AMD Radeon 7990 reviews thread

[3DVagabond]

Has anyone heard anything on whether any board partners plan on doing custom PCB versions? I wouldn't be surprised if they don't, because it's not going to be a very high volume piece. I think it really needs it though to hopefully deal with the throttling.

 

[Fx1]

Im sorry but i have decided that 3 monitor setups are more pain than what they are worth.

Im really not interested in seeing the walls as i walk around a building on BF3.

I think its time for 4k 27" monitors and do away with AA completely. Give me high PPI and forget this crapfinity setup

 

[cmdrdredd]

Has anyone heard anything on whether any board partners plan on doing custom PCB versions? I wouldn't be surprised if they don't, because it's not going to be a very high volume piece. I think it really needs it though to hopefully deal with the throttling.

I thought someone said there would not be. That could change. Asus might make some limited edition ROG themed card. Who knows.

Im sorry but i have decided that 3 monitor setups are more pain than what they are worth.

Im really not interested in seeing the walls as i walk around a building on BF3.

I think its time for 4k 27" monitors and do away with AA completely. Give me high PPI and forget this crapfinity setup

I still really believe we don't even need higher resolution. Just cards that can push out super high polygon counts and super high resolution textures. Think Pixar level of models. Not necessarily that look but the models having that type of detail to them. That would of course require cards that are much faster than anything we have now.

 

[railven]

So, I found something rather interesting. Someone on my usual forum asked me if I was having negative scaling in CFX with a few games from the Malta TPU review. Since I had two of the games on hand I tested them. I didn't take screen shots for WoW, but I can if I have to. I have >80% scaling in WoW with my CFX Radeons. Here is my post to him in regards to Batman: AC

Okay 5, I did a quick test since I actually have Batman: AC installed at the moment.
The article results:

I didn't see any actual CFX results outside of Malta so I went and found this from their Titan SLI article:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_Titan_SLI/5.html

Which still shows no scaling. I didn't do any tinkering, just ran the benchmark max settings minus PhysX (since I don't have my hybrid running) which means 8xMSAA.
1x7970:

You can see on the bottom right, no load on GPU1 (GPU2 is my primary GPU.)
2x7970:

Numbers in a flash:
Minimum: 30/43 == 1.43% == 43% Scaling
Maximum: 89/165 == 1.85% == 85% Scaling
Average: 70/107 == 1.53% == 53% Scaling
I honestly don't know what that article tested or if they had an issue. Again, I didn't do any tinkering, just set the game to Max settings ran with CFX Disabled, screen shot, turned CFX back on, re-ran bench, screen shot.

I don't know what's different from my rig and the rigs used to test some of these games. I only used that article/site since that is the one the friend asked me about, but I'm going to guess other sites show zero/negative scaling for WoW/Batman: AC.

I'm also using old drivers, I have't updated my drivers yet.

 

[blackened23]

That's an oddity I noticed as well. Batman: AC specifically. Because while I sold my 7970s roughly a year ago, I remember shortly prior to that a BIG patch on steam specifically addressing crossfire scaling. The latest steam versions of Batman: AC DO scale in crossfire, however the initial and pirated releases do not. I'm not saying that this is applicable to TPU, and i'm not trying to throw any conspiracy theories out there: let's face it, the card is a disappointment. But I will say this. The only version of Batman: AC that doesn't scale is the initial release that came out in 2011 and the pirated versions. The latest versions have had various patches to address both crossfire and SLI, and having last used 7970 crossfire about a year ago - I do remember Batman: AC getting a patch on steam that significantly increased crossfire scaling. It should scale. If anyone is using a version that does not scale in crossfire, the questions are best redirected to them as to why. So why doesn't TPU's Batman: AC scale in crossfire? Best ask them. Why's this happening to TPU? Have they been running steam in offline mode for 2 years? Is there any specific reason they're running an unpatched version of Batman: AC? I don't know.

