A year ago, AMD introduced a series of video cards Radeon HD 5800, which brought the company to the graphic accelerators market leaders. But it is impossible to stop there, and here we have already representatives of the new HD 6800 series.

Before the announcement, there was a lot of rumors about the not quite understandable positioning of future video cards and a small castling in the name system. Especially stormy emotions from readers of our site caused data that the Radeon HD 6850 and Radeon HD 6870 performance will be no higher than (or below) than the old CYPRESS-based solutions. It is time to disrupt the coverage of secrets and present you Radeon HD 6870.

To begin with, we'll figure it out a little with the positioning of the HD 6800 series video cards. In the bottom slide, it is excellent that the eldest Radeon HD 6870 occupies the average position between the Radeon HD 5850 and Radeon HD 5870. Junior Radeon HD 6850 is located on the step below the Radeon HD 5850, you can say That this is the replacement of the Radeon HD 5830 (about this card somehow forgotten and did not even imagine it in the chart).

Such an alignment will confuse a little consumers, because in recent years everything is used to that the top single-chip video cards Radeon have a number ending on 870 (HD 3870, HD 4870, HD 5870). And here it turns out that the new Radeon HD 6870 acts as a replacement of the Radeon HD 5850. The role of single-point flagships in the new line of video cards is assigned to the Radeon HD 6950 and Radeon HD 6970 based on the Cayman architecture, which will be presented at the end of November.

Appearance video Cards Radeon. HD 6850 and Radeon HD 6870 is the answer to the GeForce GTX 460, which has successfully completing the niche between the Radeon HD 5830 and Radeon HD 5850. AMD has followed NVIDIA footsteen, and the new graphic chip under the code name Barts is nothing more than a bit trimmed Cypress at higher frequencies.

The graphics processor consists of 14 SIMD nuclei, the structure of which is similar to CYPRESS. That's just the old RV870 initially had 20 such nuclei. Each SIMD Engine includes 16 shader blocks that perform 5 transactions for the clock, i.e. Total we have 1120 computing blocks. It is exactly the same as Radeon HD 5830. Similarly, the number of TMU is 56. The amount of ROP is identical to the Radeon HD 5850 - they are 32.

Such a simple reorganization helped reduce the number of transistors from 2.15 billion to 1.7 billion, and the kernel area decreased by almost a third - from 334 mm 2 to 255 mm 2. This made it possible to achieve smaller power consumption and reducing the cost of GPU production.

In addition to "circumcision" new graphic processor It was a little modified. In the empty, two Ultra-Thread Dispatch Processor managers were included instead of one at the RV870, in addition, the tessellation unit has been finalized. According to AMD, it provided 1.5-2 times superiority over the old GPU in some tessellation modes.

The GDDR5 memory message is carried out on a 256-bit bus implemented on four 64-bit controllers. Actually, all the same as before.

Cell the predecessors on the CYPRESS kernel beginners can be mainly due to higher frequencies, which is excellent visible on the following table.

Characteristics of video cards BARTS and CYPRESS

Video adapter	Radeon HD 6850.	Radeon HD 6870.	Radeon HD 5830.	Radeon HD 5850.	Radeon HD 5870.
Core	BARTS PRO.	Barts Xt.	RV870.	RV870.	RV870.
	1700	1700	2154	2154	2154
TEHPROTSESS, NM	40	40	40	40	40
Square nucleus, square. MM.	255	255	334	334	334
	960	1120	1120	1440	1600
Number of textural blocks	48	56	56	72	80
Number of rendering blocks	32	32	16	32	32
Core frequency, MHz	775	900	800	725	850
Memory bus, bit	256	256	256	256	256
Memory type	GDDR5	GDDR5	GDDR5	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory frequency, MHz	4000	4200	4000	4000	4800
Memory volume, MB	1024	1024	1024	1024	1024
	11	11	11	11	11
Interface	PCI EXPRESS. 2.1	PCI EXPRESS 2.1.	PCI EXPRESS 2.1.	PCI EXPRESS 2.1.	PCI EXPRESS 2.1.
Stated power consumption, load / simple, W	127/19	151/19	175/25	170/27	188/27

The older Radeon HD 6870 operates at a frequency of 900 MHz, against 725 MHz at Radeon HD 5850 and 850 MHz at Radeon HD 5870. Even purely theoretically, such operating frequency should largely compensate for 28% difference in the number of streaming processors between Radeon HD 6870 and Radeon HD 5850 and give the advantage of TMU and ROP BARTS XT blocks. Against the background of the high frequency of the kernel, the GDDR5 memory, operating at 4.2 GHz, is not impressive, all the more so that even in the past generation there were video adapters, in which 4.8 GHz reached frequencies.

The younger Radeon HD 6850 disabled two SIMD cores, respectively, the number of streaming processors is already 960, and the textural blocks 48. The operating frequency of the GPU is reduced to 775 MHz, memory is up to 4000 MHz. Compete with Radeon HD 5850 This video card will certainly not be able to compete, but with Radeon HD 5830, it may also be stretched.

One of the important advantages of new video cards is reduced energy consumption. Even with a frequency of 900 MHz, the Senior Barts representative is laid in 151 W, while the power consumption of Radeon HD 5850 - 170 W. The younger model is content with 127 W. Even economical regime has become even more economical - 19 W in a simple versus 27 W at CYPRESS.

The number of external connectors has reached five pieces. Maps are equipped with two Mini DisplayPort standard 1.2, one HDMI 1.4A and a pair of DVI. AMD Eyefinity technology has gained development to AMD Eyefinity Multi-Display Technology. You can now connect several devices to one DisplayPort port through a special hub. 3D image output is supported via HDMI 1.4A port.

