Which graphics card to choose?

[Finduszip]

Ok, now I've settled on a really powerful desktop gaming rig instead, but I'm having a problem. I dont know which one to choose out of these two:

XFX Radeon HD 7970 3GB GDDR5
GeForce GTX 680 2GB PhysX

I've heard that the 680 is supposed to be the most powerful card at the moment, but I've also heard that the Radeon had much better results in a benchmark test. So, anyone able to help out on this? The price is a minimal impact, as the GeForce is just a tiny bit more expensive than the Radeon.

 

[Terronium-12]

Moved to correct sub-forum.

Now, if you're going for the GHz version of the 7970 then it's a toss up. If you're considering just the "normal" 7970 then go with the 680.

 

[nick09]

I would go for the 680 since it is more energy efficient(55 watts less in total vs the HD 7970) and it does the same performance as a 1GHz version of the HD 7970.

 

[NissanSkylineN1]

The 7970 is cheaper... don't forget that.

 

[CMvan46]

If you've got that money to spend the 680 is my choice. If your considering the 7970 you might as well get the 670 and save some money since it competes very closely with the 7970.

 

[Pako]

I would also vote for the 680 if those are your two choices.

What mother board do you have? Is it SLI, Crossfire, or neither compatible?

 

[Grayfox]

The GTX680 is nVidia's powerful single core video card.
I do not know how it compares to the AMD 7970.

But I have the GTX 680SC and it is sweet.
But if you want one you will wait as most places are sold out.

If the 7970 was equal to or more than the GTX680 in terms of performance their would be shortages of the card but that card is not sold out in most online stores yet.

Benchmarks are nothing.

Remember how AMD use to say AMD Althon 6400 and say that this card is like a P4 6.4Ghz in one of its calculations(think it was the FPU)

But my vote is to the GTX680(EVGA if you can get one)

 

[Finduszip]

Ok, thank you, everyone, I'll go with the GTX.

 

[Grayfox]

Now you have to find a good one.

EVGA, Asus, MSI, Gigabyte are some of the best.

 

[SavageCupcake]

one screen= 680
3 screens= 7970

would go with the 680 anyway due to physx and things like that

 

[tlowr4]

^ +1 even though the question is already answered.

Being an ATI fanboy (a bit, I'm not hardcore), I'd still say the 680 since money seems to be no object for you at the moment.

See if you can pick up a Gigabyte Windforce 3 or MSI Twin Frozr 3 (or new Frozr 4) card. The coolers on those are utter destruction of nature. You should be looking at around the $700 mark.

 

[Finduszip]

The only one I can get here in Norway is the Gainward one, and if I were to import one from , for example, Britain, I would have to pay an extra 25% tax.

 

[djinline]

The only one I can get here in Norway is the Gainward one, and if I were to import one from , for example, Britain, I would have to pay an extra 25% tax.

Gainward is reliable too, no worries. Their Phantom cooling solution on that GTX 680 should be good.

 

[tlowr4]

^ Keep in mind, the Phantom cooler is 3 slots wide, so make sure you've got room in your case

 

[Grayfox]

one screen= 680
3 screens= 7970

I can run multiple screens with the 680 using nvidia surround

^ Keep in mind, the Phantom cooler is 3 slots wide, so make sure you've got room in your case

Dual width wasn't good enough we had to go and make it triple.

 

[tlowr4]

...
Dual width wasn't good enough we had to go and make it triple.

Yup. ASUS did the same thing with the Direct CUII Cooler, and miraculously, didn't achieve any better temperatures or noise levels, than the Twin Frozr III cooler from MSI...

 

[Grayfox]

Thing is SLI configed systems are back to back with dual width, so this means a triple width will kinda mess that up.

 

[sesselpupser]

I can run multiple screens with the 680 using nvidia surround

Me too and it's awesome, but I think his point was the AMD runs three monitors better than the 680, but the 680 runs one monitor better than the AMD. I have the Twin Frozr III OC and it's so quiet and cool compared to the Twin Frozr II OC 580 it replaces that I wonder if it's even working at 100%... 54C is the hottest I've seen it get, my 580 sat at 71C most of the time.

 

[Gabkicks]

The 680 is faster out of box in some games, but 7970 is a better overclocker. 7970 has higher power consumption. They trade blows in benchmarks.

 

[Gabkicks]

I didn't mean to double post >_<.

Here's the ghz edition vs 680: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/618?vs=555

ghz edition vs 680 here as well.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-7970-ghz-edition-review-benchmark,3232-8.html

http://hardocp.com/article/2012/06/21/amd_radeon_hd_7970_ghz_edition_video_card_review/3

 

[Grayfox]

7970 may be a better overclocker because it could be an underclocked chip AMD may make a 7980(GTX680 spec) and a 7990(dual core card).

 

[Gabkicks]

^that, and most 680's and 670's appear to be voltage locked.

 

[Grayfox]

Not really.

They can go from 800mV to 1200mV or so.

The OC tool that came with my EVGA GTX680SC allows you to change voltage settings.

 

[Gabkicks]

^ does your voltage actually change?

 

[Grayfox]

Yeah.

That is what the OC program from EVGA says and I can change it too.

GPU-z says it is 1.075 with 31% TDP but when I did the render test in GPU-z the voltage went up to 1.175

 

[tlowr4]

From memory it was an Afterburner limitation, other programs can adjust the voltage fine, just something to do with the way Afterburner works. Though I don't have a source to back it up, I just remember reading it somewhere and for that, don't quote me on it.

Apparently the EVGA one has the best OC's so far, just a better software overall.

 

[NissanSkylineN1]

Afterburner only Overvoltages MSI cards if I remember correctly. It was either that or that you had to go into its config file and type in that you agree to warranty/liability crap and htat you will overvoltage but not sue them.