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We burn up kilowatts testing eight hot new videocards to see why the Radeon reigns supreme
AMD’s recent release of its RV870 GPU line makes the company the undisputed graphics performance leader. The Radeon HD 5870 is the fastest single-GPU graphics card on the market currently. But at roughly $380, it’s not inexpensive, so AMD has also rolled out the Radeon HD 5850, 5770, and 5750 cards. All are DirectX 11–capable, at lower price points than the flagship HD 5870.
The HD 5850 uses the same RV870 GPU as the 5870, but with a couple of functional units disabled. Priced at around $260, the 5850 occupies the lower tier of the high-end cards. The recently released 5770/5750 cards use a different chip. Based on the same DirectX 11 architecture as their big brothers, the 5770/5750 are built with 1.04 billion transistors—just slightly more than the 956 million used in the previous-generation Radeon HD 4870/4890 products. Contrast these numbers with the 2.15 billion transistors in the Radeon HD 5870.
Current prices for 5770s are roughly the same as older 4870s, around $150–$160. So the 5770 is firmly positioned as a midrange graphics card.
We put eight cards to the test, from six companies: three Radeon HD 5870s, three HD 5850s, one HD 5770, and a factory-overclocked Nvidia GTX 260 from Gigabyte, our token Nvidia card in the mix. We compared each card against the fastest previous single-GPU champ, the EVGA 285 GTX SSC. Our test bed consisted of a 3.3GHz Intel Core i7-975 on an Asus Rampage Extreme II X58 motherboard, 6GB Corsair DDR3/1600 at 1,333MHz, a Seagate 7200.12 1TB hard drive, a Lite-On DVD+/-RW optical drive, a Corsair 850W PSU, and the 64-bit version of Windows 7.
At the start of any new GPU’s cycle, board vendors adhere to the reference design, making performance virtually identical among competing cards. This changes as OEMs tweak their designs. Still, as you’ll see from our reviews, differences exist in terms of warranty, software bundle, availability, and price.
| Model | HD 4870 | HD 5770 | HD 5750 | HD 5850 | HD 5870 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stream Processors | 800 | 800 | 720 | 1440 | 1600 |
| Core Clock | 750MHz | 850MHz | 700MHz | 725MHz | 850MHz |
| Memory Clock | 900MHz | 1.2GHz | 700MHz | 1GHz | 1.2GHz |
| Memory Width | 256 | 128 | 128 | 256 | 256 |
| Max Power Use | 150W | 108W | 86W | 151W | 188W |
| Price | $150 | $160 | $130 | $260 | $380 |
All these have 1GB of memory; there’s also a 512MB version of the 5750 available, at around $110.
The Reviews (Click the picture or headline for the full review and benchmarks, and verdict)
All of the Radeon HD 5870s reviewed here are essentially identical—they’re the fastest single-GPU graphics cards you can buy currently. Out of the box, you get a typical one-year limited warranty. But if you register XFX’s product online. within 30 days of purchase, the warranty lasts for “the duration of your life.” Not a bad deal, assuming the company is around that long.
HIS is based in Hong Kong, but its cards are readily available in U.S. outlets. They often cost slightly less than the competition, but that’s not the case with the company’s Radeon HD 5870, which is priced the same as its competitors. When we first unpacked the card, we thought it was the lesser HD 5850 model, due to its relatively compact packaging.
As with all Radeon HD 5870s, Sapphire’s version offers superlative performance, making it one of the fastest single-GPU cards available today. At its core is AMD’s 2.15 billion transistor Cypress chip, coupled with 1GB of 1,200MHz GDDR5 memory. Two DVI, one HDMI, and one DisplayPort connection allow for flexible monitor attachment.
More reviews on the next page!
Comments are closed on this article
stangowner
December 12, 2009 at 5:12pm
RivaTuner has had a signed driver for a long time now. The install includes a file called "RivaTuner2xxDrv.rtu" which is a signed driver compliments of the guys over at techpowerup. When doing the install, you get prompted to install any available updates. Just say yes.... and the the driver is included. I've been running Win7x64 since Feb (currently the RTM, but several beta/rc builds before that), and RivaTuner has worked flawlessly on all of them, without requiring any driver signature hacks or disabling.
