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I already have a rig that has a good number of 5870's and 5850's that has been solid.  But, I am wanting to upgrade the tired old Nvidia card in my gaming rig with an ATI and have it mine while idle.

So here's my question.  What 7970 card do you guys suggest that would be good for both mining and gaming?  There are so many different manufacturers to choose from, and none of them really say if they are a "reference" card or not. 

thanks in advance!

I just bought a 7970 for that exact reason - Mining during the day, and gaming after work. The problem when deciding is there are too many options: Do you want a regular or GHz edition? Reference or custom cooler? What brand? How much do I want to pay?

I ended up chosing this one (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125439). It's pretty much the most expensive one, but it's worth it, imo. Gigabyte has always been a rock solid brand. It's factory OD'd to 1100MHz. I prefer reference blower coolers, but the tri-fan setup seems to perform very well.


Buying a non-GHz option is cheaper, but it's very hit or miss how far they can OC. A GHz edition already has higher clock speeds, and is much more likely to be able to hit 1100MHz or higher.

They are cheaper options, but I tend to stay away from Diamond, VisionTek, XFX, and HIS. I just don't really have as much faith in those brands.

I like Gigabyte, PowerColor, or Sapphire. I've heard Asus and MSI are also good.

If you have ample cooling, I'd recommend a card with a non-reference cooler.  I particularly like MSI cards since the majority of them allow voltage control using MSI Afterburner.  Though I couldn't find any of their Twin Frozr models besides the Lightning and Power Edition that are 7970's.  So I'd recommend SAPPHIRE Vapor-X 100351VXSR GHz Edition (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202001), GIGABYTE GV-R797TO-3GD GHz Edition (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125439), or GIGABYTE GV-R797OC-3GD (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125413).

I would particularly stay away from Asus' DirectCU cards unless you can get them used because they've since removed voltage control.  Still a good card but you won't be able to overclock or underclock as well to one that does have it.

Hmm... Thanks for the replies guys. 
I was looking at this one:  http://amzn.to/N0wuah    But since its a DirectCU card from Asus, I may stay away from it because I cant adjust voltages.

I will check out the Sapphire and the Gigabyte GHz edition cards.

I don't know much about the voltages on those Asus cards, but I do know that that extra wide, 3 slot cooler doesn't perform hardly any better than a typical 2 slot.

Is anyone aware of how much mining stock wattage varies between the models? I have heard everything between 125W to 350+W but I'm considering picking up a second card in the case that it's closer to the former...

If you are going to watercool get a reference edition card. Otherwise I would either get the MSI Lighting 7970 or the Sapphire Vapor-x

That depends on what voltages you're running at. I've heard of people undervolting and underclocking their 7970s down to 60W. Upwards of 350W would have to be pretty hefty overvolted and OC'd.

I am really thinking about picking up this one:
http://amzn.to/OlbAiW

What do you guys think?  Its one of the Sapphire  GHz edition models.  Amazon is sold out on the Gigabyte models. 

I like Sapphire, and I'm sure it's a good card. However, is there a reason you're stuck on amazon? Newegg has the Gigabtye in stock for cheaper.

Well, not really. I like Amazon because I am  Prime Member, and can have the card this Friday :)  Newegg has kinda ticked me off lately with some of their Linux shenanigans.

Huh?

Here is an example of how Newegg hates linux;
http://consumerist.com/2012/06/newegg-installing-linux-on-your-computer-is-basically-the-same-as-breaking-it.html

There are others out there whom have had similar issues.  It seems installing Linux on a laptop you bought from Newegg will automatically void any warranty --- even for hardware failures.

Hence, I try to stay away from Newegg as much as possible now :(

Did you read the  followup article (http://consumerist.com/2012/06/newegg-no-well-totally-take-returns-after-you-install-linux.html)?

They prolly get a decent bit of RMAs dealing with Linux. I had a PCI wifi card that would work in Windows, but not Gentoo. Turned out to be a CRDA incompatibility.

yeah, It appears Newegg got caught with their pants down in the flurry of shit that hit them on this one.  But I have seen alot of other folks complaining on Reddit that they are getting the same BS from Newegg.