I saw this card in the Newegg Daily Deals and it's the right price for me and a pretty nice card on paper.
The problem is that I can't find reviews for this specific model anywhere.
Has anybody used it before, or is it brand new?
Are there any issues with the Sapphire brand (e.g. poor customer service, dead/defective cards) that would make this a bad deal?
Posted Feb 25, 2013, 4:58 PM UTC
Most of my GPUs over the years have been Sapphire. It just worked out that way due to cost & availability - one day I realized I have a Sapphire from 4xxx, 5xxx, and 6xxx series. They are all still performing just as well as when I bought them, no issues whatsoever. The 6870 was overclocked & driving triple-monitor gaming for awhile. Hell, my old Sapphire Radeon 9250 (256mb AGP) is still going strong, in a box I should have retired years ago.
tl;dr Sapphire makes reliable GPUs, in my anecdotal experience.
I have the 7950, and when I increase the power through TRIXX or CCC, when I start a game up, I can hear a high pitched noise coming out of my card. Even if I have things set to default on them, it still does it sometimes. I don't know if its something I should be concerned about, but OP might want to be aware of this issue.
If you have any advice on this, I would love to hear it.
I've heard about a coil whine issue in early Sapphire 7950 and 7970 models. I've also heard that they fixed the issue in their more recent versions of those cards, but I have no source for either of these things. My 7950 is a Powercolor, so unfortunately I have no suggestions to give. It's definitely not just you though. You can possibly RMA it - it'd be worth giving Sapphire a call I'd say.
If it's a higher pitch than what you would expect from the fan increasing in RPM due to the increased load then it could be the capacitors.
My 8800GTX would create a high pitch whine from the capacitors when I ran Folding@Home on it, which put it under more stress than video games. I'm not sure how it affects the life time of the card or if its ok just annoying to listen to.
I didn't run Folding at Home on the card due to the whine so I wouldn't be able to say if it adversely affected it. A quick google for capacitor whine might shed more light on it.
It's definitely not that fan, the coil whine sounds like it could be it. It is just sort of annoying, thanks for clearing up the issue a little bit.
Do you notice it in game? The only time I get coil whine is in menus where the FPS is uncapped and is up to like 1000+.
I have a 7970 by them, and read up on these issues - mines not so bad, but here's what you can do to fix them:
Run a graphically intensive program overnight for about a week. Something with vsync off, where you can pump out hundreds of frames per second. This supposedly "breaks in" the parts that whine, and thus they stop whining. Mine was never a big issue, but did it on it's own. To speed up the process, running something like a crysis main menu or gta4 main menu would work.
I know this might be a novice question. Besides manufacturer, what are the differences between the gigabyte and saphire version? I purchased the Gigabyte version and am absolutely loving it, no issues but it seems saphire's are running into some tech issues, as stated below. Is this something that I should except or is it by a card to card basis?
The cooler, clock speeds and (sometimes) the pcb design.
This is the third "Dual X" model of the 7950.
First they had the 100352-2L
Then the 100352FLEX-2
Now the 100352-3L
This is obviously a revision of the first model. I'm sure its a fine card. Sapphire is a good manufacturer.
I was planning on getting the flex. Is there any difference between the 3L and Flex-2?
I have two of these in Crossfire*. Great card and overclocks fine.
*crossfire
This is actually the same price it was around November last year. I bought it this exact card (7950 boost) and it crushes anything at 1080p. I stepped up to a 1440p monitor and it only really starts to struggle on the highest settings with unnecessary levels of post-processing/AA.
At 100% you will definitely hear the fan, but I've only ever gotten it to 100% by manually setting it there.
Sapphire cards are usually excellent. I've never had a problem with any cards from them. They only difference in most cards now is the cooler and Sapphire makes some of the best.
Why do people get a 7950>7970?
Price.
Yeah and I'm not an extensive PC gamer I just want a nice card that can do whatever I can throw at it that isn't insanely GPU intensive like crysis 3 or similar.
I have a Sapphire 7950 myself. It'll definitely be able to handle anything you throw at it without any problems.
price mainly. And i can overclock my 7950 to well over a 7970 stock. Running 1200, 6008 here. Plays far cry locked at 50fps on ultra no aa smooth as butter, all i needed.
Maybe someone can help me on this one. I recently read an article comparing the two. The 7950 was OC'd to the same clock as the 7970, and there was hardly any difference in performance. So ultimately comes down to cost.
Yes I have had this card for a few months. I do not overclock, I just use their stock ccc boost software and vet pretty solid performance. Paired with my i5 3570 k I get the following performance on max game settings with a 1080p montor
Farcry 3 - 30 fps Mirrors edge - over 60 Hitman absolution- 40-60 fps Borderlands 2 - over 120 fps Sleeping dogs- 40-60 fps Anything source is 300 fps+
Sorry for the rough benchmarks Im in my office and am going from memory. But regardless of numbers I totally recommend. Smooth gameplay on high/max settings with just about any modern game and stays around 60c max I think, my case kinda sucks for airflow so yours may not even get that hot.
