Radeon HD 7950 video card: testing, review and reviews

AMD is one of the leaders in the world video card market. This brand produces adapters in a variety of price segments. Among the most famous premium models of video cards from AMD is the device Radeon HD 7950. It belongs to the category of uniprocessor solutions, however, it is often considered as quite high-performance even in the background of many dual-processor devices. Due to what resources can the HD 7950 withstand competition in its segment?

Basic information about the device

The AMD Radeon HD 7950 video card is a device equipped with a Tahiti graphics processor, which consists of 4.31 billion transistors and is manufactured within the 28 nm process technology. There are 28 computational units in the structure of the graphic adapter. In each of them - 4 vector components, and in them, in turn, 16 shaders. It can be calculated that the graphics core has 1792 processors. The frequency of the main chip installed on the Radeon HD 7950 is 800 MHz. The peak processor performance is 2.87 TFlops. In this graphic adapter there are 8 blocks of rasterization, which allows the device to perform 32 raster operations per 1 cycle. They are connected to 6 controllers of 64-bit type. The RAM of the video card Radeon HD 7950 is 3GB, the memory modules operate at a frequency of 1250 MHz. The adapter RAM bus is 384-bit.

Tessellation

We will study how productive the device is in the part of tessellation. It can be noted that for its measurement it is optimal to use benchmarks such as HAWX 2, in which, in particular, there is an option to disable the function in question - beyond correlation with other video card performance settings. The most objective assessment of the speed of the adapter with tessellation enabled can probably be obtained by comparing the corresponding indicator in the tests with the results shown by competing solutions, primarily from NVIDIA. As a result of testing the device, the Radeon HD 7950 showed a performance with tessellation enabled about 82% higher than when the function was deactivated. The above indicator is higher than when testing the performance of competing cards - from NVIDIA, and in 2 modes - with enabled and disabled tessellation.

Sound

It can be noted that AMD is considered the first brand to introduce streaming sound transmission in High Definition Audit technology, in particular, in such formats as Dolby True HD and DTS-HD Master Audio. The most important thing is that the program used to play multimedia files ensure the conversion of sound from compressed format to linear, and also could transmit a signal to the device on which the melody is played, via the HDMI interface. Among the most notable features of the AMD Radeon HD 7950 in terms of sound is the ability to simultaneously play different audio streams.

Overclocking

The graphic adapter in question can be easily overclocked. True, the compatibility of devices manufactured by different brands with this option may vary. So, the main companies supplying the graphics card to the market are Sapphire, ASUS, Gigabyte, XFX, Powercolor. Radeon HD 7950, which has optimal compatibility with overclocking, according to many IT experts, produces the brand XFX. This is largely due to the fact that the device in this version is equipped with a special cooling system.

So, instead of one fan placed on the edge of the video card, as in other models, in the device under consideration, 2 coolers are used. They form cross-over streams directly above the graphics processor, while the aluminum radiator removes heat. Air is drawn from the device through the back panel. A significant amount of heated air is dissipated within the computer enclosure. As some IT specialists note, as well as, in fact, the brand manufacturer of this modification of the HD Radeon 7950 video card, this cooling system has a much lower noise level than the one installed in the standard version of the graphics adapter.

It can be noted that the device from XFX also has other characteristics in terms of performance. The core of the graphics processor installed in this modification of the card functions at 900 MHz, memory modules at 1375 MHz. The optimal utility for overclocking graphics cards is AMD Overdrive. It is equally optimal, in principle, for any version of the device - for example, Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 or, for example, a device from ASUS. As for the modification of the video card from XFX, it can be overclocked on the condition that it will remain stable, up to about 1025 MHz in the graphics core part and 1450 in the RAM modules part.

As the tests carried out by IT specialists show, the overclocked device works significantly faster than even the flagship graphics adapter in the same line - the Radeon HD 7970. The temperature of the device in full load mode is about 75 degrees. The noise level, issued by the video card from XFX, is about 37.3 dB.

