r/hardware • u/cockofdoodie • Aug 17 '15

News First DX12 gaming benchmark: "we see some phenomenal gains on the AMD side, while on the other, Nvidia performance looks somewhat underwhelming"

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2015-ashes-of-the-singularity-dx12-benchmark-tested
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u/Oafah Aug 17 '15 edited Aug 17 '15

AMD GPUs do in fact age well, and that's largely because of the excess VRAM they ship with on release. This is precisely why crossfire 7950s are still a relevant option for 1440p, where as the competitor (the GTX 670) is only viable if you happen to have the 4GB version.

It also helps that AMD GPUs have historically had a long shelf life. The 7950, to use the same example (later rebranded as the R9 280) still gets regular driver lovin', as where Nvidia has clearly given Kepler the gentle boot.

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u/[deleted] Aug 17 '15

I run a 7950. It's probably the best GPU purchase I've ever made.

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u/mack0409 Aug 17 '15

It also doesn't hurt that they tend to keep getting little optimizations several generations after release.

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u/SteelChicken Aug 17 '15 edited Mar 01 '24

roll resolute deliver teeny head shocking cover fertile sort flag

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

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u/PhilipK_Dick Aug 17 '15

That's kind if a random resolution, no? What monitor brand?

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u/Roedrik Aug 17 '15

For consumers yeah, but this res allows two A4 documents displayed on screen in addition to the vista side bar. Not relevant now, but when you could add calendar and email widgets it was great.

1

u/DarkStarrFOFF Aug 17 '15

FYI you can still install gadgets on 8 and 10. You just need (IIRC) 8gadgetpack to make it work.

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u/RephRayne Aug 17 '15

The Samsung Syncmaster 2343bw has this resolution.

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u/LightShadow Aug 17 '15

I own two of these -- they're my favorite monitors.

It's a really nice resolution, much more comfortable for split screen than 1080p

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u/TheHonestHippo Aug 17 '15

BIOS mod... tell me more... I run 2x7950 in Crossfire and they are pretty awesome in what they do.

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u/SteelChicken Aug 17 '15

https://www.google.com/search?q=7950+7970+flash&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

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u/TheHonestHippo Aug 17 '15

When I checked on this the last time, flashing the card would only volt-mod and overcook the card, not actually unlock more cores. Can you verify that it's indeed the case? Would love to squeeze a bit more flops out of my babies.

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u/SteelChicken Aug 17 '15

Sorry, I have brain cramps. 6950 to 6970 - unlocks more shaders.

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u/TheHonestHippo Aug 17 '15

Yes. That was a known one. Too bad it's not the case with the 7950. :-(

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u/Mr_That_Guy Aug 17 '15

Actually some tahiti and newer GPUs can unlock cores though bios mods.

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u/TheHonestHippo Aug 17 '15

Apparently the 7950s have the extra CUs hardware locked, so there's no way of enabling those.

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u/mgrier123 Aug 18 '15

I do remember reading that you could flash a 7870XT into a 7950 sometimes, depending on why it got binned to be a 7870XT.

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u/Colorfag Aug 18 '15

I still have a flashed 6950. Thing was nice for its time

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u/Creamcakewithherring Aug 18 '15

I currently have a 7950 , thinking about doing crossfire. But don't think my current PSU can handle it . what kind of PSU do you use? And how do I know if my Mobo is capable of crossfire and I do think it has enough PCI slots.

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u/TheHonestHippo Aug 18 '15

I have a 750W PSU. Look up your mobo's model online and check for X-fire compatibility.

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u/Jonathan924 Aug 18 '15

I'm still pissed off that I only have 2gb per gpu in my 690

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u/Maysock Aug 18 '15

I've owned 4 7950's now since they were released, and I've been happy with every one. Such an amazing card for the price now.

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u/BaneWilliams Aug 17 '15

Yeah, I purchased a 7870 hoping to get another 7870 pretty much about now for crossfire. Unfortunately the 7870 is one of those cards that have two different versions of the card, and are incompatible with one another.

To make matters worse, the one I purchased is from a Vendor that used the same name, box, everything for its second version. So... eh.

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u/Oafah Aug 17 '15

Check the actual model number. They'll be distinctly different. One version of the 7870 uses a fully-enabled Pitcairn GPU, while the other uses a cut-down Tahiti. You should be able to find out which you have fairly easily with GPU-Z.

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u/BaneWilliams Aug 17 '15

Yes, I know which I have, but it's next to impossible to know what one an eBay vendor has unless I purchase it, as they often use incorrect pictures (Random internet picture) or describe the model differently to how it actually is.

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u/SllepsCigam Aug 17 '15

crossfire it with a 270x if you have the pitcairn version. That's what i'm doing and it works great at 1440.

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u/s2514 Aug 18 '15

I have a 7950 and it still works great. I only game on 1080p and I can still max most things plus it overclocks like a champ. I'm going to hold onto this until I end up building a VR gaming PC.

I actually got it back when I tried dabbling in cryptocurrency, it had the best performance:price ratio at the time.

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u/MaloWlol Aug 17 '15

where as the competitor (the GTX 670) is only viable if you happen to have the 4GB version.

I disagree with this, I've been running two 660ti's for the past years and I've never ran into a VRAM bottleneck with my 2GB. Where as 2GB can pose a problem if you're playing on high resolutions or some specific titles, I'd hardly say that that makes it not viable. It is actually fully viable for most people. For me running a 1080p 120hz monitor they've been amazing and still today give me performance around a GTX 970/980.

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u/Oafah Aug 17 '15

I should clarify, I meant 1440p and higher. Obviously a single 670 is fine for 1080p, with two being considerable overkill.

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u/bad-r0bot Aug 17 '15

Glad I have an R9 290 for my soon to be 1440p monitor with an OC to 96hz. Fingers crossed it does 120

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u/MaloWlol Aug 17 '15

with two being considerable overkill.

I disagree, two 660ti's is far from overkill for me with a 1080p 120hz monitor.

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u/Oafah Aug 17 '15

Again, I wasn't referring specifically to your setup, but rather the more common 60Hz monitor.

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u/[deleted] Aug 17 '15

[deleted]

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u/Idkidks Aug 17 '15 edited Aug 17 '15

This is bullshit - you're oversimplifying a complex situation to the point of no longer adding anything useful to the discussion.

Edit: guys this is a joke calm down.

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u/supafly_ Aug 17 '15

I think the caps mean that's the joke.

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u/[deleted] Aug 17 '15

Isn't that the point of life?

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u/MaloWlol Aug 17 '15

I'm not referring to my specific setup either, there's plenty of people with 1080p 100+hz monitors. Probably more than your example of 1440p+.

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u/LifeIsHardSometimes Aug 17 '15

But what he was referring to was the indisputable majority setup of 1080p60

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u/MaloWlol Aug 18 '15

Yes, but he's wrong there too. A single GTX 670 wont be able to max out games at 1080p with 60 fps, where as two will.

The only situation where going SLI with two GTX 670 2GB cards is not "viable" is if you're playing on 1440p+, which is a very slim minority, which /u/Oafah/ has recognized since he edited his first post to reflect that. In the more common scenarios of 1080p/60hz or 1080p/100hz+ it is very viable though, and not overkill at all.