LMFAO I was just thinking the same thing:p

I can't hold a camera still for the life of me. To fix this problem I try to hold the camera as close to my chest as possible. This removes any shaking from out stretched arms.

Updated first post.

Assuming max power is correct @ 300W would an HX850w cope with 2 x 7970's in crossfire + the rest of my hardware (see sig) :confused:

The 300W TDP is for PCIe specification, but it gives you an idea of maximum watt usage at stock. Two, overclocked 7970 with an overclocked CPU would probably be better suited on at least an 850W.

That's a lot of juice for a GPU. Haven't decided what to upgrade my 5870's to when the time comes, I have really liked them and had very few problems so I am tempted to go 7000 series rather than nVidia's 600 series but can't say for sure until we see the figures for both set of GPU's.

One thing for sure is that I will be lowering my CPU power consumption by going IvyBridge when they arrive.

I'm excited that we are finally seeing some leaks. I've been waiting for the 7's to get back on the Radeon bandwagon.


Correct and well stated. Most video cards are designed to use 75% (or less) of the maximum PCI-SIG power rating for each connector. The full load power draw would likely be closer to 225w.

Just out of curiousity why are you upgrading the 5870? I got mine less than a year ago used, and still haven't found anything that really maxes it out. (just curious, what benefits in real life are there (if any??))

I'm just ready for the new GPUs so it will drive down the old GPUs and i can get a 570 or a 580 and move my 470 to my backup rig. Man my HD4890 is hurting when trying to run BF3.

-> uber high framerates and e-peen

couldn't have said it better myself.

I've heard some rumblings that they aren't using XDR2 RAM anymore. Anyone else got info? Or am I just incredibly lost, and everyone else already knew?

XDR2 was a pipe dream from the get go.

ah okay thanks

I'm not, just starting to plan for the future.

Right on :thumbup:

Hearing December 22nd for the 7970 in small quantities, Jan 9th for 7950.

I really want a 7970, but cant justify it + a full cover block right now for this reason.

I'm sure 60fps low on BF3 would be awesome, but to drop $500+ on it isn't in the cards right now.

I feel like 5870 is like 8800gtx in it's longevity.

Additional Comment:

So from what I can tell (one 7970)>(5870 xfire)?

Or high res 3D / multi monitor users ;)

Updated first post with more news.

Yeah, I was actually just thinking about how well it could drive eyefinity too!

Exactly what I was looking for. Since we guestimate 40/28= 42% performance gain from direct shrink, the difference from "about 30%" underscores the expenditure on functionality tradeoff on the new architecture.

Though it's still a gross estimate at this point. It will be interesting to see if the plain VLIW shrink is nearer the 42%. ;)