Here is the result:
http://rivatuner.doomdealer.com/images/RT-signed-driver.png
- Nick
linlin0
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mpcrsc562
November 17, 2009 at 11:05am
but money is a major issue. besides, i had just got my hands on an extra hd 4870 earlier this year to set up for crossfire.
although eyefinity looks to be cool, it is a shame that the technology won't work for the 48xx series cards! why cannot i have my driver recognize my two monitors as a single panel instead of one desktop extended onto another panel? i would LOVE to have my games that recognize multi-monitor actually be able to use the function!
MeTo
November 17, 2009 at 8:10am
I do not like the format it's like they are paid by the click. To much hassle for me. Very unappealing.
downlinx
November 17, 2009 at 6:16am
no only if ATI could back there hardware up with a good set of drivers then we would be set. I'm still not on the band wagon as of yet for the ati cards. Yes the 5970 will be a hell of a card but its basically two 5850's smashed together on one board with the extra stream processors (which is very nice). Im happy with my gtx295 until the vs reveiws come out with the next gen nvidia cards so i can see how great these cards are. DX11 games that i am intrested in are not due out any time soon so the gtx295 with a gtx 260 physics works just fine for me. I am really pulling for ati to take the top of the hill and if there drivers get alot more stable then i have another king card to buy.
samduhman
November 17, 2009 at 9:03am
Over the past years I've owned the ATI9700pro then a few Nvidias (6800, model I forget, 8800 etc) up till I bought the ATI 4850 and now my current 4870.
I've never experienced "noticable" bad drivers on any of the cards, ATI or Nvidia. So I've always used the best bang for the buck theory which has saved me a lot of money and allowed me to upgrade more often instead of sticking to one manufacturer camp.
jihnn
November 17, 2009 at 7:39am
guess you have never owned ati....you must troll the boards and cherry pick what you want to be the truth.
i currently have an evga evga ftw 260, also i have owned several ati cards.
i am not a vidcard fanboy, i want the most bang for buck card.
i'm gonna tell ya that the ati cards have always had great drivers..
peeps like you need to keep quiet about what you haven't actually experienced... lest the noobs actually believe ya
Quakindude
November 18, 2009 at 7:40am
ATI has NOT always had the best drivers. For MANY years, ATI drivers really sucked when you were trying to upgrade from one set to another. And then many sets of ATI drivers just plain sucked. This hasn't been true for the last three or so years though.
mastermachman
November 17, 2009 at 6:02am
Not true. ATI OverClock tool you show here was first brought out with ATI last Video card 4890 witch I have now.. and It Overdrive tool work like a champ, Also another good one it SmartDoc. it too will overclock. I have tested both, I was a big Nvida fan for a long time now. But AMD/ATI in the video card market have hit hight number as of lastly. and is call for a switch. I went from 7600 to 7950, on too 4890,(got started in PC gaming in 2000, first card was 2250 . . .LOL) I'm now looking at 5870 for my next card. I wall ways buy top tier cards. I'm a hard core PC gamer and coder /Mapper builder.
virorex
November 17, 2009 at 10:54am
uh i'm pretty sure ATI OverClock tool was out a long time ago alongside one of the driver version I can't remember... I overclocked my 3870 with it when I bought it almost 2 years ago. Unfortunately my card does not run stable enough even with a slight overclock. Saving money for 5850 for xmas =)
chronium
November 17, 2009 at 5:34am
Also what ever happened to the conclusion of your review round ups that was the only part that I read.
jrocknyc
November 17, 2009 at 5:14am
why aren't these reviews arranged linearly? why are we being forced to go forward and back, forward and back, forward and back?
you're just forcing us to go elsewhere for our information, and eventually we'll forget to come back.
MeTo
November 17, 2009 at 8:09am
It's like they are paid by the click. To much hassle for me. Very unappealing.
Onyx2291
November 17, 2009 at 3:38am
I wish I could get my hands on one of these. Been running an 8400 for two years now.
