How we test
GPU comparisons |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graphics card | Approx. pricing |
GPU clock (MHz) |
Stream processors |
Shader clock (MHz) |
Memory clock (MHz) |
Memory bus (bits) |
Graphics driver |
| Sapphire Radeon HD 6790 1,024MB | £120? | 820 | 800 | 820 | 4,200 | 256 | Catalyst 11.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6790 1,024MB | £115? | 820 | 800 | 820 | 4,200 | 256 | Catalyst 11.4 |
| Sapphire Radeon HD 6850 1,024MB | £135 | 775 | 960 | 775 | 4,000 | 256 | Catalyst 11.4 |
| HIS Radeon HD 5770 1,024MB | £100 | 850 | 800 | 850 | 4,800 | 128 | Catalyst 11.4 |
| Sapphire Radeon HD 5750 1,024MB | £90 | 700 | 720 | 700 | 4,600 | 128 | Catalyst 11.4 |
| KFA2 GeForce GTX 550 Ti White Edition LTD OC 1,024MB | £140 | 1,000 | 192 | 2,000 | 4,600 | 192 | ForceWare 267.59 |
| Gigabyte GeForce GTX 550 Ti OC 1,024MB | £130 | 970 | 192 | 1,940 | 4,200 | 192 | ForceWare 267.59 |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti 1,024MB | £115 | 900 | 192 | 1,800 | 4,104 | 192 | ForceWare 267.59 |
| EVGA GeForce GTX 460 1,024MB | £140 | 675 | 336 | 1,350 | 3,600 | 256 | ForceWare 267.59 |
| KFA2 GeForce GTX 460 768MB | £125 | 675 | 336 | 1,350 | 3,600 | 192 | ForceWare 267.59 |
| Inno3D GeForce GTS 450 1,024MB | £90 | 783 | 192 | 1,566 | 3,608 | 128 | ForceWare 267.59 |
Test bench |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i5 2500K (3.30GHz, 6MB L3 cache, quad-core, LGA1155) | |||||||||||
| Motherboard | Intel DP67BG | |||||||||||
| Memory | 8GB Corsair Vengeance (9-9-9-24-2T @ 1,600MHz) | |||||||||||
| Power Supply | Corsair AX750 | |||||||||||
| Monitor | Dell 30in 3007WFP | |||||||||||
| Disk drive(s) | Crucial RealSSD C300 (256GB) | |||||||||||
| Chassis | Corsair Graphite Series 600T | |||||||||||
| Operating system | Windows 7, SP1, 64-bit | |||||||||||
Benchmarks |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3DMark 11 | Performance preset, overall score and combined test results recorded. | |||||||||||
| Aliens vs. Predator | DX11, 1,280x720 and 1,920x1,080 resolutions, 2xAA, 8xAF, medium quality. | |||||||||||
| Call of Duty: Black Ops | DX9, 1,280x720 and 1,920x1,080 resolutions, 4xAA, ultra quality, FRAPS-recorded benchmark. | |||||||||||
| F1 2010 | DX11, 1,280x720 and 1,920x1,080 resolutions, 4xAA, high quality, Monaco circuit. | |||||||||||
| Just Cause 2 | DX10, 1,280x720 and 1,920x1,080 resolutions, 4xAA, 16xAF, medium/high quality, Dark Tower benchmark. | |||||||||||
| Metro 2033 | DX11, 1,280x720 and 1,920x1,080 resolutions, 4xAA, 16xAF, medium quality. | |||||||||||
| StarCraft II | DX9, 1,280x720 and 1,920x1,080 resolutions, 2xAA, high quality. | |||||||||||
| Power consumption | To emulate real-world usage scenarios, we record mains power draw both when idle and whilst playing Just Cause 2. And, for a worst-case scenario, we throw in numbers from the FurMark stress test. | |||||||||||
| Temperature | To emulate real-world usage scenarios, we record GPU core temperature both when idle and whilst playing Just Cause 2. And, for a worst-case scenario, we throw in numbers from the FurMark stress test. | |||||||||||
| Noise | A PCE-318 noise level meter is placed at front of a Corsair 600T chassis with side panel on. | |||||||||||
Notes
We've thrown in a couple of non-reference, overclocked GeForce GTX 550 Ti cards and replicated a reference card by downclocking the Gigabyte version.
