reiszink
22-12-2011, 11:27
http://www.guru3d.com/imageview.php?image=35041
Hey hey hey now... a year and seven days after the release of the Radeon HD 6900 series, AMD is already moving it's high-end platform towards a new architecture.
Face it, value for money wise the 6900 really isn't a bad deal, but performance wise the architecture just had a hard time dealing with NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 570 and GTX 580. NVIDIA is like a bear in hibernation with bit of a dull lineup for the Christmas 2011 season. AMD on the other hand is moving forward real fast. They are transitioning towards the all new 28nm fabrication node which allows them to place more transistors into a die package at lower voltages.
Now we don't know how their yields are at the moment, but they are good enough to launch the first products, that's for sure. The good news is that AMD launched 28nm and starts with their high-end products, whereas, NVIDIA next year will (likely) do that vice versa. This will give AMD a competitive edge.
So this product review really is a bit of a treat, we as technical press, are allow to show you the Radeon HD 7970 (and only the R7970). That makes this primarily a paper launch BUT we expect decent volume availability in within a week or two already, so really it's not that bad. There actually MIGHT be little stock available today.
Injected in the 499EUR / 549 USD price tag bracket the product will have to compete directly with the equally expensive GeForce GTX 580, it will actually be a decent notch better then that IMHO. The results that you'll witness today will not dishearten. Where it matters (the latest and newer games) the Radeon HD 7970 will be a good 20%, 30% sometimes even 40% faster then the competition, and in the world of enthusiast graphics performance that's what we call, a product with a little extra booty... well actually I call it that, but my mind is twisted (hey I admit it).
So welcome to our Radeon HD 7970 review, a product with very nice game performance, a great feature set and a frame buffer that will pop your eyes out as yeah the 3GB was correct, GDDR5 though.
With the GPU developed under codename "Tahiti" let's have a look at this Southern Island family member. Next page where we'll startup the technology overview first.
http://www.guru3d.com/imageview.php?image=35051
http://www.guru3d.com/imageview.php?image=35047
http://www.guru3d.com/imageview.php?image=35043
http://www.guru3d.com/imageview.php?image=35049
http://www.guru3d.com/imageview.php?image=35082
http://www.guru3d.com/imageview.php?image=35072
http://www.guru3d.com/imageview.php?image=35067
http://www.guru3d.com/imageview.php?image=35062
http://www.guru3d.com/imageview.php?image=35078
http://www.guru3d.com/imageview.php?image=35080
http://www.guru3d.com/imageview.php?image=35075
Final Words & Conclusion
AMD finally has an answer at hand to dethrone the mighty GeForce GTX 580, and with a decent enough margin. The new GPU architecture seems to work out well and definitely is more capable then the last generation GPUs.
We noticed offset in the older titles though, where the game is not really GPU bound the GTX 580 would lead marginally here and there. However where the GPU really matters in the latest game titles, that's where the Radeon HD 7970 shows it's strength, and leads with a very decent margin. Really our ultimate tests always have been Crysis 2, Metro 2022, Battlefield 2&3 and Anno 1404. In all titles the Radeon HD 7970 with an excellent margin of 20, 30 sometimes even 40% Especially in the uber-high resolutions the card marches onwards fast in performance.
Why the older titles like COD, Far Cry 2 etc slack a little is unclear, but my hint is processor utilization at driver level. Upcoming driver releases will probably make a difference there. Remember, we only had a beta driver available whereas the GTX 580 drivers have been refined for over a year now.
So yeah, AMD has a a good graphics card in their hands for now, hopefully they'll do the clever thing, and that's pricing it at roughly 449 EUR / 499 USD. That way it will compete perfectly with that GTX 580, and if that happens the logical choice would definitely be the Radeon HD 7970. The latest prices we got however indicate 500 EUR / 549 USD, but we'll just have to wait and see what volume will become available and what kind of an effect that will have on pricing.
(...)
