and code number (69xx,68xx,67xx etc).



Nope. You have to CrossFire according to series, 69xx w/ 69xx, 58xx w/ 58xx, etc.



happita said:


> Hmmm. 3GB worth of memory on a video card? Seems a bit too overkill, even for the enthusiasts.



Nah, all the extra vram comes in nicely with very high resolution textures and other things that use the memory buffer. This really helps with things like Eyefinity which is something AMD likes to promote.


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## function69 (Dec 6, 2011)

Dj-ElectriC said:


> I REALLY hope that HD7970 won't just "outperform" the GTX580. after that much time and at 28NM less then "CRUSHING the GTX580" is barly acceptable



Exactly, anything less than a 25% performance improvement would be a major disappointment!
To me at least.


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## Darkleoco (Dec 6, 2011)

I can't wait to see the kind of mods people will be making when more people have access to 6 GB of vram.


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## yogurt_21 (Dec 6, 2011)

happita said:


> But I always hate it when new flagships debut at $499, I really really do.



I don't, compared to the 8800 ultra at 650$ it's far better. Dual-gpu cards aside.

now I would like to see something worthwhile for 500$ so that the 300$ or less parts end up more than competitive but 500$ has been a good sweet spot for flagship cards ever since the 9700 Pro. 

Now we'll have to see how the 7970 compares with the 6970 to see if the price is justified. If it matches or beats nvidias next gen flagship then it's justified. If it just barely matches the 580 and thus is just slightly faster than the 6970 it's no where near justified.


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## Casecutter (Dec 6, 2011)

function69 said:


> Exactly, anything less than a 25% performance improvement would be a major disappointment!
> To me at least.


I'm saying it should be 35%... 10% to beat a GTX580 and another 25% as a good round number.  $370+35%=$499 see how that figures...
Just like .50Cal is... a round


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## Crap Daddy (Dec 6, 2011)

It will be much better. AMD PR is quiet and that's a good sign. Or maybe they are quiet because they got fired over the Bulldozer debacle?


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## Darkleoco (Dec 6, 2011)

Imo I think quest PR is good because it means one of two things.
1. They are going to let the performance of their product speak for itself.
2. They have learned to not shove their foot up their ass with stupid PR stunts.


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## function69 (Dec 6, 2011)

Casecutter said:


> I'm saying it should be 35%... 10% to beat a GTX580 and another 25% as a good round number.  $370+35%=$499 see how that figures...
> Just like .50Cal is... a round



35% would be phenomenal and very desirable, but something tells me it ain't gonna happen, will see...


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## _JP_ (Dec 6, 2011)

So...where's the HD 7750 and the HD 7770??


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## GSquadron (Dec 6, 2011)

4th fake new story i have seen from tpu in a week


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## 15th Warlock (Dec 6, 2011)

So these new cards are expected to be at least on par or "outperform" the 580 and 570... also, the high end Kepler model won't be released until Q3-Q4 2012... I would think that for anyone who just updated their cards in the past 12 months, waiting until 2013 would be the safest bet...

Then again, this could all turn out to be not true, like so many other hardware rumors that have been plaguing the net in the last few months...


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## 1Kurgan1 (Dec 6, 2011)

I was hoping these would all show up about $50 cheaper than what this rumor suggests.


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## 20mmrain (Dec 6, 2011)

For $499 and $399 these cards better not be on par with the GTX 580 & 570.... if that is the case... then I see these cards being a fairly large flop. For those prices I would demand performance on par or a little below a HD6990.
To see an increase from the HD 6970 to HD 7970 of only 35% would be very disappointing considering that would mean only a 10% to 15% performance increase over the GTX 580. AMD would not be stealing any customers away from Nvidia (Except the ones who were already planning to leave). For that much increase High end Nvidia users will probably just overclock and bide their time until Nvidia releases Kelper.
Which would suck for me on a personal note I was planning on going AMD this time around. But again a total waste at that price for anything less then 50% performance increase, Lower power usage, and higher overclocking potential.

