# AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition "Tahiti XT2" Detailed



## btarunr (Jun 15, 2012)

We've known since May, the existence of a new high-end single-GPU graphics card SKU in the works, at AMD. Called the Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition, the SKU is being designed to regain AMD's competitiveness against NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 680. We're hearing a few additional details about the SKU. To begin with, AMD has worked with TSMC to refine the chip design. The Tahiti XT2 will be able to facilitate significantly higher clock speeds, at significantly lower voltages, than the current breed of Tahiti XT chips. 

Tahiti XT2, or Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition, will ship with a core clock speed of 1100 MHz, 175 MHz faster than the HD 7970. The GPU core voltage of Tahiti XT2 will be lower, at 1.020V, compared to 1.175V of the Tahiti XT. It's unlikely that AMD will tinker with memory clock speed, since Tahiti already has a 384-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface, which gives it 264 GB/s memory bandwidth at 1375 MHz (5.50 GHz effective). According to the source, the new SKU enters mass-production next week. So best case, it should reach markets by late-June or early-July. 





*View at TechPowerUp Main Site*


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## Melvis (Jun 15, 2012)

This should be called the 7990 like the 4890 was.

Nice to see higher clocks and lower voltage, well done AMD.

But is it enough?


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## btarunr (Jun 15, 2012)

I have reason to believe this SKU will succeed (at beating GTX 680). MSI R7970 Lightning, with lower GPU clock (1070 MHz) beats GTX 680, and the Tahiti XT2's lower voltages could result in lower power draw and possibly higher OC headroom.


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## Nordic (Jun 15, 2012)

So... Worth it?


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## acerace (Jun 15, 2012)

Haters gonna hate.


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## silapakorn (Jun 15, 2012)

Already got two GTX670 for SLI. There's nothing AMD can do to interest me, at least for a couple years.


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## Zakin (Jun 15, 2012)

Well with a setup like GTX 670s I don't think anything should interest you for quite some time from either party.


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## Melvis (Jun 15, 2012)

silapakorn said:


> Already got two GTX670 for SLI. There's nothing AMD can do to interest me, at least for a couple years.



I find that an odd thing to say, as i can say the same thing, im happy with my 2 4870X2's in crossfire for the next few yrs also or until they die? i just dont under stand your comment?


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## repman244 (Jun 15, 2012)

FirePro W9000 (Dual GPU)






















http://www.4gamer.net/games/135/G013536/20120615004/


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## Nordic (Jun 15, 2012)

repman244 said:


> FirePro W9000 (Dual GPU)
> http://www.4gamer.net/games/135/G013536/20120615004/SS/002.jpg
> 
> http://www.4gamer.net/games/135/G013536/20120615004/SS/005.jpg
> ...



Bad link, no pics


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## repman244 (Jun 15, 2012)

james888 said:


> Bad link, no pics



Hm weird it worked for a few minutes 

EDIT: fixed


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## Over_Lord (Jun 15, 2012)

james888 said:


> So... Worth it?



It sure is to me. 1100 MHz on a much lower core voltage. Seems magical.

Needs 7GT/s memory to make it a monster


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## the54thvoid (Jun 15, 2012)

Have to say, that's a higher than expected clock speed (nearly 19% higher than the original 925MHz).  And a much lower voltage too.

I'm looking forward to seeing reviews.

And pricing. :shadedshu

Edit: form the source



> According to our source the Tahiti XT2 chip will be also powering the Radeon HD 7970 X2 for sure



If that maintains the 1100 clock speed, it will beat the 690.


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## boomstik360 (Jun 15, 2012)

Damn, yet another reason to hold off on buying a 680 lol...


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## alwayssts (Jun 15, 2012)

1100mhz at 1.02v?   That's pretty impressive.

Makes me wonder if it's tuned to clock at the high-end range of 28nm (~1200-1300mhz) at the leakage curve which is somewhere around 1.175v.  That would be pretty neat and if curious if the process as a whole is being tuned toward that idealism.  It makes sense and could be a stepping stone towards why TSMC is adopting a singular performance/leakage level for 20nm.  Guess we'll see, but I think it could be a huge indicator. 

Agree it shouldn't need higher mem speeds, but that's pretty close to matching memory bandwidth with computational ability...which is smart and something they really should have done from the beginning.  Should, in theory, out-of-the box give it a tangible benefit very close, to slightly better, than what even an overclocked 7gbps (figuring ~7700mhz) 256-bit design can achieve when (big 'when' I suppose) those resources are used.  Good play capitalizing on the design strong-points and delivering a compelling reason for their decisions with Tahiti.


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## HellasVagabond (Jun 15, 2012)

1) Wait until it actually gets released (it may be as they say now but until it gets released many things could change).
2) Price (If it retails around the same price as the 680 and it's slightly faster we also need to take into consideration the upcoming NV specific features / GRID - VGX)


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## amdftw (Jun 15, 2012)

The new King! 
If it can overlcok to 1300-1400MHz it will be a monster!


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## Protagonist (Jun 15, 2012)

Will it have shenanigans boost technology like Nvidia? nah i guess it don't need it.


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## dj-electric (Jun 15, 2012)

DIY, i really hope for good numbers from such a cards (not only Mhz\power\Voltage ratio but also price)


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## Prima.Vera (Jun 15, 2012)

james888 said:


> So... Worth it?



