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July 26, 2012
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Replies: 14

Video Card Question

Forums > Technology > Hardware
:iconamana07:
~Amana07 Jul 26, 2012  Professional Photographer
My ATI Radeon 5870 is starting to worry me and with the 2 year warranty over I need to consider a new one just incase it goes.

At the moment i'm considering a couple of different cards.

1. [link] XFX dual fan 7870
2. [link] Gygabyte 7870
3. [link] HIS IceQ 7870
4. [link] HIS IceQ 7870 design 2
5. [link] Sapphire 7970

I'm leaning towards the Sapphire 7970 because of the design being similar to my current one, 5870 I have is by the same manufacturer, or the XFX dual fan 7870 card. Have a 1000 watt power supply and my EVGA board supports PCI express x16 2.0 stuff *up to 3 slots*.

Should I go for the XFX model or the Sapphire one? Current card is 10 to 11" long leaving 1 1/2 inches between it and the HD case. Have 6 gigs of triple channel OC 1600 ram 8-8-21 I think.

My only concern with models like the XFX 7870 is that it might vent towards the MB and I know these things can crank out some serious heat.
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:icon1and1isme:
~1and1isme Jul 27, 2012  Student Digital Artist
go with the 7950 if you want to get a higher card then a 7870. It'll perform a lot better. Also if your PSU doesnt have an 8pin connecter you can get extensions. Considering it is a 1000 watt PSU even if its not that grteat it'll handle a single 7950 fine.
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:iconamana07:
~Amana07 Jul 27, 2012  Professional Photographer
Purchased the 7970 today after looking things over for a bit. I was super close to going for the 7950, but felt I could shell out more for the extra power that will last me a bit longer.

Thankfully my PSU does have an 8 pin connector, I was just missing it heh heh ;) . Wasn't too bad and only hit me for $429 so only shelled out $100 more for the extra power.
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:icon1and1isme:
~1and1isme Jul 27, 2012  Student Digital Artist
haha well the 7970 is a good buy :) And it will offer fantastic performance ^^ enjoy your brand new card which beats the creap out of your old card I believe haha xD And good that your PSU has a connector for it :D Anyway enjoy your new graphic horsepower ;) I found the only game that wouldnt run at maxed on triple screens was BF3 lol.
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:iconamana07:
~Amana07 Jul 27, 2012  Professional Photographer
It's interesting that the card I bought cost the same amount of money when I bought my 5870 brand new when it was released lol. With BF3 I refuse to play the game as it's with EA and the controversy over their Origin system.
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:icon1and1isme:
~1and1isme Jul 28, 2012  Student Digital Artist
ah^^ Btw do you game on multi monitors?^^
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:iconamana07:
~Amana07 Jul 28, 2012  Professional Photographer
Nope, use a single monitor with HDMI and DVI connections. Don't really get into that whole multi-monitor use thing. Can understand it with art, but not with gaming.
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:icon1and1isme:
~1and1isme Jul 28, 2012  Student Digital Artist
Triple screen gaming is prety awesome but not all games support it ^^ It is better to jut havea really high res monitor for gaming since a lot of games dont support multi monitor that well ^^
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:iconpr-imagery:
~PR-Imagery Jul 26, 2012  Hobbyist General Artist
Yeah, I'd just go with a 7950 or just splurge on the 7970 since you're considering it.

XFX sucks.
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:iconrayvinazn:
`rayvinazn Jul 26, 2012
You're replacing it simply because the warranty is up? Strange way of going about things, but it's your call. Your comparison also seems strange; you list a bunch of 7870's, then jump up to a 7970. Based on what appears to be your budget I'd probably just opt for an HD 7950 instead. It doesn't take any serious performance hits where it really matters (ROPs or memory bandwidth), the TDP is quite a bit lower, and you're spending around $350-$375, right in the middle there.

As for board partners, I'd probably stick with Sapphire. XFX has gone way downhill the last few years as has HIS. Gigabyte, ASUS and MSI are decent, but not outstanding. Powercolor I would avoid.
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:iconkhyoon:
~Khyoon Jul 28, 2012
Depending on his resolution and games, the GTX 670 would've been a viable option too. Factory-OC'd cards start at $399. Use less power, exchange frames a lot with the 7970, and OC nicely.

Oh well. =/
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