Generally, as for 3D, we finally appeared alternative to NVIDIA 3D Vision. This is not surprising, because "stereoism" is gradually gaining popularity. And after Sony added support for the stereo mode for its console, it became clear that the vector of development of game technologies finally shifted to this area. With the new generation of video cards, support for the new AMD HD3D technology appears. The company speaks of the "open initiative", which provides opportunities for cooperation with any manufacturers of equipment (monitors, points) and software companies under this program. On the this moment Thanks to the support of DDD and IZ3D partners (engaged in developing software for conversion in Stereo 3D), this technology can be used in 400 games. But native support for HD3D is promised to us only in 2011.

Once again, the Unified Video Decoder unit has been improved and support for Blu-ray 3D decoding (NVIDIA has been available since GeForce GT 240).
HIS 6870 FAN 1GB (H687F1G2M)

In this article, we will look at the Radeon HD 6870 from the company HIS.

Delivery set includes:

• dVI / D-SUB adapter;
• two Molex / PCI-E power adapters;
• crossfire bridge;
• drivers with drivers;
• instructions.

The video card is a bit longer Radeon HD 5850.

Rounded forms were changed by straight corners. On the side and rear panel there are red plastic inserts.

On the side of the sides are two 6-PIN power connector.

The rear panel made two DisplayPort connections, one HDMI and a pair of DVI.

The cooling system is a typical turbine. A massive aluminum base serves as a radiator for memory chips and power supply system. For cooling, the graphics chip is provided with a large radiator with three thermal tubes.

The upper casing is attached to latches in the image and similarity of reference cooling systems nVIDIA video cards. That's just, if GeForce, with due accurate, remove the casing can, without disassembling the video card, then the Radeon HD 6870 latches and plastic covers are so tight and hard that the disassembly process takes a lot of time and nerves, not to mention the need to pre-dismantle the cooler.

For comparison, below shows the photo of the Radeon HD 5850 cooling system.

It is clearly seen that the novice has a big radiator. It is based on its one 8-mm heat tube and two standard 6 mm tube.

The whole design of the FD9238H12S radial fan is blown away. The same fans are installed on the Radeon HD 5850.

Board length - 24 centimeters. The layout of the elements is slightly unusual, because the power system is transferred to the left side, closer to external connectors. Unlike HD 5800 video cards, this adapter has only one CrossFire connector.

The four-phase GPU power system is implemented on the CHIL CHL8214 controller with i2c protocol support. It means that the software is possible, but not yet appropriate software. We wait new version MSI Afterburner..

Graphic chip Barts has a rectangular shape. Instead of the ATI logo, AMD is banging on it. From this series, the manufacturer completely refuses the old brand, and you will no longer see the familiar inscription.

The total amount of memory into one gigabyte is recruited by eight microcircuits HYNIX H5GQ1H24AFR T2C.

The kernel operates at a frequency of 900 MHz, the memory GDDR5 is 1050 (4200) MHz.

Despite the fact that the latest version of the MSI Afterburner utility has been published over a month and a half before the new Radeon video cards appear, monitoring and overclocking for HD 6800 works without problems. Included only the GPU voltage adjustment function.

Seeing lower power consumption in comparison with HD 5850, and watching the Radeon HD 6870 larger radiator, we hoped for more low frequencies With a smaller level of noise. But everything was exactly the opposite. With a 12-minute load of Crysis Warhead on the maximum quality settings with the smoothing of the kernel, it was warm up to 83 ° C (at 21.5 ° C in the room). Fan turnover reached 35%, creating a very noticeable hum. The reference HD 5850 in similar conditions warmed only to 76 ° C at lower revs.

In Furmark, the temperature and at all reached a mark at 90 ° C.

From GPU, operating at 900 MHz, do not expect a greater increase in acceleration, especially without raising the voltage. Although our copy without problems overcame 1 GHz and was able to maintain stability by 1015 MHz, even on rated voltage.

But the memory disappointed, because its stable maximum was the frequency of 4520 MHz. At such frequencies, stability was maintained in game applications and in Furmark at maximum fan speeds.
Other testing participants

This video card is already familiar to us. The last time she took part in our review GeForce GTX 465 and GeForce GTX 460. Its frequencies are standard for adapters of the HD 5830 - 800/4000 MHz series. Acceleration - 915/5200 MHz.

Reference Radeon HD 5850 performed by HIS. Frequencies fully comply with standard specifications - 725/4000 MHz. Overclocking - 1000/4912.

Reference video adapter equipped with a non-standard cooler. Frequencies comply with standard specifications - the kernel operates at 675/1350 MHz, the memory of 3,600 MHz. The acceleration of this instance is 850/1700/4280 MHz.

The overclocked version of GeForce GTX 460, which operates at 800/1600/4000 MHz frequencies. Acceleration is weakly different from reference analogues - 855/1710/4300 MHz. This instance was present with us a short time and tested only in some applications, so its results are not present in all charts.

Reference GeForce GTX 470 manufactured by ASUS. Working frequencies are standard - 608/1215/3348 MHz. Acceleration - 800/1600/4060 MHz. More detailed review This product will be in one of the following reviews on our website.