Nothing is worth at the moment, the age of console ports and Diablo 3 - 10 years ago graphics. Common!


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## hardcore_gamer (Jun 15, 2012)

Even if it beats GTX680, AMD will price it close to $500. Nvidia will not reduce the price of GTX680 because they can't produce enough chips to supply the demand. 

This is not the AMD we used to know.


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## fullinfusion (Jun 15, 2012)

Sounds like amd don't have anything up it's sleeve for awhile if there just  binning for higher clocks.


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## INSTG8R (Jun 15, 2012)

Typica! I buy a 7970 like a week ago and now this...


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## hardcore_gamer (Jun 15, 2012)

fullinfusion said:


> Sounds like amd don't have anything up it's sleeve for awhile if there just binning for higher clocks.



I'm not surprised. They already launched 77, 78 and 79 series cards. 7990 and 7970x2 will be launched soon. That ends this generation of GPUs from AMD. We won't see the 8X series before Q1 2013.


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## phanbuey (Jun 15, 2012)

They already screwed themselves.  Anyone who was willing to spend $550 for the 7970 already did so.  And this little boost is not going to make anyone drop their 670s or 680s to spend $500 and get a whopping 5% boost.

Plus, nvidia's 670 is prime for a good price drop, which is all they would have to do to counter this card.


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## HellasVagabond (Jun 15, 2012)

hardcore_gamer said:


> I'm not surprised. They already launched 77, 78 and 79 series cards. 7990 and 7970x2 will be launched soon. That ends this generation of GPUs from AMD. We won't see the 8X series before Q1 2013.




Actually the 7970x2 cards are custom made by AMD's partners and have nothing to do with an AMD launch. HIS and others already have engineering samples out and are going to release them soon.


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## Filiprino (Jun 15, 2012)

Wooohooo. 1100 Mhz at 1.02V. 175 Mhz more with 0.155V less. Or 19% more clock with 13% less voltage.


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## afw (Jun 15, 2012)

Price ? Same as the current pricing or more ?


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## THE_EGG (Jun 15, 2012)

afw said:


> Price ? Same as the current pricing or more ?



At a guess I would say more, say somewhere between a 7970 and a GTX 680 (well at least in the Australian market as the 680 is generally way more expensive than the 7970).


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## Recus (Jun 15, 2012)

btarunr said:


> MSI R7970 Lightning, with lower GPU clock (1070 MHz) beats GTX 680



Here we go.


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## cadaveca (Jun 15, 2012)

W...T...F...



XT2? Why doesn't everyone call it XTX, like they should?


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## tacosRcool (Jun 15, 2012)

I'm curious to see how it will perform


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## Delta6326 (Jun 15, 2012)

XT2 makes me think its a dual card...


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## DarkOCean (Jun 15, 2012)

looking forward for new oc records for this gpu if those voltages are true.


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## theeldest (Jun 15, 2012)

Delta6326 said:


> XT2 makes me think its a dual card...



Just like the Barts LE was the french version of Barts.


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## _JP_ (Jun 15, 2012)

cadaveca said:


> XT2? Why doesn't everyone call it XTX, like they should?


Yeah, it would make a helluva lot more sense...


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## Jurassic1024 (Jun 15, 2012)

fullinfusion said:


> Sounds like amd don't have anything up it's sleeve for awhile if there just  binning for higher clocks.



Gigahertz Edition is the furthest thing from binning.  Says so right in the article. :|

Called the Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition, the SKU is being designed to regain AMD's competitiveness against NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 680. We're hearing a few additional details about the SKU. To begin with, AMD has worked with TSMC to refine the chip design. The Tahiti XT2 will be able to facilitate significantly higher clock speeds, at significantly lower voltages, than the current breed of Tahiti XT chips.


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## Casecutter (Jun 15, 2012)

btarunr said:


> AMD has worked with TSMC to refine *the manufacturability of the original* design


(Fixed)… What AMD designed as Tahiti originally TSMC can finally deliver.  

This is going to make when Nvidia said, "disappointed in Tahiti" (like they didn't have problems of their own), have us seeing that Tahiti was a excellent design. Although AMD got side-swiped by the lack of normal cost effectiveness on a die-shrink and got caught with a big expensive, (and not correctly manufactured) chip.  AMD was so far ahead they couldn’t change course and had to hold Tahiti to 250TDP, so they juggled clocks and voltage to keep the product on schedule even if it sacrificed performance.  Common sense would say Nvidia would be in the same boat from TSMC, and if not worse at the least in a different way.

Nvidia, had/took the time to change course with Dynamic clocking.  I still don’t know if D-Clock was always intended for GK104 (and/or that the GTX680 was a GK100) as maybe Nvidia got a heads-up on diminishing cost effectiveness and another big chip wasn’t the right direction. If they did they deserve the kudos’s.  Although, I don’t think the GTX680 was to be on a GK104, but found in harvesting the first chips that some could trump the 925Mhz of 7970’s and started on big PCB to really support those "Over the Top" chips.  Though Nvidia got descent numbers from the first wafer(s), they probably start seeing like AMD not enough good ones as they had anticipated from their next production wafers.

Ok, so now TSMC has probably hit the "reset" for both and things are/will get a fresh start. AMD gets good less leaky parts, Nvidia will get the number of "Over the Top" chips they thought for GTX680's, but that still might be moot as GTX670’s are great buy, especially if when you get a full-length PCB and cooling for around $420.

