7990 1ghz edition to debut at computex 2012

[Manicdan]

reference is great for watercooler compatibility and thats usually about it

why would anyone even want to flash to this card? just OC the ones they have and choose the voltage they want.

[[XC] Oj101]

reference is great for watercooler compatibility and thats usually about it

why would anyone even want to flash to this card? just OC the ones they have and choose the voltage they want.

QFT, and I'll bet that every card will do the 1,050 MHz at less than 1.256v!

[Andrew LB]

I thought the new 7970 1Ghz edition was meant to have lower voltages and less power draw, but apparently not.

I don't recall AMD ever saying this new 7970 would have higher clocks WITH lower voltages. Last I heard, AMD claimed that the manufacturing process had improved to the point where the same average voltages can yield higher clock speeds.

What you probably heard was the endless speculation, followed then by speculating on those speculations. You know how it goes. I would have thought the huge reality check code name bulldozer would have kept peoples imaginations a little closer to reality. nah... what fun is that then? heh.

[Lanek]

Good news DTE is part of the 12.7 beta driver, even for standard 7970 cards ... i dont think it will work as the PT boost on Ghz edition, Im not really surey of the impact it could get on old 7970 .

So the new AMD drivers were tested, were the GeForce 304.48 BETA drivers used as well? They offer up to 18 % performance increases to the green camp. It's more than fair to compare Cat 12.4 to 12.7 but why compare one of NVIDIA's older drivers to AMD's latest?

here standard 7970 vs 680 http://www.anandtech.com/show/6025/r...p-to-gtx-680/3

The biggest gains for AMD and NVIDIA are seen in DiRT 3 and Shogun 2 respectively. For reasons we’re not fully sure of, AMD has managed to significantly improve their performance on DiRT 3 and turn the tables on what was previously a game favoring NVIDIA. At the same time however NVIDIA has finally fixed the Kepler performance bug that was introduced in the March update for Shogun 2, restoring performance to where it was before the update and pushing NVIDIA ahead of AMD once more.

Meanwhile AMD sees lesser gains in Batman, BF3, and Skyrim, while NVIDIA also gains on Batman but that’s about it. Altogether AMD’s latest driver update has pushed their average performance ahead slightly more than NVIDIA’s, which for the 7970 versus the GTX 680 means that the GTX 680 now leads by about 9% instead of 10%. It’s not nearly enough to change any recommendations, but the fact that AMD and NVIDIA have swapped leads in certain games is a reminder of how important drivers can be and how volatile performance leads are.

[jam2k]

[Andrew LB]

GTX 680's performance is starting to look inadequate, though, especially with its limited overclocking due to the lack of voltage control.

I can't believe you went so far as to call the fastest single GPU graphics card on the market "inadequate". Please lay off the kool-aid.

Radeon HD 7970 GE with a custom cooler looks like the way to go at the moment. Not even talking about compute performance...

Its the way to go if you only care about brand name instead of purchasing the card based on cost, performance, noise levels, heat, and since all the ATi fanboys are very concerned with energy consumption... power efficiency.

The 7970 1ghz edition costs $20 less.... but is much louder, slightly slower in many categories, runs hotter, and definitely uses more power. And after a year or so of ownership, the extra $20 for 680 will be returned in lower energy bills.

[Lanek]

I can't believe you went so far as to call the fastest single GPU graphics card on the market "inadequate". Please lay off the kool-aid.



Its the way to go if you only care about brand name instead of purchasing the card based on cost, performance, noise levels, heat, and since all the ATi fanboys are very concerned with energy consumption... power efficiency.

The 7970 1ghz edition costs $20 less.... but is much louder, slightly slower in many categories, runs hotter, and definitely uses more power. And after a year or so of ownership, the extra $20 for 680 will be returned in lower energy bills.