Characteristics of tested video cards

Video adapter	HIS. HD6870. 1GB.	Sapphire. HD5830. 1GB.	HIS. HD5850. 1GB.	Zotac GeForce. GTX460. 1GB.	Palit. GeForce. GTX460. Sonic Platinum	ASUS. ENGTX470. 2DI / 1280md5. GeForce. GTX470.
Core	Barts Xt.	RV870.	RV870.	GF104.	GF104.	GF100.
Number of transistors, million pcs	1700	2154	2154	1950	1950	3200
TEHPROTSESS, NM	40	40	40	40	40	40
Square nucleus, square. MM.	255	334	334	367	367	526
Number of streaming processors	1120	1120	1440	336	336	448
Number of textural blocks	56	56	72	56	56	56
Number of rendering blocks	32	16	32	32	32	40
Core frequency, MHz	900	800	725	675	800	608
Frequency of a shader domain, MHz	900	800	725	1350	1600	1215
Memory bus, bit	256	256	256	256	256	320
Memory type	GDDR5	GDDR5	GDDR5	GDDR5	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory frequency, MHz	4200	4000	4000	3600	4000	3348
Memory volume, MB	1024	1024	1024	1024	1024	1280
Supported DirectX version	11	11	11	11	11	11
Interface	PCI-E 2.1	PCI-E 2.1	PCI-E 2.1	PCI-E 2.1	PCI-E 2.1	PCI-E 2.1
Declared maximum power consumption, W	151	175	170	160	n / A.	215

Test stand

Test stand configuration Next:

• processor: Core 2 Quad Q9550 (2, [Email Protected], 95 GHz, 465 MHz FSB);
• cooler: THERMALRIGHT ULTRA-120 EXTREME;
• motherboard: ASUS Rampage Formula (Intel X48 Express);
• memory: OCZ OCZ2FXE12004GK (2x2GB, [Email Protected] MHz during timings 5-5-5-15);
• sound card: Creative Audigy 4 (SB0610);
• hard disk: WD3200aaks (320 GB, SATA II);
• power supply: SEASONIC SS-850HT (850 W);

• operating system: Windows 7 Ultimate X64;
• video card drivers: ATI Catalyst 10.7, NVIDIA FORCEWARE 258.96;
• drivers Radeon HD 6870: Catalyst 10.10.

IN operating system User Account Control, Superfetch, Windows Defender and visual interface effects were disabled. The paging file was fixed at 1024 MB. Videos Palit GeForce GTX 460 Sonic Platinum is indicated in diagrams as GTX 460 Sonic PL.

DIRECTX 9 applications

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

With smoothing in this game, the Radeon video card is working with difficulty, in this mode for the minimum FPS GeForce GTX 460 almost does not infer the Radeon HD 5850. The newcomer has an advantage of 5% over HD 5850.

Borderlands.

The difference between HD 5850 and HD 6870 is about 11% in favor of the latter. Cypress bypasses a beginner when overclocking.

TOM CLANCY "S Splinter Cell: Conviction

A small advantage of Radeon HD 6870 over HD 5850 on average FPS, but the old video card wins the minimum.

IN simple mode The performance of the Radeon HD 6870 is at the same level with GeForce GTX 470.

When activating the "smoothing" parameter in the game menu, GeForce GTX 470 is inferior to a little even Radeon HD 5850. GeForce GTX 460 cannot achieve a newcomer performance even when overclocking up to 850/1700/4280 MHz.

Applications under DirectX 10 and DirectX 11

Another victory of the Radeon HD 6870 over the Radeon HD 5850 and almost identical with the GEFORCE GTX 470 results.

Far Cry 2.

Everything is quite predictable and the best results demonstrates Radeon HD 6870, especially a large separation from rivals in smoothing mode. With overclocking, the first place is already the GeForce GTX 470.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat (Call Pripyat)

Recall that below are the data of the heavy dough Sunshafts S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat Benchmark.

In DirectX 11, Fermi architecture demonstrates superiority over Cypress and Barts. GeForce GTX 460 is almost not inferior to the Radeon HD 5850 in simple mode and even bypass this card when smoothing activation. Radeon HD 6870 has a slight advantage over GTX 460 only in simple mode. GeForce GTX 470 is out of competition, especially when overclocking.

Radeon graphic accelerators easily gives simple mode without smoothing. This is one of the rare cases when even the Radeon HD 5830 turns out to be more productive GeForce GTX 460. But with smoothing the situation changes a little in favor. gEFORCE cardsAnd even Radeon HD 6870 is a bit inferior in the middle FPS to the older representative of the green camp.

Metro 2033.

Before evaluating the results in this game, we note that problems with the display of shadows have been observed on the Radeon HD 6870. More precisely, almost all around was covered with a solid shadow, only the side objects emerged from this shadow to light. With such visual artifacts, it is not necessary to talk about absolutely adequate results, but still we give them to familiarize themselves. And this "bug", we hope, fix in new drivers.

conclusions

It is time to summarize. The video cards of the Barts family came out with rather interesting products. Within the framework of one technical process, without a significant modernization of architecture, AMD has released more economical and productive solutions compared to predecessors. The extension of the Radeon video cards line led to a small confusion with the names, which at first, perhaps will mislead some potential buyers. Radeon HD 6870 should not be perceived as a replacement for the one-chip flag of Radeon HD 5870. The level of performance of the elder Barts is between the Radeon HD 5850 and Radeon HD 5870. The cost of it is lower than the older CYPRESS. The map took the price niche between the Radeon HD 5830 and the Radeon HD 5850, where a 256-bit GeForce GTX 460 has recently recently. That's just with a newcomer, the NVIDIA adapter cannot be tuned. In most applications, the Radeon HD 6870 has such a gap that the GEFORCE GTX 460 acceleration does not always help compensate it. It is not by chance immediately after the BARTS announcement of the California manufacturer hurried to declare a decline in the prices of GeForce GTX 460 and GeForce GTX 470. How we were convinced of our testing - a step is quite justified.

What is the secret of success Radeon HD 6870? A high level of performance is ensured by a successful combination of computing blocks at a high operating frequency. Analogue of the old series, Radeon HD 5830, with the same 1120 streaming processors inferior to a newcomer in some cases up to 40%. But neither shader blocks provide the computational potential of the GPU in gaming applications, which perfectly demonstrates us a weak HD 5830 with 16 ROP. Well, by itself, a more compact chip with minor power consumption and heat dissipation allows you to painlessly use higher frequencies. Although in life it looks not so rosy, as in the theory. For 10% of superiority over the Radeon HD 5850, the user has to pay a higher noise level at higher temperatures. But the newcomer cooling system includes a more massive radiator than the reference HD 5850.