Plus on a side note.... I don't see AMD releasing their cards for that much.... just on what they have been doing in terms of history pricing lately. I would guess closer $400/$450 for their top card at most. But that is just a guess I have nothing backing me up. Again... the pricing here in the article above is just rumors right now anyway. When I see more people reporting it.... I will start to believe it more.


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## _JP_ (Dec 6, 2011)

_JP_ said:


> So...where's the HD 7750 and the HD 7770??


And I also find it strange that there's a $60 gap between the HD 7670 and the HD 7650. Radeon cards are known for having short price differences to put pressure on the market (therefore, on nVidia). This doesn't add up.


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## Casecutter (Dec 6, 2011)

_JP_ said:


> So...where's the HD 7750 and the HD 7770??


Gone no need for them anymore. The X7X0 was never really intend as a prime time player more born out of a necassity fron the 58XX being/going so up the scale.  7670 should be as good or better than the RV850 and should do it with PCI-E (75W) If you intend to game more... you just move to the X8X0 which was always intended as the "Mainstream".


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## treboRR (Dec 6, 2011)

Darkleoco said:


> Hmmmm it seems to me that both the 7970 and 7950 should be assured to outperform the GTX 580 and 570 if their is really enough increase in performance to justify an upgrade beyond the 3GB of memory.



XDR2 ram is used! Thats why!


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## 20mmrain (Dec 6, 2011)

Darkleoco said:


> Imo I think quest PR is good because it means one of two things.
> 1. They are going to let the performance of their product speak for itself.
> 2. They have learned to not shove their foot up their ass with stupid PR stunts.



1. Or they're quiet because they are not that close to release yet.*(No concrete evidence of when these are actually releasing other than Q1)*
2. They are quite because it is only going to perform as well the GTX 580/570 *(No evidence of how well these cards will perform they were also quiet on other Series of cards that turned out to be flops. But they were also quiet on the HD5000 series which turned out to be great.... I think you can't judge by how quiet a companies being.)*
3. They are quiet because space aliens stole all of they're in process chips and they really don't have any chips for us to buy in the near future.* (Disclaimer this last theory Is 100%, possibly, Yes, Kind of, On Thursday, No, but maybe True.)*


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## Casecutter (Dec 6, 2011)

_JP_ said:


> And I also find it strange that there's a $60 gap between the HD 7670 and the HD 7650. Radeon cards are known for having short price differences to put pressure on the market (therefore, on nVidia). This doesn't add up.


They intend the APU to be the first leg, then the 7650 as a general upgrade for GMA Craphics/or those mobo's with IGP that might still find there way into OEM's. When you look at this AMD has streamline the SKU's for the market they "see" going forward.  

AMD in all probability will just keep the 6450 as a low cost Legacy offering, kind of what the 8400GS has been.


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## _JP_ (Dec 6, 2011)

Casecutter said:


> you just move to the X8X0 which was always intended as the "Mainstream".


In my opinion, that only happened with the HD 6000 series. I know that the HD 3000 series also lacked a x7x0 model, but there were different gaps at the time and different competition from nVidia. The x7x0 came with the 4000 seires to fill a gap (and give a higher price clearance for the x8x0 models). With the 5000 series it became the best price/perfoemance card and a good choice for those that didn't use high resolution monitors. I think it has a place in the market and should continue to exist because we have already identified a market range for it, for three generations now.
But this me though.
/my2cents


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## Casecutter (Dec 6, 2011)

20mmrain said:


> 1. Or they're quiet because..


