XFX Radeon HD 5770 Review

OK, we're through playing nice with these new ATI 5xxx video cards. The corporate logo for XFX says: "play hard.", so Benchmark reviews is going to take that motto to heart and show what this cards can really do. Almost every single competing card runs at higher than reference clock rates, and they all come that way from the factory. Every single card I compared the HD5770 to, when we reviewed the reference design from ATI, was factory overclocked. That's just the way it is with video cards built on mature GPU technology. Well, every ATI 5xxx card can easily be overclocked using the standard driver package from ATI, Catalyst Control Center, since it includes ATI Overdrive. So let's do it, let's compare apples to apples, and as a bonus, I'll throw in some CrossfireX results, too.

The HD57xx mid-range cards compete in a crowded market with several competitors overlapping into their performance and price zones. There's a complex mix of old standards and new stars, and of course, each vendor has a different take on factory overclocking. Also, the market shifts every day; sometime imperceptibly, sometimes radically. The launch of the HD5xxx chips was a radical shift and we're still seeing ripples in the marketplace as the full performance capabilities of the new boards are explored. We looked at the standard performance envelope previously, now let's explore a bit beyond those boundaries.

About the company: XFX

XFX dares to go where the competition would like to go, but can't. That's because at XFX, the corporate philosophy is not about pushing the limits. For example, the Research and Development team never asks "why?" They usually ask "why not?" The company's tenacious quest to be the best of the best is what enables it to continually create the mind-blowing, performance-crushing, competition-obliterating video cards and motherboards that make up its core product line.

XFX's expansive product lineup continues to motivate, inspire and exceed the demands of its diverse audience. The company is a category leader thanks to its high-performance products that generate exceptional graphics and realistic and immersive 3D environments that vastly improve the gaming experience.

Satisfying the insatiable needs of gamers worldwide is just the tip of the iceberg; XFX is also highly visible in the gaming community. Over the years, the company has expanded its For Gamers By Gamers principle through a variety of award-winning advertising campaigns and a U.S. "search for the next professional gamer" that promote gaming as a professional sport rather than as entertainment. The company also maintains a strong alliance with the world's best known gamer, Fatal1ty, with whom XFX collaborates to create a professional level of video cards and gaming accessories. It is this dedication to producing the impossible that has enabled XFX to achieve a stronghold in the gaming community and to garner hundreds of awards along the way.

XFX is a division of PINE Technology Holdings Limited, a leading manufacturer and marketer of innovative solutions for the worldwide gaming technologies market. Founded in 1989, PINE designs, develops, manufactures and distributes high-performance video graphics technology and computer peripherals. The company's dedicated research and development team are continually pushing the limits to meet the demands of the ever-growing and performance-driven community.

The company has more than 1,000 employees worldwide with 17 offices around the globe. With distribution in over 50 countries around the world, PINE's XFX division maintains two state-of-the-art research and development facilities in Taiwan and Shenzhen, technical support centers in the U.S., Europe and Asia, product marketing the U.S., and a factory in Mainland China. To learn more about PINE, please visit www.pinegroup.com

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