Radeon 7970 released - ARMA 2 Performance Gains

[BangTail]

I wasn't aware of the delay to second half, but I was expecting Q4 2012 or Q1 2013 already.
It's too bad that puts it so close to Haswell but otherwise changes little for me. Although I might be inclined to take a 6 or 8 core SB-E (if 8 really comes to SB).

As to the price probably being similar to current SB-E, I agree, however my point was that there would probably again be an entry CPU like the 3820 for similar price, but then with 6 or 8 core
So I rather do that jump every 1-3 years, than shelling out 500+ EUR for a CPU.

I did the same 3 years ago, I went for the i7-920, also the 'entry', overclocked to 3.4ghz. After a year I added a custom cooler and I was able to run it another 2 years on 4ghz.

Yup, you are most likely right, by then we will have an 'entry level' 6 (or 8) core but it will probably not be an 'E' designation and I'd wager more it will be multiplier locked, not that it would be the end of the world if the price is right

People have been able to get great mileage out of the original 1366 based i7, a stellar CPU for sure

[froggyluv]

Ok, some results here. All of my 7970 results were in the PC thread but I'll paste the important part here (if not allowed, mods please let me know and I'll just link the post).

My specs are: I5 2500k @ 4.4 rock stable
16 gb 1600 ddr3 ram (12 for RamDisk)
XFX 7970 Black OC edition @ 1000/1425 as well as OC'ed at 1125/1575 ----Drivers are 12.2/Catalyst 3 and all settings are either on Application controlled/Performance or disabled to get max FPS.
Win 7 64 bit
Arma settings set to Default which admittedly uses 1440 x 900 (I have no idea why) but should be fine for consistency and latest Beta patch.

OC'ing the 7970 had very small noticeable effect maybe giving 3-4 fps on Benchmark 1 and 1-2 fps increase to Benchmark 2. All benchmarks run 5 times then averaged.

XFX Black 7970 OC'ed edition results:

Stock VC settings (1000/1425) -

Bench 1 Avg:86 fps. After Ramdisk:87fps

Bench 2 Avg: 23 fps. After Ramdisk:22 fps (strange I know)

Bench (E0) 8 Avg: 97 fps (Ramdisk only)

Overclocked VC (1125/1575) -

Bench 1 Avg:89 fps. After Ramdisk:87fps (?)

Bench 2 Avg: 23 fps. After Ramdisk:24 fps

Bench (E0) 8 Avg: 96 fps (Ramdisk only)


EVGA 680 GTX results:

Stock VC Settings (706/1502) *Note this card uses dynamic clocks which at this point can't be disabled. Overclocking can not be cemented to one speed but you can adjust the Offset to an extent in which gives the 680 more latitude on how much IT wants to overclock* RamDisk is used in all of the below and the VC driver is the version that comes on disk. All other settings are as above.

Bench 1 Avg:85 fps

Bench 2 Avg:21 fps

Bench (E0) 8 Avg:94 fps

Again I ran these tests a minimum of 5 times (actually alot more) and 7970 pretty consistently had a few FPS advantage. Nvidia settings were again set to Application Controlled/Performance or Off and I hope this gives parity to the tests as they both have different options some of which Im not entirely familiar.

Running Unigine's Heaven 3.0 with Tesselation to Extreme; Resolution at 1680/1050; AA Off;Anisotropy @ 4x; all other settings on High (this is the benchmark standard Overclock.net): The 680 consistently beats the 7970 by 120-150 points as well as has a much higher Minimum FPS to the XFX: 34 - 14.

Thoughts: I think its safe to say the 7970 slightly beats 680gtx 2gb in Arma benchmarking but the 680 tends to have a smoother visual feel. I did experiment with raising the 680's GPU Clock Offset (which again raises the Vanilla meter which sits at about 1050) by increments of 50%/100%/150%/@200%/250% as well as the Power Target to Max 132% -and these actually lowered Arma2's performance. Ive read this happening to others and Tom's HArdware had this to say about that:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...rk,3161-4.html

...tho these dramatically increased Heaven's score and performance. Just Arma don't seem to like it and which Im pretty sure has something to do with this TDP affair tho I understand little of that

So was it worth the trade, mailing back my 7970 and ordering a similar one? I'd say yes. 680gtx is for one a sexy looking, compact well molded litttle card as opposed to 7970 being a far heftier, longer, and for me hotter running card. The 680's software is also pretty sexy and best of all -starts up consistently, quickly everytime (take note crappy CCC designers). 680 is just a lower maintainence card and it runs sturdy while the 7970 I always felt was on the verge of failing, buggin out, doing strange things to my desktop, CCC failure or 5 minutes to boot (happening to many).

So thats pretty much it as far as Arma2 is concerned. I would like to see the 680's overclocking be a little more reliable as we are used to deciding our own break neck GPU's speed -but the new technology is pretty sweet as well and the Fan Curve kept my temps in low 70's while testing with WAAAY quieter fans then 7970

[Denco]

I did the same I set A.I Catalyst on Performance and set everything in game on Default and I got this:

B1=89
B2=22
E0= Didnt test it cuse it always had the highest frames.

[Grillob3]

froggyluv,

Big thanks for the info!

"680 tends to have a smoother visual feel" that is what i wanna know more ( what do you mean about that? less jerk, stutter, or just better looking?)! Bc i had my 5970+5870 and my other pc had 8800 ultra with smoother gameplay!

How was the View distance with the 680 gtx? with my 5970+5870 i could not go that far having nice fps...but with 7970 i can almost always play over 3000-5000 vd with good fps and really good High Def feel!

[froggyluv]

Less flickering and LOD changeups -static scenery stays more, well... static like it should. Add to that a generally crisper look and after enabling ATOC/PPAA and High Quality Nvidia settings while flying Chernarus @ 6000 VD - stunningly crisp! 7970 again IS a very good card (at least single card solution) but also had strange graphical anomalies and just didnt do well with ATOC/PPAA etc...

[Grillob3]

ok RMAing my cards on monday! Does newegg charge 15% restocking fee?

[froggyluv]

They did hit me with a hefty 'reshelving' fee and I think 15% sounds about right. If you've got 2 cards -yikes! I'd think long and hard if its definitely the thing you want to do -it solved my problems, IE... infuriating Driver support and functionality, graphic anomalies and somewhat better visual experience (ok alot better in Arma imo),but you should really consider especially if your not having any issues with you current crop.

But then again, you'd be getting 2 680's SLI and that is a sexy party

[Grillob3]

I have all that...lods, anomalies, the tree white dots ( fixed with cat AI high Q), fps drops to 6fps.....and the list goes on!lol the restocking fee will be high but i will end up getting a better card but not getting money back! just a wrong decision for not having patient! living and learning!lol

[BangTail]

I have all that...lods, anomalies, the tree white dots ( fixed with cat AI high Q), fps drops to 6fps.....and the list goes on!lol the restocking fee will be high but i will end up getting a better card but not getting money back! just a wrong decision for not having patient! living and learning!lol

I wouldn't feel too bad. It's all a learning experience and the more exposure you have to different types of hardware, the better off you are for it

[Denco]

I have all that...lods, anomalies, the tree white dots ( fixed with cat AI high Q), fps drops to 6fps.....and the list goes on!lol the restocking fee will be high but i will end up getting a better card but not getting money back! just a wrong decision for not having patient! living and learning!lol

Sry to hear that I have no lods and anomalies but will be doing the same after arma 3 comes out. Oh the only problem I have with 12.2 WHQL driver is the grey sky.