Peace
You can't go wrong with Sapphire.
I was checking reviews for the 7970 on new egg. I'm on my phone shop can't add the link. But it had multiple reviews that said their cards were dying in a month so be careful!
Idk how that is different from their other 7950s, but from the reviews I read it is a pretty good card.
Does anyone know if it can be OC'd safely? I was looking to buy this card in a couple months with my tax refund because several people on here have said that the 7950 overclocks like a beast, but if the Sapphire version doesn't then I'd have to change my plans.
It definitely overclocks well. Sapphire's cooling systems can handle pretty much anything. I'm not sure about this specific card, but I have a Sapphire 7970 Vapor-X that I was able to overclock to a little over 1200MHz(default: 1050MHz) and around 1600MHz for the memory bus(can't remember exact numbers but this is close). I've heard that the 7950 OC's like a beast.
edit: The sapphire TRIXX utility makes OCing very easy as well.
From what I've read on newegg the vapor-x has something to do with the cooling abilities of the card which allow for easy over-clocking. Ok, I think I'll still stick to the 7950. I'll have to take a look at that trixx utility. Thanks!
In my experience MSI Afterburner is a much better tool than Trixx. It will work if you have a non MSI graphics card.
what has your experience been regarding both programs?
This is my primary GPU. I do not have a second in there. I have had it for a little over a year.
It is a very nice card. I am very satisfied with it's performance so far.
I have this exact model, i bought it about 3-4 months ago, and the only problem i've encountered is sometimes my monitor goes black for 2 seconds and then turns on, and then Windows shows a error message with something about my video drivers not being up to date (THEY ARE!)...
But besides that it is an awesome card.
I have this card and it's great. Runs everything like a champ and can easily be OCed.
I've got a Sapphire 7950 (not this one) I made the jump from Nvidia (had a 560 before). Nice jump in power and I haven't had any issues with them as a company, seems they're pretty trustworthy. I might end up getting another for crossfire purposes in the future... just need a bigger case first.
I'm still rocking the 6970 and can play everything I've tried on Ultra. The 7950 should be a beast.
I didn't get THAT one specifically but I did pick the an ASUS Radeon HD7950. Absolutely no complaints. I'm running a 46" LED TV and 2 23.6" LED PC monitors. Still run games on Ultra-Ultra-Ultra.
edit I've owned a Sapphire before... Long time ago. It was a good card. No problems.
Looks nice. Dual fan cooler, boost clock. I wouldn't let the lack of reviews discourage you. Maybe an updated version of this card? I would go off of those reviews, and take the gamble of the unknown.
higher base clock, great performance, and consistently louder and cooler than most other 7950s in it's usual price range.
i lost my amd coupon card lol, i got it with my sapphire dual-x fans 7970. What ever tbp will do.
Son of a BITCH. I literally ordered this card 13 hours ago. Only 10 dollars, but still. Come on, Newegg...
Sapphire is a good brand for the 7950 from what I've read. They have some of the best coolers. And from what everyone says in this sub, you can't really go wrong with the manufacturer on the 7950. I don't know for sure if this one is voltage unlocked. Doesn't matter too much to me b/c I don't plan on OCing past what the stock voltage can handle, but it could be a factor for others.
Plus you get two free current-gen games, so that's a nice perk.
Contact Newegg, they will usually refund you the difference if the order is within [X] hours of a price change. Obviously it's up to the representative you speak to.
Yeah they're crediting me the 10 dollars. I freaking love newegg
http://melgibstein.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/jew-cartoon.gif
I laughed
I got 5 games (and another game from Ubisoft) with my purchase of 7950 a Gigabyte one.
Never Settle and Never Settle Reloaded both, and then Ubisoft was giving out free games per game bought.
how did you manage that?
Usually with newer nVidea and AMD cards you get new release games for download or in the box with them. Usually B lost games, but still free.
Check for free games on the manufacturer's website.
But the never settle and never settle reloaded were completely different promos with A list games running a few months apart.
http://www.dabs.com/products/gigabyte-ati-radeon-7950-hd-800mhz-3gb-pci-e-hdmi-windforce-3x-oc-7XN5.html?q=7950%20gigabyte&src=16
Both of htem right there
Sweet deal, wish i was in the market for a graphics card still.
You got one for 10 bucks!?
10 dollars is the price difference between what I paid and the sale price...
if only, if only.
You get the games with ANY manufactuer.
Nvidia is also offering games.
EDIT: To clarify, I was referring to the fact that it's AMD sponsering the free game deals, not Sapphire. So you'd get the same two games if you bought a Sapphire card as appossed to a Gigabyte one or Asus.
Are they? I thought they're offering in-game currency for F2P games instead.
That's correct, and they're not AAA titles like Crysis 3 and Bioshock: Infinite
Deciding what card you're getting based on the games it comes with is pointless (though I know it wasn't a point of yours).
In all seriousness, I hate the games that come with AMD's lineup, would never play them.