VTX3D VChamp HD7790 and HD7850 Review

Today we look at two new video cards from VTX3D - the HD7790 and HD7850 VChamp Edition. The VChamp cooler is the latest from the company, incorporating a Vapor Chamber for faster heat dissipation. Are these models worthy of being shortlisted for a new system build? VTX3D say they are using solid capacitors on both cards with shielded inductors. They have upped the power phase to 5+1+1 on their HD7850 and 4+1+1 on their HD7790 model. Both coolers are a Vapor Chamber design and have dual 80mm fans on board to help improve cooling performance. The VTX3D VChamp HD7850 receives a core clock boost from 860mhz to 1,000mhz and the memory is also increased from 1,200mhz to 1,225mhz (4.9Gbps effective). The HD7850 is a cost effective graphics card, especially if you want to game at 1080p without spending a fortune. The VTX3D VChamp HD7790 receives a core clock increase from 1,000mhz to 1,075mhz and the memory speed runs at 1,500mhz (6Gbps effective). This card was welcomed on release as a capable replacement for the rather lackluster HD7770. AMD increased the shader power from 640 to 896 Stream Processors from HD7770 to HD7790. The VTX3D VChamp HD7790 arrives in a black box with no images of the product on the front. Inside a video converter, some literature on the product and a software disc. We do recommend you snag the latest AMD drivers directly from their site however. The VTX3D VChamp HD7790 is a small dual slot graphics card with two 80mm fans set behind the plastic shroud. The PCB is black. The card is Eyefinity compatible and features a DVI-I and DVI-D connector, alongside a full sized HDMI and DisplayPort connector. The card is Crossfire capable in a 2 way configuration. It takes power from a single 6 pin PCI connector. The VTX3D VChamp cooler is formed around a copper base running into two 8mm copper heatpipes. The card is a 4+1+1 phase power design and features Elpida GDDR5 memory. This particular card receives a modest core clock increase from 1,000mhz to 1,075mhz. Memory runs at 1,500mhz (6Gbps effective). The Bonaire core is built on the 28nm process and features 16 ROPS, 56 TMU's and 896 Steam Processors. The 1GB of GDDR5 memory is connected via a narrow 128bit memory interface.On this page we present some super high resolution images of the product taken with the 24.5MP Nikon D3X camera and 24-70mm ED lens. These will take much longer to open due to the dimensions, especially on slower connections. If you use these pictures on another site or publication, please credit Kitguru.net as the owner/source. You can right click and ‘save as’ to your computer to view later. In complete contrast to the black HD7790 box, the HD7850 ships in a white box with only the name of the product and some specifications listed on the front. The box contains a video adapter, some literature and a software disc. We always suggest you get the latest drivers direct from the AMD website however. The VChamp HD7850 looks very similar to the HD7790, although the VTX3D brand name is stamped top left. The two slot cooler uses two 80mm fans, set behind a black plastic shroud. The PCB is black. It is Crossfire capable in a two way configuration. The VChamp HD7850 has a DVI-I-, DVI-D and HDMI connector, alongside two mini DisplayPort connectors. It takes power from a single 6 pin power connector. The cooler is substantial comprising a copper base leading into two thick 8mm copper heatpipes on either side. This card is a 5+1+1 Phase power design with solid capacitors. Like the HD7790 version, VTX3D are using Elpida GDDR5 memory on this card. This card receives a core clock increase from 860mhz to 1,000mhz. The memory is also slightly overclocked, from 1,200mhz to 1,225mhz (4.9Gbps effective). The Pitcairn core is built on the 28nm process. It has 32 ROPs, 64 TMU's and 1,024 Steam processors. The 2GB of GDDR5 memory is connected via a 256bit memory interface. On this page we present some super high resolution images of the product taken with the 24.5MP Nikon D3X camera and 24-70mm ED lens. These will take much longer to open due to the dimensions, especially on slower connections. If you use these pictures on another site or publication, please credit Kitguru.net as the owner/source. You can right click and ‘save as’ to your computer to view later. For our review today we are using the ForceWare 327.23 and Catalyst 13.10 Beta Drivers. These drivers have the latest fixes and performance enhancements. We are using one of our brand new test rigs supplied by PCSPECIALIST and built to our specifications. If you want to read more about this, or are interested in buying the same Kitguru Test Rig, check out our article with links on this page. Comparison cards: AMD HD7850 (860mhz core / 1,200mhz memory) ASUS GTX760 Mini (1,006mhz core / 1,502mhz memory) Palit GTX760 JetStream (1,072mhz core / 1,550mhz memory) Sapphire HD7950 (925 mhz core / 1,250mhz memory) VTX3D HD7870 Tahiti LE (975 mhz core / 1,500mhz memory) Software: Windows 7 Enterprise 64 bit Unigine Heaven Benchmark Unigine Valley Benchmark 3DMark Vantage 3DMark 11 3DMark Fraps Professional Steam Client FurMark Games: Sleeping Dogs Total War: Rome 2 Dirt Showdown Tomb Raider Metro Last Light GRID 2 Alien V Predator Splinter Cell Blacklist All the latest BIOS updates