Though I will say, it surprised me that AMD can to make 1100Mhz (20%) the XT2 reference clock, while achieve that with 13% less voltage, amazing!   If AMD holds to $500 MSRP things will be interesting, while heartbreaking for those who paid >$520 over the last 4-6 weeks for anything else.


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## cadaveca (Jun 15, 2012)

Casecutter said:


> Though I will say, it surprised me that AMD can to make 1100Mhz (20%) the XT2 reference clock, while achieve that with 13% less voltage, amazing!   If AMD holds to $500 MSRP things will be interesting, while heartbreaking for those who paid >$520 over the last 4-6 weeks for anything else.




NO mention if acutal power consumption is lower, or higher. Less voltage means nothing...if current supplied is higher.


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## Gabkicks (Jun 15, 2012)

this card looks sweet! i already bought a 670 though... i waited  for months and couldnt wait any longer for amd to release something better.


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## eidairaman1 (Jun 15, 2012)

cadaveca said:


> NO mention if acutal power consumption is lower, or higher. Less voltage means nothing...if current supplied is higher.



ya the PIE  Pyramid- increase voltage or current means increase in power.

This is the product refresh and wont be changing badge names it appears

so no 7960 or 7980...


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## ChristTheGreat (Jun 15, 2012)

So more performance, less power consumption.

Sucks for people that already bought the first cards


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## N3M3515 (Jun 15, 2012)

phanbuey said:


> They already screwed themselves.  Anyone who was willing to spend $550 for the 7970 already did so.  And this little boost is not going to make anyone drop their 670s or 680s to spend $500 and get a whopping 5% boost.
> 
> Plus, nvidia's 670 is prime for a good price drop, which is all they would have to do to counter this card.



Dude this card is what every nvidia fanboy thought would never happen, 19% increase in clock speed is more than enough to slightly beat the GTX 680, and add to that 13% less power consumption! It is a huge engineering win buddy.

Suddenly the tables turn. Crown retaking.


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## GC_PaNzerFIN (Jun 15, 2012)

I would rather take that price drop on HD 7970 than this. I bet they just make HD 7970 EOL and don't touch the price.


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## Casecutter (Jun 15, 2012)

cadaveca said:


> NO mention if acutal power consumption is lower, or higher. Less voltage means nothing...if current supplied is higher.


Agreed, Although I supposed/expected a few things: 
A) AMD didn’t drastically deviate from the original chip design, TSMC just fixed their gates.
B) Will hold to the 250W TDP 
C) Would maintain the current PCB design and power sections, that lets AIB keep work with the existing boards they have. If they have to change PCB/components that means less of a seamless transfer and less profit.


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## eidairaman1 (Jun 15, 2012)

Casecutter said:


> Agreed, Although I supposed/expected a few things:
> A) AMD didn’t drastically deviate from the original chip design, TSMC just fixed their gates.
> B) Will hold to the 250W TDP
> C) Would maintain the current PCB design and power sections, that lets AIB keep work with the existing boards they have. If they have to change PCB/components that means less of a seamless transfer and less profit.



i recall AMD having 2 PCB designs for this lineup of cards so seemless transfer isnt even in the picture- it wouldnt be if they had a 3rd and 4th PCB design that replaced the first 2


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## Casecutter (Jun 15, 2012)

Heck, with efficiency maybe they de-content the board and keep cost down?
It’s all speculation. But if I’m a AIB I want to drop this chip into existing production and then slap new stickers on it and the box.


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## Casecutter (Jun 15, 2012)

ChristTheGreat said:


> Sucks for people that already bought the first cards


Yes, Heartbreaking for those who paid >$520 over the last 4-6 weeks for anything else. 

Got to know when to hold them, and when to fold... 
Those folks that bought in Jan-Feb isn't any big deal they've playing like 14 weeks, and probably cost them $5 a week for the fun... no lost love on that.


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## ChristTheGreat (Jun 15, 2012)

Casecutter said:


> Yes, Heartbreaking for those who paid >$520 over the last 4-6 weeks for anything else.
> 
> Got to know when to hold them, and when to fold...
> Those folks that bought in Jan-Feb isn't any big deal they've playing like 14 weeks, and probably cost them $5 a week for the fun... no lost love on that.



I agreed


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## Inceptor (Jun 15, 2012)

It doesn't matter when you buy, there's always something that comes along in a few weeks (or days) that is objectively better, in some way.
At this stage the differences are in a few fps, a small amount of wattage, brand loyalty, AIB loyalty, and the like --- which ultimately, in most cases, don't amount to a whole lot of actual difference in perceived performance.
Pick the the flavour to which your preferences (and your ego) gravitate.


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## Oberon (Jun 15, 2012)

cadaveca said:


> W...T...F...
> 
> 
> 
> XT2? Why doesn't everyone call it XTX, like they should?



XT2 = second revision of the Tahiti XT chip.


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## cadaveca (Jun 15, 2012)

Oberon said:


> XT2 = second revision of the Tahiti XT chip.



I don't care what it is supposed to mean. In my opinion, it should be XTX, and nothing will change that opinion, because that's all it is, is my opinion.


It should be XTX, and that's that. There is a reason for that, but whatever, this is hardly something really worth talking about.


