PowerColor HD7950 PCS+ Review

Overclockers.com · 01-30-12, 11:35 PM

Quote:

Oh, what a glorious day it is here in Tahiti...no, you didn't just jump in to my vacation blog. We are here today to review the PowerColor HD 7950 PCS+. If this card is anything like its big brother, the HD 7970, this card should be another monster. Let's see how it compares against that and other high-end GPUs.

... Return to article to continue reading.

Woomack · 01-31-12, 02:23 AM

Nice review

I was really waiting for cheaper version of 7970 and now I don't know what to think. It's still too expensive and after looking at some benchmarks ( especially older ) I can compare it to my GTX470 after higher oc ... wait this card is 2 yo

... cpu limit it seems.
I live in Poland and here we have retail prices about 2000zł for 7950 and 2300zł for 7970. 1zł = ~3.3$ now so ~600$ for 7950 and ~700$ for 7970 including our 23% tax. I doubt that anyone will even look at 7950 here. What happend with ~300$ cards that weren't much slower than top versions

Krazy931 · 01-31-12, 02:32 AM

ya was dissapointed at the price point with it as well but great review even tho the tests show this card slightly behind the 7970 i dont think itd be worth the drop if 7970 isnt much more then this card i assume after the excitement drops and nvidia starts releasing there cards we will see price adjustments worth to jump on these cards

SupaMonkey · 01-31-12, 06:33 AM

Does anyone know anything about crossfire performance. Have they improved this over the 6000's?

JonSimonzi · 01-31-12, 06:42 AM

Great review.

I do have a question about your opinion on the value of a 7950 though EarthDog. Just like you originally said in your article, I was expecting the 7950's to land at $400, up to $450 for the non reference ones. Not start at $460, and go up to $500 for non reference ones. Sure the card is a top performer, and can overclock like a beast, but I feel for $90 more dollars, a 7970 is a better buy.

EarthDog · 01-31-12, 07:13 AM

We were told, after publishing, the proper msrp for this card is 469. I would assume the reference ones are less. The pricing you are seeing now is new card inflation. Also, my expectation was up to $450 for the reference cards really. Wait until non reference 7970's hit newegg at $550+... note this Gigabyte non reference 7970 is $610, still keeping the $100+ between aftermarket solutions.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SupaMonkey

Does anyone know anything about crossfire performance. Have they improved this over the 6000's?

We did not get the chance to run it in crossfire as we only have one card. I would imagine the performance/scaling in CrossfireX to be similar if not a bit better over the 6 series.

There are other reviews which show 7970 scaling. It should not be any different with the 7950.

Overclockers.com · 01-31-12, 07:36 AM

I was an editor mistake, but I cannot be deleted or things will break. Blame Earthdog. No, seriously...blame Earthdog.

Woomack · 01-31-12, 08:29 AM

there is lot of 7950 reviews listed @ http://www.techpowerup.com/ also with 2/3/4 cards in CF

manu2b · 01-31-12, 09:24 AM

Hey ED, didn't you try any 7970 BIOS flash?

EDIT: And, of course, nice review, as usual! But no need to say

Janus67 · 01-31-12, 09:37 AM

The card looks to be a solid performer, although it mostly looks to trade blows with the GTX580 (depending on the game/review/settings/resolution) - for better or worse. Had the card launched at $400 it would give people a serious thought of not buying a 580, but at this moment there isn't much reason to upgrade (unless it is to a 7970) for someone who already owns a 580 (or two, in my case). I will be interested to see if the performance increases along with new drivers.

To note - 10% increase over a 580 isn't too shabby, but a 580 is also over a year old at this point.

With all that said - Nice review Joe, I can't wait to see what it can do when it is frozen solid

Janus67 · 01-31-12, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Woomack

there is lot of 7950 reviews listed @ http://www.techpowerup.com/ also with 2/3/4 cards in CF

That's a pretty good review there as well, although I wish they had compared against 580s in SLI, from what I can tell they are all just against a single 580.

diaz · 01-31-12, 10:41 AM

Nice review! Looking like a nice option.. Still going to wait for kepler details before I make a decision..