and drivers are used during testing. We perform generally under real world conditions, meaning KitGuru tests games across five closely matched runs and then average out the results to get an accurate median figure. If we use scripted benchmarks, they are mentioned on the relevant page. Unigine provides an interesting way to test hardware. It can be easily adapted to various projects due to its elaborated software design and flexible toolset. A lot of their customers claim that they have never seen such extremely-effective code, which is so easy to understand. Heaven Benchmark is a DirectX 11 GPU benchmark based on advanced Unigine engine from Unigine Corp. It reveals the enchanting magic of floating islands with a tiny village hidden in the cloudy skies. Interactive mode provides emerging experience of exploring the intricate world of steampunk. Efficient and well-architected framework makes Unigine highly scalable: Multiple API (DirectX 9 / DirectX 10 / DirectX 11 / OpenGL) render Cross-platform: MS Windows (XP, Vista, Windows 7) / Linux Full support of 32bit and 64bit systems Multicore CPU support Little / big endian support (ready for game consoles) Powerful C++ API Comprehensive performance profiling system Flexible XML-based data structures We use the settings shown above at 1920×1080. The VChamp HD7850 outperforms the reference clocked HD7850 by a considerable margin in this synthetic benchmark, averaging 47 frames per second. Valley Benchmark is a new GPU stress-testing tool from the developers of the very popular and highly acclaimed Heaven Benchmark. The forest-covered valley surrounded by vast mountains amazes with its scale from a bird’s-eye view and is extremely detailed down to every leaf and flower petal. This non-synthetic benchmark powered by the state-of-the art UNIGINE Engine showcases a comprehensive set of cutting-edge graphics technologies with a dynamic environment and fully interactive modes available to the end user. We test with the settings above at 1920×1080. The VTX3D VChamp HD7850 shows gains over the reference clocked HD7850 in this benchmark. Futuremark released 3DMark Vantage, on April 28, 2008. It is a benchmark based upon DirectX 10, and therefore will only run under Windows Vista (Service Pack 1 is stated as a requirement) and Windows 7. This is the first edition where the feature-restricted, free of charge version could not be used any number of times. 1280×1024 resolution was used with performance settings. Performance in this older Direct X 10 benchmark is positive for both cards. 3DMark 11 is designed for testing DirectX 11 hardware running on Windows 7 and Windows Vista the benchmark includes six all new benchmark tests that make extensive use of all the new features in DirectX 11 including tessellation, compute shaders and multi-threading. After running the tests 3DMark gives your system a score with larger numbers indicating better performance. Trusted by gamers worldwide to give accurate and unbiased results, 3DMark 11 is the best way to test DirectX 11 under game-like loads.If you want to learn more about this benchmark, or to buy it yourself, head over to this page. The VTX3D VChamp HD7850 is around 800 points ahead of the reference clocked card in this benchmark. It will be interesting to see the game frame rate benefits later in the review. 3DMark is an essential tool used by millions of gamers, hundreds of hardware review sites and many of the world’s leading manufacturers to measure PC gaming performance. Futuremark say “Use it to test your PC’s limits and measure the impact of overclocking and tweaking your system. Search our massive results database and see how your PC compares or just admire the graphics and wonder why all PC games don’t look this good. To get more out of your PC, put 3DMark in your PC.” Both graphics cards fall into position as we would expect, sandwiching the reference clocked AMD HD7850. Aliens V Predator has proved to be a big seller since the release and Sega have taken the franchise into new territory after taking it from Sierra. AVP is a Direct X 11 supported title and delivers not only advanced shadow rendering but high quality tessellation for the cards on test today. To test the cards we used a 1920×1080 resolution with DX11, Texture Quality Very High, MSAA Samples 1, 16 af, ambient occulsion on, shadow complexity high, motion blur on. This is a very demanding Direct X 11 title at 1080p. All hardware on test is able to maintain smooth frame rates however. Sleeping Dogs started development as an original title, but was announced in 2009 as True Crime: Hong Kong, the third installment and a reboot of the True Crime series. As a result of the game’s high development budget and delays, it was canceled by Activision Blizzard in 2011. Six months later, it was announced that Square Enix had picked up the publishing rights to the game, but the game was renamed Sleeping Dogs in 2012 since Square Enix did not purchase the True Crime name rights. This game is still a system killer at these maximised settings. We test at 1920×1080. At these high settings, only the GTX760 and HD7950 maintain smooth frame rates throughout. To get the game playable on both VTX3D cards, the image quality settings would need to be reduced. Total War ROME 2 is the eighth stand