Test methodology
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 |
| Gigabyte GeForce GTX 590 (3,072MB) | £575 | 607 | 1,024 | 1,214 | 3,414 | 384 x 2 | ForceWare 267.84 |
| 2x ASUS GeForce GTX 580 in SLI (3,072MB) | £740 | 772 | 1,024 | 1,544 | 4,008 | 384 x 2 | ForceWare 266.58 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 580 (1,536MB) | £370 | 772 | 512 | 1,544 | 4,008 | 384 | ForceWare 266.58 |
| 2x ASUS GeForce GTX 570 in SLI (2,560MB) | £530 | 732 | 960 | 1,464 | 3,600 | 320 x 2 | ForceWare 266.58 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 570 (1,280MB) | £265 | 732 | 480 | 1,464 | 3,800 | 320 | ForceWare 266.58 |
| Point of View GeForce GTX 560 Ti (1,024MB) | £180 | 822 | 384 | 1,645 | 4,008 | 256 | ForceWare 270.61 |
| Sapphire Radeon HD 6990 OC (4,096MB) | £530 | 880 | 3,072 | 880 | 5,000 | 256 x 2 | Catalyst 11.4 |
| Sapphire Radeon HD 6990 (4,096MB) | £530 | 830 | 3,072 | 830 | 5,000 | 256 x 2 | Catalyst 11.4 |
| 2x HIS Radeon HD 6970 in CrossFire (4,096MB) | £520 | 880 | 3,072 | 880 | 5,500 | 256 x 2 | Catalyst 11.4 |
| HIS Radeon HD 6970 (2,048MB) | £260 | 880 | 1,536 | 880 | 5,500 | 256 | Catalyst 11.4 |
| 2x Sapphire Radeon HD 6950 in CrossFire (4,096MB) | £400 | 800 | 2,816 | 800 | 5,000 | 256 x 2 | Catalyst 11.4 |
| Sapphire Radeon HD 6950 (2,048MB) | £200 | 800 | 1,408 | 800 | 5,000 | 256 | Catalyst 11.4 |
| PowerColor Radeon HD 6870 X2 (2,048MB) | £315* | 900 | 2,240 | 900 | 4,200 | 256 x 2 | Catalyst 11.6 |
| 2x AMD Radeon HD 6870 (1,024MB) | £280 | 900 | 2,240 | 900 | 4,200 | 256 x 2 | Catalyst 11.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 (1,024MB) | £140 | 900 | 1,120 | 900 | 4,200 | 256 | Catalyst 11.6 |
| *Suggested retail price | |||||||
Test bench |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i7 980X (3.33GHz, 12MB L3 cache, six-core, LGA1366) | |||||||||||
| Motherboard | ASUS P6X58D-E (0502 BIOS) | |||||||||||
| Memory | 6GB Corsair Dominator (9-9-9-24-2T @ 1,600MHz) | |||||||||||
| Power Supply | Corsair HX1000W | |||||||||||
| Monitor | Dell 30in 3007WFP | |||||||||||
| Disk drive(s) | Crucial RealSSD C300 (256GB) | |||||||||||
| Chassis | Corsair Obsidian Series 700D | |||||||||||
| Operating system | Windows 7, SP1, 64-bit | |||||||||||
Benchmarks |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3DMark 11 | Extreme preset, overall score and combined test results recorded. | |||||||||||
| Aliens vs. Predator | DX11, 1,920x1,080 and 2,560x1,600 resolutions, 4xAA, 16xAF, very high quality. | |||||||||||
| Call of Duty: Black Ops | DX9, 1,920x1,080 and 2,560x1,600 resolutions, 8xAA, ultra quality, FRAPS-recorded benchmark. | |||||||||||
| F1 2010 | DX11, 1,920x1,080 and 2,560x1,600 resolutions, 8xAA, ultra quality, Monaco circuit. | |||||||||||
| Just Cause 2 | DX10, 1,920x1,080 and 2,560x1,600 resolutions, 4xAA, 16xAF, very high quality, Dark Tower benchmark. | |||||||||||
| Metro 2033 | DX11, 1,920x1,080 and 2,560x1,600 resolutions, 4xAA, 16xAF, very high quality. | |||||||||||
| StarCraft II | DX9, 1,920x1,080 and 2,560x1,600 resolutions, 4xAA, ultra quality. | |||||||||||
| Power consumption | To emulate real-world usage scenarios, we record mains power draw both when idle and whilst playing Just Cause 2. | |||||||||||
| Temperature | To emulate real-world usage scenarios, we record GPU core temperature both when idle and whilst playing Just Cause 2. | |||||||||||
| Noise | A PCE-318 noise level meter is placed at front of a Corsair 700D chassis with side panel on. | |||||||||||
Notes
We've slotted PowerColor's Radeon HD 6870 X2 into our high-end test suite to see where it stands against the likes of NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 580, and to find out how well the Lucid bridge chip is working, we've also added results for a pair of Radeon HD 6870s configured in CrossFire.
