We've previously commented that AMD's been rather too conservative with the core and memory frequencies for its Radeon HD 7970 and HD 7950 cards. Take the chief HD 7970 card as an example; it clocks in at 925MHz core and 5,500MHz memory. These numbers sound good until you realise that a bit of coaxing can push speeds to over 1,100MHz/6,000MHz.
Of course, AMD responds by saying that, yes, the Radeon HD 7970 has considerable frequency headroom, and that it's up to the band of partners to release ever-faster variants after evaluating yields and the efficacy of in-house coolers.
Right now, adventurous partners are releasing pre-qualified cards with a 1,000MHz core and 5,700MHz memory rating, bringing more goodness for the fastest single-GPU card around. But recent mutterings intimate that Sapphire Technology is about to shake up the super-enthusiast category with an as-yet-unnamed Radeon HD 7970 card.
This picture is the first indication that Sapphire is ready to give the HD 7970 a proper makeover. Details are sketchy at present, but conjecturing somewhat, the firm is sure to launch an 'Atomic' or 'TOXIC' model soon, and this one seems to fit the bill.
We reckon it's going to be a dual-fan model much in the mould of the Radeon HD 7950 OC, albeit with a chunkier cooler and full-width rear-mounted heatsink/plate. But the Sapphire button is new here, suggesting that this HD 7970 OC, if we can call it that, is designed to be run with frequent BIOS changes - you'll recall the HD 7970 has two BIOS positions as standard.
We're hearing shipping core speeds will be at least 1,000MHz while memory frequency is undecided. Given that Sapphire's TriXX's overclocking utility provides a means of over-volting the GPU, core speeds should scale to 1,300MHz, according to a few talkative, but anonymous, engineers at the company's HQ.
What's more, rumours of a super-clocked card with a humungous 6GB framebuffer may have an element of truth behind them. Word on the grapevine is that such a card is in the skunkworks. Whatever the veracity of the claims, expect to see the TOXIC/Atomic GPU just before CeBIT.
People, would you pay £550 for the super-duper 3GB card, or even more for a 6GB monster? Do let us know your thoughts in HEXUS.community.
