Powercolor HD 7870 Vertex II VS Powercolor HD 7870 Myst Edition

Which is better Powercolor HD7870 Vertex II with higher engine clock rate because its OC already or the new Powercolor HD 7870 Myst Edition with lower engine clock speed but higher memory clock speed and UEFI ready?

I believe the Myst Edition is better. It is based on Radeon 7950/7970 GPU (Tahiti LE) so it has more shaders and has PowerTune with Boost (975 MHz). The memory is faster as well at 1.5GHz (6GHz effective). Based on reviews, when overclocked the card reaches 1.2GHz core speed and 1.6GHz memory speed.


The Myst Edition card is basically the same Club3D Joker Card reviewed here:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Club_3D/HD_7870_jokerCard_Tahiti_LE/31.html

Review of the PowerColor Myst Edition card here:
http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1639/pg1/powercolor-pcs-hd7870-myst-edition-tahiti-le-graphics-card-review-introduction.html

Performance wise it is about the same Geforce GTX 660 Ti... not bad for a videocard costing Php 10.5K only.

You can check the benchmarks of both cards on the same test setup made by the same reviewer below. Hopefully this will help you decide.

TechPowerUp Review - PowerColor HD 7870 PCS+ Vortex II
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Powercolor/HD_7870_PCS_Plus_Vortex_II/1.html

TechPowerUp Review - Club 3D HD 7870 jokerCard Tahiti LE 2 GB
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Club_3D/HD_7870_jokerCard_Tahiti_LE/1.html

If I were you, just decide on which videocard will allow you to play your games at your monitor's resolution with the best FPS and graphics settings. Don't think about whether a videocard is more "pogi" or if the card is "mas matipid sa kuryente" because bottom line what's important is that the videocard allows you to play your games the way you them to be played :-)

Battlefield 3
7870 Myst - 59.2fps (12.11 driver)
7870 Vortex II - 55.3fps (12.7 driver)

Metro 2033
7870 Myst - 26.1fps (12.11 driver)
7870 Vortex II - 25.0fps (12.7 driver)

Unigine Heaven
7870 Myst - 57.2fps - (12.11 driver)
7870 Vortex II - 56.9fps (12.7 driver)
 
The 7870 Myst edition uses the new improved driver while the Vortex II uses the old driver. If they used the same drivers, Vortex II might get a better result. AMD is really improving their drivers. The 7870 is now better compared with the similarly priced GTX 660. Its equivalent is the 660 Ti.

I always prefer better cooling for low temps at low noise. It has a different build quality, and for the power consumption of the 7870 Myst edition, I would go for the real 7950 with lower consumption.

Unique Melody Mage Cabled with Whiplash TWag v2 OM

How does the Mage sound? Also, how does the TWag change the sonic characteristics of the Mage? I've always resisted the temptation to buy an aftermarket cable, but arguably at the price level of these customs the owners already gunning for the maximum sound quality possible.

I've always thought about the Mage as something like the custom version of the UM3x with forward mids. Too bad UM Phil didn't have a demo version so I could hear the general sonic signature ("general" because the demos sound quite inferior to the real deal).


The Mage is not mostly tuned for forward mids but it is more tuned for a brighter sound signature. When I say brighter sound signature, the highs are more accentuated throughout the spectrum but doesn't drown the other notes for the mids and lows, in addition there is no sibilance, 0%. The main strengths of the Mage are Exceptional acoustics and vocal reproduction, lively sound (doesn't have that dark sound sig CIEM/IEM), fast and high quality bass (Best bass quality I've heard so far), imaging is excellent, soundstage is really wide but not that tall (more of landscape type or widescreen).


*Disclaimer - The TWag recommended burn-in is 300 hours. So far I'm at the 100-hour mark burn-in therefore the full potential of the TWag is not yet heard.

Switching from stock cable to TWag, The first thing that you will notice is the added clarity to the highs and mids and extension of lows and highs. Soundstage made it more wide and added depth (taller). What surprised me is the added live presentation to the Mage by the fact Mage has already a bright sound sig, it surprised me that it made more enjoying to listen. TWag is worth the money.

Don't resist even if you know the benefits already, cause you'll end up buying the product. Sorry for the long write-up. I just like to be certain as possible.

Ortofon e-Q7 and EarSonics SM3 v2 Comparison

Shown above are the Ortofon e-Q7 (red one), EarSonics SM3 v2 and an 8gb Cowon J3. A simple, but definitely not lacking in power, portable system.
 

They quite share some interesting characteristics. Both have excellent midrange and treble response only differs in presentation.

The e-Q7 is the first IEM I've had and I must say that it change my view of how IEMs performs. Midrange is prominent but not as enveloping like the SM3. It's punchy and very detailed without sounding analytical (as opposed to the SM3) all nuances is presented cleanly and cohesively with a lot of musicality. Musicality and accuracy is how I describe e-Q7's mids. Treble on the other hand is as good as well. It's always sparkling and very snappy without exhibiting sibilance.


Other IEMs with a lot of treble like the TF10 or the CK10 might appear more detailed than the e-Q7 but most of the time, I got really tired of that treble energy pretty quick, (apart from them being a bit cold and unexciting). So to my ears, the e-Q7 treble is how it should be; precise, sparkly, yet very smooth and easy. Bass in on the leaner side though, but with the way they were tuned as a monitor type it's quite normal. Nevertheless it's never lacking in quality. It goes deep as possible without any bloat from the mid bass frequency and has excellent reverberation, decay that you usually hear from dynamic drivers. It's quite revolutionary so to speak.

Now comes the SM3. I've read a lot of mixed bag comments about them with most complaining about their treble response and the rather intrusive mids (as the comments suggest). So I took the plunge and got myself a pair. And after listening for about 15 hours or so, I've come to realize "those people bashing the SM3 might either have a bad source or bad ears" coz the SM3 are far from just a FOTM item.

It's a wondrous craft that you won't see quite often. With the right source (I'm NOT talking about high priced amps here) the SM3 performs exceptionally well. Mids are how people describe it; very prominent but like the e-Q7 is precise and highly detailed. Well detailed is a bit of understatement because how the SM3 presents the music is quite unconventional as oppose to the majority out there.

With some typical nuances that hit you outright, there are others that would hit you in some unexpected places. You might even hear other nuances you typically didn't in other phones. They can be musical at times but can be quite analytical in other inferior recordings as well. Treble on the other hand is also in par with the e-Q7 only a tad recessed, yet certainly not lacking in quality. They are quite close to the real thing to my ears. Unlike some cymbal crash that hits prominently and disappears the SM3 treble adds a little more decay onto it, that feels like a rippling water that I really like. It's unusually amazing to my ears.

Bass is typically the same for these phones to my ears, given their monitoring characteristics. the e-Q7 may have a tad bit of decay and extension, while the SM3 had more quantity, but overall it's basically the same.

To better describe the SM3, Ill tell you about my other in ears...

The GR07 has good bass impact but the midbass is a little forward. They extend pretty well up on top giving an airy and light (not bright) presentation. The soundstage is meh...typical of a stage monitor.

The BA200 has excellent mids, detail and incredible soundstage. But Somewhat lacking in impact and treble extension.

The SM3 combines all of the strengths of my two other favorites, but none of the weaknesses. It has good impact (but less than the GR07) and treble extension. Mids are better than both, in my opinion. The most noticeable feature would be the soundstage. It is even ahead of the BA200, which has excellent presentation already.


*credits to tallie0814