Optimum PC configuration

The Radeon HD 7950 will be able to show optimal performance only if the computer is equipped with hardware components with the required speed level. The recommended PC configuration that meets this criterion should include:

- processor level Intel Core i7, running at a clock frequency of about 4 GHz, has a 3-level cache in the amount of 15 MB and supports the technology of Hyper-Threading;

- motherboard level Gigabyte X79-UD5, equipped with a chipset X79 Express, and also having a BIOS in version F8;

- Modules of RAM of type DDR3-1600 in volume of about 16 GB;

- a hard drive using SATA technology, which provides data exchange at speeds of about 6 Gbit / s.

The optimal operating system for the noted PC configuration is Windows 7 in the 64-bit version. The platform, built on the basis of the above-mentioned hardware components, is capable of providing high performance of the video card in almost any modification, whether it is an ASUS Radeon HD 7950 graphics adapter, or, for example, a Gigabyte device.

Video card performance in tests

We now study the results of testing the device in question. Among the most common programs for measuring the speed of video cards - 3DMark 11. As a result of testing with this software, the video card, in particular, outstripped the competing solution from NVIDIA - the graphics adapter GeForce GTX 580. However, it is inferior to the dual-processor device Radeon HD 6990.

In the Sandra 2012 test, you can, in particular, measure the performance of video cards in the mode of implementing 32-bit floating-point calculations and 64-bit - with double precision. As part of the corresponding testing, the Radeon HD 7950 is far ahead of the competing solution from NVIDIA - the GTX 580 graphics adapter, but is inferior to the leading model of its line, as well as the dual-processor device HD 6990.

Another popular test in this program involves measuring the bandwidth of the data link between the GPU and the RAM modules. The HD 7950 graphics card is quite predictably inferior to dual-processor solutions in this indicator.

Another popular test in the Sandra program involves measuring the data rate between the GPU and the PCI-E interface. It is the leader in the cards that support the higher-speed standard - PCI Express in version 3.0. These include, in particular, the graphics adapters of the line, to which the Radeon HD 7950 belongs. The corresponding devices can transmit data within the specified communications at speeds of 9 GB / s. In turn, the outdated PCI interfaces operate at speeds of about 6 GB / s.

In MediaEspresso tests, you can visually examine the quality of acceleration in video adapters. As noted by IT specialists, in some cases, the corresponding software provides not very optimal compatibility with graphics adapters from AMD. So, it may be necessary to disable some important functions of the device. Another aspect to which it is useful to pay attention: at the time of release of the HD 7950 graphics card, AMD did not implement full support for hardware acceleration within the framework of Video Codec Engine technology. In this regard, the performance of the device during testing in the program under consideration is expressed in modest terms.

In turn, in OpenCL mode, the performance of the HD 7950 graphics adapter is fixed at a very high level. So, within the limits of tests in the program LuxMark the performance of video cards is measured in the number of samples for 1 second. According to these indicators, the graphic adapter in question looks very competitive.

Many IT professionals prefer to measure the performance of "hardware" not in games and synthetic tests, but in real applications. So, for example, to estimate the speed of the device in a similar way, you can use the vReveal program, which belongs to the category of video editors. By means of this software it is possible to find out how the function of hardware acceleration of the Radeon HD 7950 video card affects the efficiency of execution of algorithms for processing the video stream.

Some IT professionals, for example, tried to measure the performance of the device through the playback of a high-resolution movie and at the same time applying the quality optimization function supported by vReveal. As the tests showed, the HD 7950 graphics adapter successfully coped with the task, as well as its direct competitors and the solutions close to the functionality and capabilities of the AMD brand. However, the performance of the tested devices turned out to be different in the aspect of the CPU load. It turned out that graphics adapters from AMD require the use of less computing power of the main PC chip than in the case of using competing solutions from NVIDIA.

