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Lucky Tiger13 
LSU Fan
Baton Rouge
Member since May 2012
201 posts
| GPU Variations (Posted on 1/24/13 at 8:51 am)
How do you distinguish the difference between multiple versions of Radeon HD 7970's? Prices are between $609 and $379... The only differences I notice are slight variations in the core clock speeds and boost clock speeds.
I'm on newegg and looking at all 7970's with 3gb of ram.
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VABuckeye 
Ohio State Fan
Oak Hill, VA
Member since Dec 2007
8147 posts
| re: GPU Variations (Posted on 1/24/13 at 9:00 am to Lucky Tiger13)
quote:
On June 21, 2012, AMD refreshed the Radeon HD 7970 with higher clock speeds and GHz edition branding. The biggest difference between the Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition and a reference Radeon HD 7970 is the operating frequency. The reference design of the original 7970 has the GPU running at 925MHz and the memory running at 1375MHz or 5.5GHz GDDR5. The Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition has the GPU running at 1000MHz base clock with a 1050MHz Boost Clock, while the memory is set to run at 1500MHz or 6GHz GDDR5. Both video cards still have 128 Texture Units, 32 ROP's, 128 Z/Stencils, and 3GB of GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit bus. The typical board power for each video card is 250 watts.
Bottom line. Ghz is an overclocked 7970. There is little to no difference in the actual hardware. Theoretically it could be further overclocked beyond the limits of the regular edition but that is a roll of the dice. You may get a great reference (regular) 7970 that overclocks like crazy but it's a bit of a crap shoot.
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bluebarracuda
LSU Fan
Baton Rouge
Member since Oct 2011
3756 posts
 Online
| re: GPU Variations (Posted on 1/24/13 at 9:11 am to VABuckeye)
Id go with a reference 7970 or a sapphire OC edition (usually cheapest non ref version)
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jcole4lsu 
Virginia Fan
The Kwisatz Haderach
Member since Nov 2007
21957 posts
| re: GPU Variations (Posted on 1/24/13 at 9:13 am to Lucky Tiger13)
under no circumstances should you spend anywhere near $600 on a 7970.
Here is Toms Hardware's best GPUs for the money report for Jan2013.
GTX 670 wins at $370
7970 wins at $400
the guide specifically mentions to not pay more than $450 for a 7970Ghz edition
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Lucky Tiger13
LSU Fan
Baton Rouge
Member since May 2012
201 posts
| re: GPU Variations (Posted on 1/24/13 at 9:15 am to VABuckeye)
Well someone recommended the MSI lightning version at 489 LINK
and I see this one at $399 from a decent name in gigabyte LINK
Just wanted to know if the price increase is justified.
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jcole4lsu
Virginia Fan
The Kwisatz Haderach
Member since Nov 2007
21957 posts
| re: GPU Variations (Posted on 1/24/13 at 9:20 am to Lucky Tiger13)
MSI no
Gigabyte yes
thats in reference to the two linked cards, not a commentary on the makers themselves.
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bluebarracuda
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| re: GPU Variations (Posted on 1/24/13 at 9:27 am to jcole4lsu)
If they ever fix the drivers for the 7950, that is easily the best buy. Supposedly the new 13.xx drivers help, but I don't have a 7950 so I dont know.
Grab a 7970 and run. Awesome card with great overclocking, and if you ever decide to up to a higher res monitor, you'll have the perfect card for it
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jcole4lsu
Virginia Fan
The Kwisatz Haderach
Member since Nov 2007
21957 posts
| re: GPU Variations (Posted on 1/24/13 at 9:28 am to bluebarracuda)
yeah the 7950 boost edition gets the recommendation at $295
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Lucky Tiger13
LSU Fan
Baton Rouge
Member since May 2012
201 posts
| re: GPU Variations (Posted on 1/24/13 at 9:29 am to bluebarracuda)
I think I'm gonna just grab the gigabyte one at $399. Decent reviews and good price point. The build I'm working on has about $807 left in budget. I still have the GPU,RAM, and Mobo to buy.
Thanks guys.
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bluebarracuda
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Baton Rouge
Member since Oct 2011
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| re: GPU Variations (Posted on 1/24/13 at 9:33 am to Lucky Tiger13)
shite got some roomleft 
What's the rest of the build look like?