01-31-12, 02:23 AM	#2
Woomack Senior Memory Guru Premium Member #19 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Poznan, Poland	Nice review I was really waiting for cheaper version of 7970 and now I don't know what to think. It's still too expensive and after looking at some benchmarks ( especially older ) I can compare it to my GTX470 after higher oc ... wait this card is 2 yo ... cpu limit it seems. I live in Poland and here we have retail prices about 2000zł for 7950 and 2300zł for 7970. 1zł = ~3.3$ now so ~600$ for 7950 and ~700$ for 7970 including our 23% tax. I doubt that anyone will even look at 7950 here. What happend with ~300$ cards that weren't much slower than top versions __________________ Memory tests: G.Skill RipjawsX 2133C9@2500+C7, 16GB G.Skill RipjawsX 1600C9@1866C9 1.5V, Crucial Ballistix Elite 1600@2133, 8GB Corsair GX3 2000C8@2252C9 - P67, Adata 2000-G CL9@2250 7-10-7-25, Adata 2000-G v2.0 CL9@2000 6-9-6-24, Adata 1600-G CL9@1850 9-9-9-24, Kingston 2133 Grey 9-11-9-27, Team Xtreem 2666 C11 Guides: Ivy Bridge Memory Overclocking Guide, GTX470 Bios Mod, How to fix ME in Z77 Reviews: Geil EVO Veloce 2133 C10, Crucial Ballistix 1600 LP Other: Biostar I45@600MHz+ FSB, G.Skill/PSC @1523MHz/AMD, 1539MHz/Intel, P6X58D-E@248bclk
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01-31-12, 02:32 AM	#3
Krazy931 Registered Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Lafayette, in	ya was dissapointed at the price point with it as well but great review even tho the tests show this card slightly behind the 7970 i dont think itd be worth the drop if 7970 isnt much more then this card i assume after the excitement drops and nvidia starts releasing there cards we will see price adjustments worth to jump on these cards
	QUOTE Thanks

01-31-12, 06:33 AM	#4
SupaMonkey Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: China	Does anyone know anything about crossfire performance. Have they improved this over the 6000's? __________________ E8400 @ 4GHz w/ Noctua NH-D14 + Coolermaster R4 fans Kingston HyperX DDR2 1066 HD6950 @ 1000/1475 1.3V w/arctic extreme plus (modded bios) X-25M All on a cross flashed P5K-SE/EPU @ 445FSB HSPC Large Tech Station 3Dmark11 E6231P4909X1496 *Rosetta Multi-Millionaire*
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01-31-12, 06:42 AM	#5
JonSimonzi Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Providence, RI	Great review. I do have a question about your opinion on the value of a 7950 though EarthDog. Just like you originally said in your article, I was expecting the 7950's to land at $400, up to $450 for the non reference ones. Not start at $460, and go up to $500 for non reference ones. Sure the card is a top performer, and can overclock like a beast, but I feel for $90 more dollars, a 7970 is a better buy. __________________ Asus Maximus IV Extreme-Z - i7 2700K - Corsair H80 Diamond 7970 - 3x Dell U2412M 16GB G.Skill Sniper - 256GB Crucial M4 - 3TB Hitachi 7K3000 Corsair AX850 - Corsair 600T Heatware
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01-31-12, 07:36 AM	Thread Starter #7
Overclockers.com Join Date: Nov 1998	PowerColor HD7950 PCS+ Review I was an editor mistake, but I cannot be deleted or things will break. Blame Earthdog. No, seriously...blame Earthdog. Last edited by hokiealumnus; 01-31-12 at 07:59 AM.
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01-31-12, 08:29 AM	#8
Woomack Senior Memory Guru Premium Member #19 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Poznan, Poland	there is lot of 7950 reviews listed @ http://www.techpowerup.com/ also with 2/3/4 cards in CF __________________ Memory tests: G.Skill RipjawsX 2133C9@2500+C7, 16GB G.Skill RipjawsX 1600C9@1866C9 1.5V, Crucial Ballistix Elite 1600@2133, 8GB Corsair GX3 2000C8@2252C9 - P67, Adata 2000-G CL9@2250 7-10-7-25, Adata 2000-G v2.0 CL9@2000 6-9-6-24, Adata 1600-G CL9@1850 9-9-9-24, Kingston 2133 Grey 9-11-9-27, Team Xtreem 2666 C11 Guides: Ivy Bridge Memory Overclocking Guide, GTX470 Bios Mod, How to fix ME in Z77 Reviews: Geil EVO Veloce 2133 C10, Crucial Ballistix 1600 LP Other: Biostar I45@600MHz+ FSB, G.Skill/PSC @1523MHz/AMD, 1539MHz/Intel, P6X58D-E@248bclk
	QUOTE Thanks

