Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950 WindForce 3 Graphics Card Review

User Comments: 39

1. February 25, 2012 10:56 AM
   Guest said:

   Great review.

   You covered cards from low end 6870 to high end hd6990,gtx590, you also throwed in the crossfired 6970 scores to. I really like that and to me that not a negative at all.I will say again good job on the review it really shows everyone at a glance how the card preforms and show how it performs against other that are available for purchase now and that what a review should do.

   My only gripe is with AMD about pricing of there whole 7000 line of cards is high. I have know idea f the markup and the cost to produce the cards but it a lot higher than normal at least for AMD. Maybe there recouping on the cost for the die shrink or there trying to get a little extra while they can before nvidia new release. But i think if it cheaper then a lot more people would jump on the bandwagon and by the card now instead of waiting for the nvidia release.

   I think a cost of $400 US reference and $450 US non reference would have been better for the 7950 series card would have been more in line and a little easier for people to swallow.

   I also think depending on what Kepler is going to do you will see price drop to that level.

   To me if that the case why not do it now and save the pissed off reaction that your going to get when you do it from your customer that bought it at the higher price. Because if you do lower it then that means their was markup and you as a company come off as greedy bunch especailly when there is the current economic hardship in the world.

   Just my opinion on it, I have always said that companies can always be fair and make a profit on there products without gouging on pricing and also fostering loyalty to the company that has treated them fair with there pricing.

   Reply
2. February 25, 2012 12:38 PM
   Guest said:

   Is there a reason the PCB screen-printed number is sticker-ed over. This is mentioned as a non-reference PCB, but in order to confirm it for Watercooled blocks I need to see the PCB serial number.

   Great zoom on the PCB picture but there's a product sticker covering the PCB number.

   Reply
3. February 25, 2012 2:25 PM
   

   dividebyzero, trainee n00b, said:

   Is there a reason the PCB screen-printed number is sticker-ed over. This is mentioned as a non-reference PCB, but in order to confirm it for Watercooled blocks I need to see the PCB serial number.

   Great zoom on the PCB picture but there's a product sticker covering the PCB number.

   The fact that the Gigabyte board deviates substantially from the reference PCB should be abundantly clear. 6+1 instead of 4+1 phase power (which shouldn't affect waterblock compatibility) , totally revised capacitor layout between the voltage regulation and the front of the card (which will), and the deletion of a number of securing points would be the obvious giveaways.

   [image link]

   BTW: If you're going to be watercooling, why bother paying for a card that has increased cost attached because of an air cooler you won't be using? It's not as if reference HD 7950's aren't overclockable.

   Original HD 7950 reference shot can be found here

   Reply
4. February 25, 2012 6:20 PM
   ravy said:

   Here you go ravy - [link] - sorry but the PCB is the same color on this card.

   thanks mate, looks nice, but i think i'll go with the XFX 7979 OC Double Dissipation.

   Reply
5. February 26, 2012 12:53 AM
   Guest said:

   I would like to see how well these cards perform generating bitcoins.

   Reply
6. February 26, 2012 4:07 PM
   mosu said:

   I was right when I've said : Nvidia promises to ship next-gen Kepler GPU this year (not!) see comments! back in august 2011

   and sadly I am ranted again when obvious is not so clear for Nvidia supporters.Please show me that I'm wrong with arguments, in the spirit of fairness.

   Reply
7. February 26, 2012 5:19 PM
   

   LNCPapa said:

   Nice move - you just called everyone who disagreed with you nVidia supporters. This is the same method used by politicians and religious fanatics. If you're not with us, you're against us. It's not a matter of you having been right or wrong in the past, it's just that many people strongly disagreed with what you said earlier in this thread. I'm actually a fanboy of both ATI and nVidia - whoever has the best offering at the time.

   Reply
8. February 26, 2012 6:42 PM
   mosu said:

   In my first post I only pointed what I'm thinking to be wrong in a test comparison otherwise relevant and informative.Instead I'm called politicianist and fanatic, I assume because I see commercialism where others don't.My point being that if you're right, it doesn't matter how many think otherwise because, well, you're right at the end of the day.So please, let wait together for Nvidia's new card to answer AMD and the rest of the world.And yes, I expected this forum to be more democratic, respect for other people's opinion and not a Miss Congeniality contest.

   Reply
9. February 26, 2012 8:44 PM
   Staff
   

   Steve said:

   In my first post I only pointed what I'm thinking to be wrong in a test comparison otherwise relevant and informative.Instead I'm called politicianist and fanatic, I assume because I see commercialism where others don't.My point being that if you're right, it doesn't matter how many think otherwise because, well, you're right at the end of the day.So please, let wait together for Nvidia's new card to answer AMD and the rest of the world.And yes, I expected this forum to be more democratic, respect for other people's opinion and not a Miss Congeniality contest.

   What if you are wrong? Which you most certainly are and others have pointed that out. I think you will find the back lash came from how politically incorrect you worded your opinion.

   Reply
10. February 26, 2012 9:34 PM
    

    dividebyzero, trainee n00b, said:

    In my first post I only pointed what I'm thinking to be wrong in a test comparison otherwise relevant and informative.

    Inferring bias/corruption against the sites staff was out of line...Saying that a review should be titled ""Second Best from AMD Smashes Nvidia Top Of The Line " probably tipped off the forum members to your lucidity...or lack thereof.

    Instead I'm called politicianist and fanatic

    It's "politicist"...and no I don't see you as a politicist...fanatic yes, politicist no.

    [link]

    go AMD!

    [link]

    [link]

    Now I can see for the first time how infinity equals zero by means of an aussie cook and Nvidia fan.

    Leaving aside your lack of Geography skills. I probably have more posts recommending AMD graphics than you have posts in their entirety

    [1] , [2], [3], [4], [5], [6]...etc, etc...

    Probably safer to say I'm an Intel fan, since I seldom if ever recommend AMD CPU's and chipsets. I'd also note- as LNCPapa touched on, that I'm a devotee of performance, and performance-per-$ to a smaller extent. I don't blindly follow a company nor endorse that company wholesale -as seems your mandate. Every product stands or falls on it's own merit.

    As for the company ethos and ideology, I appreciate the determination to do well far above a headless-chicken act and indecisiveness

    Put together the post while Steve was posting, and between prep shifts. Read the post with his comment in mind

    Reply
11. February 28, 2012 1:16 PM
    mosu said:

    This review makes my point.link:http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/gtx580_vs_hd
    970_the_ultimate_face_off,1.html

    Reply
12. February 28, 2012 4:01 PM
    

    LNCPapa said:

    Let's refrain from making any personal attacks. I don't want to delete any more posts.

    Reply
13. February 29, 2012 8:45 AM
    Guest said:

    "AMD ended 2011 on a high note..."

    HAH! Good one Techspot. AMD just failed with there Bulldozer processors and actually lost 177 million dollars at the end of 2011....

    Reply
14. February 29, 2012 4:13 PM
    Staff
    

    Steve said:

    "AMD ended 2011 on a high note..."

    HAH! Good one Techspot. AMD just failed with there Bulldozer processors and actually lost 177 million dollars at the end of 2011....

    So we were talking about the GPU division as we pretty much explained in that same sentence.

    Reply

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