2560×1600: GeForce GTX 770/780 vs Radeon HD 7950/7970

By Olin Coles

Very recently Lenovo loaned us their 30-inch ThinkVision LT3053p IPS LED-Backlit LCD Monitor for review. While the AH-IPS display panel was impressive, its size really made us wonder about how much impact it would have on PC video games. Before this behemoth display went back to Lenovo, I decided to test it on some of the most recent graphics cards from NVIDIA and AMD. In this article Benchmark Reviews tests frame rate performance at 2560×1600 for the Radeon HD 7950 against GeForce GTX 770, and Radeon HD 7970 against GeForce GTX 780.

Each video card occupies its own price point, so while the manufacturer’s might have launched their product to compete against another, market factors have pushed them into their own space:

• Radeon HD 7950: starting at $269.99 (Amazon | Newegg)
• GeForce GTX 770: starting at $399.99 (Amazon | Newegg)
• Radeon HD 7970: starting at $349.99 (Amazon | Newegg)
• GeForce GTX 780: starting at $649.99 (Amazon | Newegg)

Video Card Testing Methodology

The Microsoft DirectX-11 graphics API is native to the Microsoft Windows 7 Operating System, and will be the primary O/S for our test platform. DX11 is also available as a Microsoft Update for the Windows Vista O/S, so our test results apply to both versions of the Operating System.

In each benchmark test there is one ‘cache run’ that is conducted, followed by five recorded test runs. Results are collected at each setting with the highest and lowest results discarded. The remaining three results are averaged, and displayed in the performance charts on the following pages.

A combination of synthetic and video game benchmark tests have been used in this article to illustrate relative performance among graphics solutions. Our benchmark frame rate results are not intended to represent real-world graphics performance, as this experience would change based on supporting hardware and the perception of individuals playing the video game.

Intel X79 Express Test System

• Motherboard: ASUS P9X79 Deluxe Motherboard (Intel X79 Express)
• Processor: Intel Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition (six cores/3300 MHz)
• System Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws-Z 32GB DDR3-1600
• Monitor: Lenovo ThinkVision LT3053p IPS LED-Backlit LCD Monitor

DirectX-11 Benchmark Applications

• BattleField 3
  • Settings: 2560×1600 Resolution, Ultra Graphics Quality, FOV 90, 180-second Fraps Scene
• Metro 2033 Benchmark
  • Settings: 2560×1600 Resolution, Very-High Quality, 4x AA, 16x AF, Tessellation, PhysX Disabled
• Unigine Heaven Benchmark 3.0
  • Settings: 2560×1600 Resolution, DirectX 11, High Quality, Extreme Tessellation, 16x AF, 4x AA

PCI-Express Graphics Cards

• AMD Radeon HD 7950 (850 MHz GPU/1250 MHz vRAM – AMD Catalyst 13.6 Beta 2)
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 (1046 MHz GPU/1085 MHz Boost/1753 MHz vRAM – Forceware 320.18)
• AMD Radeon HD 7970 (925 MHz GPU/1375 MHz vRAM – AMD Catalyst 13.6 Beta 2)
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 (869 MHz GPU/902 MHz Boost/1502 MHz vRAM – Forceware 320.18)