Well if i have understand well, there will be ( nearly ) only custom cooler version ... I have not look 100% of the review, but it seems all cards send to reviewers was made from AMD:.. not HIS, not Asus, Not Powercolor.. MSI etc..

The design of the Ghz and the 7970 is strictly identical ( at all level )... AIB will use directly their own cooler for it.

[DilTech]

Well if i have understand well, there will be ( nearly ) only custom cooler version ... I have not look 100% of the review, but it seems all cards send to reviewers was made from AMD:.. not HIS, not Asus, Not Powercolor.. MSI etc..

The design of the Ghz and the 7970 is strictly identical ( at all level )... AIB will use directly their own cooler for it.

Here's hoping you're right, because that's quite a bit of noise coming from that reference cooler.

GTX 680's performance is starting to look inadequate, though, especially with its limited overclocking due to the lack of voltage control.

Radeon HD 7970 GE with a custom cooler looks like the way to go at the moment. Not even talking about compute performance...

Technically speaking, wouldn't that mean the GTX 680 HOF edition would be the way to go, since it DOES allow voltage control (if you can get galaxy's OC panel), and comes with a stock clock for 1202mhz (boost of 1267)? It definitely beats the 7970 ghz, and overclocks to higher levels too. 1300mhz out of the box on them is childs play.

[cegras]

techreport:

Above is a picture of our 7970 GHz Edition review unit, which came to us directly from AMD. However, there is a bit of a catch. The card above is based on AMD's reference design, but we understand retail cards from AMD's various partners will have custom coolers and possibly custom PCB designs. You won't likely see a 7970 GHz Edition that looks like that picture.

http://techreport.com/articles.x/23150/11

Better 99 percentile FPS / dollar.

Poor power consumption, but the reference 7970 draws less than the GTX 680 under Arkham Asylum - didn't crunch numbers, but that might put it on equal perf/watt.

[BababooeyHTJ]

Thats good to hear, it seems like the cooler would really hold that card back. I wouldn't deal with a 7970 at 1.2v on the reference cooler.

I do have to admit that these reviews really make me look at 7970 in a different light. It appears to perform more consistently than GTX 680 at higher resolutions.

Poor power consumption, but the reference 7970 draws less than the GTX 680 under Arkham Asylum - didn't crunch numbers, but that might put it on equal perf/watt.

If your views were consistent you should be hating on this card right now. Power consumption or performance per watt is not this cards strong suit by a longshot. With good cooling that doesn't bother me but if you want to be consistent.

[solofly]

Somebody made a good point. Why the would I want one of these where the regular one can overclock to the same speed and beyond with lesser voltage, noise and heat...

[Olivon]

http://techreport.com/articles.x/23150/11

So AMD brings a new top-notch product to market but doesn't feel the need to give a "proper" product to reviewers ?
Every review talks about power consumption and high noise. With only the power consumption problem, that would be a better start.
"Here comes 7970 GE Edition ! That's noisy like hell but don't worry, cards won't be like that !" they said
Shoot in the foot style ...

[Monstru]

So the new AMD drivers were tested, were the GeForce 304.48 BETA drivers used as well? They offer up to 18 % performance increases to the green camp. It's more than fair to compare Cat 12.4 to 12.7 but why compare one of NVIDIA's older drivers to AMD's latest?

As always, I used WHQL drivers for the card that is already launched (GTX680) and latest driver for the card that is being launched and her peers. Nvidia had enough time to make new WHQL drivers if they really wanted too Same goes for AMD when Nvidia launches a new card...

[Lanek]

So AMD brings a new top-notch product to market but doesn't feel the need to give a "proper" product to reviewers ?
Every review talks about power consumption and high noise. With only the power consumption problem, that would be a better start.
"Here comes 7970 GE Edition ! That's noisy like hell but don't worry, cards won't be like that !" they said
Shoot in the foot style ...

they dont said the card will not be like that.. they just say AIB release their own card and cooler directly .. next days you will get reviews about the cards from AIB ( AMD dont sell cards, Nvidia dont do it too ( normally ).. and you will find only cards from AIB with the coolers they have allready developped .. AMD could have wait and dont send only their reference cards to reviewers, for a reason they have not do it ..