Actually that's always been ATI strategy used since… They prevent leaks and don’t say anything all this is rumors, or a plant to gauge response.  Misinformation on their part is something they (both) do… 
Spy vs. Spy


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## 20mmrain (Dec 6, 2011)

Casecutter said:


> Actually that's always been ATI strategy used since… They prevent leaks and don’t say anything all this is rumors, or a plant to gauge response.  Misinformation on their part is something they (both) do…
> Spy vs. Spy



Well right bud that's my point they misinform stuff and stay quiet .... there is really no way to tell by anything they are doing that is all I am saying.
When we all find out is when release is a week or so away when the real info gets released. For example if the HD 7970 is released Jan 9th 2012 we'll start hearing real info around the last couple days of December.
But shit man I really hope they hit it out of the ball park.... I like AMD/ATI better than Nvidia cards.... I am always pulling for them. But I go where the best option is 

After thought though.... There is one thing we can be certain on though.... if someone was wondering when a card is going to release keep an eye on the prices of the HD6000 series.... if they start to drop you know the launch is right around the corner.


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## _JP_ (Dec 6, 2011)

Casecutter said:


> They intend the APU to be the first leg, then the 7650 as a general upgrade for GMA Craphics/or those mobo's with IGP that might still find there way into OEM's. When you look at this AMD has streamline the SKU's for the market they "see" going forward.


The APUs have the GPU labeled as HD 64x0/65x0, therefore it would make sense to keep the x6x0 models below the $119 mark to be used as a IGPU replacement/improvement. That will give the x7x0 the market space it needs, between these and the x8x0.

But all of this sounds strange to me and I don't want to jump into conclusions yet. It's still too early, imo, and the sun ain't shinin' yet.
I will not feed more fud.


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## pantherx12 (Dec 6, 2011)

I hope the new architecture on the high end cards works nicely : ]


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## Casecutter (Dec 6, 2011)

_JP_ said:


> But this me though.
> /my2cents


Oh, I understand but remember MSRP doesn't set price.  The buyer ultimately; although competition, supply (yield), and economy (the disposable cash the buyers’ have.  So, yields… said to be not excellent (for either), competition waning for several months, and buyers with disposable cash not so much.  I think these will be what you see for 3-5 months. That’s why I’m staying put.    

If they need a differant/lower price opening there's alway the 7X30! Which with supposed TSMC whoa's those might come sooner than we think.


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## Casecutter (Dec 6, 2011)

20mmrain said:


> There is one thing we can be certain on though.... if someone was wondering when a card is going to release keep an eye on the prices of the HD6000 series.... if they start to drop you know the launch is right around the corner.


Well knowing this is only the 79XX, while 78XX months away I don't see AMD/AIB's all that worried about transitioning.  They did a good job drying up most 58XX stuff before the 69XX and there was a clear price split then, just like there will be now.  Waiting might pick up a few deals as AIB's juggle inventories, buying the right card at a good price today, just means you get to play 4-6 weeks earlier for not even $4-5 a week.  If a good reputable card shows at a good price, and at your price I wouldn’t wait… only the less desirable could be there in the weeks to come.  AMD and AIB have know this is coming, they controlled chip production, deliveries to the E-tailers there won't be a big sell off on AMD and conversely it won't upset Nvidia.


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## Casecutter (Dec 7, 2011)

20mmrain said:


> 35% would be very disappointing considering that would mean only a 10% to 15% performance increase over the GTX 580


How that? GTX580 vs. 6970
1920x = 13% (If you by a GTX580 to play at that res.) 
2650x = 10%  (Not to mention Perf/watts & Perf/$)
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/HIS/Radeon_HD_6970/29.html


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## xenocide (Dec 7, 2011)

Aleksander Dishnica said:


> 4th fake new story i have seen from tpu in a week





> *According to a report by DonanimHaber*



They are reporting stuff posted by other sources.  This is not information directly reported from TPU as fact.  It's similar to when they report on rumours and alleged benchmarks pre-launch of products.


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## BrooksyX (Dec 7, 2011)

Hmm I was wanting to buy a 2gb 7950 but that price but be a little out of my budget. 

Don't think a 7870 is a good enough of an upgrade on the 6870 but need something better to push my eyefinity.


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## xenocide (Dec 7, 2011)

I'm going to wait for Benchmarks and to see what Nvidia has to offer.  My last 2-3 cards have been ATi\AMD, maybe it's time to check out the competition *shrug*


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## mediasorcerer (Dec 7, 2011)

I wonder if they will be pcie 3?
Whatever they are, im sure they will be good, 7990 haha, that may be a beast if its made.

