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To test power consumption today we are using a Keithley Integra unit and we measure power consumption from the VGA card inputs, not the system wide drain. We measure results while gaming in Crysis Warhead and record the results.
In such an energy aware climate, AMD are making a big deal out of their new ‘ZeroCore Power’ technology. Many solutions today use power gating, clock gating and memory compression to reduce idle power requirements, but ZeroCore power technology can completely power down the core GPU while the rest of the system remains active.
The card demands around 225 watts when gaming. This rises to 256 watts under Furmark load. This is much higher than the original HD7970 we tested in March this year.
I dont get it… i may be a little dumb here, i dont get it, i bought a 7970 Black edition card which was OC’d to 1Ghz + on the core, and had dual fan cooling when the 7970 was released ages ago now.. so whats different, and what would i be getting extra for my money now?
fair review, seems like a good card, and i love AMD hardware, but yeah the reference coolers do not impress. Sapphire should make a great version with heatpipes, two fans etc.
Interesting to see the power concumption has increased. I doubt it will hit £400, probably closer to £430.
id wait for sapphire or XFX models, with improved coolers, they normally can match the reference card price.
Yeah im not sold on this, its going to cost too much for what you get. Nvidia OC 570s are much better value for similar performance.
@muppit.
Basically very little apart from a worse cooler and slighty faster memory…
its alright. but whats the big deal? bring out a new card with a better cooler or something. clock it higher? not very creative.
problem is, amd`s heads are a bunch of cowboys in suits because: for amd to survive, it needs a CEO like nvidia, someone who knows gpu`s or even something about games… i bet Rory has never played a game, so what would he know about coolers, fans, temps and performance? relying on AIB`s or OEM`s will get you bankrupt..wait & see AMD.
not only is Rory going to kill amd but the whole amd crew is going to, bcoz none of them seem to have any clue.