MSI Radeon HD 7970 Lightning 3 GB

[erocker]

Lack of dual DVI makes it a loser for me.

 

[eidairaman1]

I want to see the GB 7970/7870 review

how about a MSI Hawk 7870 Review too

 

[the54thvoid]

Lack of dual DVI makes it a loser for me.

Yeah, had to check the back of my card to see, standard board is dual DVI I think. Why scupper a premium card with a numbnuts decision like that?

 

[_JP_]

i'm open to suggestions for a test that checks oc performance

Battlefield 3 is a game that has been tested and proved to be entirely dependent on GPU performance. So I think that makes it a good contender.

 

[TheMailMan78]

Battlefield 3 is a game that has been tested and proved to be entirely dependent on GPU performance. So I think that makes it a good contender.

I agree! BF3.

 

[EarthDog]

Unigine Heaven (Hwbot version) as well.

 

[W1zzard]

more input for possible oc benchmarks please. bf3 seems like an acceptable choice so far

how about a MSI Hawk 7870 Review too

still under nda

 

[eidairaman1]

still under nda

I honestly cant wait till that lifts cuz Im goin right for 7800 series myself

 

[BigMack70]

I would +1 to BF3 as the new title to test overclocks in... it's a solid DX11 title that many people look to in order to answer the question "how will this GPU run it".

It is also a title that will entice people to overclock their GPU, since no single GPU card can currently max the game out at 60fps minimum framerate at stock speeds (at least in the worst case scenario - 64 man sharqi/karkand multiplayer - I realize that benchmarking has to be done in single player where framerate is much higher).

 

[LAN_deRf_HA]

Ever since looking into the poor overclock gains of the 7750 I've been of the mindset that you need more than one game for the overclock results. It might gain 2% in one game but 14% in another.

 

[Delta6326]

I would be up for BF3 its widely more popular then the old COD4 and it will be one you can use for quit some time as most stuff doesn't max it out.

 

[manofthem]

I really like the addition of eyefinity benches along with the other resolutions. Even though I'm not running eyefinity yet, it really adds some great insight into the cards. Thanks W1zz for that.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Hey Wiz, I apologize in advance if I missed it, but I think many people, mainly myself, would love to see physical dimensions of the cards you are reviewing. Or maybe just me, since I'm trying to squeeze some big GPUs in my not so large case.
I know there were some differences in 6970's between reference and non-reference.
Just a thought.

 

[SonDa5]

I miss the UT3 benchmark comparisons.

 

[SnapS4]

really noisy cooling when loading

 

[Lionheart]

more input for possible oc benchmarks please. bf3 seems like an acceptable choice so far



still under nda

Since I brought it up lol I shall mention mainly the DX11 titles, Metro 2033, AVP, Shogun 2, Crysis 2 (Meh lol) and like the other guy mentioned BF3, don't want to add too many OCed game benchmarks to your workload

 

[jomama22]

Hey wizzard nice review.

I had a question for you. Which adapter do u finally get your dvi dl 2560x1440 monitor to work with? I have three of these cards and tried both accel and startech adapters but neither worked. Even if it doesnt work 100% ill still get it lol.

Thanks

 

[dj-electric]

i'm open to suggestions for a test that checks oc performance

I have tested A LOT of games when overclocking graphics cards, the best test i've ran into - definitely Anno2070.

 

[W1zzard]

Hey wizzard nice review.

I had a question for you. Which adapter do u finally get your dvi dl 2560x1440 monitor to work with? I have three of these cards and tried both accel and startech adapters but neither worked. Even if it doesnt work 100% ill still get it lol.

Thanks

best one was the 270 mhz accel (KS30008-131). there are a bunch of other companies that sell the same adapter under a different name, for example club 3d in europe.

i haven't tried their 330 mhz adapter. might be worth giving it a try

 

[radrok]

Awesome review W1zzard, everytime you get to review a GPU is fantastic because you're one of the few who actually spend time by removing the heatsink and show how the card is really made.

Many reviews around the web are just a copypaste of their previous reviews with changed names/numbers and they don't cover half of what they should.

Thank you, W1zzard.

The card is awesome, it's tempting me especially because EK is going to make a fullcover block (they said it on the 7970 waterblock thread on XS) which should be ready in 3 weeks.

 

[DeadSkull]

For the max overclock did you guys bump up the vcore or did you get 1210 Mhz with stock voltage?

I can see that

Maximum stable clocks of our card are 1210 MHz core (13% overclock) and 1850 MHz Memory (32% overclock).

and if you guys got that without increasing any of the voltages at all that's a very good card.

 

[Frogger]

still under nda

I honestly cant wait till that lifts cuz Im goin right for 7800 series myself

the MSI Hawk 7870 might just be the sweet spot of the bunch waiting sucks

 

[dj-electric]

380$ isn't a sweet spot at all. Better off getting an HD7950.

 

[Steevo]

I am Steevo, and I approve of this review.

 

[purecain]

use fluidmark as we have a benchmarking thread... that way we can directly see where new cards fall reletive to our own....

just an idea Wizz...