New R9-270x or Used HD7950?

[rainbrodash666]

looking to spend about $200 on a gpu upgrade from my HD6850, I am looking at a New R9-270x msi gaming edition or a used reference HD7950. should i risk getting the used 7950 or just go for the new?

 

I would be stuck with the reference 7950 because i only have clearance for 10.6 inch graphics cards, ( i test fitted a friends 7950 and the shroud touches my drive cages)

 

the free games that will come with the new card are skewing my decision towards the R9-270x.since my monitor is 1680x1050

 

the rest of my build is in my sig.

[slasher0161]

looking to spend about $200 on a gpu upgrade from my HD6850, I am looking at a New R9-270x msi gaming edition or a used reference HD7950. should i risk getting the used 7950 or just go for the new?

 

I would be stuck with the reference 7950 because i only have clearance for 10.6 inch graphics cards, ( i test fitted a friends 7950 and the shroud touches my drive cages)

 

the free games that will come with the new card are skewing my decision towards the R9-270x.since my monitor is 1680x1050

 

the rest of my build is in my sig.

How much is the used 7950, has the person overclocked it through voltage adjustment, max temps they have run it at?

If the 7950 is in good condition and will change the cooler down the line might be worth it but at that price it is hard to say. Don't suppose cutting out part of your drive cages in an option for a non reference card?

[Jack.EXE]

Get a 7870XT, $180 ($150 with rebate), more powerful than the 270X, and almost as powerful as the 7950.

[SkilledRebuilds]

270 is a 7870, and will do that resolution fine with great FPS

7950 is a bloody awesome card, slightly above the 270(7870) speeds, the only thing that really seperates them is the shader count, memory bus and memory amount.

If your not moving to 1080p or above anytime soon, grab the 270, if your using MAXIMUM details Or going for HighFPS or looking to move UP to 1080p or beyond. Has to be the 7950!

[rainbrodash666]

How much is the used 7950, has the person overclocked it through voltage adjustment, max temps they have run it at?

If the 7950 is in good condition and will change the cooler down the line might be worth it but at that price it is hard to say. Don't suppose cutting out part of your drive cages in an option for a non reference card?

ebay is full of HD7950's for $180 - $200 with the whole used for a month story going

 

and I would cut part of my drive cage but I would need another reason to completely tear down my rig,

[rainbrodash666]

Get a 7870XT, $180 ($150 with rebate), more powerful than the 270X, and almost as powerful as the 7950.

can you give me a link to this deal?

[coen113]

Get a 7870XT, $180 ($150 with rebate), more powerful than the 270X, and almost as powerful as the 7950.

i love the 7870XT. its underrated.

[slasher0161]

can you give me a link to this deal?

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/powercolor-video-card-ax78702gbd52dhppv3e

 

It isn't the ideal cooler but that is the card I am currently running (soon to be replaced with a 290x when they lift the bloody NDA's so I can pay for it) it still runs reasonably well though.

 

 

i love the 7870XT. its underrated.

 

It is a bloody awesome card i'll hand it that and its the only card I have seen that has increased in value since release (outside of sales). When I bought mine was $220 AUD about 1 week after release. My only real complaint with the card would be the single fan design can get loud when change fan profiles and whack the overclock right up to see what it can do (@100% load it howls away) however outside of benchmarking I don't hear my card over some background music and my key strokes.

[rainbrodash666]

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/powercolor-video-card-ax78702gbd52dhppv3e

 

It isn't the ideal cooler but that is the card I am currently running (soon to be replaced with a 290x when they lift the bloody NDA's so I can pay for it) it still runs reasonably well though.

 

 

 

It is a bloody awesome card i'll hand it that and its the only card I have seen that has increased in value since release (outside of sales). When I bought mine was $220 AUD about 1 week after release. My only real complaint with the card would be the single fan design can get loud when change fan profiles and whack the overclock right up to see what it can do (@100% load it howls away) however outside of benchmarking I don't hear my card over some background music and my key strokes.

 

eh, I don't really like how that looks and I think I need a better cooler as it gets fairly hot here during the summer.

[slasher0161]

eh, I don't really like how that looks and I think I need a better cooler as it gets fairly hot here during the summer.

 

I was able to maintain a 1150 core, 1550 mem clock on it during summer here which is 36c during the day standard a bad day it only drops below 30c between 2300 and 0300.