alone game in the Total War series, it is the successor to the successful Rome: Total War title. The Warscape Engine powers the visuals of the game and the new unit cameras will allow players to focus on individual soldiers on the battlefield, which in itself may contain thousands of combatants at a time. Creative Assembly has stated that they wish to bring out the more human side of war this way, with soldiers reacting with horror as their comrades get killed around them and officers inspiring their men with heroic speeches before siege towers hit the walls of the enemy city. This will be realised using facial animations for individual units, adding a feel of horror and realism to the battles. To test the cards today we use the ULTRA profile settings shown above at 1920×1080. Excellent performance from both VChamp HD7790 and HD7850, holding the frame rate above 25 at all times. Dirt Showdown is the latest title in the franchise from Codemasters, based around the famous Colin McRae racing game series, although it no longer uses his name, since he passed away in 2007. Today we test the hardware at 1920×1080 with the Ultra profile and 8 x MSAA. Smooth frame rates at 1080p, even with 8 times Anti Aliasing enabled. Impressive. After a delayed release from late 2012 to March 2013, the game received much anticipation and hype. Tomb Raider received much acclaim from critics, who praised the graphics, the gameplay and Camilla Luddington’s performance as Lara with many critics agreeing that the game is a solid and much needed reboot of the franchise. Much criticism went to the addition of the multiplayer which many felt was unnecessary. Tomb Raider went on to sell one million copies in forty-eight hours of its release, and has sold 3.4 million copies worldwide so far. We use the ULTIMATE profile shown above and test at 1920×1080. The reduced shader power of the HD7790 delivers a massive hit at these settings. The HD7850 on the other hand is perfectly playable at these settings. Metro: Last Light takes place one year after the events of Metro 2033, proceeding from the ending where Artyom chose to call down the missile strike on the Dark Ones. The Rangers have since occupied the D6 military facility, with Artyom having become an official member of the group. Khan, the nomad mystic, arrives at D6 to inform Artyom and the Rangers that a single Dark One survived the missile strike. 4A Games’ proprietary 4A Engine is capable of rendering breathtaking vistas, such as those showing the ruined remnants of Moscow, as well as immersive indoor areas that play with light and shadow, creating hauntingly beautiful scenes akin to those from modern-day photos of Pripyat’s abandoned factories and schools. We test this game with the built in benchmark with very high quality settings at 1920×1080 – details shown in the image above. This benchmark is extremely demanding and the two cards fall into place as we would expect. The overclocked GTX760 leads this particular test. Grid 2 is the sequel to the racing video game Race Driver: Grid. It was developed and published by Codemasters. The game includes numerous real world locations such as Paris, numerous United States locations, and many more, and also includes motor vehicles spanning four decades. In addition, it includes a new handling system that developer Codemasters has dubbed ‘TrueFeel’, which aims to hit a sweet spot between realism and accessibility. We test at 1920×1080 with the Ultra image quality preset, as shown above. 8x MSAA was enabled to improve image quality. These results are good, showing smooth frame rates at all times throughout the game experience. Splinter Cell Blacklist is the sixth installment in the series. The game begins with Sam Fisher and his old friend Victor Coste who are about to depart from Andersen AFB in Guam when an unknown enemy force destroys the entire base. Assisted by hacker specialist Charlie Cole, Sam and Vic manage to escape, although Vic is injured after protecting Sam from a grenade. Soon after, a terrorist group calling itself “The Engineers” assumes responsibility for the attack and announce that it was the first of a deadly countdown of escalating attacks (called “The Blacklist”) on United States assets, declaring that they will halt the attacks only after the U.S. government accomplish the demand of calling back all American troops deployed abroad. We test with a series of high image quality settings as shown above and with 4x MSAA and 16 x Anisotropic filtering enabled. At these settings this is very demanding. Both VChamp cards struggle to maintain smooth frame rates at these settings, particularly the HD7790. The tests were performed in a controlled air conditioned room with temperatures maintained at a constant 24c – a comfortable environment for the majority of people reading this.Idle temperatures were measured after sitting at the desktop for 30 minutes.Load measurements were acquired by playing Crysis Warhead for 30 minutes and measuring the peak temperature. We also have included Furmark results, recording maximum temperatures throughout a 30 minute stress test. All fan settings were left on automatic. The performance of both coolers is exceptional, holding gaming load temperatures below 60c in our specific environment. We have built a system