Test methodology
Hardware
| Graphics cards | Sapphire Radeon HD 5970 TOXIC 4,096MB | HIS Radeon HD 5970 2,048MB | Sapphire Radeon HD 5870 CrossFire 1,024MB | HIS Radeon HD 5850 CrossFire 1,024MB | Sapphire Radeon HD 5870 TOXIC 2,048MB | Sapphire Radeon HD 5870 1,024MB | Sapphire Radeon HD 5850 1,024MB | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 SLI 1,536MB | ZOTAC GeForce GTX 470 SLI 1,280MB | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 1,536MB | ZOTAC GeForce GTX 470 1,280MB | Inno3D GeForce GTX 295 1,792MB | BFG GeForce GTX 285 1,024MB | EVGA GeForce GTX 275 896MB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current pricing, including VAT | £750? | £550 | £650 | £450 | £360 (estimated) | £325 | £230 | £830 | £600 | £415 | £300 | £425 | £275 | £200 | |
| Shader model | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | |
| Stream processors | 3,200 | 3,200 | 3,200 | 2,880 | 1,600 | 1,600 | 1440 | 960 | 896 | 480 | 448 | 480 | 240 | 240 | |
| GPU clock speed (MHz) | 900 | 725 | 850 | 725 | 925 | 850 | 725 | 700 | 607 | 700 | 607 | 576 | 648 | 633 | |
| Shader clock speed (MHz) | 900 | 725 | 850 | 725 | 925 | 850 | 725 | 1,401 | 1,215 | 1,401 | 1,215 | 1,242 | 1,474 | 1,404 | |
| Memory clock speed (MHz) | 4,800 | 4,000 | 4,800 | 4,000 | 5,000 | 4,800 | 4,000 | 3,698 | 3,348 | 3,698 | 3,348 | 2,016 | 2,484 | 2,276 | |
| Memory bus width (bits) | 256 x 2 | 256 x 2 | 256 x 2 | 256 x 2 | 256 | 256 | 256 | 384 x 2 | 320 x 2 | 384 | 320 | 448 x 2 | 512 | 448 | |
| CPU | Intel Core i7 965 Extreme Edition (3.20GHz, 8MB L3 cache, quad-core, LGA1366 - Turbo Boost on) | ||||||||||||||
| Motherboard | ASUS P6X58D Premium | ||||||||||||||
| Motherboard BIOS | 0703 | ||||||||||||||
| Mainboard software | Intel Inf 9.1.1.1025 | ||||||||||||||
| Memory | 6GB Crucial DDR3-1,067 CL7 | ||||||||||||||
| Memory timings and speed | 7-7-7-20 1T @ DDR3-1,066 | ||||||||||||||
| PSU | Corsair HX1000W | ||||||||||||||
| Monitor | Dell 30in 3007WFP - 2,560x1,600px | ||||||||||||||
| Disk drive(s) | Corsair Nova V128 SSD | ||||||||||||||
| Graphics driver | Catalyst 10.3a | Catalyst 10.3a | Catalyst 10.3a | Catalyst 10.3a | Catalyst 10.3a | Catalyst 10.3a | Catalyst 10.3a | ForceWare 197.17 | ForceWare 197.17 | ForceWare 197.17 | ForceWare 197.17 | ForceWare 197.13 | ForceWare 197.13 | ForceWare 197.13 | |
| Operating system | Windows 7 Ultimate, 64-bit | ||||||||||||||
Software
| Benchmarks | Unigine Heaven 2.0 benchmark Battlefield: Bad Company 2 v523648 - FRAPS-recorded benchmark Crysis Warhead v1.1.1.711 - train map - enthusiast quality DiRT 2 v1.1, London map - ultra quality Far Cry 2 v1.03 - very high quality Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X v1.2, internal benchmark: DX10/10.1 - high quality Power-draw Temperatures Real-world noise Overclocking HEXUS.bang4buck and HEXUS.bang4watt |
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Notes
Benchmarks were conducted at 1,680x1,050, 1,920x1,200, and 2,560x1,600, where applicable, with decent degrees of image quality. We've tested with the latest drivers available from both AMD and NVIDIA.
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is a recently-introduced benchmark and DiRT 2 has also been updated to v1.1 in recent weeks. The patch appears to provide better performance for NVIDIA GPUs.
Our massive comparison pits Sapphire's latest beast against an array of high-end alternatives - including a selection of CrossFire/SLI/dual-GPU configurations, all of which are identified in the forthcoming graphs via darkened colours.
Readers should note that we were unable to run the Unigine Heaven 2.0 and DiRT 2 DX11 benchmarks on our GeForce GTX 480 SLI configuration - NVIDIA's latest GPU remains hard to find, and our time with two of them was limited. Consequently, Bang4Buck figures for the GeForce GTX 480 SLI are also currently unavailable. We'll endeavour to add the missing numbers when we get our hands on a second GTX 480.
Priced somewhere around £750, we want to know if the Radeon HD 5970 TOXIC 4GB has what it takes to become the fastest single graphics card in the world - and whether or not it makes sense compared to cheaper dual-GPU configurations such as a pair of GeForce GTX 470s in SLI or a pair of Radeon HD 5870s in CrossFire.