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## GC_PaNzerFIN (Jun 15, 2012)

Binning a product hardly calls for new chip name. It is still Tahiti XT unless they did changes to the silicon which I doubt.


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## erocker (Jun 15, 2012)

To normal buyers it's knows and GHz edition. Dave, you can call it XTX if you want to.


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## cadaveca (Jun 15, 2012)

erocker said:


> To normal buyers* it's knows and *GHz edition. Dave, you can call it XTX if you want to.



Grammar police calling!




And I will.  

I was saying GHz Edition long before anyone else here was, don't care WTF they wanna call it now, it's XTX, and that's that.


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## erocker (Jun 15, 2012)

Throws phone on the floor!


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## cadaveca (Jun 15, 2012)

Meh, why would you think me as a normal person. I'm _special_, just like these chips!


You...you's just ewocka jabberwoka.


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## TheoneandonlyMrK (Jun 15, 2012)

just a thought but they could have added resonant clock mesh to this and scored higher efficiency and clocks couldnt they, i doubt they did but i am expecting 8xxx might possibly feature it

and in so far as binning goes this is what i frequently alude to, just because they tell you the top end chip is such and such and hits a certain spec profile, that does not mean that that chip is/was the top binned, and AMD or any other company frequently does have a higher bin then your comercially aware of with other exclusive features that work or work best , this bin got freed up for us..

anyways wheres the benches??.


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## N3M3515 (Jun 16, 2012)

cadaveca said:


> Grammar police calling!
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Well for me it's XT PE! because i say so.


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## wolf (Jun 16, 2012)

Impressive increase in clocks while lowering the voltage, worthy of commendation.

I doubt this will steal any of the thunder the GTX670 through 690 have, they impressed more than this, from the get go.


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## HossHuge (Jun 16, 2012)

erocker said:


> Throws phone on the floor!


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## fullinfusion (Jun 16, 2012)

Good going Amd 

Nvidia price drop coming, Thank you 

Hmmm 670's or shall it be 680's


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## rvalencia (Jun 16, 2012)

Casecutter said:


> Agreed, Although I supposed/expected a few things:
> A) AMD didn’t drastically deviate from the original chip design, TSMC just fixed their gates.
> B) Will hold to the 250W TDP
> C) Would maintain the current PCB design and power sections, that lets AIB keep work with the existing boards they have. If they have to change PCB/components that means less of a seamless transfer and less profit.



7970's consumes 210 watts link http://www.atomicmpc.com.au/Feature/296004,amd-radeon-hd-7970-reference-disassembly-guide.aspx

From http://www.guru3d.com/article/asus-radeon-hd-7970-directcu-ii-review/4 Radeon HD 7970 has 210 watts.

Believe it or not, the high end Radeon HD 7970 has a rated peak TDP (maximum power draw) of just 210 Watt, and that's really all right for a product of this caliber, features and performance.

From http://www.techspot.com/review/481-amd-radeon-7970/page2.html Radeon HD 7970 has 210 watts.

"it still chugs up to 210 watts under load


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## MxPhenom 216 (Jun 16, 2012)

phanbuey said:


> They already screwed themselves.  Anyone who was willing to spend $550 for the 7970 already did so.  And this little boost is not going to make anyone drop their 670s or 680s to spend $500 and get a whopping 5% boost.
> 
> Plus, nvidia's 670 is prime for a good price drop, which is all they would have to do to counter this card.



If they drop the price of the 670. ill get 2! I already was thinking about getting 2 670s


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## sergionography (Jun 16, 2012)

fullinfusion said:


> Good going Amd
> 
> Nvidia price drop coming, Thank you
> 
> Hmmm 670's or shall it be 680's


I doubt this will be 500 because price drops of gtx 680 or 670 will only push 7950 and 7870 prices even lower, so its either and will refresh these cards too or Tahiti xt2 will be 550$ like Tahiti xt launch price. Either way and is not being generous this Gen and are trying to be the ones controlling prices and pushing nvidia down unlike how its always Ben in the past


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## fullinfusion (Jun 16, 2012)

sergionography said:


> I doubt this will be 500 because price drops of gtx 680 or 670 will only push 7950 and 7870 prices even lower, so its either and will refresh these cards too or Tahiti xt2 will be 550$ like Tahiti xt launch price. Either way and is not being generous this Gen and are trying to be the ones controlling prices and pushing nvidia down unlike how its always Ben in the past


Im thinking the $4 billmark 

right where the prices should be...


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## R_1 (Jun 16, 2012)

Are there any good PC games for that super expensive equipment, cause I can play console ports better on proper hardware which is .... a very inexpensive  Xbox360 or PS3.


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## wingzero (Jun 16, 2012)

too late AMD..
it will only be little bit faster than a 670..
and trolled the users of the first batch 7970..


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## Aquinus (Jun 16, 2012)

Lets just call it the 7990, and refer to the dual-gpu solutions as 7xxx X2 and call it a day. 



			
				Cadaveca said:
			
		

> I was saying GHz Edition long before anyone else here was, don't care WTF they wanna call it now, it's XTX, and that's that.



An All-In-Wonder 7970 would be pretty awesome since you mention XTX. This isn't ATi anymore though.


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## the54thvoid (Jun 16, 2012)

wingzero said:


> too late AMD..
> it will only be little bit faster than a 670..
> and trolled the users of the first batch 7970..



epic fail post.


