Last Look at The Legendary HD 7970 - 20 Games Tested!

[@beigebox1990]

The card that went from being slower than the GTX 680 at launch, to competing with the GTX 780 in some games years later.

[@RandomGaminginHD]

Absolutely. Really got better with updates

[@CHAOSDixieMan]

yup, some things are aging like fine wine, and other things like the Kepler architecture were aged like milk

[@b0ne91]

It beats the GTX 780 in many. Especially since Kepler doesn't really run anything but DX11 well.

[@Eppopower]

@@RandomGaminginHD Could flashing it with an R9 280x BIOS be helpful in a potential longer (supported) life?

[@ItsPikablu]

AMD FineWine 👌

[@propjoe1060]

Have loved your content this year again, Steve. Here's to lots more in 2023!

[@RandomGaminginHD]

Happy new year!

[@brokeandtired]

@@RandomGaminginHD would be cool to see how the GTX1070 is holding up in gaming

[@mr.savage778]

The legend returns!

[@RandomGaminginHD]

Me or the card 😂😉

[@rice214]

@@RandomGaminginHD You should collab with iceberg tech

[@barrysmith442]

@@RandomGaminginHD Look at that beauty,that power and charm,the card isn't too bad either lol😃

[@valles383]

@@RandomGaminginHD he is probably talking about the card lol

[@hunterfabio]

My first actual GPU was a R9 280X and I will never forget the HD7800 and R9 200 series...they still perform fantastic today, an HD7870 can still outperform a 1050 Ti in some games, although might not seem like a huge achievement, having in mind it's double the 1050 Tis age and can be found for 1/4 of the price, it's worth considering.

[@arenzricodexd4409]

1050ti and hd 7870 probably around the same tier of performance. 1050Ti is improvement in this performance segment in terms of power efficiency. 7870 is 28nm with original MSRP of $350. 1050Ti is 16nm with original MSRP of $150.

[@daytimerocker3808]

the power consumption is the killer

[@hunterfabio]

@arenzricodexd4409 MSRP is one thing and second hand prices is another. The power consumption is not such a deal breaker...a good 350w with a 8+6pin can handle the HD7870 (and even more power hungry gpus)

[@Nick_R_]

The 7870xt is the steal. It was really a 7930, but the marketeers thought it would ruin the 7950 sales, so they downgraded the label.

[@arenzricodexd4409]

@@Nick_R_ 7870 was using pitcairn. The only way 7930 can exist is using further cut down tahiti chip. For marketing reason it will be named as 7890 if they do exist.

[@Dan460x]

Besides you reviewing lots and lots of older cards, the coolest progression to see over the years was you getting better and better at games as well :D I had a 6770 back in the days and it did hold up really well, I used a really bizarre 1280x1024 5:4 resolution at the time though so I guess that gave it way better chances.

[@RandomGaminginHD]

Haha thank you, I had the 6670 myself for a while, and a 5670 before that. Worlds better than my a4 3300 lol

[@Dan460x]

@@RandomGaminginHD My very first GPU was a Nvidia FX 5500 back when AGP was still a thing and god it was awful, but I somehow managed. But back when I was a kid I had no concept of frame rates, I just played games and was happy they worked. It was only when I got to a friends place where they had a way better PC than mine at the time that I saw what 60FPS really was and that kinda got me into PC building and upgrading at the age of 11. Now I got a PC I always dreamt of as a kid, but with it being able to run everything at max settings at ridiculous frame rates and resolutions takes out the adversity out of it. No fight for a real sweet spot when you can just crank everything and it just works.

[@SuPerbMusiCFan]

@@Dan460x 1280x1024 is not a bizarre resolution. It was the de facto higher end norm for many years.

[@rattlehead999]

Your 5:4 resolution was standard for over a decade

[@jiripazour9551]

1280x1024 is considered 4:3 though and wasn't that bizarre

[@gabenewelltheprotector3548]

Damn I remember drooling over this card with my friends when this first dropped when I was in 6th grade. Crazy to see how much time past. Glad it still holds up somewhat for how it long its been.

[@mrhappy8966]

I was 19 at the time just got my first car and had a shit pc and same I was drooling over everything at that time in my life, what I didn't realize until she got naked so was the downstairs neighbor girl when her bf was at work 🤣🤣

[@vyrde.]

