Saturday, December 31st 2011
Sapphire Readies Radeon HD 7970 Cards with 1335 MHz Core Clock, 6 GB Memory
It looks like AMD's claims of HD 7970's extreme overclocking capabilities weren't the usual PR hoopla. A confidential company document revealing the non-reference models Sapphire has in the works, got leaked to the web, and it is a bundle of surprises. To begin with, Sapphire plans no less than six non-reference Radeon HD 7970 models apart from the vanilla AMD reference design card. Among these, the top-of-the-line cards are codenamed "Atomic RX" and "Atomic WC". One can guess that the "RX" is an air-cooled card, and the "WC" a water-cooled one. It packs blistering clock speeds of 1335 MHz core, with 5735 MHz (1433 MHz actual) memory.
The other card that caught our eyes is codenamed "FLEX 6G". The Flex variant typically features a flexible display output configuration. This card is said to have six mini-DP connectors. While this card sticks to AMD reference clock speeds, it packs a whopping 6144 MB of video memory, all wired to a single GPU. While 4 Gbit GDDR5 chips don't exist, we expect Sapphire to be using 24 * 2 Gbit chips on this card, with twelve sets of two chips sharing 32 bit paths. Then there are other milder factory overclocked cards apart from the Atomic; there's Toxic 3G, and VaporX 3G, both packing impressive out of the box clock speeds.
Source:
ChipHell
The other card that caught our eyes is codenamed "FLEX 6G". The Flex variant typically features a flexible display output configuration. This card is said to have six mini-DP connectors. While this card sticks to AMD reference clock speeds, it packs a whopping 6144 MB of video memory, all wired to a single GPU. While 4 Gbit GDDR5 chips don't exist, we expect Sapphire to be using 24 * 2 Gbit chips on this card, with twelve sets of two chips sharing 32 bit paths. Then there are other milder factory overclocked cards apart from the Atomic; there's Toxic 3G, and VaporX 3G, both packing impressive out of the box clock speeds.
85 Comments on Sapphire Readies Radeon HD 7970 Cards with 1335 MHz Core Clock, 6 GB Memory
I .....may..... not be going nvdia on my new build. Gonna go back to school to learn how to design something that will take advantage of two of these in xfire...more likely. When it comes to video cards amd rocks. Its all that ati dna.
I think they should bump it up 2 more mhz, for 1337 mhz :P
what you got(31%) means how much slower would be default clocked 7970 compared to this superclocked one. 100/144=69% -> 100%-69%=31%
So Here is a new calculation.
44% lets say it will give 40% boost
so Relative performance (1920*1200)
GTX580 84%
7970 100%
HD6990 117%
GTX590 122%
OC 7970 140%
This card would be 140/122=15% faster than the second fastest card.
Comparing to GTX580: this card would be 67% faster.
www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/12/lg-84-inch-4k-display/
:respect:
*opens side panel*
*Yells obscenities at old 5870*
*closes side panel*
*cries in a corner*
In general, I really like this new architecture and performance from AMD. And the amazing overclock for a retail card shows they really nailed this new process this time.
Now (JF-AMD if you are reading) please please make the 7950 unlockable, even partially unlockable, and AMD will have a huge hit on their hands. Please please make this happen! OMG!111
I also agree, this was a strong start, maybe we are going to see a full 2304 sp tahiti with higher clock speed than 925 mhz later.
This picture sais everything, i dont need to add a single word
Essentially, Release 7870 as the fastest single card, even if conservative and only by 10% at stock. Exploit for high dollars (and overclock versions) while building yields. As the price drops down to $300 over time, release the stock full tahiti at a price right above the overclocked versions of 7870. Call it the 8000 series. Make more money than releasing the full version right away.
They must figure thats essentially what nvidia did last gen, and it worked out well. Without figuring in the fact gf100 and 104 were essentially broken, gf110 and 114 were just fully-enabled designs released at a later time to maximize yields and revenue.
When nvidia released 460, it had no direct native competition. When Barts came along and 460 prices were in the toilet, so did the 560ti. 480...cayman...580.
I wonder if 8970 will use that shiny new .28ns gddr5 samsung is sampling to...somebody ;)
Pretty nice unit.