inside a Lian Li chassis with no case fans and have used a fanless cooler on our CPU. The motherboard is also passively cooled. This gives us a build with almost completely passive cooling and it means we can measure noise of just the graphics card inside the system when we run looped 3dMark tests. We measure from a distance of around 1 meter from the closed chassis and 4 foot from the ground to mirror a real world situation. Ambient noise in the room measures close to the limits of our sound meter at 28dBa. Why do this? Well this means we can eliminate secondary noise pollution in the test room and concentrate on only the video card. It also brings us slightly closer to industry standards, such as DIN 45635. KitGuru noise guide 10dBA - Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves 20-25dBA – Whisper 30dBA - High Quality Computer fan 40dBA - A Bubbling Brook, or a Refridgerator 50dBA - Normal Conversation 60dBA - Laughter 70dBA – Vacuum Cleaner or Hairdryer 80dBA - City Traffic or a Garbage Disposal 90dBA - Motorcycle or Lawnmower 100dBA – MP3 player at maximum output 110dBA - Orchestra 120dBA – Front row rock concert/Jet Engine 130dBA – Threshold of Pain 140dBA – Military Jet takeoff/Gunshot (close range) 160dBA – Instant Perforation of eardrum The VTX3D VChamp HD7790 fan profile is most unusual - because it isn't adaptive. When most video cards spin the fans up and down in relation to the temperature, the HD7790 fans hold steady. Even at idle, the dual fans spin at over 4,000 rpm which means this is one of the louder video cards we have tested in recent months. It means that idle temperatures are extremely impressive, but noise levels are higher than we would expect. The VChamp HD7850 runs quieter at all times and it has an adaptive profile which works better.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 the synthetic stress test Furmark and record both results. Both cards are efficient under load. The HD7850 VChamp demands around 120 watts when gaming, the the HD7790 VChamp around 80 watts. For our overclocking tests today we used the latest version of MSI Afterburner, which is based around Rivatuner. Both of our review samples have plenty of overclocking potential, hitting between 10-15 percent on the core. The overclocks on both cards translate into tangible real world gains. The VChamp HD7790 when overclocked to 1,200mhz core actually outperforms the reference clocked HD7850. The VChamp HD7850 when overclocked to 1,150mhz is at the same performance level as the HD7870 Tahiti LE. With AMD's new video cards just around the corner it seems an unusual time to release a new range based on current generation hardware. That said, both VTX3D VChamp HD7790 and HD7850 perform well, and will be ideally suited for the target audience working to a tighter budget. If you have a limited budget to work with then this card is a an excellent shortlist option. It only demands around 80watts under load and thanks to the excellent Vapor cooling system it runs very cool at all times. The only negative comment we could make is that this solution runs a little louder than we would expect, thanks to the fan profile which held at around 4,000 rpm constantly, even when idle. The VChamp HD7790 isn't the quietest card, but a gamer who wants the lowest possible temperature is likely to deal with a little extra fan noise. We could think of better options for a media center system build however. While all cards have different overclocking potential, there is no doubt that the VChamp HD7790 exhibits plenty of headroom - we managed to push the core up to the limits of 1,200mhz and it was still rock solid. This card is available for £117.97 inc vat from Amazon. Pros: Overclocked out of the box. plenty of additional overclocking potential. excellent cooling performance. Cons: noisier than some of the competition. the new AMD GPU range is just around the corner. Kitguru says: An excellent value for money solution which should cost around the £100 inc vat mark. The VTX3D VChamp HD7850 proved to be an excellent solution and capable of driving the latest Direct X 11 titles at 1080p with high image quality settings. If you can stretch your budget above £100, then the HD7850 will deliver a better gaming experience than the HD7790. The cooler on this card has been tweaked with a less aggressive, adaptive fan profile, and is noticeably quieter than the cooler on the HD7790 model. It performs exceptionally well too, peaking at only 55c under gaming load. It is actually one of the highest performing coolers in this sector. Again, there is plenty of overclocking potential from this board, and we managed to push the core to 1,150mhz, which placed it on an almost identical performance level as the more expensive VTX3D HD7870 Tahiti LE. This in itself is very impressive. The only issue with the card right now is the pricing. It is available on Amazon for £154.14 inc vat, which is more expensive than some deals we have seen on custom cooled HD7870's. We hope prices will drop in the coming weeks. Pros: Great cooler design. Quiet plenty of core headroom for overclocking. Cons: A lot of competition in this sector. expensive. the new AMD GPU range is just around the corner. Kitguru says: One of the finest HD7850's we have tested since AMD launched the range.