@@mrhappy8966 huh??

[@mrhappy8966]

@@vyrde. Read it again take your time...

[@uncleurda8101]

@@mrhappy8966 Not only is that a difficult read as you have the punctuation of a second grader, the subject matter itself is quite odd and deserving of a “huh?”

[@doomkid02]

@@uncleurda8101 agree, it hurt my brain trying to read and understand that.

[@chexmixkitty]

Love these old card reviews! Keep it up!

[@RandomGaminginHD]

Thanks! Will do!

[@Brother_Breadly]

I had an XFX 7950 that was an excellent card 8 or 9 years ago as an older teenager. I ran a very heavy overclock on it to the point of stock 7970 performance and it ran my games beautifully. I also mined Bitcoin with it for extra money and ran it at 100+ degrees in the summer but it never let me down the whole time I used it and was a great GPU! It's still up in my closet as a backup card actually, haha. Neat to see how a similar card does with modern games!

[@connivingkhajiit]

Same here, except mine was a Sapphire. Ran it with a core clock boosted up to 1200 [MHz] until I recently upgraded to an RX 580 8GB just last month. The card was powerful, but the 3GB really held it back. Won't be getting rid of it though!

[@rare6499]

I’ve still got a pair of these, Matrix platinums. Can’t sell them. They look so good. Only one is boxed which is a shame but you can’t have it all. Amazing how well this card has stood the test of time.

[@Chuck90120]

It's been about 10 years since the purchase of my honest ASUS HD 7970 Direct CU II, it was a GPU thanks to which I launched all the available then titles in maximum detail. Man what a beast of card was that.

[@raven4k998]

at least it has proper cooling unlike the gtx 480

[@daveseemerollin6357]

That was my first GPU! I got it for £220 back in 2013 to go along with my Fx 6300, bargain! The cooler is beefy

[@thunderbird1100]

I had a 4770k and 7950 boost system that served me well at 1080p from summer 2013 when it was built up until summer 2019 when Ryzen 3000 came out and the radeon 5700xt which I went with a 3600/5700xt combo then and been using since. It was a nice 1080p system right up until then when more modern games would be dropping below 60fps which was my cue I needed a better system. The 3 GB of VRAM also became somewhat a limiting factor in some games for higher settings as well in 2018/2019. Really liked that 4770k and Radeon 7950 boost combo though.

[@jamescurry3641]

I had an i5 3570k that i only recently upgraded from paired with this gpu. It really was a brilliant card.

[@Beisepimp]

I like this new idea of benchmarking GPU's/CPU's with more games! 🙂

[@RandomGaminginHD]

Thanks I’ll stick with it ;)

[@tech-bore8839]

I must say, it's really appreciated that you continue to review old hardware and seek out workarounds to share with viewers. You're honestly my go to channel at this point since LowSpecGamer stopped doing this type of content.

[@TheSpotify95]

Not bad - like how you're testing more games so we get a more varied look as to how the card runs - with older cards like these, I personally find it good to see how they play the games that were around its release, as well as more modern titles. This one's probably better for older games, unless you want to use 720p low all the time. Hope you had a good Christmas and may you have good fortunes for 2023.

[@ToptanFiyatinaPerakendeSatis]

i love to test gaes too

[@lickmyfeetson]

Test more gaes plz

[@themightylordofgoblins6880]

Oh god Oh dear god He likes gays

[@Celatra]

@@themightylordofgoblins6880 that's pretty gae

[@TheSpotify95]

Thanks everyone for commenting on my awful spelling and typing skills :D all fixed now

[@thebluephoenix7797]

god that was such an emotional ride. that was the first GPU i ever had. thanks for the ride down memory lane on its performance. GGs and see you next year

[@RuruFIN]

I have the non-Platinum version which I got in its original box, it was surprisingly good even in last year with modified modified drivers on my 2nd rig. Upgraded it to 290X Matrix Platinum :D

[@budiisnadi]

It's modified twice?

[@freddiejohnson6137]

If you purchased one of these at launch and still only gamed at 1080p which based on Steam's statistics most people do then this card would have still been viable for the most part until 2019/20. So I would say 7 or 8 years is a great investment.