-Onyx
Sentinel137
November 16, 2009 at 11:09pm
At this time, ATI made it out the gate first with a Dx 11 Card and the almost fastest card one could buy, But the only software that use DX 11 is is window's 7, There are No Game's or other software on market that use the API,Dx 11,, at this time till some where near the mid to end of next year, Software will come out to start using the API, I can very well understand why Nvidia is not so much worry about it at this time, When Nivida puts out its 300 line cards it will be in line with the software that will be released, And more so will make what they are calling the top of the line card today from ATI 5870 not so hot any more, and prices for this card will drop down, As one can all ready see that you have to down load A work around software to make the cards run, as the drivers needs to be re engineered to get the bugs out still, This race is still on and the first horse out the gate is not all ways the winner as it also is the last one to cross the finish line,,
big_montana
November 17, 2009 at 6:51am
That is where you are wrong, as there is plenty of software available that makes use of DX 11 not names Windows 7 (which in my book is pretty good reason onto itself to purchase a 5000 series card). Try googling direct 11 software. The only buggy software is Rivatuner which does not work well under Win64 and this is for Nvidai and AMD. Also your interpretation of this article seems a little buggy as well.
Springfield45
November 17, 2009 at 1:05am
It may come as a suprise to you, but not everyone buys a new video card every six monts. Some people use the same card for a year or even two! I am looking for a possible upgrade myself right now. My current card has seen service in my computer for just over a year, and will see annother year of use in my wife's computer when I purchase a replacement for mine. So, as I am looking for a new card, I am looking for good performance, value, AND feature support in future titles.
-- An armed man is a free man. --
Taz0
November 17, 2009 at 12:00pm
Windows 7 does not use DirectX 11, but rather supports it for use by games and applications. Windows Vista also supports DirectX 11.
EDIT: Whoops, meant to reply to Sentinel137.
slynn12
November 16, 2009 at 10:08pm
Would this possibly mean a price drop in the 4870 because I'd love that. I'm wanting to get a second one for my pc.
gendoikari1
November 16, 2009 at 9:33pm
Now, if only there actually WERE HD 5000 series cards to buy...
big_montana
November 17, 2009 at 6:44am
Ever hear of Newegg, Tigerdirect, Zipzoomfly? All three have HD 5000 series cards listed for sale and in stock. Do not know where you were looking (Worst Buy maybe) but they are and have been availalbe online for a while now.
khaos
November 17, 2009 at 8:12am
Newegg has 5750's, but go
on down the list and all you will see is "Auto-Notifiy".
gendoikari1
November 17, 2009 at 5:07pm
Yeah. I was looking to see if I could get a 5870 or two in order to replace the GTX 295 that is currently overheating and glitching come playing a game, but the worse bit is that I'm in Canada, so trying to find one is even worse here (everywhere is either a) on backorder b)out of stock c)never gonna sell the card).
big_montana
November 18, 2009 at 6:49am
But that is not what you said. You stated there were no 5000 series cards in stock. If you took my advice and looked at Zipzoomfly's web site you would see that they have the card you are looking for in stock and available for immediate shipping. Not AMD's fault that Newegg has yet to stock it.
gendoikari1
November 18, 2009 at 3:29pm
The 5800 series cards are on "Notify Me" status on Zipzoomfly. That answer your question?
DBsantos77
November 16, 2009 at 9:05pm
I still can't get over how sexy the 5870 is.
As far as the unsigned driver issue, there is a write-up on a workaround, and it works with W7 64-bit. Follow the link.
Loading unsigned drivers in W7 64-bit: http://www.raymond.cc/blog/archives/2009/08/24/loading-unsigned-drivers-in-windows-7-and-vista-64-bit-x64/
App required to complete the workaround: http://www.ngohq.com/home.php?page=dseo
This workaround can be used for virtually any app, not just rivatuner.
Hope this helps someone, I know it saved a buttload of headaches for me.
-Santos
targetsb
November 16, 2009 at 9:05pm
Unfortunately for ATI and Nvidia,no one wants to make good games that will actually make use of these excellent cards powers.
Thanks for nothing Infinity Ward.
