this be a great card . I be a little hesitant to fire sale my 2 MSI 6970 Lightnings -lrb- which be amazing -rrb- and buy a single 7970 , but it be unwarranted . the performance , once easily overclock -lrb- by ati\/amd 's stock overdrive -rrb- , be on par with my previous setup on game that support crossfire . the game that do not support it , well this card just blow my previous setup out of the water in that scenario . another point that ALMOST make I sit on my hand for a while and wait be go from top of the line custom card -lrb- msus lightning -rrb- to launch day OEM card . I have only purchase card with after market cooler for the past 3 generation but I just could not wait to try out the 7970 . I be happy to say that while gaming , I do not notice a difference in fan noise . if anything , it run cooler than my previous setup -lrb- obviously crossfire have a lot to do with it -rrb- and it may be actually quieter . while the Lightnings have a excellent hsf along with all sort of other custom part , the 7970 's 28nm process just really nullify the need for a monster hsf setup . plenty of great review out there on the interwebz , go read those . just want to 5 star this because of the fool with the 3 star review spread fud .