[@chefkennedy1]

Had a friend with this card. I had a gigabyte 7950 myself, got a second one in 2015, and crossfired, with limited results. Went the same route with 2x rx 570's. Now I have a 3090.

[@pRick7734]

I bought this card back in the day just to play Battlefield 3, what an absolute blast it was!

[@RandomGaminginHD]

What a great game too!

[@jesusrv2009]

The best battlefield I'd say

[@trancersenergy]

Really like the new format. production value seems higher than ever. Well done! Have been enjoying all your content throughout the year. All the best for 2023!

[@rhysm.5915]

I love your videos, man. I'm not even in the market for older hardware, but I still eat this stuff up.

[@Chill_Mode_JD]

Thank you for taking us on all of your pc related shenanigans this year Steve! Stay awesome in 2023

[@alinzelnan]

I like the addition of the music, gives your videos an even more relaxed vibe. Happy New Year!

[@Kykof]

I love these early 2010's cards, they just seem very interesting to me, compared to the new stuff. Great video Steve, I really enjoyed it, hope you have a great New Year!!

[@Jabawakee411]

I had the ghz edition of this card from 2013 to 2022. I recently upgraded to a 3070 I got from a miner for a really good price. I love my 3070 but the 7970 will always have a soft spot in my heart. The card just never wanted to give up. I think my next upgrade I will go back to amd.

[@Loundsify]

Hopefully a special edition 7970 XTXXX

[@Jabawakee411]

@@Loundsify more x's mean more performance

[@JinghisKhan]

Beautiful video and so informative too! Results like this are a good argument for getting a mid-to-high tier model every six to eight years rather than having to get a low tier card and needing to replace it more frequently.

[@jamescurry3641]

I had one for years and only upgraded because it died! To be fair i got my moneys worth out of it

[@JinghisKhan]

@@jamescurry3641 I hear that. My friend got herself a 1070 when it came out and she's still using it to this day happily playing Modern Warfare 2 at 1440p medium settings with FSR on Quality.

[@jamescurry3641]

@@JinghisKhan I prefer to buy mid range cards and replace them every 3 to 4 years

[@nouryy]

Your editing is really improving, Steve. Looking forward to whatever you do next!

[@wolfisbad8965]

wow man that intro production you're getting better and better

[@Matthew_Lang]

This is why I love watching your videos (And Dawid's videos for that matter). You show any potential older hardware still has in newer games. Personally, It was some time in 2018 that I finally upgraded from my old AM3 platform built in 2008. My GPU was only a 256mb AMD Radeon 4770HD, and could barely run anything other than surfing the web. I probably could have saved myself some money by just getting a 1080Ti, and giving that system a few more years before upgrading. But, I'm on an AMD 5900X CPU, and XFX Radeon 5700 (non XT) currently. So as long as I do not have any issues with this current setup, I should get another 10+ years out of this setup. Keep up the good work! Happy Holidays! Cheers!

[@wetdog3675]

5700 won't last more than 2 years with all the new games with tr coming out, you should def replace it for 50 series Nvidia when they release it imo,cuz 2025-2026 is going to have many new AAA titles

[@forzahorizon5pulse11]

This was an awesome card back in the day! Thanks for reminding me of this old beast and the good memories i had with it. Cheers Steve!

[@RandomGaminginHD]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@Rosiaczek]

Had exactly this version of this card for a while. Sadly it started to show artifacts and lost performance so i had to get something better, loved it for the looks and for its quality.

[@WiliGameplay]

Greetings from Brazil! Huge fan of your channel, been follwing a long time

[@RandomGaminginHD]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@MarlonEilert]

I still have with me a sapphire r9 280x that died but served me very well for many years. I'll keep it as a souvenir. Now I have an RX 6700 XT Red Devil and it is amazing, it will serve me very well for a long time too. Love your videos man!

[@RandomGaminginHD]

Nice upgrade :)

[@SmokeMastaP]

There was an 6GB version of the 7970. (and from the 280X aka 7970 GHz) Good to see that this card still performs very well. I had one 7970GHz in the past.

[@eddiep123123]

my first GPU was a 7950, its incredible how well they aged.

[@NikolasKarampelas]

Those GPUs are beasts. I had till the summer of 2020 my 7850 (clocked to 7870 levels) and I even managed to play doom with vulkan at medium. I have it in a system now waiting to be reused in my new HTPC for more light gaming when my main system is not available.

