How we test
GPU comparisons |
|||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Graphics cards | Current pricing | GPU clock (MHz) | Stream processors | Shader clock (MHz) | Memory clock (MHz) | Memory bus (bits) | Graphics driver |
Sapphire Radeon HD 5870 1,024MB | £275 | 850 | 1,600 | 850 | 4,800 | 256 | Catalyst 10.10P |
HIS Radeon HD 5850 1,024MB | £210 | 725 | 1,440 | 725 | 4,000 | 256 | Catalyst 10.10P |
ASUS Radeon HD 6870 OC 1,024MB | £190 | 915 | 1,120 | 915 | 4,200 | 256 | Catalyst 10.10c |
HIS Radeon HD 6870 1,024MB | £195 | 900 | 1,120 | 900 | 4,200 | 256 | Catalyst 10.10P |
Sapphire Radeon HD 6850 1,024MB | £150 | 775 | 960 | 775 | 4,000 | 256 | Catalyst 10.10P |
Sapphire Radeon HD 5830 1,024MB | £165 | 800 | 1,120 | 800 | 4,000 | 256 | Catalyst 10.10P |
HIS Radeon HD 5770 1,024MB | £110 | 850 | 800 | 850 | 4,800 | 128 | Catalyst 10.10P |
ASUS GeForce GTX 480 1,536MB | £350 | 700 | 480 | 1,401 | 3,698 | 384 | ForceWare 260.89 |
ASUS GeForce GTX 470 1,280MB | £200 | 607 | 448 | 1,215 | 3,348 | 320 | ForceWare 260.89 |
ASUS GeForce GTX 465 1,024MB | £170 | 607 | 352 | 1,215 | 3,206 | 256 | ForceWare 260.89 |
Gigabyte
GTX 460 1,024MB SOC |
£175 | 815 | 336 | 1,620 | 4,000 | 256 | ForceWare 260.89 |
EVGA
GeForce GTX 460 1,024MB |
£155 | 675 | 336 | 1,350 | 3,600 | 256 | ForceWare 260.89 |
POV GeForce GTX 460 768MB OC | £170 | 824 | 336 | 1,648 | 4,020 | 192 | ForceWare 260.89 |
EVGA GeForce GTX 460 768MB | £135 | 675 | 336 | 1,350 | 3,600 | 192 | ForceWare 260.89 |
Test bench |
||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CPU | Intel Core i7 980X Extreme Edition (3.33GHz, 12MB L3 cache, hexa-core, LGA1366 - Turbo Boost enabled) | |||||||||||
Motherboard | ASUS P6X58D Premium | |||||||||||
Motherboard BIOS | 1002 | |||||||||||
Memory | 6GB Corsair DDR3 | |||||||||||
Memory timings and speed | 9-9-9-24-1T @ DDR3-1,600 | |||||||||||
PSU | Corsair HX1000W | |||||||||||
Monitor | Dell 30in 3007WFP - 2,560x1,600px | |||||||||||
Disk drive(s) | Corsair Force F80 SSD | |||||||||||
Operating system | Windows 7 Ultimate, 64-bit |
Benchmarks |
||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aliens vs. Predator | DX11, 1,680x1,050, 1,920x1,080 and 2,560x1,600 resolutions, 2xAA, 16xAF, very high quality. | |||||||||||
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 | DX9, 1,680x1,050, 1,920x1,080 and 2,560x1,600 resolutions, 4xAA, ultra quality, FRAPS-recorded benchmark. | |||||||||||
Just Cause 2 | DX10, 1,680x1,050, 1,920x1,080 and 2,560x1,600 resolutions, 4xAA, 16xAF, Dark Tower benchmark | |||||||||||
Mafia II | DX9, 1,680x1,050, 1,920x1,080 and 2,560x1,600 resolutions, AA on, 16x AF, built-in benchmark | |||||||||||
3DMark Vantage b1.02 | DX10, Run at the 'high' preset and overall, GPU and Feature Test 4 scores noted | |||||||||||
Temperature | To emulate real-world usage scenarios, we record GPU core temperature both when idle and whilst playing Call of Duty: MW2. And, for a worst-case scenario, we throw in numbers from the FurMark stress test. | |||||||||||
Power consumption | To emulate real-world usage scenarios, we record mains power draw both when idle and whilst playing Call of Duty: MW2. And, for a worst-case scenario, we throw in numbers from the FurMark stress test. |
We've upgraded the driver for the ASUS card to the Catalyst 10.10c that was launched last week. It promises slight speed improvements over the 10.10 set released to coincide with the new Radeon HD 6850 and HD 6870 cards.
Knowing that the ASUS card is likely to perform 1-2 per cent faster than the stock-clocked HIS, due to an increased core clock, we can determine which benefits, if any, the new driver bestows on Radeon 6000-series cards.
We were to include in-depth analysis of AMD's morphological antialiasing feature (MLAA) in this review, but on examination and subsequent enquiry with AMD, it transpires that the 10.10c drivers are relatively buggy with MLAA run on DX10/11 games.