JustAnEngineer wrote:
This might be a decent graphics card... if it actually existed.
????
I'm about to order a 670 myself. So I can test+compare the 7950 with it. I've got a Kill-A-Watt meter. And a good bit of extra money in the bank
Newegg's got that nice 30-day return policy.
Edit: Nah, I'm gonna wait for a 4GB 670. Hopefully that will roll around before 30 days is up.
Also, looking at the new reviews out for the 670, there are quite a few games where the 7950 outperforms the 670! On the power consumption front the 7950 is very competitive with 670 also.
Given GCN's superior compute capability and the fact that BF3 (which is the only current game I expect to play for any extended amount of time) actually runs faster on a 7950 than a 670 as of today, AND the 7950 will have better and quieter cooling (I have to shell out $450 for a non-reference 670) I think I'm actually keeping that 7950.
The slightly older 680 reviews showed the GCN cards really struggling to keep up with the 680, but in the newer 670 reviews they have really closed the gap. A reasonable explanation would be that AMD has done a better job improving drivers than Nvidia during this period.
Update: So the 7950 I ordered is waiting for me at home, and I also just placed an order for the Gigabyte GTX 670. Both these cards have that MONSTER 3-fan cooler...
So I'm real happy about this because I'll have plenty of time to decide which card to keep... The only problem I anticipate is that the 670 is 11 inches and I expect the tip of the plastic shroud will be in direct conflict with the aluminum front panel of my case. I already cut a hole in the steel part of the case which is at about 10.25" but there is only half an inch between that point and the front of the front panel. I can multilate the tip (probably voids the card's warranty) or I could cut a hole in the front of my case (ugly as hell). I don't think it's likely I'll be able to remove the shroud without also removing those fans.