Graphics 7900GS or 7950GT? OR 7900GTO?

both leadtek from scan.co.uk... theres about 35quid difference in price for extra 4 pipelines and bit faster gpu and ram IS IT WORTH that EXTRA CASH?
opinions please.
two cards in question are:
7900GS
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=465741
7950GT
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=466117

OR is it worth the GTO if i can stretch to 200ish...? this seems good value considering the GTOs are 300 or more and overclockers has one for 200.any good?
bottom of page:http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/7900_Series.html


OH and could i flash it to a GTX? are they as overclockable as they reckon?

cheers for all feedback.

 

Just overclock the GTO to a GTX, but it depends whether you want to pay the extra £70 on top of a 7900GS? You can get a 7900GS for £128 from ocuk and scan now. The leadtek 7900GS is dead silent (as is the 7950) Im not actually sure if the GTO is faster than that 7950. It definately has a bigger cooler.

 

I think the GTO uses cheaper memory, so you may not get the same kind of memory frequencies that the GTX comes with as standard.

 

apparently OCuk forums Gibbo said that they aren't GTX cores

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/sho...4&postcount=78
is this true they were i think advertised as using the same core?is the memory different or cheaper than the gtx's? how long will the offer be on for as i'm going to buy either next monday or the friday before it...

 

Yea the memory is rated slower but what's the core difference?? They are both 24 pipe.

For a few hundred mhz on the mem and possibly core, cant argue for the price imo.

 

would you say it will be a considerable difference in speed between the gs and the gto? at stock?and is there a ruff safe spot i could achieve with the gto over clocked or the gs?could i even notice it in games do you think?
cheers

 

what screen resolution are you running?

 

1600x1200 at 70hz dell d1126h mate.think i need that card then for that res? or would a 7900gs be pretty future proof for tht res.is it better to run 1280x1024 at 85hz or will the slower 70hz but larger 1600x1200 res be better?i have no idea...

 

7900 GS is a '1280x1024' card in all honesty.

 

Going by reference clocks:

7900GS use 20 pipes @450mhz (ie 9000+788) with 42.2GB/s RAM
7950GT use 24 pipes @550mhz (ie 13200+1100) with 44.8GB/s RAM
7900GTX use 24 pipes @650mhz (ie 15600+1300) with 51.2GB/s RAM
7900'GTO' use 24 pipes @650mhz (ie 15600+1300) with 42.2GB/s RAM

AFAIK 7900GTO is not an official family member but from what I've read they are typically 24 pipes @650mhz (ie 15600+1300) with 42.2GB/s RAM hence 7900GTX core combined with 7900GS RAM. The core is usually the most important factor performance-wise (eg just look how well the 7600GT does with 128bitDDR) so the chances are the performance will be above the 7950GT and most likely pretty close to the 7900GTX.

However many 7900GS and 7950GT can often o/c their core to somewhere around 600-650mhz, this would bring the 7900GS up to 7950GT levels (overcoming the 4 pipes deficit) and the 7950GT up to 7900GTX levels (and faster than 7900GTO due to the faster RAM). I imagine 650mhz is pretty close to the max for 7900 cards including the 7900GTO/GTX which are clocked this fast by default (thus have less to gain from o/c'ing). So if you don't mind o/c'ing and voiding the warranty the 7900GS and 7950GT become very compelling choices at their given price points. Perhaps you could go with 7900GS and look to SLI down the road? The choice is yours, they're all good choices IMHO.

 

Runs great at 1280x1024 all high detail and 4AA in most things

 

what about just cause? thats a really nice looking game i just been playing it on the 9800pro.wierd now tht the 754 and k8v are getting kicked out its keepin itself stable and not restarting or overheating.strange:S
so do you guys not think i should go with the msi 7900gto? as 165including delivery?bit faster cant go wrong stockwise? or is that 30quid worth the extra mhz do you think?can i just flash it to gtx.and will that cooler cool it enough to gtx standard i know its huge but so is my 9800pro lol well not this huge but you get my point..

 

If you go 7900GS your core has 20 pipes @450 but plenty of potential for o/c'ing (although nothing is guaranteed). If you spend the extra £35-40 on a 7900GTO the core will be 24 pipied @650 although the RAM clock will be the same. So the core on the GTO is a whopping 73% faster for only an extra £35 AND you don't need to invalidate your warranty by o/c'ing (which you're likely to do with a 7900GS). Even if a 7900GS o/c's from 450mhz to 650mhz (a push but possible) the 7900GTO's core is still 20% faster due to the extra 4 pipes. Of course the RAM speed is likely to hold the 7900GTO's perf back from the 7900GTX but I'd bet not by much.

As for flashing/unlocking a 7900GTO to 7900GTX it would be very risky, all you're missing is the RAM speed and you could check the RAM chips but it's unlikely as the core inc pipies is the same as 7900GTX so it's not like it would be a speed binned 7900GTX.

 

I'd say go with the 7900 GTO! Its almost as fast as a GTX at such a good price. That card has the best bang per dollar! If not the 7900 GS is still a very soild choice!

 

someone mentioned i should get 2 x 7950. Do i really need 2 7950 when you already have one??

i mean, isnt one powerful enough??

 

Depends on the games u play really. You might as well wait for a month. 8800 with DX10 support is out but just got pulled back recently. I think 1 8800GTX is enought o blow any graphics card away even in SLi mode.