Testing methodology
GPU Comparisons |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graphics Card | GPU Clock (MHz) |
Stream Processors |
Shader Clock (MHz) |
Memory Clock (MHz) |
Memory Bus (bits) |
Graphics Driver | Approx Price | |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 1GB | 860 | 1,024 | 860 | 4,800 | 256 | Catalyst 13.3 | £125+ | |
| Sapphire Radeon HD 7790 Dual-X OC 1GB | 1,075 | 896 | 1,075 | 6,400 | 128 | Catalyst 13.3 | £130 | |
| Gigabyte Radeon HD 7790 OC 1GB | 1,075 | 896 | 1,075 | 6,000 | 128 | Catalyst 13.3 | £125 | |
| PowerColor Radeon HD 7790 Turbo Duo 1GB | 1,075 | 896 | 1,075 | 6,000 | 128 | Catalyst 13.3 | £120 | |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 1GB | 1,000 | 896 | 1,075 | 6,000 | 128 | Catalyst 13.3 | £120 | |
| AMD Radeon HD 7770 1GB | 1,000 | 640 | 1,000 | 4,500 | 128 | Catalyst 13.3 | £90 | |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 2GB | 980 (1,033) | 960 | 980 (1,033) | 6,000 | 192 | GeForce 314.21 | £165 | |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB | 980 (1,033) | 768 | 980 (1,033) | 6,000 | 192 | GeForce 314.21 | £145 | |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB | 928 | 768 | 928 | 5,400 | 128 | GeForce 314.21 | £115 | |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 1GB | 900 | 336 | 1,800 | 4,000 | 256 | GeForce 314.21 | £140 | |
HEXUS Graphics Test Bench |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i7-3770K (3.50GHz, 8MB cache, quad-core) | |||||||||||
| CPU Cooler | Intel reference E97378-001 | |||||||||||
| Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UP4 TH | |||||||||||
| Memory | 8GB G.Skill RipJaws (2x4GB) DDR3 @ 1,600MHz | |||||||||||
| Power Supply | Corsair AX750W | |||||||||||
| Storage Device | Samsung 830 Series 256GB SSD | |||||||||||
| Optical Drive | Generic 24x DVD-RW | |||||||||||
| Chassis | Corsair Graphite Series 600T | |||||||||||
| Monitor | BenQ 24in EW2430 (1,920x1,080) | |||||||||||
| Operating system | Windows 7 Ultimate (64-bit, SP1) | |||||||||||
HEXUS Mid-Range Benchmarking Suite |
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|---|---|---|
| 3D Benchmarks | Mode and Resolutions | Quality Settings |
| 3DMark | DX11 | Fire Strike and Cloud Gate |
| Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 | DX9 at 1,680x1,050 and 1,920x1,080 | 4xMSAA, High |
| Crysis 3 | DX11 at 1,680x1,050 and 1,920x1,080 | 2xMSAA, Medium |
| DiRT Showdown | DX11 at 1,680x1,050 and 1,920x1,080 | 4xMSAA, High |
| Far Cry 3 | DX11 at 1,680x1,050 and 1,920x1,080 | 2xMSAA, High |
| Just Cause 2 | DX10 at 1,680x1,050 and 1,920x1,080 | 4xMSAA, High |
| General Benchmarks | Description | |
| Power Consumption | To emulate real-world usage scenarios, we record mains power draw both when idle and while playing Far Cry 3 | |
| Temperature | To emulate real-world usage scenarios, we record GPU core temperature both when idle and while playing Far Cry 3 | |
| Noise | A PCE-318 meter is used to record noise levels when idle and while playing Far Cry 3 | |
Testing notes
We've also downclocked the Gigabyte HD 7790 OC to AMD reference levels and included the extra numbers in the upcoming graphs.
PowerColor and Gigabyte both clock their OC cards in to the same levels - 1,075MHz core and 6,000MHz memory - so while we've included the benchmark numbers for both, they fall within a one per cent standard deviation of one another.
