[H]ard|OCP got their hands on Gigabyte’s first HD7970 and it is a completely custom job, just like we hoped would be the result of AMD opening up the specification limitations for this card.  The GPU was given a 75MHz bump to make it an even 1GHz, while the memory remains at stock speeds though obviously will run at a cooler temperature thanks to the three fans.  They haven’t yet had the time to get into serious overclocking but did confirm that the card runs cooler than the reference model and does so with lower fan speeds, good news for those who want to push this card further.

You can also catch Ryan’s take on XFX’s HD7970 3GB Black Edition which runs at 1GHz on the GPU and 1425 MHz GDDR5 and also sports a custom cooling solution.

"An early first look at a custom built Radeon HD 7970 based video card. The GIGABYTE GV-R7970C-3GD sports a custom design, custom heatsink, and a custom fan all with an out-of-box 1GHz GPU frequency. The future of Radeon HD 7970 based video cards is looking good. "

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