The title says all. The HD 7950 is out, so, I would like to make this question: Any chance of the HD7950 unlock?
I hope people do check before posting questions.. Anyways..there is no need to even unlock a 7950 to 7970, just overclock and you'll get blazing performance. (and its just 2 minutes work) Article about overclocking 7950 -> http://guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-7950-overclock-guide/
Yes, but once unlocked(if possible) it's basically a 7970 for like $100 less and it already overclocks like MAD!
Read it somewhere that AMD has disabled the extra shaders on 7950 at the H/W level so it is not possible to unlock them. However, overclocking it to 1000 MHz or more will almost make it equal to 7970 anyway. So, no need to worry about any shader unlocking I would think.
Still between the HD7970 and 7950 Don't know if the 70 is worth the extra pricetag, but still i'm interested in it since I got the money (I've been saving for ~ 6+ months by now). What do you think? Which would be the best choice I'll be using it for gaming @ 1920x1080 or 1920x1200, no eyefinity or insane resolutions, nor 3d. I'm also planing to using it to GPGPU programing with OpenCL(starting to learn it now) under linux enviroment(most probably ubuntu, or if someone help me Arch).
I took the plunge and got the 7950. Sold my 580. Pros for me so far 1. OC well on defaults volts. My is already at 1000 core and 5800 on mem. I can go higher but will take my time. 2. Uses less juice than my 580. Cheaper electric bill 3. Runs cool. 4. About 35% faster than my 580...maybe more.
True..the HD79x0 cards are OC monsters. I can go max 1160/6000 at stock volt stable and 1275/6400 stable at 1.287v. At 1160/6000, performance gain over 7970 stock is already around 25%+ in most of the tests(Games/Benches) I did. I would say either 7950 or 7970 is a good choice but if you have enough cash for 7970, then why not grab the best out there...at least it is more futureproof . also make sure your cpu not holding back your card for full utilization. to share with you, I can play all games at 1080p with every single setting set at MAXED plus 8xAA without any problem.
Ok, thank you guys, I still have one last question Do anyone know how is doing the driver support for the HD7970 under linux enviroment? I don't care if it's catalyst or a opensource, if it works. In special, anyone with an HD 7970 and linux report any success or problems?
...not to mention that it'll be a while before Newegg will get them in without being sold out in, pfft, 2 hours. There are plenty of HD 7950s to be had, but seems like the HD 7970 will be a while before we see a supply that we can be happy with. MIght look into a 7970 come Easter, probably.
I got no choice here. Edit: Almost forgot to mention, I already have a friend wanting to buy my GPU, he is just waiting to me to buy a new one, so I'm going to be able to recover at least a good fraction of my HD 6850 price. About brandings, is there any diference in GPU brands when it comes to the reference cards? My is a Sapphire, and I'm happy with it, but since there is a BIG diference in prices between diferent brands, I would like to know if there is one that is realy better or not than other. Recomendations are allways welcome. I refuse to "upgrade" to bulldozer, so, to upgrade I'll have to change not only the CPU but also the motherboard, and hope not having to change RAM too. Right now I have the money to spend on the VGA and I want to get the best option available. About the CPU/mobo upgrade, I'll wait to see what intel in going to present with Ivy-bridge. Right now, as far as I now, my cpu is not bottlenecking my GPU, but once I upgrade I'm sure that's going to happen, and I'm OK with it because it's how it works, since I don't have the cash to buy another whole computer. Only hope that this GPU lasts long enough, this is, at least 2 years