[BababooeyHTJ]

As always, I used WHQL drivers for the card that is already launched (GTX680) and latest driver for the card that is being launched and her peers. Nvidia had enough time to make new WHQL drivers if they really wanted too Same goes for AMD when Nvidia launches a new card...

How the hell did you guys use 4x MSAA in Crysis 2 or any MSAA at all for that matter?

[LordEC911]

Well if i have understand well, there will be ( nearly ) only custom cooler version ... I have not look 100% of the review, but it seems all cards send to reviewers was made from AMD:.. not HIS, not Asus, Not Powercolor.. MSI etc..

The design of the Ghz and the 7970 is strictly identical ( at all level )... AIB will use directly their own cooler for it.

Exactly. AIBs get to customize these cards however they want.
AMD simply used the reference design to show it falls within the same parameters as the normal 7970 and for qualification.

Its the way to go if you only care about brand name instead of purchasing the card based on cost, performance, noise levels, heat, and since all the ATi fanboys are very concerned with energy consumption... power efficiency.

The 7970 1ghz edition costs $20 less.... but is much louder, slightly slower in many categories, runs hotter, and definitely uses more power. And after a year or so of ownership, the extra $20 for 680 will be returned in lower energy bills.

Many? I would have to disagree on that. In certain situations it loses to the GTX680 but the vast majority it is either neck and neck or a bit ahead.
I don't recall you harping about energy efficiency with the 6970 vs the GTX570 or even the GTX580...


About the voltage, one of the reviews mentioned that the base voltage was lower on their card vs the normal 7970 but in any situation when boost kicked in, which is basically all the time when gaming, the voltage jumps to the "boost voltage" to ensure stable operation across all applications at max clocks. Is there any review that lowers the power tune limits?

[[XC] Oj101]

Allow me to go against the grain here and say #$%^ you, AMD.

Why the low ASIC quality? Are these Tahiti cores that didn't make the grade to be 7970s are were meant to be sold as 7950s due to TDP constraints not being met? The higher voltages tell me that these didn't qualify as 7970s. Even the idle voltage us up by 100mv.

Show me a 7970 that can't do "GHz Edition" speeds at STOCK voltage? And that will be $50 less, thank you very much. AMD is taking their crappy cores and, instead of selling at a lower price, selling at a premium.

#$%^ you AMD, #$%^ you very much

[LordEC911]

Allow me to go against the grain here and say #$%^ you, AMD.

Why the low ASIC quality? Are these Tahiti cores that didn't make the grade to be 7970s are were meant to be sold as 7950s due to TDP constraints not being met? The higher voltages tell me that these didn't qualify as 7970s. Even the idle voltage us up by 100mv.

Show me a 7970 that can't do "GHz Edition" speeds at STOCK voltage? And that will be $50 less, thank you very much. AMD is taking their crappy cores and, instead of selling at a lower price, selling at a premium.

#$%^ you AMD, #$%^ you very much

If only you knew what you were talking about.

[cegras]

Thats good to hear, it seems like the cooler would really hold that card back. I wouldn't deal with a 7970 at 1.2v on the reference cooler.

I do have to admit that these reviews really make me look at 7970 in a different light. It appears to perform more consistently than GTX 680 at higher resolutions.

http://If your views were consistent...ard right now. Power consumption or performance per watt is not this cards strong suit by a longshot. With good cooling that doesn't bother me but if you want to be consistent.

I already said that. Techpowerup's averaged performance / typical power consumption is not good. Techreport has one data point but that doesn't set a trend. As soon as I saw the numbers I wrote it off.