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## m1dg3t (Jun 16, 2012)

Aquinus said:


> An All-In-Wonder 7970 would be pretty awesome since you mention XTX. This isn't ATi anymore though.



Maybe soon? I hope to see this again


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## Lost Hatter (Jun 16, 2012)

Lol must be nice


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## eidairaman1 (Jun 16, 2012)

the54thvoid said:


> epic fail post.



ya he dont think he is trolling but he is


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## dom99 (Jun 16, 2012)

I'm looking forward to the ASUS HD 7970 XT2 DIRECTCUII TOP - guarenteed monster of a card


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## Psychoholic (Jun 16, 2012)

I have ran my reference 7970 @ 1100/1500 since i bought it on launch day with zero issues on the default auto fan profile.  Surely the new one will be a beastly clocker.


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## T4C Fantasy (Jun 17, 2012)

In computer graphics, ray tracing is a technique for generating an image by tracing the path of light through pixels in an image plane and simulating the effects of its encounters with virtual objects. The technique is capable of producing a very high degree of visual realism, usually higher than that of typical scanline rendering methods, but at a greater computational cost. This makes ray tracing best suited for applications where the image can be rendered slowly ahead of time, such as in still images and film and television special effects, and more poorly suited for real-time applications like video games where speed is critical. Ray tracing is capable of simulating a wide variety of optical effects, such as reflection and refraction, scattering, and dispersion phenomena (such as chromatic aberration).

AMD Radeon HD 7970
341 880 points

AMD Radeon HD 7950
274 725 points

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (dual GPU)
233 954 points

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 (dual GPU)
215 115 points

AMD Radeon HD 7870
189 933 points

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680
176 118 points

http://clbenchmark.com/result.jsp?class=single

so basically the hd7970 is a professional gaming graphics card since its still on par with a 680 in gaming and 2x more in compute power


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## sergionography (Jun 17, 2012)

now the question remains, will there be a new revision on the whole GCN line up? or saving it for next gen? bigger chips same consumption?
as for XTX I think they are saving that for the 2304 shader tahiti XD
if the tahiti XT that was released in jan wasnt exactly what AMD had planned then we can safely assume that crossed out 1000mhz 2304core tahiti was the original one XD
lets all dream, ghz edition 2304core tahiti for less than $500


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## Xzibit (Jun 17, 2012)

T4C Fantasy said:


> so basically the hd7970 is a professional gaming graphics card since its still on par with a 680 in gaming and 2x more in compute power



This generation I beleive AMD is hands down the superior card.  People can argue until there eye bleed about which is the better GPU company but as far as overall value and performance AMD won this round.

Tahiti XT is what Kepler 680 should have been to Fermi 580.

Kepler can only handle Double-Percision at Single-Percision rate. This is why their Quadro series features x2 GK104s chips to make up for the lack of compute power and its also being marketed to a lower specific tier market than before since it lacks the DP.
_"GK104 lacks the ECC and compute flexibility of the Fermi Tesla cards"
"NVIDIA’s goal for K10 is to go after the specific market segments that don’t need ECC and don’t need flexibility"_

AMD didnt need to cut down/out Compute Power to achieve low power usage nor did it have to introduce the problamatic GPU Boost feature thats causing so many headaches to keep temps and power usage tamed.

I'm sure Nvidia could have made something similar in size and performance but something happened that they either couldnt shrink the die small enough with computation power on it  and still have low power usage so I guess they just cut out the computation power to compete with AMD in similar die size and power usage.


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## Disruptor4 (Jun 17, 2012)

Well.... time to sell my current Gigabyte Windforce 7970 for a Gigabyte Windforce Gigahertz edition 7970 
Higher clocks for less heat/power... that's what I'm talking about


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## MrMilli (Jun 17, 2012)

fullinfusion said:


> Sounds like amd don't have anything up it's sleeve for awhile if there just  binning for higher clocks.



This isn't binning. This is a new revision of Tahiti hence the name Tahiti XT2.


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## MrMilli (Jun 17, 2012)

Xzibit said:


> Kepler can only handle Double-*Precision* at *1/16th* of Single-*Precision* rate.



There, fixed!

http://parallelis.com/kepler-underperform-on-gpgpu-gtx680/


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## Aquinus (Jun 17, 2012)

MrMilli said:


> There, fixed!
> 
> http://parallelis.com/kepler-underperform-on-gpgpu-gtx680/



AMD video cards since the 4k series have been about a 4:1 ratio of single precision to double which is pretty fair. A lot of graphics still use single-precision vectors which would be why the 680 shines in video games but not tasks like folding.


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## T4C Fantasy (Jun 17, 2012)

Xzibit said:


> This generation I beleive AMD is hands down the superior card.  People can argue until there eye bleed about which is the better GPU company but as far as overall value and performance AMD won this round.
> 
> Tahiti XT is what Kepler 680 should have been to Fermi 580.
> 
> ...



its all about time, nvidia didnt expect amd to release so early so they rushed their design like they did with the 400 series, 600 is only slightly better at gaming than the 7k series so i will say the 600 is a clear superior card for gaming even if only slightly... however i am a folder and gamer... the 7k is for me.

edit: I "was" a pure AMD fanboy, but now im just a hardware realist, I go for what will do my tasks the best for the price and efficiency, so if the nvidia maxwell rumors are true with being 12x! more performance.. NOT 12% but 12x! the biggest leap between 2 gens than the fermi articulture, then ill be getting a GTX780, but until then im content with my HD7970.


