HIS HD 7970 Graphics Card Review

Overclockers.com · 01-08-12, 11:01 PM

Reference card and architecture reviews hit the internet a few days before Christmas, which armed us with the knowledge that the HD 7970 was capable of some heavy lifting. So heavy in fact, the HIS HD 7970, up for review today, comes with its own "Weight Lifter." First, the strength of the recently crowned single GPU king will be put to test. Then, we will explore the possibilities once the shackles of CCC's clock limitations are removed and a little extra voltage is added to the mix.

... Return to article to continue reading.

kskwerl · 01-09-12, 03:40 AM

Awesome review! I wanna grab one of these when they come out. I currently have no graphics card and everything looks like garbage on my 27 inch monitor but I can't help but wanna wait for Kepler to see how it all pans out.

krag · 01-09-12, 12:30 PM

Dang it! that card is smokin! I love the article and the graphs. I think the color scheme on the graphs look much better than the vanilla blue of the older write ups. Thanks a lot hokie,

your article has just fueled my insatiable video card addiction, I WANT MOAR~!

hokiealumnus · 01-09-12, 12:39 PM

Thanks, but this one was mdcomp's. Mine was the initial review on AMD's reference card. This is our first partner card review, which he did a great job with!

These things are killer clockers krag. If you've got some scratch, buy one and sell those 6970s just to play with it. It was a pleasant surprise to see Newegg listing several models at MSRP of $550 for sure.

EarthDog · 01-09-12, 12:58 PM

Great job on the review Matt! What a monster card...!

Black C5 Z06 · 01-09-12, 01:02 PM

I'll be getting one once the manufacturers release ones with their own coolers.

hokiealumnus · 01-09-12, 01:10 PM

XFX already has one (the only one currently AFAIK). While we don't yet have a relationship with XFX (though it's being worked on), Anandtech reviewed one and published today. Heh, it was sold out before they were allowed to publish per the NDA.

satandole666 · 01-09-12, 01:22 PM

Great reviews from the team here. I'm impressed with the card and the authors.

mdcomp · 01-09-12, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Black C5 Z06

I'll be getting one once the manufacturers release ones with their own coolers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hokiealumnus

XFX already has one (the only one currently AFAIK). While we don't yet have a relationship with XFX (though it's being worked on), Anandtech reviewed one and published today. Heh, it was sold out before they were allowed to publish per the NDA.

The XFX cooler looks pretty awesome actually. Was reading that this morning. It is already overclocked out of the box, so should be able to get a bit past some of the reference cards assuming the cooler is as good as they say it is. Honestly, the stock cooler wasn't terrible, I ran out of MHz headroom before I got to a point where I felt the card was too hot. After a few weeks hopefully there will be software that allows the cards to go past 1.3v, if that's the case, then a better cooler may definitely be a good purchase.

Also, thanks everyone for the kind words!

Mjolnir · 01-09-12, 04:39 PM

550 is great for you guys.. Here in Aus.. First prices are 700-750.. Nearing HD 6990/GTX 590 prices. (For reference; a stock standard GTX 580 reference is around 500. Asus Direct CU II is 550. MSI Lightning 3GB Extreme is 699 though.)

If it was 550 it'd be a no brainer here.. Replace my GTX 580, resell it on ebay before it got too cheap :P. (hopefully get 400+ off it). Then 150 bucks difference. I'd be willing to spend that lol. The XFX Black Edition looks sweet too! ><. Sigh. It's stupid because our Dollar is still higher than yours too >.>.

Though I'd probably only OC it as far as CCC allows. I probably wouldn't bother with voltage changes til later down the track. (2560x1440 res btw. Single monitor only). Would be perfect.

kskwerl · 01-09-12, 09:07 PM

With XFX already having one out, I can't imagine it wouldn't be a few more weeks before more come out!

Brolloks · 01-10-12, 12:18 PM

Excellent review Matt, what an amazing card !!

Do you know if the Accelero Xtreme Plus II fits this beast?

notJUSTguitar · 01-11-12, 06:32 PM

Nice review. I can't wait to get one...someday. lol.

Is the fan just as loud as on a 6970 w/reference cooler?

My XFX 6970 gets pretty loud when fan is turned up high.

I'd really like to water cool it/cpu, although it wouldn't be worth it on my 6970...if I was going to water cool my GPU i'd want it to be a 7970.

Ivy · 01-12-12, 02:13 AM

What is that weight lifter all about, isnt it enough when you screw in the bolts? It should be fixed at that point.