[@jamescurry3641]

I had a 7970 for years until it died. It was an amazing card!

[@Zarrx]

a long time back I got a 7770 which for all intensive purposes was my first real GPU and was such a magical experience for me at the time. Can't believe the 7970 performance in 2022, seriously impressive.

[@zangl2955]

All intents and purposes

[@Zarrx]

@@zangl2955 my rickyisms are showing

[@Royameadow]

Something tells me that there were meant to be special Graphical Cues and Transitions in this program, when going from each Category/Major Chapter, hence the presence of the music in between those segments; this delivers to me the impression that this is an element to your production formula that you intend to invest more upon as you go further through the upcoming year and Season 0II of the channel, there is a lot of potential with where this can all go in the times to come and wishfully we'll start to see those uplifts in presentation the further we progress through this decade, the ambition to expand on your reviews and programming is definitely showing and it'll be nice to see how it all develops. (:

[@Hot-Blast]

Love the higher production quailty mate

[@CorrichetiLagga]

Love the music in the background and you're voice is so relaxing

[@RandomGaminginHD]

Thanks :)

[@Josue31627]

Reminds me of el kryzzp! His testing concept is great, seeing it with your own style is very nice and look forward to seeing more. I hope this isn't a true final look though. I think if DX11 still becomes used the HD 7970 can still manage especially since it outcompetes the GTX 780 TI (its rival) in most contemporary titles from what I'm seeing.

[@bamcorpgaming5954]

Just imagine if you bought one of these brand new they first dropped. You definitely got your money's worth after all these years. Bravo.

[@RandomGaminginHD]

Yeah definitely

[@bryanbrewer4272]

I still break out my 7990 once in awhile, great era in cards.

[@Philosophe27]

Never thought I would see this card get reviewed. I bought this GPU in a desktop that was AMD themed back in 2016. Never thought I would see it get reviewed years later.

[@RetroGamingX1]

The performance obtained in large part is thanks to the processor, saludos!

[@POKEMANZZ3]

glad to see these older AMD cards holding on well, i miss using my R9 390 sometimes..

[@ocudagledam]

When I got my HD 7950 3GB (a very similar, roughly 20% slower card from the same generation), it had already been in the market for 3 years. Nevertheless, I kept it for 4 years and in that time, I played pretty much everything I wanted at 1080p and highest settings (minus AA where I needed more performance). It did start to show its age during the last year I had it, so I took advantage of a crypto crash that happened at the time to upgrade to an RX 580 8GB, but that was a very "grateful" card.

[@Tarukeys]

I still have one of these 7970 ROG Matrix Platinum in my storage. It was one hell of a card, This thing was huge compared to other cards back then and still is for a lot of current models. I never buy top end cards but someone sold it to me 1 year after it came out for 300$ CAD, I could not say no. It was a huge boost over the GTX 570 I had before.

[@NerdsoftheRealm]

The background music is a beautiful touch to your videos. I want you to keep them 💕

[@scubasausage]

The 7970/R9 280X was a fantastic card. It was the last time that AMD beat Nvidia at the top end with the Ghz edition if you ask me.

[@Hoytehablode]

I am 3 minutes and 34 seconds in and all the games are in First Person hehehehe, I hope we get more variety :P

[@georgalisakhs726]

the music is such a nice adittion, good work bro, as always

[@hofas69]

My sad HD7870 died, gives me flashbacks when they ended support and my gpu started to give up since then

[@tyrkukulkan]

Still got one of these, ASUS ROG Matrix HD 7970 Platinum (GHz Edition), in an HTPC with an FX-8350. Really surprised by what it can still run at 1080p. Same GPU as the 280X. Absolutely stonking card. Great buy in 2012 if someone had kept it 10 years. Even now it wouldn't necessarily need replacing.

[@RandomGaminginHD]

Yeah will still be great for someone on a tight budget :)

[@tetralog4180]

I really liked the subtle music, keep up the great work!

[@RandomGaminginHD]

Thanks, thought I’d try something different

[@jamesgarrett3000]

good ol' 7970/280x. love the look of these things!

[@L4ftyOne]

rx 480 too

[@Kraven83]

Happy new year to you, too!