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## Scrizz (Jun 17, 2012)

cadaveca said:


> W...T...F...
> 
> 
> 
> XT2? Why doesn't everyone call it XTX, like they should?



I miss the old nomenclature. 
xD


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## HellasVagabond (Jun 17, 2012)

Xzibit said:


> This generation I beleive AMD is hands down the superior card.  People can argue until there eye bleed about which is the better GPU company but as far as overall value and performance AMD won this round.
> 
> Tahiti XT is what Kepler 680 should have been to Fermi 580.
> 
> ...



You are not serious right ? Friend we compare graphics cards (technology-wise) the way they leave the factory in reference designs and not partner designs. Find me a single reference AMD card (single GPU) that can go up against the reference GTX680. Same goes for the GTX690 (multi-GPUs). 
And then we have the various optimizations / cuts AMD has performed in their drivers over the last 3 years to gain more FPS something which not many people accept (until they run a game at default settings and start noticing various objects not where they should be - something which changes once you place every setting in high).
I could continue about this and talk about PhysX, GRID and VGX but no point in doing that.

I support both teams because i have both but calling the 79xx series better than the GTX6xx series is.....Weird.....AMD lost this round, plain and simple...Even if you just look at the fact that they still haven't released the 7990 that's more than enough.


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## Xzibit (Jun 17, 2012)

HellasVagabond said:


> You are not serious right ? Friend we compare graphics cards (technology-wise) the way they leave the factory in reference designs and not partner designs. Find me a single reference AMD card (single GPU) that can go up against the reference GTX680. Same goes for the GTX690 (multi-GPUs).
> And then we have the various optimizations / cuts AMD has performed in their drivers over the last 3 years to gain more FPS something which not many people accept (until they run a game at default settings and start noticing various objects not where they should be - something which changes once you place every setting in high).
> I could continue about this and talk about PhysX, GRID and VGX but no point in doing that.
> 
> I support both teams because i have both but calling the 79xx series better than the GTX6xx series is.....Weird.....AMD lost this round, plain and simple...Even if you just look at the fact that they still haven't released the 7990 that's more than enough.



I havent owned a ATI card in 5 years.  Still dont own own. 

Your basing your premise on GAMING only.  The GTX 680 is what 2-5% better in certain games.  I hardly think that justifies the lack of computation power being 35%+ less.

PhysX thats the biggest marketing joke.  You still take a 30-40% performance hit when its active on a single card.

GRID is a nice theory on paper but its a service.  They explained it at E3 look it up.  Current testing is being compared to console latency one-way.  Highest test population they had is 40 people.  You can say GRID is Nvidia responce to loosing all 3 Console contracts.

VGX is another nice thing on paper but has to do more with Nvidia dumping almost 2 billion in the last 6 months into the Mobile market than it doesn with its descrete graphics division.  One of its prime focus will be to upscale performance from Tablets and Mobile devices.  That in it of itself will cause all kind of backlash from their mobile hardware partners.


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## Googoo24 (Jun 17, 2012)

> And then we have the various optimizations / cuts AMD has performed in their drivers over the last 3 years to gain more FPS something which not many people accept (until they run a game at default settings and start noticing various objects not where they should be - something which changes once you place every setting in high).



Huh?



> GRID



Is GRID really part of this?


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## HellasVagabond (Jun 17, 2012)

Friend EVERYTHING is nice on paper at first but what else do you expect ? At least they are bringing something new and up until today at least i have yet to see any driver optimizations by NV that make objects vanish from games (play for example world of tanks with an Radeon with stock settings and you will see what i am talking about - one out of many games with glitches out there when the CCC is on default) just to get a few FPS more. 

And whoever claims that he's getting a card based on computing power so they can help SETI or Folding@Home well there are still previous gen cards with crazy computing power.

Even a 5% increase in Games (even if we don't take into consideration the various driver optimizations) is a 5% increase, thus a better card for gaming. If the 7970 was 5% better it would be a better gaming card. It's simple.

@Googoo , Google is your friend, it should clear this up for you.


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## Googoo24 (Jun 17, 2012)

> @Googoo , Google is your friend, it should clear this up for you.



Did that already, and can find nothing on disappearing objects from games. Perhaps you can "help" me instead.

And I'm still not getting how GRID is an incentive to buy a Nvidia card.


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## TheoneandonlyMrK (Jun 17, 2012)

HellasVagabond said:


> And whoever claims that he's getting a card based on computing power so they can help SETI or Folding@Home well there are still previous gen cards with crazy computing power.



thats right , my 5870 and 5850 piss on an nvidia 6xx for compute power, Nv won what round??,
it is they that started the compute on Gpu revolution with physx, yet there behind on my score card, AMD made a card that really was  a beast in all scenarios, nvidia went for a bit more on gameing not shit loads more , A Bit ,and for more money.

 for ages you couldnt even buy NV if you wanted too and in all that time amd's been rollin em out and then those early adopters got their egos spanked by the 670 which for a gamer(NON FOLDING) is clearly the one to buy.


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## HellasVagabond (Jun 17, 2012)

@GooGoo24 you will not see many talking about objects disappearing, many just call them glitches in general. You can certainly find many results about AMD driver optimizations.

