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Gigabyte is currently offering two Radeon HD 7770 graphics cards which are based on the same custom design, there is a standard version which adheres to the AMD specification for core and memory clock speeds, as well as a factory overclocked version.
The most significant aspect of these Gigabyte cards is that they have been reworked from the ground up, and both the cooler and PCB are not part of the reference specification. In short, this is not your standard Radeon HD 7770.
Measuring just 20cm long, the Gigabyte Radeon HD 7770 OC is one centimeter shorter than the AMD reference design. This means the Gigabyte version will suit all mid-towers as well as small form factor cases much better than cards based on the reference design. The Gigabyte Radeon HD 7770 OC features their “Ultra Durable 2” design which they guarantee provides better overclocking capability, lower operating temperatures and greater power efficiency. This is made possible by the use of a 2oz PCB board, Samsung or Hynix memory, Japanese solid capacitors, Ferrite/Metal core chokes, and Low RDS (on) mosfet.
The cooler has been upgraded by using a large circular aluminium heatsink, cooled via a huge 100mm fan which generates just 21.7dBA under normal conditions, though when stressed can spin up to create 28dBA of noise. That said, throughout the testing phase we found the card to operate at near silence.
Gigabyte is shipping the HD 7770 OC edition overclocked from factory. The core frequency is boosted by an impressive 100MHz to 1.1GHz, while the memory frequency has been increased from 4.5GHz to 5GHz. This 10% increase in core frequency coupled with the 11% memory frequency boost should provide a few more frames per second. The Radeon HD 7770 supports Crossfire and so there is a single connector for bridging with an additional card. The only other connectors are on the I/O panel. Gigabyte has gone with the standard configuration here by including a dual DL-DVI connector, a single HDMI 1.4a port and two Mini DisplayPort 1.2 sockets.
All HD 7700 series cards support a max resolution of 2560x1600 on up to three monitors. With a multi-stream hub using the Mini DisplayPort 1.2 sockets, the HD 7770 can drive up to five screens. |
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rumblejack |
Posted on: 02/29/2012 10:42 AM
I have a pair of the GTX 550 Ti cards which use the same cooler. They are great  Thanks for the review. |
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ProX |
Posted on: 02/29/2012 10:54 AM
Very nice 7770. Now we just need them to be about 30% cheaper! :S |
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radioactive |
Posted on: 02/29/2012 09:29 PM
I so wanted to upgrade my 5770 CF cards to a pair of these but I think I will wait. |
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RS Posts: 3 Joined: 2011-08-17 |
Posted on: 03/01/2012 02:04 PM
HD7770 is insanely overpriced. Loses to HD6870 in almost all scenarios, can't even beat a stock HD6850, despite being overclocked. Costs more than either of these cards. Also, the fact that HD6850 and HD6870 have been around for more than a year makes the lackluster performance of HD7750 and HD7770 even worse. We should be getting HD6850 level of performance for $109 at this point and HD6870 level of performance for $129 or so. Under no circumstances does it make any sense for HD7770 to cost more than an HD6870 which can be found for $145-160, easily. All those added features of GCN architecture and added benefits of lower power consumption due to 28nm are what a customer should get for "free" anyway as technology improves. The price/performance curve should continue and just like with GTX550TI and HD7770, the price/performance curve is worse. This card makes no sense at all, not unless it has a $30-40 price cut. Is HD7850 and HD7870 going to be just as disappointing? 15 months later after the launch of HD6950 with similar performance to an unlocked HD6950? $249-299? Yawn. HD7950 for $450 15 months later than GTX580 and also barely faster. It would be too easy to point the finger at AMD. Instead I think I'll rather point the finger to consumers who are buying this new Tech -- You chaps have really have low standards for what's expected out of next generation products. For the rest us, we await a 40-50% performance increase, which is what's expected at a similar price level across new generations. |
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Offordef |
Posted on: 03/02/2012 08:56 PM
Looks like we will not get the performance increases we had with the 8800 series or 4870 and 5870. On the other hand, until we will see a new breed of consoles the current GPU generation (well.... nV where are you?) is insanely powerful. DX11 (with stuff like Tesselation) does not bring that much of a visual difference at this moment to justify the cost and need of multiple cards unless you run above 1900. Will skip this round of upgrading......for now. |
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Alpha |
Posted on: 12/22/2012 06:34 PM
8-Month outcome: December 2012, Black friday - 2012: had the MSI-7770 for $79, after savings. At the price, it was a great deal; definitely worth every penny. Upgraded from a 250 GTS, which I had originally purchased for over $200. - When the HD-8xxx series hit the market, I have a feeling, the remnants of the 7770 will sell naturally at $60-$70. Conclusion: If the card is priced at 70'ish it will become the new low best low priced cards: considering price/performance. - Also, unless new games become exponentially enhanced, I feel that newer cards aren't going to make a significant difference; without the games being intentionally poorly programmed. However, for video editors and those who somehow compute using the GPU, future cards will always be welcomed; every second counts. - All in all, don't expect performance increases above 15% every following year - reason being that, with insanely powerful releases, the following year would have great difficulty improving over the previous year. And hopefully the GPU company's aren't milking us for the performance - ensuring their sales by releasing products in small incremental improvements. |