Yeh i been thinking a switch over to nvidia too why not already? whatever works the best, for what you need it for at the best pricepoint.

As another member mentioned, what games really take advantage or will take advantage of new architecture of gpus?


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## DannibusX (Dec 7, 2011)

I went through and changed every mention of a 7 series card in my head to Bulldozer and every mention of nVidia to Sandy Bridge E.

Yup, it was fun.  Almost like travelling through time.


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## BrooksyX (Dec 7, 2011)

I wonder the power usage will be like. Hopefully I will be able to run one of these with my oced 2500k on my 500w psu.


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## btarunr (Dec 7, 2011)

AltecV1 said:


> this is the worst recession after WW2 and these MORONS are ...........



.....giving you GTX 570-like performance under $200. Where's the issue?


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## kid41212003 (Dec 7, 2011)

It feels like Call of Duty lately.

New series little improvement.


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## WarraWarra (Dec 7, 2011)

AltecV1 said:


> are they f..king INSANE...this is the worst recession after WW2 and these MORONS are ...........OMG this pisses me off



+100
Yup they expect us to pay in for their f* up FX-8150 that is selling like hot cake.
If they keep this up I will seriously start buying NVidia again.
I expect AMD will have the worst Christmas sales because of these prices and their F*upX-8150's.

AMD-tanic "titanic"


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## WarraWarra (Dec 7, 2011)

btarunr said:


> .....giving you GTX 570-like performance under $200. Where's the issue?



BT, You mean low end NV560 $200 or IGP equivalent ???


> The HD 7950 will be competitive with (again, or outperform) GeForce GTX 570, being priced at US $399.
> HD 7870 and HD 7850, which will be competitive with GeForce GTX 560 Ti / GTX 560, and priced at US $299 and $199



I can not see anyone stupid enough to buy a weaker card than what they already have and pay $299/$399 for it, that does not make any sense at all. Maybe they can not produce enough volume so they try to price hog the cards until enough products is available.

So much for their 5Dec launch instead of original 9Dec launch.


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## HumanSmoke (Dec 7, 2011)

mediasorcerer said:


> I wonder if they will be pcie 3?


Probably.
Should be fun seeing AMD push PCI-E 3.0 as a bulletpoint...and then have to use a X79 or Z77 board for benchmarking, since AMD's own 990/970 and upcoming 1090/1070 aren't PCI-E 3.0 compliant


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## phanbuey (Dec 7, 2011)

this might be true... since this is a new architecture, the performance is probably not huge.

The father of the 5xxx/6xxx GPU series... the 2900XT was a bit similar.  Usually new architectures are shaky (post netburst intel excluded).

Prices at launch mean nothing anyway - they are just betting that kepler will be delayed and that they can get a boost off an early launch like with the 5xxx series, they are just gouging a bit since... well... they can. lol.


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## xenocide (Dec 7, 2011)

phanbuey said:


> Prices at launch mean nothing anyway - they are just betting that kepler will be delayed and that they can get a boost off an early launch like with the 5xxx series, *they are just gouging a bit since... well... they can. lol.*



But when Intel or Nvidia do that it's lunacy...


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## DailymotionGamer (Dec 7, 2011)

next 2 cards to buy = GTX 550TI 2GB, Diamond 6850. 
My current card 5750 can play any game on the market with ease.

The 7000 series are just minor upgrades with a high price. Save your money folks, the 6000 or the 5000 series of cards are not outdated.


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## Super XP (Dec 7, 2011)

WarraWarra said:


> +100
> Yup they expect us to pay in for their f* up FX-8150 that is selling like hot cake.
> If they keep this up I will seriously start buying NVidia again.
> I expect AMD will have the worst Christmas sales because of these prices and their F*upX-8150's.
> ...