And how big is the PCB compared to a 6950? The 6950 was like 27 cm when i remember right.

jd101 · 01-12-12, 03:24 AM

ivy its the same size . i havent used screws two Xigmatek clips hold it in fine .

Ivy · 01-12-12, 03:38 AM

On my SFF i have screws in order to stabilize the card, once its inside, so its pretty much immovable. So thats why i wonder whats the weight lifter actually used for because makes not so much sense to me, unless you do not use any screws. But it also depends if the card is mounted horizontally or vertically. When mounted vertically and when screws used, i truly see no use for a weight lifter, its pretty much foolproof. The slot can easely handle the weight in term its pushing right into the ground. But it can become a issue when it is pushing sidewards and not toward the boards horizon.

jd101 · 01-12-12, 03:55 AM

i think its there so you leave it to support the card in the case (guess ). well i didnt have one in my sapphire model

Ivy · 01-12-12, 03:59 AM

Just so you know what i mean because some got issue to understand stuff.

jd101 · 01-12-12, 04:07 AM

here like this m8 .

skoreanime · 01-12-12, 04:07 AM

The end part of the PCB will slightly lower over a period of time, it's just psychics. It's not hard to see. Grab a small level and you'll see what I mean.

The instructions of the HIS weight lifter basically states it's just basically a small stud device to further hold your graphics card when moving your PC as a whole. It'll be very handy though once I put a chunk of metal on it. My watercooled 9800GX2...I put a small PVC pipe to hold it up and get rid of it's slant lol.

01-08-12, 11:01 PM	Thread Starter #1
Overclockers.com Join Date: Nov 1998	HIS HD 7970 Graphics Card Review Reference card and architecture reviews hit the internet a few days before Christmas, which armed us with the knowledge that the HD 7970 was capable of some heavy lifting. So heavy in fact, the HIS HD 7970, up for review today, comes with its own "Weight Lifter." First, the strength of the recently crowned single GPU king will be put to test. Then, we will explore the possibilities once the shackles of CCC's clock limitations are removed and a little extra voltage is added to the mix. ... Return to article to continue reading.
	QUOTE Thanks

01-09-12, 03:40 AM	#2
kskwerl Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: New Jersey	Awesome review! I wanna grab one of these when they come out. I currently have no graphics card and everything looks like garbage on my 27 inch monitor but I can't help but wanna wait for Kepler to see how it all pans out. __________________ Case: Corsair 800D Motherboard: ASUS Maximus IV Extreme Z CPU: 2500k @ Stock (Custom WC Loop) Memory: Mushkin Enhanced Radioactive 8GB @ 1600 HD: Crucial M4 64GB (OS) \| 300GB WD Raptor Video Card: XFX HD 4870 (for now) PSU: Corsair HX850
	QUOTE Thanks

01-09-12, 12:30 PM	#3
krag Classifieds Moderator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Vancouver, Washington	Dang it! that card is smokin! I love the article and the graphs. I think the color scheme on the graphs look much better than the vanilla blue of the older write ups. Thanks a lot hokie, your article has just fueled my insatiable video card addiction, I WANT MOAR~! __________________ I.M.O.G. "It's a plugin issue," ... {Working my hump off @ TSMC} 2600k Asus P8P67 Pro 4g Corsair Dominator 667 6970 Crossfire 1t Hitachi Win 7
	QUOTE Thanks

01-09-12, 12:39 PM	#4
hokiealumnus Water Cooled Moderator Overclockers.com Lead Editor Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Raleigh, NC	Thanks, but this one was mdcomp's. Mine was the initial review on AMD's reference card. This is our first partner card review, which he did a great job with! These things are killer clockers krag. If you've got some scratch, buy one and sell those 6970s just to play with it. It was a pleasant surprise to see Newegg listing several models at MSRP of $550 for sure. __________________ Enjoy benchmarks? Join the benching team! \| New to water cooling? Read the Beginner's Guide to Water Cooling Your PC. xsuperbgx - "As a wise man once said: "Less talky. More clocky."" \| cyberfish - "When overclocked, it's undefined behavior." I.M.O.G. - "Vaseline on Ivy Bridge is a bad idea. But not so bad of an idea that it can't be fixed with a torpedo heater, a dishwasher, an oven, and a few hours. " \m/ OverClockers mATX L33T Club \m/ - Join Now! - My mITX Build
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01-09-12, 12:58 PM	#5
EarthDog Senior PITA Member Overclockers.com Editor Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Stuck in Maryland...	Great job on the review Matt! What a monster card...! __________________ Should I R0 my SSD? / SandyBridge / Ivybridge Overclocking Guide / AMD Overclocking Guide / Power Supply Guide SSD Reliability/Write Endurance / JOIN THE BENCHING TEAM! / Bulldozer Overclocking Guide / Forum Etiquette Want to see your writing featured on the overclockers.com Front Page? PM me, I can help! "We have more information and more ways of accessing it than ever, yet seem increasingly less inclined to do so."- Michael Wilbon
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HIS HD 7970 Graphics Card Review

