Need new graphics card badly

[flare4000]

So if look at my rig in my signature you will see that the graphics card is horrible so now I am going to upgrade it I was waiting for the R9 series to be announced and it doesn't seem to be anything good except for the flagship so here is what I am looking at currently. I have a budget of $300 but lower is better

A Powercolor 7970 for 297 after tax and shipping http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/powercolor-video-card-ax79703gbd52dhv3

A Sapphire 7950 for 288 after tax and shipping http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/sapphire-video-card-111961920g

And a Gigabyte 7950 for 265 after tax and shipping http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-video-card-gvr795wf33gd

So I am wondering if the powercolor 7970 is any good and if the gigabyte cooler any good, I think the Sapphire card isn't worth it but who knows. 

I am open to any suggestions, thanks.

 

xfx http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-video-card-fx795atnfc

[Drown]

Get the Powercolor, it's a very good card and you can OC it pretty well. The Gigabyte one is another great one, nice and silent cooler, although I've been told that it can't be OC past a certain point, and thus not as much as the Powercolor.

[Morpheus]

gigabytes is voltage locked so don't buy it and the $12 extra for a 7970 is very worth it in my opinion

[warmmilk]

am I the only one for who ncix link always go to the ncix home page and never directly to the product?  Every ncix link I've ever clicked...

 

I'd go for the 7970 out of those.  Some may say 7950 and OC to get 7970 performance, but you can OC the 7970 also and get even better performance...  and price difference isn't that much...

 

Since the links aren't working for me and I can't see the exact cards you're looking at, I'd also suggest something with a non ref cooler.  My cousin has a ref 7970 and the stock cooler is stupendously loud under gaming, not to mention it runs kinda hot... in the low 50's for normal everyday use, not even gaming

[flare4000]

Another question how is powercolor's mail in rebate system? That is the one thing going for sapphire that price is with no mail in rebates.

[Askew]

If it was me I'd be most interested in the Gigabyte 7950 as it's cheapest and I know it's a great cooler.

However I've not had much experience with Gigabyte cards and I'm not sure how far they are down the list of people who get the better silicon.

 

Still however, above all things is who provides the better warranty and ease of RMA, what's the good of a 3 year warranty with a company that will take a month to turn it around, if any of the cards have their warranty as Return to Base I'd get that one!

[Face2Face]

gigabytes is voltage locked so don't buy it and the $12 extra for a 7970 is very worth it in my opinion

It's voltage locked @ 1.25v which Is plenty to achieve a 1150 core OC, which most cards will do. I can't see the links, but if the Powercolor card is a reference design then just grab the Gigabyte 7950 - Great cooler and really easy to OC -- oh yea low noise too.

[Morpheus]

It's voltage locked @ 1.25v which Is plenty to achieve a 1150 core OC, which most cards will do. I can't see the links, but if the Powercolor card is a reference design then just grab the Gigabyte 7950 - Great cooler and really easy to OC -- oh yea low noise too.

yeah but in case he wants to keep it at a lower clock, he can down volt so it doesn't get so hot/noisy 

[Face2Face]

yeah but in case he wants to keep it at a lower clock, he can down volt so it doesn't get so hot/noisy 

It won't do much to downvolt a low ASIC card, which all of the Gigabytes 7950 are now. I can downvolt my card to .950mv and run it at 950Mhz on the core.. Still gets 55c under an accelero.

[Morpheus]

It won't do much to downvolt a low ASIC card, which all of the Gigabytes 7950 are now. I can downvolt my card to .950mv and run it at 950Mhz on the core.. Still gets 55c under an accelero.

idk for me downvolting makes about a 10-15 degree difference so i like to have that option and i really need that option in the summer lol

[Face2Face]

idk for me downvolting makes about a 10-15 degree difference so i like to have that option and i really need that option in the summer lol

Fair enough  My cards run hot naturally as they are 89% ASIC, so no matter what I do... they still get toasty.

