| PowerColor Radeon HD 6970 Video Card |  |
| Reviews - Featured Reviews: Video Cards | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Written by Olin Coles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wednesday, 15 December 2010 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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VGA Testing MethodologyThe Microsoft DirectX-11 graphics API is native to the Microsoft Windows 7 Operating System, and will be the primary O/S for our test platform. DX11 is also available as a Microsoft Update for the Windows Vista O/S, so our test results apply to both versions of the Operating System. The majority of benchmark tests used in this article are comparative to DX11 performance, however some high-demand DX10 tests have also been included. According to the Steam Hardware Survey published for the month ending September 2010, the most popular gaming resolution is 1280x1024 (17-19" standard LCD monitors). However, because this 1.31MP resolution is considered 'low' by most standards, our benchmark performance tests concentrate on higher-demand resolutions: 1.76MP 1680x1050 (22-24" widescreen LCD) and 2.30MP 1920x1200 (24-28" widescreen LCD monitors). These resolutions are more likely to be used by high-end graphics solutions, such as those tested in this article. In each benchmark test there is one 'cache run' that is conducted, followed by five recorded test runs. Results are collected at each setting with the highest and lowest results discarded. The remaining three results are averaged, and displayed in the performance charts on the following pages. A combination of synthetic and video game benchmark tests have been used in this article to illustrate relative performance among graphics solutions. Our benchmark frame rate results are not intended to represent real-world graphics performance, as this experience would change based on supporting hardware and the perception of individuals playing the video game. Intel X58-Express Test System
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| Graphics Card | GeForce GTX460 | Radeon HD5850 | Radeon HD6870 | GeForce GTX470 | Radeon HD5870 | Radeon HD6970 | GeForce GTX570 | GeForce GTX580 |
| GPU Cores | 336 | 1440 | 1120 | 448 | 1600 | 1536 | 480 | 512 |
| Core Clock (MHz) | 675 | 725 | 900 | 608 | 850 | 880 | 732 | 772 |
| Shader Clock (MHz) | 1350 | N/A | N/A | 1215 | N/A | N/A | 1464 | 1544 |
| Memory Clock (MHz) | 900 | 1000 | 1050 | 837 | 1200 | 1375 | 950 | 1002 |
| Memory Amount | 1024MB GDDR5 | 1024MB GDDR5 | 1024MB GDDR5 | 1280MB GDDR5 | 1024MB GDDR5 | 2048MB GDDR5 | 1280MB GDDR5 | 1536MB GDDR5 |
| Memory Interface | 256-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit | 320-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit | 320-bit | 384-bit |
Comments
I guess AMD will launch all new products when 32nm becomes available. Any insider clue on when that may occur?
sometimes i'm pissed of by Coles style: involved, passionate, stubborn.
BUT: the alternative are all kind of high priests, gurus (no, it's not an arrow to g3D) who made definitive verdicts, and then, never come down in the crowd, or patronise everyone.
so, i've made my choise.
I respect Olin Coles and bmr, with goods, bads and uglies. I admit there is room for better, but i agree with the path.
Don't bother answer, just think about. and this is not a sugestion for calm and harmony. i like creative flames. but assumed by everyone.
It seems that in some games, this GPU outperforms the GTX 470 and in other games, well, this card has really bad performance. I appreciate the work that you've done, but I suspect that a second review may be needed once the public release version comes out.
Otherwise, it seems that little has changed. Nvidia has the very expensive, very high performance single card GPU, and ATI/AMD has a slower card that is less expensive and comparable to Nvidia's second most potent card - kind of like the GTX 275 vs the 4890 situation, where Nvidia had the 285 that was untouchable for any single-card solution.
Although the HD6970 is a truly capable card, the GTX570 is too, and it also has a few capabilities that the ATI/AMD card does not. (CUDA & Phys-X)
So now I can just go ahead and buy my parts.
Thanks for the comprehensive review.
If you need CUDA, use apps. that take advantage of it, then get an nVidia card and stop thread crapping in AMD reviews.
If you want to play games and you are a fan of the tech then AMD might be your choice. Smaller more efficient designs that take advantage of newer faster RAM and aim to push performance/$, multi-monitor gaming, etc.
benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=582&Itemid=64&limit=1&limitstart=4
As for your last statement, I've got to wonder where you've been. Smaller and more efficient - what product are you talking about here? Newer and faster RAM - both vendors have been using the same GDDR5 for almost a year.
Ik have this setup and al benchmark results of the 6870 in crosfire are better than the 6970 results. So my advice: buy 2 6870 and put them in crossfire mode!!