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Benchmarks done for Radeon HD 7950 for Mac

barefeats

barefeats

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jul 6, 2000
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REVIEW: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 versus other Mac Pro GPUs

http://barefeats.com/gpu7950.html

Picked seven of the most interesting tests for this first 'salvo.' A follow-up article will feature other apps and games.

And we plan an article on Friday to include two 'crazy fast Windows only' GPUs that run just fine under OS X 10.8.3.
 
Cheers!

Two questions:

1) How did you get the "Valley" benchmark tool to run? It doesn't work on my 5870.

2) Any idea if you can test the 7950 in a Mac Pro '08 (3.1 model)?

TNX!!

EDIT: duh... :eek:
The AMD GPUs required a patch to run Heaven and Valley. AMD compatible versions of those apps will soon be available to all users.
Click to expand...
 
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id liked to see some of these tests with properly modded Nvidias 570 and 580 and 600 gpus.

thanks Barefeats
 
those should be enroute

on a "ha, ha" note, the Sapphire Manual claims that a 4,1 Mac Pro is needed.....

but shows install pix taken on a 3,1

Especially poor idea as the place to plug in the power cables has moved....and I still don't have 10.7.5 working
 
Thanks for the tests guys, you didn't waste time!

I would love to see some app and games comparisons with equivalent Nvidia cards, such as the GTX660Ti or GTX670.
They also work like a charm on Mac Pro and would be interesting to know how they stand.

All the best!
 
I am particularly interested in a "same settings" comparison to Skyrim at 1440p vs an Apple 5870.

Mind you, without anywhere to buy it in the UK yet...
 
Thanks for the benchmarks!

Yeah too bad my iMac [with the GTX 680MX] is almost as fast (if not sometimes faster) than the 7950.

Of course I ordered one and it's set to deliver today.
 
ekwipt said:
id liked to see some of these tests with properly modded Nvidias 570 and 580 and 600 gpus.

thanks Barefeats
Click to expand...

That's coming on Monday.

----------
DanielCoffey said:
I am particularly interested in a "same settings" comparison to Skyrim at 1440p vs an Apple 5870.

Mind you, without anywhere to buy it in the UK yet...
Click to expand...

If there is a recorded game session I can playback plus a way to capture frame rates, will be glad to add that to the test suite.
 
odinsride said:
Is it not true that all Blizzard games are Nvidia-skewed? Could explain why the GTX 680MX stomps the 7950 on SC2 and Diablo 3...
Click to expand...

Traditionally, NVidias have performed better on games, and ATI cards on pro software.

CUDA muddies the water a bit with that, but when you exclude CUDA, that's what I've tend to have seen.
 
I appreciate the review, thanks.

As you said, the 7950 is a sognificant upgrade for any MP user still on cards other than the 5870 and still welcome, even then.

I'll look forward to the next comparison. It might be good to try a few tests in Bootcamp to see how much the PCI 1.0.vs 2.0 issue affects non-EFI cards.
 
Just look at the Steam TF2 bench with the 5870 testing the same as the 7950. It should be significant by almost 50% over the 5870. Either Saphire/ Apple drivers or OS X is at fault for most of these benchmarks. Most gamers use Windows on their Mac's. There will be a better power understanding benching in Windows as they don't have Apples driver impairment.
This is what you should be seeing if things were done correctly.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/511?vs=550
"The NVIDIA GPUs are strongest in CUDA accelerated apps like Premiere Pro --" C'mon Rob? You might want to explain why for the people, no?
 
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DanielCoffey said:
I appreciate the review, thanks.

As you said, the 7950 is a sognificant upgrade for any MP user still on cards other than the 5870 and still welcome, even then.

I'll look forward to the next comparison. It might be good to try a few tests in Bootcamp to see how much the PCI 1.0.vs 2.0 issue affects non-EFI cards.
Click to expand...

Good idea. System Profiler gives an error when I click to see the lane speed of an unflashed 7970. But based on some of the results, I suspect it might br running as 1.0.

Even if that isn't the case, there are situations where the Westmere isn't feeding the GPU fast enough. Come quickly oh 2013 Mac Pro!

----------
"The NVIDIA GPUs are strongest in CUDA accelerated apps like Premiere Pro --" C'mon Rob? You might want to explain why for the people, no?
Click to expand...

My example wasn't convincing but the CUDA advantage is even more pronounced in apps like After Effects doing Ray Trace 3D and in OctaneRender as you will see in PART TROIS.
 
Posted Part Trois or what I call "shootout with the sharks":

http://barefeats.com/gpu7950c.html

Includes a mixture of high-end AMD and Nvidia GPUs running a bunch of different apps
 
Imo the 690 was only using one of its two 670 gpus.

Its a single card sli inplementation, i dont think that works in osx.

Kind of a wasted test imo.
 
barefeats said:
Posted Part Trois or what I call "shootout with the sharks":

http://barefeats.com/gpu7950c.html

Includes a mixture of high-end AMD and Nvidia GPUs running a bunch of different apps
Click to expand...

Thank you for testing X-Plane 10!! :)

It's getting such a difficult choice: blow some new life in my ageing 2008 Mac pro with this 7950, and wait for a supposedly new Mac Pro, or get the newest and fattest iMac (with the GTX 680 MX) N O W !!
 
lewdvig said:
Imo the 690 was only using one of its two 670 gpus.

Its a single card sli inplementation, i dont think that works in osx.

Kind of a wasted test imo.
Click to expand...

You're right. I'm hoping to add a 680 classified to that page in the next few days. Any other GPUs you want to see?
 
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