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01-09-12, 01:02 PM	#6
Black C5 Z06 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Upstate, SC	I'll be getting one once the manufacturers release ones with their own coolers. __________________ Phenom II x6 1090T BE Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo Gigabyte GA-890GX-UD3H Corsair XMS 8GB Gigabyte 6950 1GB \| Visiontek 5670 Crucial M4 128GB \| 2x WD Blue 500GB \| WD Green 1.5TB \| WD Green 500GB Seasonic X650
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01-09-12, 01:10 PM	#7
hokiealumnus Water Cooled Moderator Overclockers.com Lead Editor Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Raleigh, NC	XFX already has one (the only one currently AFAIK). While we don't yet have a relationship with XFX (though it's being worked on), Anandtech reviewed one and published today. Heh, it was sold out before they were allowed to publish per the NDA. __________________ Enjoy benchmarks? Join the benching team! \| New to water cooling? Read the Beginner's Guide to Water Cooling Your PC. xsuperbgx - "As a wise man once said: "Less talky. More clocky."" \| cyberfish - "When overclocked, it's undefined behavior." I.M.O.G. - "Vaseline on Ivy Bridge is a bad idea. But not so bad of an idea that it can't be fixed with a torpedo heater, a dishwasher, an oven, and a few hours. " \m/ OverClockers mATX L33T Club \m/ - Join Now! - My mITX Build
	QUOTE Thanks

01-09-12, 01:22 PM	#8
satandole666 Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Columbus, OH	Great reviews from the team here. I'm impressed with the card and the authors. __________________ i7 920 Gigabyte X58 Extreme 6gb OCZ DDR3 2000 7970 Fuzion/MCP655/3x120 rad
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01-09-12, 04:39 PM	#10
Mjolnir Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Sydney, Australia	550 is great for you guys.. Here in Aus.. First prices are 700-750.. Nearing HD 6990/GTX 590 prices. (For reference; a stock standard GTX 580 reference is around 500. Asus Direct CU II is 550. MSI Lightning 3GB Extreme is 699 though.) If it was 550 it'd be a no brainer here.. Replace my GTX 580, resell it on ebay before it got too cheap :P. (hopefully get 400+ off it). Then 150 bucks difference. I'd be willing to spend that lol. The XFX Black Edition looks sweet too! ><. Sigh. It's stupid because our Dollar is still higher than yours too >.>. Though I'd probably only OC it as far as CCC allows. I probably wouldn't bother with voltage changes til later down the track. (2560x1440 res btw. Single monitor only). Would be perfect. __________________ \m/ OverClockers mATX L33T Club \m/ Motherboard - Asus Maximus Gene V Z77 CPU - i5 2500K @ 4.5ghz 1.3v /w Corsair H60 SE + GT AP-13 /w Scythe Kaze Master Fan Controller (GT AP-13/AP 181) RAM - 8GB G Skill Ripjaws 1600mhz. GPU - Asus GTX 670 DCUII Storage - Samsung 840 Pro 256GB + 2TB Seagate Cuda. Case - Silverstone TJ08-E PSU - Corsair HX650 OS - Windows 7 Ult 64 Peripherals - Leopold FC700R Graphite Brown MX + G500 Mouse Screen(s) - Dell U2711 Audio - Audioengine 5+ + Audioengine D1 + Wharfdale SW150 /w Shure SRH 840 Headphones
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01-09-12, 09:07 PM	#11
kskwerl Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: New Jersey	With XFX already having one out, I can't imagine it wouldn't be a few more weeks before more come out! __________________ Case: Corsair 800D Motherboard: ASUS Maximus IV Extreme Z CPU: 2500k @ Stock (Custom WC Loop) Memory: Mushkin Enhanced Radioactive 8GB @ 1600 HD: Crucial M4 64GB (OS) \| 300GB WD Raptor Video Card: XFX HD 4870 (for now) PSU: Corsair HX850
	QUOTE Thanks