In general, the winners of the Radeon HD 5850 should not worry about the appearance of such a novelty. And not only because of the smaller noise and heating. "Performance to megahertz" is higher in an older HD 5850. It will easily heat the novelty with a slight increase in frequencies. And if you want to highlight a maximum of the RV870, then get a more productive solution than the dispersed Radeon HD 6870. A small frequency "stock" Radeon HD 6870 leads to the fact that the leadership positions of this accelerator are rapidly lost under the onslaught of forced Radeon HD 5850 and GeForce GTX 470. However, overclocking is a separate conversation and not always an additional investment in the cooling card is justified by the final result. For users who are not interested at all, Radeon HD 6870 will be the best purchase. It will also provoke a new price war in the Middle-End-segment (actually, it has already begun), which will reduce prices for other models. For consumers it is only a plus.

In our review, we only casually mentioned about the younger video card Radeon HD 6850. Whether it will be as lucky as a fellow, we will find out in one of the following articles.

Equipment for testing was provided by the following companies:

• DCLINK - Palit GeForce GTX 460 Sonic Platinum and ASUS ENGTX470 / 2DI / 1280MD5 video cards
• Eletek - OCZ OCZ2FXE12004GK memory;
• HIS - HIS HD 5850 1GB and HD 6870 FAN 1GB video cards;
• SYNTEX - SEASONIC SS-850HT (S12D-850) power supply unit (S12D-850);
• - Hard disk WD3200aaks;
• ZOTAC - ZOTAC GEFORCE GTX 460 1GB video card (ZT-40402-10P).

"... The performance of the Radeon HD 6870 fully corresponds to the price of 8,500 rubles. The card was successfully fitted between HD 5870 and overclocked GTX 460 versions, and in some cases even works at the level of more expensive GTX 470. If you are ready to spend on video

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Iron shop

In October 2009, we - AMD Radeon HD 5870. After half a year NVIDIAreleased the answer - GTX 480. and GTX 470.. Today, the struggle comes to a new level: it appeared on sale fresh Series Video cards AMD. - Radeon HD 6000.. At the moment there are only two boards in the line - HD 6850. and HD 6870.And on the tests we have the older version.

Re-read

Rumors about the appearance of a new series appeared long before the official release. Naturally, everyone thought that AMD was preparing a chip that could overtake GTX 480. It turned out not quite so. "New" series can be called with a large stretch. Video cards are based on the finalized version of the old CYPRESS processors and are positioned as MID-END solutions. So no FPS records.

The Radeon HD 6870 has a crystal BARTS, accurate copy HD 5870 familiar to us with HD 5870. Oddly enough, but the processor turned out to be trimmed: compared with the predecessor, Barts "lack" 450 million transistors. This means that the number of SIMD clusters has decreased on a new crystal of their total of 14 pieces instead of 20. From here, the loss in the number of streaming processors (on the barts of their 1120 against 1600) and textural blocks (56 instead of 80).

AMD compensated for losses simply: the frequency of the processor has grown from 850 to 900 MHz. Plus, the card was equipped with an "adult" tire on 256 bits and 1 GB of GDDR5 memory with a frequency of 4200 MHz. No rasterization blocks were not affected - all 32 ROPs are in place.

Freshness

There are in Barts and a number of improvements. For a start about tessellation. Here the AMD has two news at once. First: Tessellation engines are twice as fast. Second: with the settings you need to be careful. As an AMD explains, with extreme levels of tessellation, the model beats on such a number of polygons that the triangle screen takes no more than one pixel. In this case, the rasterization blocks begin to buck. For them, the optimal mode of operation is 16 pixels per polygon, otherwise they are idle. Plus, such small particles have to render several times, which also reduces performance. Conclusion, however, we will not see a honest, better picture, new polygons do not see.

The following improvement concerns antiazing. AMD has increased its work speed, and also entered the new Morphological AA mode. Its essence is that the corners are smoothed after the frame passed rendering. At the same time, the landmark is not the edges of polygons or alpha textures, but harsh, contrasting transitions. Thus, the antiazing is applied not selectively, but to the whole picture immediately. Plus this approach - the shader does not work with geometry, but with the ready-made stage, in fact with a graphic file, so the performance compared to traditional multi-sembam (MSAA) increases at times. Minus - with low screen resolution, the picture is cooled.

Improved in AMD and anisotropic filtering: now its quality and performance do not depend on the angle of rotation of the object. Additionally updated the video decoding acceleration unit - UVD3. In addition to Vc-1 and H.264 formats, it was taught to work with MPEG-2 (DVD), MVC and MPEG-4 (DivX, XVID).

Pink glasses

Well, the most important thing for us, players: AMD video cards are now working with 3D stereo. AMD call this feature HD3D., and it is drastically different from what NVIDIA offers. Instead of developing your own technologies and launch a new iron on sale, AMD used the help of partners.

For a start, she found special software developers, which will translate photos, video and games in stereo image. Among the Favorites were firms iZ3D. and DDD. - They opened access to the source code drivers Catalyst.. Then AMD signed an agreement with the manufacturers of monitors and glasses. So if you want to try out HD3D, then the display will need to buy from LG, Samsung, CMI or ViewSonicand glasses u Xpand., Reald. and Bit Cauldron.. And after all, the most funny, a set of the program and active points should be cheaper than the similar proposal from NVIDIA. And most importantly, the support for stereo image is not laid in the cost of the video card, it is not necessary to overpay for the extra functional.

On the table

Radeon HD 6870 for tests sent by AMD itself, so we will tell about the reference option. From the predecessor of the video card differs in size (3 cm in short) and external species. The cooling system casing has become more angular, the red strip and "exhaust holes" disappeared in the rear end of the video card.

