With AMD’s new HD 7970’s rocking the boat slightly with both price and performance it’s about time we started to see the slow trickle of GPU’s that will fill in the rest of the HD 7000 series video cards. First on the list is the HD 7950, a card that a lot of people have been waiting for because of the high price of the HD 7970. There is no doubt that it’s not going to outperform the HD 7970, but how will this new card compare to the GTX 580? Today I’m not taking a look at a reference card, we have skipped directly to the XFX Double Dissipation Black Edition Overclocked version, similar in design to what we saw with their R7970.
Product Name: XFX R7950 DD Black Edition Overclocked
The XFX DD Black Edition Overclocked came in a box that is exactly the same as the R7970 other than the one digit difference on the cover. Along the bottom you have the HD 7950’s system requirements and a very long list of Key Features on the side of the packaging also. On the other side and the rear you have different breakdowns of the cards important features with photo examples of things like Tessellation Depth, Resident Textures, and increased Physics.
Inside the original box is a second black box.
Inside that box you have the card in the bottom wrapped up in a static protectant bag. On top you have a tray with all of the R7950’s documentation and accessories. You get a kick ass case badge, a crossfire cable, and an HDMI to DVI adapter cable. Most notable in the documentation, and something I pointed out on the R7970, is the Do No Disturb door hanger. This door hanger is cool but on the back you have your cards serial number and a place to write down your XFX support login information in case you ever have a problem with your card.
With AMD’s new HD 7970’s rocking the boat slightly with both price and performance it’s about time we started to see the slow trickle of GPU’s that will fill in the rest of the HD 7000 series video cards. First on the list is the HD 7950, a card that a lot of people have been waiting for because of the high price of the HD 7970. There is no doubt that it’s not going to outperform the HD 7970, but how will this new card compare to the GTX 580? Today I’m not taking a look at a reference card, we have skipped directly to the XFX Double Dissipation Black Edition Overclocked version, similar in design to what we saw with their R7970.
I dont know where the truth lies on this but I expected a reaction from Nvidia to the 7950 launch, most probably an announcement of the upcoming GPU's with a launch schedule, or simply a price cut.
The launch of 7950 is clearly a bigger threat to gtx580 than that of 7970. And this due to the fact it counters it at a lower price point with the added bonuses of 3gb ram and o/c Headroom.
The silence of Nvidia is deafening.
A pesimist would say that the company appears to be in a state of shock and denial.
Avoiding announcements for the products (while competition runs rampant) is clearly a demonstration of the product's immaturity.
Avoiding price cuts can be explained as a desperate effort to deny defeat in the performance sector, since there will be no swift replacement of the current products with new better performing ones. Thus the organization assumes, a "continue as usual stance", in order not to alert the stock markets, which would definitely be alerted if the current product line was devaluated with no obvious release schedule for a new "soon to come" GPU line.
Moreover if the info about Gtx 580 not being produced is true, a price cut could lead to supply problems and make the new product's absence even more visible.
With AMD’s new HD 7970’s rocking the boat slightly with both price and performance it’s about time we started to see the slow trickle of GPU’s that will fill in the rest of the HD 7000 series video cards. First on the list is the HD 7950, a card that a lot of people have been waiting for because of the high price of the HD 7970. There is no doubt that it’s not going to outperform the HD 7970, but how will this new card compare to the GTX 580? Today I’m not taking a look at a reference card, we have skipped directly to the XFX Double Dissipation Black Edition Overclocked version, similar in design to what we saw with their R7970.