[SkilledRebuilds]

My 7950 got by in summer here in Australia, same clocks, 1150/1550, Stays under 70*c (Thats on higher than 35*c days with a small room, no aircon, and my PC playing games pumping out the heat)

[rainbrodash666]

I was able to maintain a 1150 core, 1550 mem clock on it during summer here which is 36c during the day standard a bad day it only drops below 30c between 2300 and 0300.

 

 

My 7950 got by in summer here in Australia, same clocks, 1150/1550, Stays under 70*c (Thats on higher than 35*c days with a small room, no aircon, and my PC playing games pumping out the heat)

 

this summer my 6850 started hitting 85c and up to 100c once, so I am set on getting something with a nice cooler that will stay quiet under load, or be worth the noise when it spins up it's fan.

[BYOGamingPC]

I'd just go with the AMD Radeon R9 270X if I were you. If you can get the 7950 for $160 or less than get it, otherwise get a 270X.

[TastyRabbit]

Hi,

 

    I don't post often but I can help with this!!!

 

I own a VTX3D 7870 Black Edition (its a XT). 

 

I have to say the card is brilliant. However it does have downsides:

 

It generates alot of heat. You have to cool the VRM and GPU with water to get a serious overclock out of it.

 

Here's mine:

 

 

Now it runs really cool.

 

Another problem is it doesn't have valid 3d Mark settings anymore for some reason... It says its got a timing problem.

 

Here are my firestrike results anyway:

 

The CPU isn't clocked - just the card @ 1250 (or 75 I can't remember) and 1650

http://www.3dmark.com/fs/987551

 

The Graphics score is 7284, which is pretty mean at its price point. 

 

I've got voltage at 1300 - +20 powerline.

 

Make sure you don't clock it this much without water!!!! I have it in a mITX case and the temps used  to be insane.... hot glue melting insane (hense the pegs).

 

Overall, I would say if you intend to play @ 1080p buying a 7870SXTor whatever the rebrand is, is a no brainer as long as you get the cooling. It can easily hold its own to the 7950 and even beat more than a few 7970s. 

 

 

I ordered some ultrametal whatever you call it to get the temps even lower.... Tinkering never ends....

[OlekKing]

For the love of god, stop these goddamn threads, anything else other than the 260x, 290 and 290x is a re-brand of the previous series, just GET WHATEVER IS CHEAPER...

[slasher0161]

For the love of god, stop these goddamn threads, anything else other than the 260x, 290 and 290x is a re-brand of the previous series, just GET WHATEVER IS CHEAPER...

Easy now man, this bloke had a legitimate question if a used 7950 was worth it over a 270x. So don't be so gun ho about it (I can understand being skeptical about buying a used gpu).

[SkilledRebuilds]

While overclocking a 270 or 7870 will prove awesome for the setup, the 7950 and 7970 can overclock just as well in most cases, but at those levels its overkill.

That being said... If your at 1080p, aiming for High details with acceptable FPS, you can't go wrong with the 7870-7950 area of performance and wouldnt need anything more than that for 1080p

A Dual fanned 7870 OC will do you right, find a good deal somewhere and your set.

[TastyRabbit]

I forgot about the free games... sorry...

 

Go with the 270, not the used 7950. You can overclock a 7870XT to over 7950 levels with proper cooling (I'm presuming the 270 overclocks as well - check if its voltage locked) if at 1080p.

 

Make sure you get a good cooler with it if you intend to use air (i.e one of the expensive ones with the fancy coolers).

If you intend to watercool go for a reference (cheapest!!!(normally)) design. Take off the cover, and use a waterblock from EK etc... If you have any questions about how to watercool a 270 / 7870XT just PM me and I'll tell you how to add blocks to the vRam and VRM.

 

You also have the choice of making blocks cheaply. Its really easy if you don't care about looks. Just get a 1/4-19 BSPP tap off E-bay - a plate of copper 20mm thick, a 11.5mm drill and some brazing sticks - thermal pads. This would be the cheapest and most educational way of making a beasty card. Oh, and polishing soap. An Ehien 1000 litre/hr pump is like $30, a plastic box (basically free(for the res and the pump)), some tube (whatever mm) $10 and barbs + hose clamps and a 120mm rad $30 for a Magicool 35mm wide one... Then you can cool the CPU as well.

 

I would definely water cool a 7870 XT, I don't know if the thermals have changed for the 270 though...