@theoneandonlymrk However the immediate opponent of the 5870 was the GTX 480 so no NV didn't lose that round then in terms of performance.


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## eidairaman1 (Jun 18, 2012)

This topic is about the Refresh of the 7970 not the 5870, not the 670, not the 680, not the 480. Stay on topic


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## HellasVagabond (Jun 18, 2012)

Expanding a topic with correct arguments and civilized manners is never a bad thing.

In any case if the "trend" of out times is for AMD to release a card, sell it and then release the same basically card with higher clocks and sell it for even more then i really hope NV doesn't follow the same path.....I like to see technology progressing and not the same chips getting slightly updated and released again, that's all.


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## eidairaman1 (Jun 18, 2012)

HellasVagabond said:


> Expanding a topic with correct arguments and civilized manners is never a bad thing.
> 
> In any case if the "trend" of out times is for AMD to release a card, sell it and then release the same basically card with higher clocks and sell it for even more then i really hope NV doesn't follow the same path.....I like to see technology progressing and not the same chips getting slightly updated and released again, that's all.



where have you been the last 10+ years.

AMD (ATI at the time) had released 9500/9700 and then released 9600/9800 as a product refresh.

NV did the same thing then.

Product refreshes were only just reintroduced now since after they dropped the idea with the HD 2000 series


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## TheoneandonlyMrK (Jun 18, 2012)

HellasVagabond said:


> Expanding a topic with correct arguments and civilized manners is never a bad thing.
> 
> In any case if the "trend" of out times is for AMD to release a card, sell it and then release the same basically card with higher clocks and sell it for even more then i really hope NV doesn't follow the same path.....I like to see technology progressing and not the same chips getting slightly updated and released again, that's all.



Thats what they all do.


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## N3M3515 (Jun 18, 2012)

eidairaman1 said:


> where have you been the last 10+ years.
> 
> AMD (ATI at the time) had released 9500/9700 and then released 9600/9800 as a product refresh.
> 
> ...



don't forget about
5900 ultra -> 5950 ultra
5600        -> 5700 ultra
4870 -> 4890
GTX 280 -> GTX 285
9700 pro -> 9800 pro -> 9800XT
X800XT -> X850XT
X1900XT -> X1950XTX
7800 GTX -> 7800 GTX 512
etc....

PD: now that i think about it, the jump from GTX 280 to GTX 285 was almost like GTX 480 -> GTX 580  hehe...


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## eidairaman1 (Jun 18, 2012)

N3M3515 said:


> don't forget about
> 5900 ultra -> 5950 ultra
> 5600        -> 5700 ultra
> 4870 -> 4890
> ...



I know what you were getting at but thanks


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## Casecutter (Jun 18, 2012)

rvalencia said:


> 7970's consumes 210 watts link http://www.atomicmpc.com.au/Feature/296004,amd-radeon-hd-7970-reference-disassembly-guide.aspx
> 
> From http://www.guru3d.com/article/asus-radeon-hd-7970-directcu-ii-review/4 Radeon HD 7970 has 210 watts.
> 
> ...


Not arguing, TDP is different than consumption under load. TDP is the theoretical limit for the chip, PCB, power section etc of AMD reference design. Can that card or other AIB designs achieve above that sure, with really good cooling (water blocks) some reference can make it above that, but then you take the risk on bricking, not that you don’t have that same risk with normal OC’n on regular card it just that most often there's some head room left to bump it. 

As you say most often 210W is what it pulls at normal gaming/stress loads, but there’s something like 20% buffer on max power in the design of a reference board.  What this indicates is probably AMD will hold to around that 210W, but now can add 20% higher clock while still holding within that. That's not something you get from binning chips, but a improvement of the manufacturing process that controls gat leakage.


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## HellasVagabond (Jun 18, 2012)

N3M3515 said:


> don't forget about
> 5900 ultra -> 5950 ultra
> 5600        -> 5700 ultra
> 4870 -> 4890
> ...



Actually some of the products you refer to had other changes and not just higher/lower clocks...Some had more/less shader units and others featured more ram clocked differently....Plus some where released with a few weeks in between so they weren't ment as a product refresh but as an addition to that line of GPUs.

However even if that was always the case i don't think we should be happy about it nor accept it with open arms.


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## N3M3515 (Jun 19, 2012)

HellasVagabond said:


> Actually some of the products you refer to had other changes and not just higher/lower clocks...Some had more/less shader units and others featured more ram clocked differently....Plus some where released with a few weeks in between so they weren't ment as a product refresh but as an addition to that line of GPUs.
> 
> However even if that was always the case i don't think we should be happy about it nor accept it with open arms.



Exactly, some.


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## Googoo24 (Jun 19, 2012)

N3M3515 said:


> Exactly, some.



Personally, I also consider the 460 (despite the numbering) to be a replacement for the abysmal 465. It completely eclipsed that card, and came two months later. Some might disagree though, since it was G104.


