7970 - Beta 12.11 Drivers and Overclocking!

[Turmoil]

I just recently purchased a Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 on sale for $349.99. This was the cheapest 7970 available and it also included a non-reference cooler. I have a few numbers to mention in light of the recent beta drivers and benchmarking so I figured I would post them here.

12.11 Beta Drivers

AMD recently released the 12.11 Beta Drivers for 7xxx series cards. I installed these drivers yesterday. I wanted to benchmark the before and after so I set up a trial route through an empty Battlefield 3 server. There are the benchmark results before and after installing the drivers:

Previous Drivers - Battlefield 3 Ultra Preset Default Clock Speed

Time: 60000ms - Avg: 57.567 - Min: 42 - Max: 82

12.11 Beta Drivers - Battlefield 3 Ultra Preset Default Clock Speed

Time: 60000ms - Avg: 75.067 - Min: 57 - Max: 96

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I was completely shocked to see this increase in performance in Battlefield 3. How are you other AMD card owners liking the new beta drivers?

Also, on a completely unrelated note, I just went through and spent a good deal of time achieving my card's maximum air, standard volt overclock. Without messing around with voltage I was able to achieve a stable:

1095MHz Core Clock
1520MHz Memory Clock

Here are some 3D Mark 11 benchmarks:

Default Clock Speed (1.175V):

Maximum Stable Overlock (1.175V):

 

[VP :3]

I'll have to get the drivers and try them out. Have you had any issues so far with them?

 

[Turmoil]

I'll have to get the drivers and try them out. Have you had any issues so far with them?

No problems at all so far. This card is much more on par with the performance of the GTX 680 now and when overclocked it is a very tight race.

For example, take a look at the 7870 vs 660ti before and after the 12.11 beta drivers.

Before, the average FPS of the 660ti was beating the 7870 by 8-9. Now it is beating it by about 2. The cheapest 660ti still costs $70 more than the cheapest 7870, though.

Considering that the 7970 is considerably cheaper than any 680 I could of purchased, I am extremely happy with the update and AMD's continued "support" of the card and its performance.

 

[ghettosmurf]

I've got a 7950 and I'm extremely happy with my BF3 performance in 12.11, I'd say I got at least the the advertised 10% increase.

 

[frankth3frizz]

I didn't even have to overclock and i'm getting 75-95 frames