 

[Olikan]

But I will say this. The only version of Batman: AC that doesn't scale is the initial release that came out in 2011. That is the version being pirated. The latest versions have had various patches to address both crossfire and SLI, and having last used 7970 crossfire about a year ago - I do remember Batman: AC getting a patch on steam that significantly increased crossfire scaling. It should scale. If anyone is using a version that does not scale in crossfire, the questions are best redirected to them as to why. So why doesn't TPU's Batman: AC scale in crossfire? Best ask them. Why's this happening to TPU? Have they been running steam in offline mode for 2 years? Is there any specific reason they're running an unpatched version of Batman: AC? I don't know.

OMG!!!

 

[blackened23]

OMG!!!

Whoa, calm down there. There is no implication behind that, and if that was the interpretation, it wasn't intentional. Perhaps my post was poorly worded. Anyway, TPU is a reputable site and I enjoy their reviews, I'm just not sure why their version isn't scaling. No implications. Keep in mind that batman: AC, because it is not a steamworks game, can be bought separately and because of this can probably be played without being patched. If that applies to TPU, I don't know - hence my statement, ask them.

We're sitting here speculating as to why there was no scaling when users get a lot of scaling. What's the answer? I don't know. Again: ask them

This DOES NOT change the fact that the card is a complete disappointment IMO.

 

[Silverforce11]

Why would a review site as reputable as TPU not update their games with the latest patches when the entire PC gaming industry revolves around patches to fix bugs and other issues over time?? It's just bizzare for you to claim this, nobody running such a big review site would be THAT stupid.

 

[blackened23]

Why would a review site as reputable as TPU not update their games with the latest patches when the entire PC gaming industry revolves around patches to fix bugs and other issues over time?? It's just bizzare for you to claim this, nobody running such a big review site would be THAT stupid.

I didn't claim anything except remembering major patches to address crossfire scaling a year ago. You can see this from other websites with proper scaling in AC, and other websites not having scaling. Why doesn't it for TPU? I don't know. No implications. For the millionth time, ask them why theirs doesn't scale. I'm not saying they didn't patch, and FYI non-steamworks games DO NOT auto patch. It is also GFWL which really sucks, which means that Batman: AC does not require any sort of client and therefore will never auto update. You also have to deal with the BS that is GFWL, but that's a different topic. I could go on for days as to why GFWL is utter garbage. Anyway, that's why I don't like games that aren't steamworks, fortunately Games for windows live is dying and steamworks is the preferred DRM method for MOST publishers. Thank goodness for that, GFWL and GTA IV led me to more headaches than i've ever had in my PC gaming history. But i'll stop about GFWL there. Let's just say that GFWL is junk.

I really don't care and won't talk about it anymore, because the 7990 in my eyes is junk compared to the 690 or Titan. So i'm not sure why i'm even getting caught up in this mini debate, probably my fault for daring to mention anything. Anyway, who cares. If you do care, ask them. In the meantime, even if Batman: AC did scale it changes nothing. AMD didn't fix the crossfire issues, and why pay the same amount when you can get a better experience from a 690 or 680 SLI? Only the most overzealous loyalist would do that.

 

[ICDP]

I really don't care and won't talk about it anymore, because the 7990 in my eyes is junk compared to the 690 or Titan. So i'm not sure why i'm even getting caught up in this mini debate, probably my fault for daring to mention anything. Anyway, who cares. If you do care, ask them. In the meantime, even if Batman: AC did scale it changes nothing. AMD didn't fix the crossfire issues, and why pay the same amount when you can get a better experience from a 690 or 680 SLI? Only the most overzealous loyalist would do that.

Excellent post.

Late
Overpriced
Broken drivers
Uses more power

Did I miss anything?

 

[Face2Face]

Excellent post.

Late
Overpriced
Broken drivers
Uses more power

Did I miss anything?

Yes you did!!!



This guy has an abnormal amount of wrist hair....

 

[railven]

My post wasn't about redeeming the atrocity that is HD 7990, it was more so why are other reviews (including AT) showing no scaling in Batman: AC.

I can get scaling in Batman AC and WoW. Makes me wonder what is different with my rig versus the test rigs. Did I stumble across magical HD 7970s? If so, hellllll yeaaaahhhh!

 

[Lonyo]

People already knew all this though, so it's not even news. All of the things which apply to the HD7990 "Official" applied to the unofficial HD7990s which have been around for ages.

It's a big "meh" because it's just an official version of things that already exist, so basically everything about it was already known, and if you wanted one you would/could have already bought one.