The fee is cooled on the principle of the turbine: 75 mm The fan delays air under the casing, drives it on the map and throws out of the computer case. On the crystal itself aluminum radiatorscored with 30 plates and penetrated three copper heat pipes. During load, the card consumes only 151 W (37 watts less than HD 5870). In 2D-mode, HD 6870 requires 19 W. Power is provided by two 6-pin forks. Due to the low heat generation for hot air emissions, half of the slot on the I / O panel, all the rest of the space occupy new video connections.

The default Radeon HD 6870 is equipped with two DVIs, one HDMI 1.4A and Mini-DisplayPort 1.2 pair. All these figures hides a lot of interesting technologies. In DisplayPort 1.2, for example, increased bandwidth. Now two monitors can be connected to one connector. To do this, you will need a special splitter or display with the input and output for DisplayPort. Plus, in version 1.2, Blu-ray 3D support appeared and sound output as Dolby Truehd and DTS-HD Master Audio.

The new version of HDMI also learned to play Blu-ray 3D and, moreover, output stereo circuit on 3D TVs. True, the last function is more for a tick. TV manufacturers still have not come to a single specification of stereo imagery, so no one gives one hundred percent compatibility guarantee.

What's in a name?

Radeon HD 6000 is far from the first time when the old architecture is produced under the new name. Such a scheme at one time tried NVIDIA when released modified GeForce 8000. under the guise of a new series GeForce 9000., and older versions later renamed generally GTS 250.. Why do you need it? The answer is simple - to attract the attention of the press and buyers. Well, seriously, new video cards could be called Radeon HD 5860 and HD 5840. But with such a situation, AMD could not be attracted to the tenth stake of the attention, which is now paid to new cards. But it is not worth grieving about the deceased line. Very soon AMD officially announce data on Radeon HD 6950., 6970 and 6990 . This is the real top, on a completely new processor called Cayman..

Test

Fine competitors for a new video card turned out to be not easy. At the time of delivery of the magazine, the fee has not yet come on sale, so focus on the recommended AMD price of 8000-8500 rubles. This means that HD 6870 is cheaper than HD 5870, but more expensive than HD 5850. Plus it enters the price category GTX 460 1 GB and its overclocked versions. For the same money, GTX 465 is sold, and just more expensive, somewhere for 10,500 rubles, you can buy GTX 470. I think a little thought, we decided to take all the video cards at once and compare the results.

To do this, we collected a powerful test stand based on the motherboard Foxconn Renaissance., installed on it Intel Core i7-920 and added 6 GB random access memorystripped Kingston Hyperx. DDR3-1666.. Unfortunately, the test list turned out short. Since we tested the Radeon HD 6870 with a beta version of the drivers, we failed to run benchmark Colin Mcrae.DIRT 2.. So the performance of the DX11 we evaluated only in Aliens VS. Predator and synthetics UNIGINE HEAVEN BENCHMARK 2.0. But with projects on DX10 there were no problems. Standard Resident Evil. 5 and Devil May Cry 4 - On the spot. The overall performance assessment was carried out using 3dmark vantage.

Balance

Synthetic test OT Futuremark. The position of HD 6870 very accurately determined: it does not reach the level of HD 5870, it works slightly slower GTX 470, overtakes GTX 460 and GTX 465. In Unigine Heaven Benchmark 2.0, evaluating performance in DX11, the work done by AMD above the tessellation engines. In the synthetic test, the Radeon HD 6870 overtakes more expensive HD 5870, but still lagging behind all competitors from NVIDIA.

In real gaming applications, the picture is preserved. Radeon HD 6870 confidently overtakes not only HD 5850 and GTX 460, 465, but also GTX 470. With DX11 such superiority does not work: GTX 470 faster by 19%, which is quite logical.

* * *

The performance of the Radeon HD 6870 fully corresponds to the price of 8,500 rubles. The card was successfully fitted between HD 5870 and overclocked Versions of GTX 460, and in some cases even operates at the level of more expensive GTX 470. If you are ready to spend 8,500 rubles on the video card, then Radeon HD 6870 - right choice, she does not have competitors.

Table 1

comparison table technical characteristics Characteristic AMD Radeon HD 6870 AMD Radeon HD 5870 AMD Radeon HD 5850 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 Core Barts. Cypress. Cypress. GF100. GF100. GF104. Number of transistors 1.7 billion 2.15 billion 2.15 billion 3 billion 3 billion 1.95 billion TechProcess 40-Nm 40-Nm 40-Nm 40-Nm 40-Nm 40-Nm Number of streaming processors 1120 pcs. 1600 pcs. 1440 pcs. 448 pcs. 352 pcs. 336 pcs. Frequency of graphic nucleus 900 MHz 850 MHz 725 MHz 607 MHz 607 MHz 675 MHz Frequency of streaming processors 900 MHz 850 MHz 725 MHz 1215 MHz 1215 MHz 1350 MHz Type, Memory GDDR 5.1 GB GDDR5, 1 GB GDDR5, 1 GB GDDR5, 1.28 GB GDDR5, 1 GB GDDR5, 1 GB Memory frequency 4200 MHz 4800 MHz 4000 MHz 3348 MHz 3200 MHz 3600 MHz Data bus 256 bits 256 bits 256 bits 320 bits 256 bits 256 bits Number of textural blocks 56 pcs. 80 pcs. 72 pcs. 56 pcs. 44 pcs. 56 pcs. Number of rasterization blocks 32 pcs. 32 pcs. 32 pcs. 40 pcs. 32 pcs. 32 pcs. Interface PCIE 2.0 x16 PCIE 2.0 x16 PCIE 2.0 x16 PCIE 2.0 x16 PCIE 2.0 x16 PCIE 2.0 x16 Price for November 2010 8500 rub. 12 000 rub. 7800 rub. 9500 rub. 7000 rub. 7000 rub.