[BababooeyHTJ]

I already said that. Techpowerup's averaged performance / typical power consumption is not good. Techreport has one data point but that doesn't set a trend. As soon as I saw the numbers I wrote it off.

Yeah, we already know that Techreport and their AMD bias is all that matters to you. It doesn't matter if it conflicts with every other review out there. They even said that they should probably use multiple games next time around since their results are different than what they saw last time with 7970. So, thats the only test that matters to you.

If you had any consistency other than your AMD bias then you would be hating on this card since power consumption is all that seems to matter to you.

[Manicdan]

Yeah, we already know that Techreport and their AMD bias is all that matters to you. It doesn't matter if it conflicts with every other review out there. They even said that they should probably use multiple games next time around since their results are different than what they saw last time with 7970. So, thats the only test that matters to you.

If you had any consistency other than your AMD bias then you would be hating on this card since power consumption is all that seems to matter to you.

i love the techreport charts that show frame time across percentages. you get to see at what point a gpu gets lagged down.
however i wouldnt look at the 99th percentile as the main number, i would stick around 97-98%, which is why i go to the line charts rather than their bar charts.

[BababooeyHTJ]

It always cracks me up when people like cegras talk up the 99th percentile results on the gtx 680 review like its the end all be all despite 7970 in its launch review performing worse in that area and then on top of that completely disregarding the results from the GTX670 review.

[Rollo]

It always cracks me up when people like cegras talk up the 99th percentile results on the gtx 680 review like its the end all be all despite 7970 in its launch review performing worse in that area and then on top of that completely disregarding the results from the GTX670 review.

What cracks me up is this card manages to be louder than the GTX480, and I bet a search of some users posts in regard to that card "may" have mentioned they found that level of sound output less than optimal:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/A...dition/27.html

This card is literally a replay of the 5870 vs 480 matchup, except it isn't offering higher performance and a better feature set as pros to offset the cons of the higher noise and power. And for more money than all the 7970s already out there with better coolers and simialr clock speeds?

Fail.

Basically AMD just took the old 7970, added a nice auto OCing bios to it, and jacked the price. Nice guys. Up next- the Bulldozer 'Ditch Witch Top Secret Edition", 100MHz more and costs more than a i7 2600K.

[BababooeyHTJ]

You won't find a 7970 ghz edition reference card from what I hear. There will be quite a few nice aib models.

For just over the price of a GTX680 you can get a nice Sapphire non-reference card that beat the pants off of the GTX680 at higher resolutions. No tweaking necessary.

Or you can buy a 7970 try clocking it yourself and buy a nice cooler. Fail, I don't think so. This move will at least sell some 7970s.

[cegras]

It always cracks me up when people like cegras talk up the 99th percentile results on the gtx 680 review like its the end all be all despite 7970 in its launch review performing worse in that area and then on top of that completely disregarding the results from the GTX670 review.

I'm tired of arguing with juveniles with grudges so I'll kindly repeat myself to one more time:

My main point in citing the 99th percentile performance is, to directly quote techreport's conclusion, that they are pretty much indistinguishable in performance. I've lost count of how many times it has fallen on your deaf ears, and your strawmen are getting extremely tiring to deal with.

As a further example of how childishly raging you are, let me requote myself:

Techreport has one data point but that doesn't set a trend.

Which is me conceding that their one data point of lower consumption is equally balanced by their previous test with another gaming shower higher for the 7970. Yet you are so eager to find something to pin me to the wall with that you will interpret it in any way you can. It's very pathetic. I already said, one sentence prior, how techpowerup's averaged data is the better set to use.

You won't find a 7970 ghz edition reference card from what I hear.

'From what you hear' is straight from the mouth of techreport.

If you had any consistency other than your AMD bias then you would be hating on this card since power consumption is all that seems to matter to you.

It appears that besides lacking reading comprehension, you also just straight up don't read. Again, requoting myself:

As soon as I saw the numbers I wrote it off..

I've italicized it so hopefully you can read it.