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Design |
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9.5 | |
| Features |
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9.5 | ||
| Installation |
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9.0 | ||
| Value |
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9.5 | ||
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Distributor: Sapphire Review Date: August 2011 Reviewer: Andrew Bistak |
9.4 |
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http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/sapphire_hd_7970/
Impulse Gamer were given the chance to test the new Sapphire HD 7970 which is a high-end gaming card built specifically for gamers. What makes the Sapphire HD 7970 so special is that it's the first card in the world use AMD's new 28nm process and features the new GCN optimised graphics processing architecture. In laymen term's, it's one of the world most powerful single chip GPU's that has a whole wealth of features aimed at the high-end gamer.
Features
The Sapphire HD 7970 even allows you to overclock the card thanks to AMD's PowerTune which allows the user to increase the clockspeed, getting even more performance from the card. Another impressive feature of the card is the various outputs that Sapphire have included and with the Dual-Link DVI, this card can boast resolutions of up to 2560 x 1600 (60Hz). Add in the ability of 3D via HDMI and the gamer has everything they need to not only play the latest games but play them in 3D. Box Contents
Installation We recently tested the ASUS HD 7970 DirectCU II Top Graphic Card which scored exceptionally well with not just Impulse Gamer but other benchmarking sites around the world, so we were eager to test out the new Sapphire HD 7970. As opposed to the ASUS card, the Sapphire is a fraction smaller and measures at 280mm x 115mm x 45mm. As the Sapphire HD 7970 is a large card, you do need to ensure that you have adequate space in your case and more importantly, the power supply to handle this card. The card also supports up to three screens via AMD EyeFinity 6 technology.
Needless to say, the card just fitted into our Cooler Master Silencio Case via a PCI 3.0 slot. PCI 3.0 is twice as fast as the previous PCI standard which adds to the speed of the card. Once slotted neatly into our motherboard (ASUS P9X79), we then proceeded to securely screw the card in and then connect the two power cables for it. The card itself also takes up two card spaces on our motherboard. Windows 7 immediately detected the card and we were ready to go. Our test system included the following components which definitely helped our gaming experience. Test System
Before jumping into our gaming sessions, we tested the card with Windows 7, Office, Adobe Photoshop, Internet Explorer and we tested two Blu-ray films, one 3D film. Generally Windows use produced exceptionally sharp colours and fine text with images almost jumping out of our screen. Surfing the net was a joy as was using Adobe Photoshop. We tested Star Wars Episode III on Blu-ray which was a wow moment. The video quality was extremely sharp. The next wow moment was with Tron Legacy 3D. Compared to our Samsung 3DTV, the Sapphire 3D, especially in conjunction with our screen definitely made good use the depth in this movie that literally jumped out of the screen.
Another curious feature of the card as opposed to the ASUS HD 7970 DirectCU II Top Graphic Card is how quiet the card is. Even when we were playing games such as Battlefield 3, Deus Ex Human Revolution and Blacklight Retribution, the card remained extremely quiet. We actually had to open up the case to make sure the fans were spinning on the card which they were. Generally most high-end graphics card are quite loud when they are running at full speed. This was not the case with the Sapphire HD 7970 thanks to the Dual-X extreme fan cooling. Using a highly efficient multi-heatpipe cooler with dual fans, this creates some extremely quiet gaming performance. Benchmarking In order to benchmark, we used the standard array of suspects that included 3DMark, the world's best benchmarking software and a plethora of games. Compared to the previous HD 6970, we were getting improvements of around 40% plus. Before jumping into our benchmarking, let's have a look at what GPU-Z says about the card. As you can see, the statistics mirror the evidence from Sapphire which boasts some exceptionally features.
3DMark 3DMark is a computer benchmarking tool created and developed by Futuremark Corporation to determine the performance of a computer's 3D graphic rendering and CPU workload processing capabilities. Running 3DMark produces a 3DMark score, with higher numbers indicating better performance.
Nature Test Score
3DMark Performance Score
As you can see from our 3DMark testing, there was a
noticeable improvement over this cards predecessor. Next up were our
games!
Battlefield 3
Battlefield 3 is DICE's third numerical
installment in the franchise. It features a single-player and
co-operative campaign, as well as 64-player multiplayer (on PC).
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ASUS HD 6970 DirectCU II (538.1)
ASUS HD 6970 DirectCU II (5602)
ASUS HD 6970 DirectCU II (21410)
ASUS HD 6970 DirectCU II (20901)
ASUS HD 6970 DirectCU II (42.1)