table 2

Specifications Synthetic tests 3DMark vantage. Video Card model GPU CPU. Overall AMD Radeon HD 6870 15 131 16 493 15 450 100% AMD Radeon HD 5870 17 402 17 326 17 383 113% AMD Radeon HD 5850 14 832 17 597 15 427 100% NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470 13 656 45 937 16 566 107% NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465 11 674 42 636 14 264 92% NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 12 556 40 963 15 188 98% 14 586 43 660 17 500 113% UNIGINE HEAVEN BENCHMARK 2.0 Video Card model FPS. Overall Productivity ratio AMD Radeon HD 6870 13,8 348 100% AMD Radeon HD 5870 11,4 288 83% AMD Radeon HD 5850 11,4 288 83% NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470 19,9 502 144% NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465 16,7 421 121% NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 16,9 426 122% Palit GeForce GTX 460 Sonic Platinum (900 MHz / 4000 MHz) 19,6 494 142%

Table 3.

Game tests (frames per second) Name of the game, settings AMD Radeon HD 6870 AMD Radeon HD 5870 AMD Radeon HD 5850 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 Palit GeForce GTX 460 Sonic Platinum (900 MHz / 4000 MHz) Resident Evil 5 (DX10) HIGH, 1680X1050, AF 16X, AA 8X 96,1 105,8 92,4 97 83,7 83 97,4 HIGH, 1920X1080, AF 16X, AA 8X 89,6 99,4 90,5 88,2 76,4 76,2 87,5 Productivity ratio 100% 110% 98% 100% 86% 85% 100% Devil May Cry 4 (SC2, DX10) Superhigh, 1680x1050, AF 16X, AA 8X - - - 122 95,8 101,3 118,6 Superhigh, 1920x1080, AF 16X, AA 8X 126,33 131,5 114,8 110,4 93,3 92,9 104,7 Productivity ratio 100% 104% 91% 87% 74% 74% 83% Aliens VS. Predator (Demo, DX11) VERYHIGH, 1680X1050, AF 16X, AA 2X 39,6 47,2 32,2 47,2 33,1 32 37,1 Veryhigh, 1920x1080, AF 16X, AA 2X 35,4 42,3 33,3 42,3 29,3 28,5 32,9 Productivity ratio 100% 119% 87% 119% 83% 81% 93% Price ratio 100% 141% 92% 112% 82% 82% 96% Productivity ratio 100% 111% 92% 102% 81% 80% 92%

And the Radeon HD 6870 was released instead of the solutions of the AMD Radeon HD 57 ** series significantly revised and more energy efficient, which allowed these products to become much more profitable acquisition, rather than the video card from the NVIDIA GeForce 400 series. Despite the appearance of new NVIDIA GeForce 500 video cards, which More easily compete with AMD Radeon HD 6850 and Radeon HD 6870 video cards and Radeon HD 6870. Manufacturers continue to produce more and more new solutions on the platform database.
Announcement of the video card HIS Radeon HD 6870 ICEQ X Turbox was produced in the winter of the current year, which, in addition to the traditional factory overclocking for the Turbo series, was able to boast the presence of a unique cooling system ICEQ X. This system Cooling is not new and already familiar to our regular readers to our previous reviews of video cards from Hightech Information System Limited (HIS).

Before moving to the direct review of the HIS Radeon HD 6870 ICEQ x Turbox, we would like to stay in more detail on the graphic solutions line - AMD Radeon HD 6850 and Radeon HD 6870. This is due to the fact that many users acquiring graphic solutions to this series are mistaken relatively Their performance levels. In particular, AMD went to a cunning stroke. The medium price range has released to replace products from the AMD Radeon HD 57 ** line, and indicated it as AMD Radeon HD 68 **. This must be taken into account, as to replace the AMD Radeon HD 58 ** video card to the product of this series, it makes sense. You either get smaller performance or similar.

The AMD Radeon HD 6800 series video cards, although they belong to the average price segment, the reference execution of their length reaches 25 centimeters, so it will not be possible to install them in close ITX buildings. Many users after purchasing a video card of this series begin to complain about low productivity and bind it to the presence of PCI-EXP 2.0 bus instead of PCI-EXP 2.1, which supports the video card. In fact, there is no relationship here. These interfaces are back compatible and the use of any of them does not limit the end performance of your video card. A low level of performance can be associated with the presence of a slow processor that cannot adequately load your video card.

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The second key point when purchasing video cards of the AMD Radeon HD 6800 series is the power supply power. Most sites are recommended to acquire a power supply of at least 500 watts in the case of a single video card and 720 watts in the case of two video cards in CrossFire mode. We believe that for one power card of the power supply unit with a power of 450 watts, the ATX 2.xx standard is quite enough, even in overclocking mode. Naturally, much more depends on your other components - processor, drives, hard disks etc.

The third question is asked by our users in the computer component store, is the solution to choose between AMD Radeon HD 6850 video cards and Radeon HD 6870. Naturally, the older video card is more expensive, but the key question consists in how much the cost is comparable to performance. We can confidently say that the difference in the performance levels of two data video cards does not exceed fifteen percent. Most often, this figure varies in the region of 10%. If the AMD Radeon HD 6850 video card is overclocked at home, then its level of performance will be comparable with the performance of the older video card. It will be justified if you get a good instance. Since the youngest video card has a trimmed core Barts Pro, and the highlight video card is a full core of Barts XT.

Speaking about the acceleration of video cards of this series, it should be focused on the fact that video cards have different frequencies in 2D and 3D mode. Switching from one mode to another can occur without any objective reasons, is a feature of the video card. Naturally, we do not mean dropping frequencies with a 3D level by 2D.

Experience shows that only the younger AMD Radeon HD 6850 video cards makes sense, the acceleration of the Radeon HD 6870 video card does not give an adequate productivity growth due to a non-essential overclocking potential. However, the frequency of 1 GHz on the kernel takes most Radeon HD 6870 video cards, but due to the high rated frequency equal to 900 MHz, this acceleration does not exceed 10% of the nominal values.