Review Completa (http://www.guru3d.com/article/amd-radeon-hd-7970-review/1)
Hey hey hey now... a year and seven days after the release of the Radeon HD 6900 series, AMD is already moving it's high-end platform towards a new architecture.
Face it, value for money wise the 6900 really isn't a bad deal, but performance wise the architecture just had a hard time dealing with NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 570 and GTX 580. NVIDIA is like a bear in hibernation with bit of a dull lineup for the Christmas 2011 season. AMD on the other hand is moving forward real fast. They are transitioning towards the all new 28nm fabrication node which allows them to place more transistors into a die package at lower voltages.
Now we don't know how their yields are at the moment, but they are good enough to launch the first products, that's for sure. The good news is that AMD launched 28nm and starts with their high-end products, whereas, NVIDIA next year will (likely) do that vice versa. This will give AMD a competitive edge.
So this product review really is a bit of a treat, we as technical press, are allow to show you the Radeon HD 7970 (and only the R7970). That makes this primarily a paper launch BUT we expect decent volume availability in within a week or two already, so really it's not that bad. There actually MIGHT be little stock available today.
Injected in the 499EUR / 549 USD price tag bracket the product will have to compete directly with the equally expensive GeForce GTX 580, it will actually be a decent notch better then that IMHO. The results that you'll witness today will not dishearten. Where it matters (the latest and newer games) the Radeon HD 7970 will be a good 20%, 30% sometimes even 40% faster then the competition, and in the world of enthusiast graphics performance that's what we call, a product with a little extra booty... well actually I call it that, but my mind is twisted (hey I admit it).
So welcome to our Radeon HD 7970 review, a product with very nice game performance, a great feature set and a frame buffer that will pop your eyes out as yeah the 3GB was correct, GDDR5 though.
With the GPU developed under codename "Tahiti" let's have a look at this Southern Island family member. Next page where we'll startup the technology overview first.
http://www.guru3d.com/imageview.php?image=35051
http://www.guru3d.com/imageview.php?image=35047
http://www.guru3d.com/imageview.php?image=35043
http://www.guru3d.com/imageview.php?image=35049
http://www.guru3d.com/imageview.php?image=35082
http://www.guru3d.com/imageview.php?image=35072
http://www.guru3d.com/imageview.php?image=35067
http://www.guru3d.com/imageview.php?image=35062
http://www.guru3d.com/imageview.php?image=35078
http://www.guru3d.com/imageview.php?image=35080
http://www.guru3d.com/imageview.php?image=35075
Final Words & Conclusion
AMD finally has an answer at hand to dethrone the mighty GeForce GTX 580, and with a decent enough margin. The new GPU architecture seems to work out well and definitely is more capable then the last generation GPUs.
We noticed offset in the older titles though, where the game is not really GPU bound the GTX 580 would lead marginally here and there. However where the GPU really matters in the latest game titles, that's where the Radeon HD 7970 shows it's strength, and leads with a very decent margin. Really our ultimate tests always have been Crysis 2, Metro 2022, Battlefield 2&3 and Anno 1404. In all titles the Radeon HD 7970 with an excellent margin of 20, 30 sometimes even 40% Especially in the uber-high resolutions the card marches onwards fast in performance.
Why the older titles like COD, Far Cry 2 etc slack a little is unclear, but my hint is processor utilization at driver level. Upcoming driver releases will probably make a difference there. Remember, we only had a beta driver available whereas the GTX 580 drivers have been refined for over a year now.
So yeah, AMD has a a good graphics card in their hands for now, hopefully they'll do the clever thing, and that's pricing it at roughly 449 EUR / 499 USD. That way it will compete perfectly with that GTX 580, and if that happens the logical choice would definitely be the Radeon HD 7970. The latest prices we got however indicate 500 EUR / 549 USD, but we'll just have to wait and see what volume will become available and what kind of an effect that will have on pricing.
(...)
Review Completa (http://www.guru3d.com/article/amd-radeon-hd-7970-review/1)