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VABuckeye
Ohio State Fan
Oak Hill, VA
Member since Dec 2007
8147 posts
| re: GPU Variations (Posted on 1/24/13 at 9:45 am to bluebarracuda)
I was thinking the same thing. About $400 left for mobo and RAM.
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Lucky Tiger13
LSU Fan
Baton Rouge
Member since May 2012
201 posts
| re: GPU Variations (Posted on 1/24/13 at 9:45 am to bluebarracuda)
I do have some room but I think I might decide to buy an SSD... so trying to be careful.
Ordered parts so far are
- Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo)
- ZALMAN CNPS9500 CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink
- Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200 RPM SATA
- SeaSonic X Series X-850 GOLD
- LIAN LI Lancool First Knight Series Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
- SAMSUNG DVD Burner SATA
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jcole4lsu
Virginia Fan
The Kwisatz Haderach
Member since Nov 2007
21957 posts
| re: GPU Variations (Posted on 1/24/13 at 9:55 am to Lucky Tiger13)
quote:
I might decide to buy an SSD.
do it
do it
do it
do it
do it
do it
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VABuckeye
Ohio State Fan
Oak Hill, VA
Member since Dec 2007
8147 posts
| re: GPU Variations (Posted on 1/24/13 at 10:01 am to Lucky Tiger13)
Get a solidly rated Z77 motherboard. If there's room you can do the SSD but it's easy to add later. The motherboard on the other hand...
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ILikeLSUToo
LSU Fan
Central, LA
Member since Jan 2008
5337 posts
| re: GPU Variations (Posted on 1/24/13 at 10:09 am to Lucky Tiger13)
quote:
I might decide to buy an SSD
There is no "might." Anyone running without a SSD these days has a crippled machine. Get at least a 128gb. It's a hundred bucks. $50 more could get you a 240.
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Lucky Tiger13
LSU Fan
Baton Rouge
Member since May 2012
201 posts
| re: GPU Variations (Posted on 1/24/13 at 10:10 am to VABuckeye)
quote:
Get a solidly rated Z77 motherboard.
That is the plan, I keep coming back to the sabertooth at $239 but will take about a week researching others. Hope to start building by next Sat.
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Lucky Tiger13
LSU Fan
Baton Rouge
Member since May 2012
201 posts
| re: GPU Variations (Posted on 1/24/13 at 10:13 am to ILikeLSUToo)
quote:
Anyone running without a SSD these days has a crippled machine.
I understand the boot time reduction, but does it offer any actual performance boosts? This is my first build where an SSD card is even in the discussion. I've been out of it for a few years.
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bluebarracuda
LSU Fan
Baton Rouge
Member since Oct 2011
3756 posts
Online
| re: GPU Variations (Posted on 1/24/13 at 10:23 am to Lucky Tiger13)
Get a gigabyte ud3h. Not much reason to spend$200+ on a z77 board
Edit: SSD is lightyears faster than a HDD
This post was edited on 1/24 at 10:27 am
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DoUrden 
Tennessee Fan
Nightmare
Member since Oct 2011
5494 posts
| re: GPU Variations (Posted on 1/24/13 at 10:24 am to Lucky Tiger13)
quote:
but does it offer any actual performance boosts?
Games with load screens run MUCH faster when on the SSD.
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ILikeLSUToo
LSU Fan
Central, LA
Member since Jan 2008
5337 posts
| re: GPU Variations (Posted on 1/24/13 at 11:46 am to DoUrden)
quote:
Games with load screens run MUCH faster when on the SSD.
One great example is skyrim. When I watch youtube videos of Skyrim, the load screens display tips/hints about the game and cycle through 4 or 5. I can imagine that would be tiresome since there's a load screen anytime you enter a house/city gate/cave/shop/inn/etc. For me, I don't even have time to read one tip before it loads.
But it is all relative. An SSD will spoil you. If you use it in one PC, you will never want to go without it. Simple things like not waiting the extra few seconds for firefox, itunes, photoshop, office etc. to start up will make you hate any computer with a boot HDD.
This post was edited on 1/24 at 11:47 am
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