originally , I buy the MSI 7970 Lightning because of the legendary performance that usually come with the lightning product line . unfortunately , I be only able to overclock the card to 1170 on the core and 1500 on the VRAM . this be in line with the experience that reviewer related , but it be a bit disappointing . in addition , the lightning that I have would occasionally lock up , even when it be not overclock . for six Benjamins , I be not go to put up with that , so I send it back . after scour the review , I decide that I would get a gtx 680 , even though I be uncomfortable with the 2 gb of VRAM -lrb- I game at 2560x1600 -rrb- . the reason I be a little doubtful be that when I track VRAM usage in skyrim with all my hd mod , I frequently utilize all of the 3 gb of VRAM on the 7970 . despite these misgiving , I settle down to wait for a gtx 680 to pop up . then I have a chance to get a Sapphire Dual-X 7970 OC for four hundred thirty dollar . I have read good review on the Sapphire 7970 , and be impress with the overclock that reviewer be able to get on they . I decide to take a chance on the Sapphire over the gtx 680 , since it be nearly a hundred less than what I could get a 680 for . so far , I be very glad I take the plunge . the oc I be get on the card I get be amazing ! I can play Skyrim at 1270 on the core and 1700 on the VRAM -lrb- at 1.2 volt -rrb- with no problem . and I have not even push it to the max yet to see how high I can go ! at these speed , I think I be get better performance than a overclocked gtx 680 would provide . to top it off , the Sapphire cooler be both quieter and cooler than the MSI lightning cooler . Max temp with my MSI be about 70 c in game , but I have not ever hit above 65 c with my Sapphire yet . the only two issue I see be a potential problem be a slight coil whine when I abuse the card in Furmark -lrb- no sound at all during gaming , though -rrb- , and the fact that the 7970 will not wake up after the computer go to sleep . I have to reboot it . however , that be a problem with all 7970s it seem , since my msus do it too , and I have read that a lot of other people have the same problem . the other sticking point for I be Sapphire 's warranty . sure , 3 year be good , but several manufacture be do the warranty by serial number instead of have it stick with the purchaser . this could be a problem if you ever want to sell the card in the future . if Sapphire do they warranty by serial number , like some of they competition , that would be a huge boost in they favor . in short , if you want a fantastic video card for a great price , look no further . get it !