 

[Silverforce11]

Excellent post.

Late
Overpriced
Broken drivers
Uses more power

Did I miss anything?

We fully agreed on this point many posts ago, i hardly see anyone defending the 7990 as a good product. In fact, at its current price, its outright terrible.

Then again, both the 690 and Titan is obscenely overpriced. It just so happens the 7990 is worse. heh

 

[Ibra]

Yes you did!!!



This guy has an abnormal amount of wrist hair....

He's using TressFX. :biggrin:

 

[VulgarDisplay]

The question is, does this card become a better value than the 690 and the Titan if the upcoming drivers do in fact fix crossfire? The PC per follow up article with the beta driver showed the 7990 having higher perceived framerates than titan and gtx690 with the crossfire fix running?

How much faster does it need to be to justify the added power consumption? (I'd still prefer 2x79xx's)

 

[railven]

The question is, does this card become a better value than the 690 and the Titan if the upcoming drivers do in fact fix crossfire? The PC per follow up article with the beta driver showed the 7990 having higher perceived framerates than titan and gtx690 with the crossfire fix running?

Absolutely not. This card is late, and is coming in on a bad reputation. There is nothing redeeming at a $1,000 price tag. Nvidia has two better products at that point and AMD should just accept to trying to use price as a strong point.

As pro Radeon as I am, at a $1,000 I would never recommend this card. At <$850. I don't even get why they jacked the price so far out of whack when compared to HD 6990.

 

[cbrunny]

If you have a 7990 and a 7970, can you crossfire them for a three-way?

 

[Will Robinson]

The question is, does this card become a better value than the 690 and the Titan if the upcoming drivers do in fact fix crossfire? The PC per follow up article with the beta driver showed the 7990 having higher perceived framerates than titan and gtx690 with the crossfire fix running?

How much faster does it need to be to justify the added power consumption? (I'd still prefer 2x79xx's)

Shhh..that's not what they want to hear....

 

[blackened23]

Shhh..that's not what they want to hear....

The only problem with your assertion is that very few buyers will purchase something based on promised future potential. They want immediate benefits. Especially for something costing 1000$.

AMD should have delivered these driver updates WITH the product, and they didn't. That makes the card a complete disappointment IMO. You can argue that you can get around any stutter with third party programs and frame limiters, and I wouldn't disagree - this is what I had to do way back when I used xfire. But, users shouldn't be forced to do that for an ideal experience. It should work out of the box with minimal hassle. Not with endless reboots and the installation of additional third party programs. And then there's the price tag, which I believe is completely stupid.

All in all, it's a year late, with borderline drivers, and a plethora of other issues making it worse than the 690. Yet it's the same price? Yeah. Obvious conclusion goes here.

 

[wand3r3r]

The only problem with your assertion is that very few buyers will purchase something based on promised future potential. They want immediate benefits. Especially for something costing 1000$.

AMD should have delivered these driver updates WITH the product, and they didn't. That makes the card a complete disappointment IMO.

AFAIK it hasn't even shipped. I wonder what it will ship with. (13.5? 13.5b2?)

 

[Olikan]

This guy has an abnormal amount of wrist hair....

i have more :ninja:

 

[BallaTheFeared]

I dunno, 7990 for $1000 or 7950 reference quad fire for $1080, humm hummm hummm :hmm:

 

[VulgarDisplay]

I dunno, 7990 for $1000 or 7950 reference quad fire for $1080, humm hummm hummm :hmm:

At least in the comparison I made I was asking when it becomes a better value than Titan and the gtx690. For anyone with the space, 3x7950's would be the far better choice since 4 cards don't scale that well.

 

[ICDP]

I dunno, 7990 for $1000 or 7950 reference quad fire for $1080, humm hummm hummm :hmm:

The problem with this is the amount of heat build up with quadfire would be far higher and far harder to manage. The performance would be much greater though.

If AMD had released this at $800 or even $850 it would have given GTX690 a much better fight. Right now AMD are frankly taking the piss with the pricing because they obviously feel it is the equal of GTX690 and it isn't. If the prototype drivers were not ready for public consumption then 7790 should have been kept under wraps.