01-10-12, 12:18 PM	#12
Brolloks Benching Senior on Siesta Premium Member #8 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Land of Long Horns	Excellent review Matt, what an amazing card !! Do you know if the Accelero Xtreme Plus II fits this beast? __________________ Should I get a Quad- or Dual-Core? - How about joining us in the Benching Lounge for some secrets - Want to bench sub-zero...take a look. Heatware 280-0-0 HWBOT Profile
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01-11-12, 06:32 PM	#13
notJUSTguitar Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: MN, USA	Nice review. I can't wait to get one...someday. lol. Is the fan just as loud as on a 6970 w/reference cooler? My XFX 6970 gets pretty loud when fan is turned up high. I'd really like to water cool it/cpu, although it wouldn't be worth it on my 6970...if I was going to water cool my GPU i'd want it to be a 7970. __________________ i7 2600K 4.6Ghz @ 1.3V (56x chip) Asus Maximus IV Gene-z/GEN3 Z68 MSI R7970 Lightning 8GB G.Skill Sniper 1866Mhz WD 640GB & 1TB Cavier Black OCZ 700W ModXtreme Pro PSU Asus VH232H 23" LCD x3 in eyefinity/6036X1080 Resolution Retired AMD Rig AMD Phenom II 1090T \| GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-US2H (Rev. 1) \| XFX Radeon HD6970 \| \| 4GB Kingston HyperX DDR2 memory running at 1066Mhz \| OCZ VERTEX 2 60GB SSD \| WD 640GB \| Cavier Black SATA III/64MB Cache \| OCZ 700W PSU \| HP-Debranded 23" 1080P LCD
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01-12-12, 02:13 AM	#14
Ivy Member Join Date: Jun 2011	What is that weight lifter all about, isnt it enough when you screw in the bolts? It should be fixed at that point. And how big is the PCB compared to a 6950? The 6950 was like 27 cm when i remember right. __________________ Most important values: Quality>Price/Performance>Noise Level>GFLOPS/cm3>GFLOPS/W Screen/Audio: Panasonic Plasma @1080P + Onkyo NR609. Computer Series Gen Alpha: Every PC may act as a backup for another one. Gamer PC: Shuttle SZ77R5 (barebone) modded/I5 3570K @4 Ghz/7870 DCII @1150/1400/Gskill 2x8 GB @1600,1.5V,9,9,9,24, 2T/120 + 240 GB OCZ Vertex 3 MI V. 2.22/750 GB WD 7500BPKT/LiteOn SH-D163B Workstation: Gigabyte GA-X58A-OC/I7 990X (stock)/6950 FLEX 2GB (stock)/Mushkin 3x4 GB @1600,1.5V, 9,9,9,24, 1T/128 GB Crucial M4 V. 0309/4 TB Hitachi, 2 TB WD RE4/Seasonic X-850/Lian Li PC-C60/NH-C12P SE14/LiteOn IHBS112 HTPC: Asrock Extreme 4-M/I7 3930K (stock)/650Ti AMP! 2GB (stock)/Gskill 4x4 GB @1600,1.5V, 9,9,9,24, 1T/128 GB Samsung 840 PRO/4 TB Hitachi, 2 TB WD Green/Corsair 1200i/Lian Li PC-V354/Phanteks TH-TC14CS/Pioneer BDR-207EBK
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01-12-12, 03:24 AM	#15
jd101 Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: westmidlands	ivy its the same size . i havent used screws two Xigmatek clips hold it in fine . __________________ i7 870 @ 4000ghz + corsair h80 8gb Corsair Vengeance 1866 sapphire 7970 3gb cx600 new rig i7 3770k + h80 rog gene v z77 16gb vengeance 1866 ax750 128 ssd veterx 4 hd 7970 in a midgard 2 case
	QUOTE Thanks