Video card performance in games

In the game Battlefield 3, the Radeon HD 7950 also works faster than the GTX 580 from NVIDIA, and in different resolutions. In the mode without anti-aliasing in this game, as well as in testing the performance of graphics adapters in the 3DMark 11 program, the device HD 6990 is in the lead. But if the corresponding option is activated, the GeForce GTX 590 from NVIDIA shows a higher speed.

In the game Crysis 2, the device in question does not show the most outstanding results. In particular, it is inferior to the previous model - the HD 6950 graphics adapter. Experts explain this by the fact that in the architecture of the devices of the newer lineup, which includes the AMD Radeon HD 7950, there are technologies that do not have the best compatibility with the DirectX 9 standard.

In the game Skyrim graphics adapter from AMD - among the leaders. In particular, it is ahead of the competing solution from NVIDIA. In turn, these devices change places in DiRT 3, despite the fact that the development of the game within the framework of the AMD Gaming Evolved project involves the brand manufacturer of video cards Radeon. A noticeable increase in the speed of the HD 7950 device in the game Radeon is observed with respect to the previous model - HD 6950. However, the flagship device within the line to which the video card belongs, wins in performance when tested in the game DiRT 3.

Verifying the speed of graphics adapters in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm shows that the device HD 7950 lags behind the competing solution produced by NVIDIA. In the game Metro 2033, the performance of the device is at a level higher than the one that is fixed when testing the GTX 580, but lower than that of the older model of the line. At the same time, as noted by IT specialists, the comfort of the game process when using the HD 7950 is provided at a sufficient level even at the highest screen resolution and image detail.

Price list

How much does the Radeon HD 7950 graphics card cost? The price of the device now largely depends on the particular vendor. Due to the fact that the graphics adapter in question was removed from production in 2013, it is difficult to find it on the shelves of modern retail chains. Most likely, you will have to buy it on ads or on an online auction. If the appropriate catalogs manage to find the Radeon HD 7950, the price of the device will be about 11 thousand rubles. You may also have to pay for shipping. Another aspect of the purchase of the AMD Radeon HD 7950: the price of the device will largely depend on the dollar exchange rate. Practically guaranteed - in cases where the goods are purchased in foreign online stores. However, the spread between different modifications of the video card - Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950 or, for example, the version of the device from ASUS, will be small.

Reviews

We will now examine the opinions of users of the graphics adapter under consideration based on the reviews found on thematic portals. These can be classified into the following main categories:

- opinions concerning the device's performance in normal mode;

- reviews about the results of overclocking the video card ;

- reviews reflecting the evaluation of the graphics adapter in terms of the stability of its work.

Let's study them in more detail.

Work devaysa in normal mode: reviews

In reviews that reflect the performance of the video card in normal mode, that is, without overclocking, users note the ability of the graphics adapter to display a quality picture on the screen in different modes and in a wide range of resolution settings. Radeon video card, thus, provides equally high comfort of work, regardless of the characteristics of the monitor used or system parameters.

Overclocking a video card: reviews

The reviews reflecting the evaluation of graphics adapter performance in overclocking mode are also quite positive. Users, in principle, do not call the device noisy, although much in this case depends on its specific modification. The main thing when overclocking a video card, as amateurs of experiments in the corresponding field note, is to select settings in which the graphics adapter works stably. Actually, this aspect of functioning is reflected in a separate category of reviews.

Reviews about the stability of the device

Indeed, it happens that even the most powerful video card hangs, processes the picture with distortions, causes malfunctions in the operating system. For the graphic adapter Radeon HD 7950, according to users and IT specialists, such features of the work are not peculiar. The video card functions stably, without provoking system failures. It is important, of course, that the latest drivers for the device are installed in the OS. The availability of the corresponding software is one of the main conditions for ensuring the stability of any device. Especially - a video card, which is one of the key hardware components that determine the performance of a PC.