[Morpheus]

Fair enough  My cards run hot naturally as they are 89% ASIC, so no matter what I do... they still get toasty.

try throwing some snow on them

[Face2Face]

try throwing some snow on them

[flare4000]

Is the gigabyte card quite? Because that is one of my main concerns my and performance isn't that big of a deal I play at 480p graphics on low with less then 60 fps constant and low res bf3 so anything is an improvement. I just want to know what is the best quiet card for 300 or less. I also forgot to mention that I am Canadian. How are the xfx cards I heard they run loud but they are cheap http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=68593&promoid=1377.

[Raboo]

Powercolor 7970 has my vote.

[warmmilk]

Is the gigabyte card quite? Because that is one of my main concerns my and performance isn't that big of a deal I play at 480p graphics on low with less then 60 fps constant and low res bf3 so anything is an improvement. I just want to know what is the best quiet card for 300 or less. I also forgot to mention that I am Canadian. How are the xfx cards I heard they run loud but they are cheap http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=68593&promoid=1377.

 

try links from somewhere besides ncix, I don't think i'm the only one for who it doesn't work.  we can't see exactly what you're linking to, just the ncix home page

[Face2Face]

Is the gigabyte card quite? Because that is one of my main concerns my and performance isn't that big of a deal I play at 480p graphics on low with less then 60 fps constant and low res bf3 so anything is an improvement. I just want to know what is the best quiet card for 300 or less. I also forgot to mention that I am Canadian. How are the xfx cards I heard they run loud but they are cheap http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=68593&promoid=1377.

Do you still plan on playing @ 480P? If so, then you do not need to buy a 7950 or 7970. Yes the Gigabyte card is very quiet. Stay away from XFX, they have junk coolers.

[flare4000]

try links from somewhere besides ncix, I don't think i'm the only one for who it doesn't work.  we can't see exactly what you're linking to, just the ncix home page

I will add pcpartpicker links to the first post

 

Do you still plan on playing @ 480P? If so, then you do not need to buy a 7950 or 7970. Yes the Gigabyte card is very quiet. Stay away from XFX, they have junk coolers.

No I have a 1080p monitor but my graphics card is absolute trash it's a 4650.

[Face2Face]

I will add pcpartpicker links to the first post

 

No I have a 1080p monitor but my graphics card is absolute trash it's a 4650.

Ohh ok, so you will be playing @ 1080P with your new card. If you want a quiet cooler, then the gigabyte card is going to be the best. However, the Power Color card is the best deal.

[warmmilk]

I will add pcpartpicker links to the first post

 

 

 

thanks

 

I'd go with the power color 7970

[flare4000]

Is an asus 660 ti worth it compared to the gigabyte 7950 since it's pretty cheap without mir and how long is the gigabyte card btw I have only 1 foot of clearance at best

 

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-video-card-gtx660tidc2o2gd5

[mgsstar]

Another question how is powercolor's mail in rebate system? That is the one thing going for sapphire that price is with no mail in rebates.

Since it doesn't use 4myrebate which most companies use, I am not sure about it. So I would get this card instead of that one: http://www.ncix.ca/products/?sku=82700&vpn=R7970%20TF%203GD5%2FOC%20BE&manufacture=MSI&promoid=1377

Had a MIR with a MSI gpu and I have received my rebate.

[flare4000]

So now I am pretty sure that I am going to get a 7950 since I don't need the extra performance but am willing to spend a little on cool temps and silence so right now I am looking at this http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161420 has anyone had experience with HIS before and how is this cooler? If you can recommend another card to look at then please do but read some reviews this card seems to be a beast for the price.

[mgsstar]

So now I am pretty sure that I am going to get a 7950 since I don't need the extra performance but am willing to spend a little on cool temps and silence so right now I am looking at this http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161420 has anyone had experience with HIS before and how is this cooler? If you can recommend another card to look at then please do but read some reviews this card seems to be a beast for the price.

HIS is a pretty good brand for a gpu imo. Looking at the reviews, the overclock ability of this card is not bad and it is quite close to the MSI Twin Frozr 3 7950 in terms of temps and noise:

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/msi_radeon_hd_7950_twin_frozer_iii_review,1.html

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/his_radeon_hd_7950_iceq_turbo_review,1.html