Sapphire HD7950 Overclock Edition Review
Test Setup, Overclocking and Temps
Published: 31st January 2012 | Source: Sapphire | Price: £399.95 |
Test Setup
Sapphire HD7950 Overclocked Edition
Catalyst HD7970 Drivers 11.12
Intel Core i7-3960X @ 4GHz
ASUS Rampage IV Extreme
Corsair AX1200W
Corsair GTX8
Corsair H100
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
Overclocking
Out of the box the Sapphire matches the XFX with a 900MHz core speed. Overclocking is pretty spectacular, managing a whopping 1150MHz, a 350MHz increase over a stock chip.
Temperatures
The cooler is certainly capable of keeping the card very quiet and cool even with our hefty overclock. Naturally it's a bit warmer when under load, but still cooler than the reference design despite the 350MHz increase.
Most Recent Comments
Great review Tom. The 7950 is looking like a really good buy. Hopefully it drops at the £350 mark.
I like the look of that twin cooler. 
Great review! Looks sweet. Need some other vendors to come in for challenge and lower price.
Might be a stupid question. Were those test results taken with the card OC'd to 1150 or at the stock OC of 900mhz?
I take it you've tested using the lastest Catalyst, 8.921.2 RC11? Other review I read showed recent drivers improved performance anywhere from 10-22% depending on the game.
WHY DO YOU DO THIS!? A f'king blue PCB!? AGAIN!!!??? 
its a SAPPHIRE card of course its going to blue. its in there name 
Great review, as usual! 
Just one question: you wrote the Sapphire have removed the dual BIOS, but from theis pic it seems that the switch is still there! Am I wrong?
Because if the dual-BIOS is there, I really think I'm gonna buy this card...
Just one question: you wrote the Sapphire have removed the dual BIOS, but from theis pic it seems that the switch is still there! Am I wrong?
Because if the dual-BIOS is there, I really think I'm gonna buy this card...
see my post above
Quote:
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Originally Posted by unknownuser200
see my post above |
Besides, you can get different coloured Sapphires. And just because of the brand name...it doesn't give them excuse to use the same blue PCB on cards they've been using for years.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by MichaelH
It doesn't matter. Blue PCBs are ugly and they need to move forward to Black PCBs or they'll lose customers to better looking cards. Besides, you can get different coloured Sapphires. And just because of the brand name...it doesn't give them excuse to use the same blue PCB on cards they've been using for years. |
Or imagine wood panelling style pcb lol
not everyone hates blue
Quote:
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Originally Posted by unknownuser200
not everyone hates blue |
. If you're going for a blue themed rig then a blue PCB is perfect 
.Quote:
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Originally Posted by MichaelH
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The only thing that would put me off a little is the Blue PCB, but since this card is very quiet and cool I would still consider it.
At the moment I'm liking the Asus DirectCUII, my 570 runs cool and very quiet, would be nice to see how they compare.
At the moment I'm liking the Asus DirectCUII, my 570 runs cool and very quiet, would be nice to see how they compare.
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Fancy a HD7950 that's truly blazingly fast? Welcome to the Overclocked Edition from Sapphire.
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