Overclocking

After our exploits with the HD 7970 3GB which saw us achieve a GPU core frequency of 1,125MHz without so much as having to over-volt, we were thirsty to see what the HD 7950 3GB was capable of. The latest version of MSI’s excellent Afterburner GPU overclocking software has already been updated to be compatible with the HD 7950 3GB so we quickly got to work.

While the card didn’t prove as capable as its peer, the HD 7950 3GB still overclocked extremely well, especially considering its much lower stock frequency. Using the non-primary HIS card, we eventually settled on a core frequency of 1GHz, with the memory running at 1,450MHz (5.8GHz effective), with a core voltage of 1150mV. The over-volt was necessary to avoid instability at the 1GHz core frequency and while the card was stable for short periods at higher clock speeds, soon developed artefacts. Nevertheless, this is still a whopping 25 per cent increase in core frequency and 16 per cent increase in memory frequency, although it did come at the cost of a noticeably noisier fan and constant 83°C running temperatures.