[@TheDudeWithNoName]

Happy new year Steve and keep this up, i like seeing more games than the regular bunch you usually benchmark, i know it's about them being demanding and all but a change once in a while would be cool, anyways thanks for the cool updates and here's to many more in 2023.

[@felixspyrou]

Eishhhhhhh even has music now !!! That's a nice addon :D Happy New Year m8 !

[@solocamo3654]

This is the pinnacle of fine wine. Both this and the 290X are two of the greatest AMD's gpu's of all time. Actually still have my XFX 7970Ghz edition on my shelf as I refused to sell it, same with my Sapphire 290X. Both served me well and more than paid for themselves long term.

[@MoominBoomin]

Been subbed for almost 3 years now, here’s to another year of amazing content 🍺

[@tenpaylok]

Yooo 1440p60! The quality of your videos is constantly improving, live it!

[@maximuscesar]

I loved this card so much. It together with the 8350 were my dream parts and when I actually got them I had my best PC gaming moments ever (so far at least).

[@uglybob7505]

What a legend this card was when it first came out, traded punches with its nVidia counterpart. Great to see it still holding its own with some modern(ish) games 🙂

[@Orcawhale1]

What are you talking about? The HD7970 was a complete mess with micro stuttering problems, and performance that wasn't all that great. So AMD had to make a complete rework of the drivers(Omega drivers) and launch the GHZ edition, along with bundling it with 3 games.

[@uglybob7505]

@@Orcawhale1 Our recollections of this card must differ then cos I remember this one being a stunning card. Like every new card the drivers are always jittery but when I was fortunate to have one back in the day it was a great performer and I regret the day I sold it on. My opinion of course, appreciate others have different ones.

[@Orcawhale1]

@@uglybob7505 When did you get yours and what model?

[@uglybob7505]

@@Orcawhale1 I had the Sapphire Dual X model (2 fans). Got it late 2012.

[@Noah_1801]

@@uglybob7505 Still running that model right now, plays older games phenomenally. Sadly, mine has nasty coil whine. The power draw also is a topic of discussion now as the prices are going up.

[@djukic921]

Happy new year to you and yours too my friend!

[@ImreBertalan86]

Aw, the memories I had with this card... Thank you for the video! See you in 2023. 🙂

[@Sebyllis7350k]

It's hard to believe that the 7970 has gone 11 years. Still remember the good old days when overclocking with a couple of these cards was still relevant.

[@RandomGaminginHD]

Yeah two in a system what a beast!

[@Sebyllis7350k]

@@RandomGaminginHD any chance you will be doing that? :) You can probably pick up a b550/x570/z690 with dual x8 pcie slots from CPU, like B550 Vision D from gigabyte. Crossfire can technically work even when connected to the chipset, but the performance really sucks.

[@R3AL-AIM]

This is when my interest peaked in PC gaming before building my first purpose built system... The card for BF3.

[@RandomGaminginHD]

Yes! BF3 inspired me to build a new Pc as well

[@TheAcogshot]

Man, I got this card in 2012 and it was a beast! I remember buying it because Toms Hardware said it was the best value for the money at the time. I eventually upgraded to a GTX 970.

[@AkkumuLBC]

No wonder a friend of mine has been using his 7970 for years now, although I never asked him for how long has he been using it lol I kinda wanna have one of those too out of curiosity.

[@LuchieSaysHi]

That portal 2 game looks really good! It would be a shame if the radio music went on for 5 hours, 18 minutes, and 58 seconds, or 5:18:58.

[@michaelthompson9798]

Wow the HD7xxx series of gpus still holding up rather well despite its age! 💪👍😇🥰

[@TriggerzConnors]

That card is still going strong, wow.

[@pavettto]

I am still using this card. Bought it new. I have updated pretty much everything else, but this card still hold up well enough, even in modern games. Pretty nice.

[@harryhairo7272]

Do you think it would be able to run hogwarts legacy?

[@samjackson7701]

I just bought my first ever 'new' graphics card, an Intel Arc A770 16GB. As a late early adopter, most of the issues have been ironed out by now, and watching these types of videos really made me want to give it a shot. I hope it ages similarly and improves over time with optimization and driver updates, because so far its amazing! (I paid less for it open box on sale locally than a 3060 costs)

[@youtubeshadowbannedme]

16GB VRAM is wasted on that card

[@awlafferty]

Like the new format! Great job!