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The acceleration of the video cards of this series should be carried out either by traditional ways using the OverDrive tab in the driver panel or via MSI AfterBurner. Last program Preferably, since the removal of the restriction in acceleration is simply implemented, by configuring the MSIAFterBurner.cfg file, where you specify UnofficialOrcLockingMode \u003d 1 to disable acceleration control.

Fans of overclocking video cards through official Drivers Also got the opportunity to remove the restrictions of overclocking. Most often it is recommended to flash the video card with bios from MSI CYCLONE POWER EDITION. Naturally, this method is quite risky in terms of the need to restore the BIOS BIOS card "blindly", so the user takes all risks when performing this procedure.

The key and most interesting moment for overclocker is the possibility of software on the video card. AMD Radeon HD 6850 series video cards and Radeon HD 6870 will hold the software. As a rule, it is performed through the tight mSI program Afterburner. It should be noted that the possibility does not possess video cards from PowerColor and Gigabyte, so overclockers are better to bypass them.

In the course of overclocking the video card and the implementation of the software, users arise a traditional question: "To what limit can increase frequencies and stresses?". Regarding the increase in frequencies, the answer is quite standard - it is necessary to raise to the highest possible stable frequencies. The video cards are very rarely fused as a result of high-frequencies installed, most often the problems arise as a result of the high voltage supply to the kernel.

So, the rated voltages in the AMD Radeon HD 6850 and Radeon HD 6870 and Radeon HD 6870 are 1,148 V and 1.172 in respectively. The second video card is working at higher frequencies, therefore it works at a higher operating voltage. The maximum voltage setting level during overclocking must fully depend on your working conditions of the video card and the specific instance. In most cases, it should be limited to a number of 1.275 volts, since further increase rarely leads to a significant increase in operating frequencies. Most often it will be observed only when the video card is accelerated under conditions of water cooling or other "sophisticated ways." In the air above 1.275 volts should not go, but, on the contrary, it is better to constantly monitor the working temperatures of their video card.

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During the implementation of any software, be something on AMD Radeon HD 6850 / Radeon HD 6870 video cards or other solutions, you should understand the fact that the voltage program values \u200b\u200bwill not always correspond to real. If it is possible to better control the modified voltages on the stress measurement points. Our tests have shown that the voltage of 1.275 volts through the programs actually gives 1.3 volt voltage to the kernel. It is not found on all video cards, but still occurs and can lead to the so-called "video card degradation".

The concept of the video card degradation is not new in the overclocker world and has long been discussed in it. It manifests itself with an excessive acceleration of the video card, namely, when applying excessive voltage on the kernel. The degradation of the video card leads to a gradual decrease in its acceleration potential. As a rule, the process is irreversible, but it can always be stopped - setting the rated voltages. For several years among users, this phenomenon is already discussed for several years. The reasons here can only be two or degrades the kernel itself, or the power system. Naturally, it is impossible to exclude the combined interaction of these factors.

The experience of working among overclockers on previous generations of video cards shows that the cause is most often linked in the video card power system. Excessive increase in voltage leads to increased power consumption, which is not calculated by the sawnage system, which leads to a gradual decrease in the power indicators of the circuit with periodic stress permaness. It is indirectly confirmed by the fact that the banal replacement of capacitors on a degraded video card to new, makes it possible to increase its overclocking potential. Given all this, we do not recommend going beyond the real 1.275 volts of the core of the video cards of the series discussed on the core.

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Along the way, I would like to warn the winners of video cards from ASUS. Products of this company are popular in our country, so many are first asked to it and if the difference is in the cost, acquire it. Acceleration of video cards from ASUS is carried out utility ASUS. Smart Doctor, which completes the video cards of this manufacturer. A feature of this program is that it shows the voltage values \u200b\u200bof about 0.1 volts below valid. Thus, by placing the 1.275 volts specified by us, you risk at the kernel to get 1.375 volts and safely withdraw it in order at the first testing.

Many owners of AMD Radeon HD 6850 video cards and Radeon HD 6870 begin to donate them under warranty due to the non-working Lower DVI slot via DVI-TO-VGA adapter. In fact, no "crime" is not here and it is found on all video cards. For this adapter, the upper DVI-I port is designed, and the lower port does not work with adapters, but is fully operational when connecting a conventional DVI cable.

The most actual technical malfunction of AMD Radeon HD 6850 video cards and Radeon HD 6870 may appear "black screen", which will accompany the user during the passage of games. As a rule, restore the image helps only reboot through the RESET button. The reasons for this state can be consisted in two reasons:
- Low voltage on line 12 VOLOGO Power supply,
- defective voltage controller on the video card.

In the first case, you need to change the power supply, that is, the case of a video card is not a warranty, in the second case, it is necessary to carry the video card under warranty. The main problem is the diagnosis of the cause of the malfunction.

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To diagnose, you need to perform simple manipulation. After serving the load on the processor and the video card, take the multimeter and on the Molex (four-hour connector) of the power supply of the power supply of the 12 volt voltage. 12 volts are served on the yellow wire and the nearest black one. If this number goes far away 11.7 volts, then it is precisely necessary to change the power supply. If the value is hanging around 12 volts, then the video card power controller is faulty and it must be passed under warranty.

Before passing, do not forget to remove all signs of modifications, if you have reset the BIOS, etc. Most often, the problems with the voltage controller are found among Gigabyte GV-R685OC-1GD video cards, but not a single decision is insured from marriage.

If the warranty has passed, and there is no money to a new video card, then the problem solving is to reduce the frequency on the problem component. The practice has shown that the video memory suffers from problems with the controller, and the reduction in its operating frequency allows you to forget about the problem of "black screen".

