XFX R7970 Black Edition Review - PAGE 1

In today’s graphics card market, the AMD Radeon HD 7970 comfortably sits at the top of the hierarchy thanks to CGN architecture, 384-bit memory interface and 925MHz clock speed. However, since the reference HD 7970 core can scale well beyond 1000MHz, most AMD board partners offer an overclocked SKU that performs better out-of-the-box. The XFX R7970 Black Edition we have in the hot seat today just happens to be one of these overclocked models, as it comes with increased core and memory frequencies which help improve both the graphics and compute power in comparison to a standard HD 7970.

In addition to the improved performance, XFX has also enhanced the overall design of the board via high quality components and by utilizing an extremely efficient thermal solution. While these features are not directly related to the amount of pixels the R7970 can render per second, they do improve the overall lifespan of the graphics card, reduce the acoustics, lower the thermal levels and increase the total power efficiency. So, instead of pushing a graphics card that simply delivers predominately increased gaming horsepower, XFX has designed a better all-around product.

The current MSRP for the XFX R7970 overclocked Black Edition graphics cards sits at $599, so the custom design doesn’t come cheap. Still, if it can offer a better out-of-the-box experience, it could be worth the extra scratch.