I don't understand your logic 
Benchmarks be damed My FX-8120 is running just fine and does everything it's suppose to do whether it be gaming or video editing. It does it great and it does it fast. And I did not have to pay an arm/leg for it.

The HD 7970 sounds like a lot of money, quite different from the AMD we know of the past. This tells me these cards are going to be bloody fast. I can easily see one single HD 7970 take out a HD 6990 with ease 


u2konline said:


> next 2 cards to buy = GTX 550TI 2GB, Diamond 6850.
> My current card 5750 can play any game on the market with ease.
> 
> The 7000 series are just minor upgrades with a high price. Save your money folks, the 6000 or the 5000 series of cards are not outdated.


You mean the HD 6000 series was a minor upgrade from the HD 5000 series but with better performance and price. The HD 7000 series is brand new, built from the ground up according to everysingle website and article/blog I've read. If it's a fast card you are looking for it should be the HD 7970's or the NV Kepler a few months after Radeon's release


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## Lionheart (Dec 7, 2011)

That's an awful card comparison --_--



> I don't understand your logic
> Benchmarks be damed My FX-8120 is running just fine and does everything it's suppose to do whether it be gaming or video editing. It does it great and it does it fast. And I did not have to pay an arm/leg for it.
> 
> The HD 7970 sounds like a lot of money, quite different from the AMD we know of the past. This tells me these cards are going to be bloody fast. I can easily see one single HD 7970 take out a HD 6990 with ease



I agree with you totally ^_^


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## 1nf3rn0x (Dec 7, 2011)

I would laugh so hard if someone bought a 7950 with a 32 bit operating system!


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## Boomstick777 (Dec 7, 2011)

saneyl said:


> Even the GTX590 "3GB" has actually *only* 1.5GB of vRam. + If you SLi a 1.5GB and 3GB GTX580, you're only gonna use 1.5GB of vRam.



Not sure is serious 

The GTX 580 '3GB' does have '3GB'!

If you were to crossfire GTX 3GB with GTX 1.5GB it would use the specs of the lower card as this is what happens in Sli/Crossfire it matches the speeds/specs to the lesser card. What your saying is misleading.

The GTX 580 '3GB' still actually has '3GB'. If you were to use 2 x GTX 580 '3GB' than both cards would use the full 3GB each...


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## Lipton (Dec 7, 2011)

I'm getting a SB -> IVB vibe here. Slight increase in performance while cutting the power usage. Let me explain why.

First we need to remember these are 28 nm and that will (hopefully, at least) bring major power savings over 40 nm. Secondly if they can increase performance by 10-15% over the current generation, while cutting the TDP in half (let's hope so ), that will translate into a huge spike in performance per watt. And people are getting more and more concision about efficiency - it's a good sell. Thirdly from a pure performance/enthusiast standpoint; with crossfire that would mean you get more than double the performance at the same TDP (assuming the above) over the former gen. The 7990 will be truly insane in this regard, I bet.

The vibe from AMD I get with this 'news' is, if they can position themselves at #1 in performance (just slightly) and #1 in efficiency at the same time, they will be very sought after cards. This is also why I believe the prices may be correct (they're #1 in performance) and they need all the margins they can (#1 in efficiency, cheaper to produce thanks to 28 nm) to fill out their bank account. I almost expect a little bigger crossfire/eyefinity push with these cards as well.

And with Nvidia more or less a year away with their next generation, I think they're trying to sell as much as they can to the highest price possible while they're on top.

Though in the end this story may be pure bollocks.  Would love to get some feedback on my little theory, however.


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## MatTheCat (Dec 7, 2011)

Lipton said:


> Would love to get some feedback on my little theory, however.



U probably hit the nail right on the head.


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## Recus (Dec 7, 2011)

treboRR said:


> XDR2 ram is used! Thats why!



Today rumors saying no for XDR2.