01-12-12, 03:38 AM	#16
Ivy Member Join Date: Jun 2011	On my SFF i have screws in order to stabilize the card, once its inside, so its pretty much immovable. So thats why i wonder whats the weight lifter actually used for because makes not so much sense to me, unless you do not use any screws. But it also depends if the card is mounted horizontally or vertically. When mounted vertically and when screws used, i truly see no use for a weight lifter, its pretty much foolproof. The slot can easely handle the weight in term its pushing right into the ground. But it can become a issue when it is pushing sidewards and not toward the boards horizon. __________________ Most important values: Quality>Price/Performance>Noise Level>GFLOPS/cm3>GFLOPS/W Screen/Audio: Panasonic Plasma @1080P + Onkyo NR609. Computer Series Gen Alpha: Every PC may act as a backup for another one. Gamer PC: Shuttle SZ77R5 (barebone) modded/I5 3570K @4 Ghz/7870 DCII @1150/1400/Gskill 2x8 GB @1600,1.5V,9,9,9,24, 2T/120 + 240 GB OCZ Vertex 3 MI V. 2.22/750 GB WD 7500BPKT/LiteOn SH-D163B Workstation: Gigabyte GA-X58A-OC/I7 990X (stock)/6950 FLEX 2GB (stock)/Mushkin 3x4 GB @1600,1.5V, 9,9,9,24, 1T/128 GB Crucial M4 V. 0309/4 TB Hitachi, 2 TB WD RE4/Seasonic X-850/Lian Li PC-C60/NH-C12P SE14/LiteOn IHBS112 HTPC: Asrock Extreme 4-M/I7 3930K (stock)/650Ti AMP! 2GB (stock)/Gskill 4x4 GB @1600,1.5V, 9,9,9,24, 1T/128 GB Samsung 840 PRO/4 TB Hitachi, 2 TB WD Green/Corsair 1200i/Lian Li PC-V354/Phanteks TH-TC14CS/Pioneer BDR-207EBK Last edited by Ivy; 01-12-12 at 04:01 AM.
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01-12-12, 03:55 AM	#17
jd101 Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: westmidlands	i think its there so you leave it to support the card in the case (guess ). well i didnt have one in my sapphire model __________________ i7 870 @ 4000ghz + corsair h80 8gb Corsair Vengeance 1866 sapphire 7970 3gb cx600 new rig i7 3770k + h80 rog gene v z77 16gb vengeance 1866 ax750 128 ssd veterx 4 hd 7970 in a midgard 2 case
	QUOTE Thanks

01-12-12, 03:59 AM	#18
Ivy Member Join Date: Jun 2011	Just so you know what i mean because some got issue to understand stuff. __________________ Most important values: Quality>Price/Performance>Noise Level>GFLOPS/cm3>GFLOPS/W Screen/Audio: Panasonic Plasma @1080P + Onkyo NR609. Computer Series Gen Alpha: Every PC may act as a backup for another one. Gamer PC: Shuttle SZ77R5 (barebone) modded/I5 3570K @4 Ghz/7870 DCII @1150/1400/Gskill 2x8 GB @1600,1.5V,9,9,9,24, 2T/120 + 240 GB OCZ Vertex 3 MI V. 2.22/750 GB WD 7500BPKT/LiteOn SH-D163B Workstation: Gigabyte GA-X58A-OC/I7 990X (stock)/6950 FLEX 2GB (stock)/Mushkin 3x4 GB @1600,1.5V, 9,9,9,24, 1T/128 GB Crucial M4 V. 0309/4 TB Hitachi, 2 TB WD RE4/Seasonic X-850/Lian Li PC-C60/NH-C12P SE14/LiteOn IHBS112 HTPC: Asrock Extreme 4-M/I7 3930K (stock)/650Ti AMP! 2GB (stock)/Gskill 4x4 GB @1600,1.5V, 9,9,9,24, 1T/128 GB Samsung 840 PRO/4 TB Hitachi, 2 TB WD Green/Corsair 1200i/Lian Li PC-V354/Phanteks TH-TC14CS/Pioneer BDR-207EBK
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01-12-12, 04:07 AM	#19
jd101 Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: westmidlands	here like this m8 . Attached Images __________________ i7 870 @ 4000ghz + corsair h80 8gb Corsair Vengeance 1866 sapphire 7970 3gb cx600 new rig i7 3770k + h80 rog gene v z77 16gb vengeance 1866 ax750 128 ssd veterx 4 hd 7970 in a midgard 2 case
	QUOTE Thanks

01-12-12, 04:07 AM	#20
skoreanime Registered Join Date: Jan 2007	The end part of the PCB will slightly lower over a period of time, it's just psychics. It's not hard to see. Grab a small level and you'll see what I mean. The instructions of the HIS weight lifter basically states it's just basically a small stud device to further hold your graphics card when moving your PC as a whole. It'll be very handy though once I put a chunk of metal on it. My watercooled 9800GX2...I put a small PVC pipe to hold it up and get rid of it's slant lol.
	QUOTE Thanks

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