AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition "Tahiti XT2" Detailed

[HellasVagabond]

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.

 

[Filiprino]

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

 

[afw]

Price ? Same as the current pricing or more ?

 

[THE_EGG]

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).

 

[Recus]

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

Here we go.

 

[cadaveca]

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



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

 

[tacosRcool]

I'm curious to see how it will perform

 

[Delta6326]

XT2 makes me think its a dual card...

 

[DarkOCean]

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

 

[theeldest]

XT2 makes me think its a dual card...

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

 

[_JP_]

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

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

 

[Jurassic1024]

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.

 

[Casecutter]

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.

 

[cadaveca]

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.

 

[Gabkicks]

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.

 

[eidairaman1]

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...

 

[ChristTheGreat]

So more performance, less power consumption.

Sucks for people that already bought the first cards

 

[N3M3515]

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.

 

[GC_PaNzerFIN]

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.

 

[Casecutter]

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.

 

[eidairaman1]

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

 

[Casecutter]

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.

 

[Casecutter]

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.

 

[ChristTheGreat]

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

 

[Inceptor]

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.