---------------

http://www.obr-hardware.com/2011/12/amd-radeon-hd-7000-fiasco-as-bulldozer.html


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## Boomstick777 (Dec 7, 2011)

saneyl said:


> Maybe you should read my messages more carefully, I stated that a GTX*590 "3GB" only has 1.5GB of vRam, I didnt talk about GTX580 3GB.
> My message was not misleading, you're just a dumb kid.*


*

Yeah I read your message just fine, your forgetting the rest of your post where you say the GTX 3GB doesn't have 3GB, now your trying to make out you didn't say it, you obviously don't what your talking about, just another moronic internet warrior who types a load of BS. and then trys to convince you they didn't.

Keep typing internet warrior *


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## reverze (Dec 7, 2011)

Boomstick777 said:


> Yeah I read your message just fine, your forgetting the rest of your post where you say the GTX 3GB doesn't have 3GB, now your trying to make out you didn't say it, you obviously don't what your talking about, just another moronic internet warrior who types a load of BS. and then trys to convince you they didn't.
> 
> Keep typing internet warrior



he is actually completely correct in what he said, maybe you shouldnt run your mouth when you dont know anything.


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## Recus (Dec 7, 2011)

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/324873-15-really-dumb-dual-question


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## Vancha (Dec 7, 2011)

Boomstick777 said:


> Yeah I read your message just fine, your forgetting the rest of your post where you say the GTX 3GB doesn't have 3GB, now your trying to make out you didn't say it, you obviously don't what your talking about, just another moronic internet warrior who types a load of BS. and then trys to convince you they didn't.
> 
> Keep typing internet warrior



8 and 9...They're _different_ numbers.


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## TheoneandonlyMrK (Dec 7, 2011)

Vancha said:


> Quote:
> Originally Posted by Boomstick777
> Yeah I read your message just fine, your forgetting the rest of your post where you say the GTX 3GB doesn't have 3GB, now your trying to make out you didn't say it, you obviously don't what your talking about, just another moronic internet warrior who types a load of BS. and then trys to convince you they didn't.
> 
> ...



bit off topic and i think your missunderstanding each other a gtx590 with 3 gig (really split into 2x1.5 per gpu tied to a gtx580 3gig in sli(tri) to my thinking too  should downgrade the 580 to 1.5 so all 3 gpus have the same vmem im no nvidia guru but sounds about right 

and im expecting the 7970 to get about 10%higher performance then a gtx580 as the new archtecture isnt aimed at improveing gfx capabillities as much as it is compute power from what i have read on it no great leap just good prep for the future


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## Lionheart (Dec 7, 2011)

theoneandonlymrk said:


> bit off topic and i think your missunderstanding each other a gtx590 with 3 gig (really split into 2x1.5 per gpu tied to a gtx580 3gig in sli(tri) to my thinking too  should downgrade the 580 to 1.5 so all 3 gpus have the same vmem im no nvidia guru but sounds about right
> 
> and im expecting the 7970 to get about 10%higher performance then a gtx580 as the new archtecture isnt aimed at improveing gfx capabillities as much as it is compute power from what i have read on it no great leap just good prep for the future



Lol 10% improvement over the GTX 580, I doubt it, but if that's the case AMD can go SUCK IT!


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## Casecutter (Dec 7, 2011)

btarunr said:


> .....giving you GTX 570-like performance under $200. Where's the issue?





WarraWarra said:


> BT, You mean low end NV560 $200 or IGP equivalent ???
> 
> I can not see anyone stupid enough to buy a weaker card than what they already have and pay $299/$399 for it, that does not make any sense at all. Maybe they can not produce enough volume so they try to price hog the cards until enough products is available.
> 
> So much for their 5Dec launch instead of original 9Dec launch.


Well if we're to believe that a 78X0 will be on the whole an enhanced version "Cayman", and that presently flanks either side of the GTX570, it's fairly convincing that on 28Nm it will leapfrog the GTX570.  With this saying a 7870 is an MSRP of $299; while the 7850 at $199, if those prices hold (normally will adjust down a little after initial release) you see what btarunr said, wouldn’t be that far off base. 