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## m1dg3t (Jun 22, 2012)

btarunr said:


> We've known since May, the existence of a new high-end single-GPU graphics card SKU in the works, at AMD. Called the Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition, the SKU is being designed to regain AMD's competitiveness against NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 680. We're hearing a few additional details about the SKU. To begin with, AMD has worked with TSMC to refine the chip design. The Tahiti XT2 will be able to facilitate significantly higher clock speeds, at significantly lower voltages, than the current breed of Tahiti XT chips.
> 
> Tahiti XT2, or Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition, will ship with a core clock speed of 1100 MHz, 175 MHz faster than the HD 7970. The GPU core voltage of Tahiti XT2 will be lower, at 1.020V, compared to 1.175V of the Tahiti XT. It's unlikely that AMD will tinker with memory clock speed, since Tahiti already has a 384-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface, which gives it 264 GB/s memory bandwidth at 1375 MHz (5.50 GHz effective). According to the source, the new SKU enters mass-production next week. So best case, it should reach markets by late-June or early-July.
> 
> Source: OCaholic.ch



Judging from what i gathered in the review this card does not meet/perform as outlined in this "report"? I thought we were supposed to see improved performance _along_ with improved efficiency 

Performance crown is good but meaningless if it comes at the expense of efficiency, IMO 

TBH i was expecting more from ATi, more efficiency & power. Guess i'll be waiting for 8xxx


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## eidairaman1 (Jun 23, 2012)

m1dg3t said:


> Judging from what i gathered in the review this card does not meet/perform as outlined in this "report"? I thought we were supposed to see improved performance _along_ with improved efficiency
> 
> Performance crown is good but meaningless if it comes at the expense of efficiency, IMO
> 
> TBH i was expecting more from ATi, more efficiency & power. Guess i'll be waiting for 8xxx



Ive noticed this about both companies, its not worth moving ever year or 2, its best to wait 3-5 years before upgrading the video if you want it.

But honestly if they are fixing issues good on them.


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## T4C Fantasy (Jul 19, 2012)

eidairaman1 said:


> Ive noticed this about both companies, its not worth moving ever year or 2, its best to wait 3-5 years before upgrading the video if you want it.
> 
> But honestly if they are fixing issues good on them.



5 years is really pushing it... at most 4 years should be ok... people should upgradde every 2 years though because youll beable to max out new games that way... no 5 year old card can max out skyrim for example.... and the best 2007 amd card was the hd3870


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## Zakin (Jul 19, 2012)

No five year old card can max out Skyrim cause it's an awful port from console that even runs poorly there...


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## pantherx12 (Jul 19, 2012)

T4C Fantasy said:


> 5 years is really pushing it... at most 4 years should be ok... people should upgradde every 2 years though because youll beable to max out new games that way... no 5 year old card can max out skyrim for example.... and the best 2007 amd card was the hd3870



How old is a 8800 gt now?

Aside from AA it can max out Skyrim I think.

I've found that graphically stock skyrim isn't demanding at all one bit.

The only demanding bit is shadows and that's because they run on the CPU.


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## Nordic (Jul 19, 2012)

pantherx12 said:


> How old is a 8800 gt now?
> 
> Aside from AA it can max out Skyrim I think.
> 
> ...



My 9800 gt can still do most games pretty well. I had some trouble with metro 2033, crysis, and the stalker series. Most games worked pretty well


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## T4C Fantasy (Jul 19, 2012)

pantherx12 said:


> How old is a 8800 gt now?
> 
> Aside from AA it can max out Skyrim I think.
> 
> ...



graphically stock is not maxed out.... like i said no 5 year old card can max out skyrim


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## Nordic (Jul 19, 2012)

T4C Fantasy said:


> graphically stock is not maxed out.... like i said no 5 year old card can max out skyrim



Are you challenging someone to prove you wrong because I am half tempted? I don't feel like removing my amd drivers to go to nvidea, and back again.


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## T4C Fantasy (Jul 19, 2012)

james888 said:


> Are you challenging someone to prove you wrong because I am half tempted? I don't feel like removing my amd drivers to go to nvidea, and back again.



 bet you cant max out skyrim with hd texture pack, and with skyrim HD 2k texture mod.. with a 5 year old graphics card  ^^

which means getting 60fps on a 1080p 60Hz monitor


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## Nordic (Jul 19, 2012)

T4C Fantasy said:


> bet you cant max out skyrim with hd texture pack, and with skyrim HD 2k texture mod.. with a 5 year old graphics card  ^^
> 
> which means getting 60fps on a 1080p 60Hz monitor



When I did use my 9800gt I only had a 1440X900 monitor and was fine with 30-45 fps. That is a bit steep asking for 60fps at 1080p


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## T4C Fantasy (Jul 19, 2012)

james888 said:


> When I did use my 9800gt I only had a 1440X900 monitor and was fine with 30-45 fps. That is a bit steep asking for 60fps at 1080p



well yeah, 1080p is the base for games for 2012.... even 1200p... but 1080p is still used more and 60fps on a 60Hz monitor would be seamless without clipping and maxed out

but a 9800gt is not a 5 year old card yet... try it with a 8800 ultra


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## Nordic (Jul 19, 2012)

T4C Fantasy said:


> well yeah, 1080p is the base for games for 2012.... even 1200p... but 1080p is still used more and 60fps on a 60Hz monitor would be seamless without clipping and maxed out
> 
> but a 9800gt is not a 5 year old card yet... try it with a 8800 ultra



The ultra would be better than my gt. The 9800gt was a rebrand of the 8800gt. So 5 year old design. Here is a review of my 9800gt. http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/xfx_9800gt/9.htm
I prefer my 7970.


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