GeForce GTX 680 cards are nowhere to be found, and the Radeon
HD 7970 recently dropped to a much more attractive price. We thought it
was time to round up a handful of Tahiti-based cards to see how board
partners are improving upon AMD's original recipe.
After a handful of price drops on AMD's highest-end graphics
cards, the Radeon HD 7970 is now more attractive than it was immediately
after the introduction of Nvidia's $500 GeForce GTX 680. Particularly
because Nvidia's flagship card is still very difficult to find more than
a month after its launch.
With that in mind, added to the fact that AMD's board partners have
had ample time to make their own improvements to the company's top-end
model, we have a great opportunity to revisit the Radeon HD 7970. Five
different vendors sent models for us to consider, resulting in an
impressive round-up of Tahiti GPU-based graphics cards.
| Gigabyte R797OC-3GD | HIS IceQ X2 Turbo (Turbo X) | MSI R7970 Lightning | Sapphire HD 7970 OC (Alt. BIOS) | VisionTek HD 7970 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graphics Clock | 1000 MHz | 1050 MHz (1120 MHz) | 1070 MHz | 950 MHz (1000 MHz) | 925 MHz |
| Memory Clock | 1375 MHz | 1400 MHz | 1400 MHz | 1425 MHz (1450 MHz) | 1375 MHz |
| GDDR5 Memory | 3 GB | 3 GB | 3 GB | 3 GB | 3 GB |
| Cooler | Windforce | IceQ X2 | Twin Frozr IV | Dual-X | Reference |
| Size (PCB & Cooler) | 10.5" x 4.75" x 1.5" | 12" x 5.5" x 1.5" | 11.75" x 5.5" x 1.5" | 11.5" x 5" x 1.75" | 12" x 5.5" x 1.5" |
| Weight | 1 lb 10.6 oz | 2 lb 1.3 oz | 2 lb 7.6 oz | 1 lb 14.1 oz | 2 lb 1.3 oz |
| Connectors | 1 x DL-DVI, 1 x HDMI 2 x mDP | 1 x DL-DVI, 1 x HDMI 2 x mDP | 2 x SL-DVI, 4x mDP | 1 x DL-DVI, 1 x HDMI 2 x mDP | 1 x DL-DVI, 1 x HDMI 2 x mDP |
| Form Factor | Dual-slot | Dual-slot | Dual-slot | More than Dual-slot | Dual-slot |
| GPU Voltage Adjustment | MSI Afterburner | HIS iTurbo | MSI Afterburner | Sapphire TriXX | MSI Afterburner |
| Special Features And Software | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Warranty | 3-Year | 2-Year | 3-Year | 2-Year | Limited Lifetime |
| Price | $499.99 (Newegg) | $499.99 (MSRP) ($519.99 MSRP) | $549.99 (Newegg) | $499.99 (Newegg) $579.99 (Updated) | $479.99 (Newegg) |
Note that HIS has two models represented on the chart. We were sent the company's "Turbo X" model for testing, and we believe it has the highest factory core overclock of any Radeon HD 7970 in the world at 1120 MHz. Unfortunately, though, this product is not expected to be available in the U.S. (only in Europe and Asia). Instead, we'll be getting the "Turbo" model, with no X and a 1050 MHz core clock. Thus, we benchmarked the card a second time with HIS' more conservative specification to demonstrate what North America can expect.
In lieu of HIS' Turbo X, MSI's 7970 Lightning sports the
highest-clocked core available for sale to our U.S. audience, running at
1070 MHz. Sapphire's HD 7970 OC enjoys the distinction of shipping with
the fastest memory compared to all other Radeon HD 7970s. However, its
core operates a more modest 1000 MHz.
Operating frequencies aren't the only variables affecting our
decision of what Radeon HD 7970 to recommend, though. Software bundles,
acoustics, thermals, price tags, support, and overclocking headroom all
come into play. Let's break down each model and explore what these five
vendors offer.