Take into account the GTX570 released a year ago *"today the 7th"*, and "supposedly" at $330; although if memory serves me, they were exceptionally difficult to find for the first couple months at anything less than $350-360, while only just lately being sometimes $300'ish after steep rebates.  So in about a year’s time AMD has beat what Nvidia offered for the $350 performance mark... does it sound all that great no... But for what will surely be like $270 in couple of months after its release it's good progress for the mainstream. While consider for $170 you’ll have cards that basically equal a reference GTX 570, while doing in with much better perf/watt, things are looking much better for the average gamer.


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## Casecutter (Dec 7, 2011)

Oh another thing... these prices also probably reflect that TSMC's was to increase their price for wafers manufactured using the 28nm process, so there’s that to contend along with their lackluster yields.


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## Boomstick777 (Dec 8, 2011)

reverze said:


> he is actually completely correct in what he said, maybe you shouldnt run your mouth when you dont know anything.



I think we got our wires crossed? I thought he was saying the GTX 580 3GB only has 1.5GB actual ram. He is talking about the GTX 590? Which although it says 3GB on the box, only actually uses 1.5GB per GPU becausce of it's SLI architecture.

Oops sorry dude I beg thee of forgiveness 



Hd 7970 looks like a decent card, can't wait for Nvidia's line up aswell


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## Super XP (Dec 8, 2011)

It seems the new HD 7900's are going in the right direction. 


> According to BSN, the HD 7970 GPU will be made up from 32 Compute Units for a total of 2048 cores that operate at a 1GHz clock.
> 
> These will be linked via a 384-bit wide memory bus to 3GB of GDDR5 VRAM working in a quad data-rate mode at 1.37GHz (5.5GHz effective) in order to provide a whopping 264GB/s of memory bandwidth.
> 
> ...


LINK:
http://www.brightsideofnews.com/news/2011/11/30/radeon-hd-7000-revealed-amd-to-mix-gcn-with-vliw4--vliw5-architectures.aspx


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## dj-electric (Dec 8, 2011)

If these specs are true...








If the HD7970 will really based on 2048SP at 1Ghz and a 384BIT 3GB GDDR5 memory, it will probably smack the GTX580 like a 9800XT smacking an FX5950ULTRA


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## Delta6326 (Dec 8, 2011)

yummy I could use a 7970


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## dir_d (Dec 8, 2011)

Isnt there some law about new architectures and how they dont perform well. Im being really skeptical of this new card, i dont think it will perform as well as it should.


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## Super XP (Dec 14, 2011)

The only issue I see with Crossfire/SLI is it ends up only using one cards memory. Why on earth won't these companies fix this


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## dj-electric (Dec 14, 2011)

Fix? if u wanna be able to render a certain scene you have to put it on both of the cards to flexibly render, they kinda have no choice you know....
It HAS to mirrorize the same VRAM to be able to render the same frame


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## nt300 (Dec 14, 2011)

Dj-ElectriC said:


> Fix? if u wanna be able to render a certain scene you have to put it on both of the cards to flexibly render, they kinda have no choice you know....
> It HAS to mirrorize the same VRAM to be able to render the same frame


I find this interesting. Can't they make the Crossfire act as a single dual gpu HD 6990? You don't run into this problem by putting it on both of the cards to flexibly render. With technology today they must be a fix somewhere or coming out soon.


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## RejZoR (Dec 14, 2011)

Yeah, one would expect that by now, they'd figure it out how to render scenes using 2 cards without the need to mirror data on both.


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## Delta6326 (Dec 14, 2011)

nt300 said:


> I find this interesting. Can't they make the Crossfire act as a single dual gpu HD 6990? You don't run into this problem by putting it on both of the cards to flexibly render. With technology today they must be a fix somewhere or coming out soon.



I wish because that would be awesome but the 6990 doesn't even run like that. The 6990 shares the 4GB, each GPU is backed by 2 GB of GDDR5 memory over a 256-bit wide memory interface each, totaling 4GB of memory. It's just 2 GPUs on one PCB.


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