7970M Still having issues?

[EddieHarris]

Hey guys, over at notebookreview many users have documented issues with the 7970M ranging from lack of performance to spiking in FPS while playing games like BF3.

I was wondering if this is something any of the pcspecialist 7970M owners have came across? And if you have, was there any options given by PCS for returns or replacements?

The reason I ask is I don't particularly feel the 680M is the card for me, I'm not looking to overclock and only really play BF3 and LoL on top of that I'm finding it difficult to condone the price to performance difference (stock clocks) that dramatic. However, that being said, I wouldn't be too happy if I purchased the 7970M and ran into these problems without any options for replacement or payed upgrade by PCS.

Having a read through the terms and conditions with PCS they state "all Goods that we supply are warranted free from defects for 12 months " however I'd really like to know if PCS would recognize consistent dips in FPS while playing games like BF3 a defect.

Just as a side note, I do understand that any issues with the card could possibly be down to AMD and NOT PCS however, if PCS are selling the product with a "no defects" warranty surely I should expect smooth game play across the board?

By all means correct me in any silly drooling I may have slipped into this! I'm mainly just asking this as a piece of mind before I purchase.

Thanks for any input you can provide guys!
-Edd

 

[dangro474]

The various issues xperienced by 7970M and 680M users are without a doubt driver related. They will be fixed eventually as newer driver versions become available.

 

[keynes]

Just as a side note, I do understand that any issues with the card could possibly be down to AMD and NOT PCS however, if PCS are selling the product with a "no defects" warranty surely I should expect smooth game play across the board?

If it is a driver issue that doesn't mean the card is defective and I don't think that will be covered by the warranty.

 

[EddieHarris]

If it is a driver issue that doesn't mean the card is defective and I don't think that will be covered by the warranty.

See I kinda expected that however if I sell a product, I sell it because I have the confidence that it should work however, if there is a known issue with the product im selling I either recall the item and puspone it untill the issue has been resolved or I prepare myself for a possible onslaught of replacement. The only reason I ask is I dont particularly want to be forced to pay an extra £250 for peice of mind just because PCS will sell something that has known issues unrelated to themselfs so they can avoid any warrenty troubles.

Im sorry if I sound abit argumentative its not the tone im trying to set, I really want to order this laptop but im worried I'll end up being overlooked as 'another one of those driver issues' I would love if I at least had the option to pay the £250 upgrade if I do encounter various issues or recieve proper support as opposed to being told 'driver issues'

All I want to do is buy a melon

 

[keynes]

Im sorry if I sound abit argumentative its not the tone im trying to set, I really want to order this laptop but im worried I'll end up being overlooked as 'another one of those driver issues' I would love if I at least had the option to pay the £250 upgrade if I do encounter various issues or recieve proper support as opposed to being told 'driver issues'

I understand what you mean and I'd also be hesitant of ordering a GPU that has problems but if it is a driver issue then PCS has no way (at least that is what I think) of fixing the issue. I had problems with a GPU before and it wasn't because it was defective but it just wouldn't play ball in a 3D surround set up, some games will also work better if I disable SLI and again it is a driver issue. I would probably wait and see what progress there is with drivers before ordering, you could however email PCS for an official response.

 

[HonestFlames]

I don't want to spark an ATI / Nvidia here, but I've always picked Nvidia because their drivers have given me few problems. That's not to say I haven't been problem-free, but I've always been able to roll back a version or two without much trouble.

There was a very long time where playing Youtube / Flash video would randomly lock up & blackscreen my laptop. This stopped only after a number of driver updates, Flash updates and (quite probably) Windows updates.

I have read more forum posts and stories about ATI driver problems than I have about Nvidia. I still do not love Nvidia drivers, as I consider them extremely bloated and over-complicated (as well as the lack of Linux support), but they seem to be the least evil.

My suggestion is to go with a 680m.

 

[NotebookNut]

The various issues xperienced by 7970M and 680M users are without a doubt driver related. They will be fixed eventually as newer driver versions become available.

If it was just a Driver issue then why would AMD instruct NBR to delete the threads that documented the problem with screen shots and fps?

People received no official statement or response from AMD yet they find the time to have threads removed on an unofficial forum. If it was just a Driver problem would they still have done this?

 

[EddieHarris]

Yeah I agree that the whole thing seems suspicious. I've ordered the 7970M after watching a few recent youtube uploads where one user has managed to use 99% GPU utilization on BF3 with some really nice frames. Plus PCS offers a 7 day "cooling off period" meaning I can return it within 7 days if it isn't to the standard I expect however the official response from PCS regarding warranty and the 7970M "driver" issues is they wont cover anything.

I intend on doing a full out of the box review with running a few steam games, BF3 and League of legends. All will be video documented so I can let you guys know how it runs.

I'm really hoping I don't have to return it and that the 7970M will work well however I'm happy I have a 7 day cooling off period.

 

[dangro474]

If it was just a Driver issue then why would AMD instruct NBR to delete the threads that documented the problem with screen shots and fps?

Because it would result in potential costumers becoming far less likely to opt for systems that include their product.

Both cards are in their infancy and were rushed out of the door to compete with eachother. As far as anyone can tell the hardware is fine, however the driver revisions included on release are far from optimized.

To be honest, after purchasing multiple flagship GPU laptops (across chipsets, such as verdi -> fermi -> kepler) I never expect them to work perfectly until a good few months into driver revisions.

The best thing to do would simply be to wait for new driver versions before bringing out the pitchforks.

 

[brukin]

I'm in the same boat as you Eddie, just ordered a Vortex III 15.6" with a 7970M with the hope that the Enduro issue is driver and not hardware related. Really not keen on paying Nvidia almost £200 more for about the same performance. Note that with the cooling off period, you have to pay the postage back plus a cancellation charge of ~£36 if they don't accept that it has a fault. Just FYI. Looking at the post dates I'm guessing you might already know this... any update about your ordered machine Eddie?

EDIT : Nevermind, just saw you went with a 680M in the end.