[@diptorajchakraborty5456]

For a budget gamer you are a dream come true 👍...

[@slob12]

A wonderful card which finally died on me due to a 2 year o c..i still have a 7950 oc from gigabyte which will remain at stock......loved these cards

[@evergreengamer5767]

never owned a 7970 but did have a msi r6870 hawk from barebones system got in trade and its shocking that card was paired with bulldozer cpu (the pairing did not do the card justice) so after watching this video and seeing how well the 7970 aged do wonder if at launch the 7970 was also often paired with bulldozer

[@duncan51]

Its a great 720p card, it lives on

[@Nick_R_]

A brilliant GPU the 7970. I recently upgraded to a GTX 1660ti, after a decade of greatness. The difference isn't night and day, but the new card enables a steady 60 fps at higher settings, in newer games. It also uses much less electricity than the 7970, which was always a tad greedy on the power front. I've kept the old geezer though, parked it in it's still shiny box, couldn't bring myself to sell it!

[@smifffies]

Still have it's little brother the HD7950 in my No 3 PC. Still going strong.

[@brunoagostinho3539]

I had 2 of these... absolute monsters at the time

[@RandomGaminginHD]

For sure!

[@PleepyC]

This card reminds me of retiring my HD 4870. It wasn't the fastest but it was still a pretty nice card which could do most of what I wanted albeit through some workarounds.

[@Folsomdsf2]

Actually the 4870 WAS the fastest and absolutely stomped all competition when it came out.

[@royalraptor8655]

Happy New Year Steve! Great video as always :D New format of testing gpus is a nice change. See ya in 2023.

[@MaxSvcks]

Happy new year :D

[@UlrichLeland]

I had an old sapphire blower reference model, had a bios switch so I had it flashed to an MSI Lightning BE version that ran at 1ghz, great old beast still surprising how well they hold up, guess it's expected since it's basically a 280 x.

[@unitybeing777]

Have a Happy New Year, may 2023 bring you fortune and peace. Good review, great card. Please consider investing in a 2080ti or 2080ti xtrio, I got that, really impressed with my silicon lottery and the architecture.

[@rededd0196]

I still have my Sapphire HD 7970 and it runs fine. Good content, thank you.

[@SIW808]

I had the Sapphire HD 7950 Vapor-X OC Boost and it was crazy fast. Remember paying about $350 in 2012. Funny how GPUs have suddenly become so expensive

[@ConfusedStu]

You had me concerned with the musical start, but then the familiar greeting came in and all was good with the world. I've still got a couple of LAN machines running 7970s (all flashed to 280x BIOSes) and they still hold up very well on the games we play. Can't believe how old they are though, (and that the prices for them now are the same as I bought them for 3-4 years ago). So different to how it would have been trying to run a 2000 GPU in 2011!

[@phucnguyen0110]

Great intro, Steve!

[@JustinB901]

Happy New Years Steve! stumbled to your channel last month and LOVED the content you give out, thankyou for this year and look forward to the next! Cheers!

[@RandomGaminginHD]

Happy new year!

[@issackliener3065]

-Go to Whiterun -Immediately attack Nazeem This is how I know you are a veteran Skyrim player

[@ToaRocky]

Wanted one of these so bad as a kid!

[@metalmarx123]

at age 19 i got my first hd7950 even to this day i have it in my pc becouse it deserves a spot there alongside my 980ti im right now 29 and i still love the fact it works so well :D

[@Bristecom]

I had a 7950 and it served me well from early 2012 to late 2017 when I switched to the DirectX12 compatible Vega 56 (which still does fine to this day).

[@DaveSimonH]

I have the R9 280 (aka 7950 rebadge) in my 2014 build. While that PC is now mostly used as a HTPC, connected to my TV, it can still play most games I've tried at low-medium settings. Pretty good for a GPU that I got new 8.5yrs ago for £180. I recently got 'Death Stranding' when it was free on the Epic store, I should see if/how that runs on my 280, as it looks great on my 'base' PS4. *EDIT:* Just checked there, my R9 280 was actually a little cheaper at £170.

[@KellyWu04]

You show the 0.1% lows and it’s extremely helpful.

[@aero2zero]

What about the GPU power consumption? It is an important factor nowadays.