01-31-12, 09:24 AM	#9
manu2b Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Brussels	Hey ED, didn't you try any 7970 BIOS flash? EDIT: And, of course, nice review, as usual! But no need to say __________________ MSI 990FXA-GD65 PhenomII x6 1075t 3.8GHz/1.38v 2x4GB Corsair Vengeance 1880/Cl9 Sapphire 7970 Dual-x@1220(1.3v)/1850(1.65v) BeQuiet Pure Power 530W Crucial M4 256GB Samsung SyncMaster BX2450 24" Last edited by manu2b; 01-31-12 at 09:41 AM.
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01-31-12, 09:37 AM	#10
Janus67 Benching Team Leader Wannabe Admin Senior Join Date: May 2005 Location: Ohio State	The card looks to be a solid performer, although it mostly looks to trade blows with the GTX580 (depending on the game/review/settings/resolution) - for better or worse. Had the card launched at $400 it would give people a serious thought of not buying a 580, but at this moment there isn't much reason to upgrade (unless it is to a 7970) for someone who already owns a 580 (or two, in my case). I will be interested to see if the performance increases along with new drivers. To note - 10% increase over a 580 isn't too shabby, but a 580 is also over a year old at this point. With all that said - Nice review Joe, I can't wait to see what it can do when it is frozen solid __________________ Ivy Bridge Benching and Gaming: Asus Maximus V Extreme 0010 BIOS : Intel i7 3770k w/ Phanteks PH-TC14 : 8GB 2x4GB G.Skill TridentX DDR3-2666 : MSI 7970 Lightning Edition Other Benched Hardware: GA-EX58a-UD3R; Rampage Extreme; Rampage Formula; GA-EP45-UD3R; P5K-Deluxe; MIVE -- 2500k; 2600k; 920; E6300; E6550; E6600; E8400; Q6600 -- 6950; 4870; 8800GTS Other Components: Crucial M4 128GB SSD : 2x1TB Samsung F3 in Raid0 : Silverstone Strider Gold 1250W : Auria EQ276W 27'' & Dell 2407FPW : KPC Tek9 Fat and Gemini LN2 Pots Benchmark, Win Prizes - In the Overclocktagon!
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01-31-12, 10:41 AM	#12
diaz Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Canada	Nice review! Looking like a nice option.. Still going to wait for kepler details before I make a decision.. __________________ \m/ OverClockers mATX L33T Club \m/ >>>JOIN NOW<<< Main Rig i5 3570k EVGA GTX 680 Asus Maximus V Gene mATX Silverstone TJ08E mATX 16G Corsair Vengeance Corsair H80 Silverstone Strider Plus 850 Crucial M4 256G SSD // Seagate 750G 7200.12 Storage Recommended PSU's - True/Tested/***/Intel C2D/Q/X Thermal Designs Explained Heatware
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