In rare cases, users complain about a whist from the video card when playing games. This problem is associated with one reason - the low quality of your power supply, which leaks the voltage along the 12 volt line. If you still have a really "not a good" instance, then take a radiotechnical varnish in your hands and mark them a whistling coil - it will solve the problem.

Conclusion

AMD Radeon HD 6850 series video cards and Radeon HD 6870 cannot be called problematic. Stable work for a long time is their real characteristics. Some problems can be when installing drivers to these video cards, but pre-complete cleaning previously installed drivers Allows to decide this problem Once and for all.

Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 VAPOR X 1024 MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI-E
SAPPHIRE RADEON HD 6870 TOXIC 1024 MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI-E
SAPPHIRE RADEON HD 6870 1024 MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI-E Sapphire Radeon HD 6850 1024 MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI-E

Today is the 68th series, yes, it is she and no csenger more. 68th series of what? - Raders, of course. At the same time 6870 3 times more than 6850. result? - Four accelerators Radeon HD 68xx will show you everything that they are capable.

By the way, see the picture above? This is a very beautiful country, she is a whole island. Or maybe not an island, but something more ambitious. In short, it is necessary to guess what kind of country, and understand what kind of relations it has to the topic of today's research. I mean Sapphire, the products of which we will separately study already at the 21st time.

Who will be the first to answer this issue And he will send him to my mail, he will receive a gift. I repeat: what is the connection between the country, the piece of which is shown in the picture above, and Sapphire. The question is very complex and designed for old-timers who remember the former IT resources and their representatives, so only very few will be able to answer it. Immediately I will give a prompt: it's not about offices or production.

And we continue to serve Sapphire products, which are known to be based on a multi-cable and very often changing Radeon family.

So, Radeon HD 68xx in four variations pupil by Sapphire ...

Fees

GPU: Radeon HD 6870 (Barts) Interface: PCI Express X16 GPU Frequency (ROPS): 900 (Nominal - 900) MHz 256 bits 224/900 (Nominal - 224/900) 1120 48 (BLF / TLF / ANIS) Dimensions: Color of textolite: blue RAMDACS / TMDS: integrated into GPU Output sockets: CrossFire (Hardware)
GPU: Radeon HD 6870 (Barts) Interface: PCI Express X16 GPU Frequency (ROPS): 970 (nominal - 900) MHz Memory frequencies (physical (effective)): 1150 (4600) MHz (nominal - 1050 (4200) MHz) Switch width exchange with memory: 256 bits Number of computing blocks in the GPU / Block Frequency (MHz): 224/970 (Nominal - 224/900) Number of operations (ALU) in the block: 5 Total number of operations (ALU): 1120 Number of texturing blocks: 48 (BLF / TLF / ANIS) Number of rasterization blocks (ROP): 32 Dimensions: 270 × 100 × 33 mm (Last value - Maximum video card thickness) Color of textolite: blue RAMDACS / TMDS: integrated into GPU Output sockets: 2 × DVI (Dual-Link / HDMI), 2 × mini-display port, 1 × HDMI Support multiprocessor work: CrossFire (Hardware)
GPU: Radeon HD 6870 (Barts) Interface: PCI Express X16 GPU Frequency (ROPS): 900 (Nominal - 900) MHz Memory frequencies (physical (effective)): 1050 (4200) MHz (nominal - 1050 (4200) MHz) Switch width exchange with memory: 256 bits Number of computing blocks in the GPU / Block Frequency (MHz): 224/900 (Nominal - 224/900) Number of operations (ALU) in the block: 5 Total number of operations (ALU): 1120 Number of texturing blocks: 48 (BLF / TLF / ANIS) Number of rasterization blocks (ROP): 32 Dimensions: 270 × 100 × 33 mm (Last value - Maximum video card thickness) Color of textolite: the black RAMDACS / TMDS: integrated into GPU Output sockets: 2 × DVI (Dual-Link / HDMI), 2 × mini-display port, 1 × HDMI Support multiprocessor work: CrossFire (Hardware)
GPU: Radeon HD 6850 (Barts) Interface: Pci-express x16 GPU Frequency (ROPS) (MHz): 775 (Nominal - 775) Memory frequency (physical (effective)): 1000 (4000) MHz (nominal - 1000 (4000) MHz) Switch width with memory exchange (bit): 256 Number of computing blocks in the GPU / Block Frequency (MHz): 192/775 (Nominal - 192/775) Number of operations (ALU) in the block: 5 Total number of operations (ALU): 960 Number of texturing blocks: 48 (BLF / TLF / ANIS) Number of rasterization blocks (ROP): 32 Dimensions (mm): 250 × 100 × 33 (Last value - Maximum video card thickness) Color of textolite: blue Ramdacs / Tmds.: integrated into GPU Output nests: 2 × DVI (Dual-Link / HDMI), 1 × Display Port, 1 × HDMI Support multiprocessor work: Crossfire (Hardware)

Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 VAPOR X 1024 MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI-E

The card has 1024 MB of GDDR5 SDRAM memory placed in eight chips on the PCB front side. It makes sense to say that all maps require additional nutrition, and 6870 - two 6-pin connectors. As for 6850 - there you need to connect outdoor nutrition Only one 6-pin connector. About cooling systems. Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 VAPOR X 1024 MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI-E Co consists of three parts: a large radiator, a small radiator for batteries, as well as casing. A large radiator is made in the form of a long rectangle with a recess in the center under the fan, under which the evaporative chamber is used as the sole. The device cools both the kernel and memory chip. We have already written more than once about this kind of new CO, where evaporative chambers are used as the main cooling element. However, I. heat tubes It is available to enhance the effect. SAPPHIRE RADEON HD 6870 TOXIC 1024 MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI-E This card has exactly the same CO, so it just continues its description. The evaporation chamber allows you to more effectively transfer heat from the sole to the ribs of the radiator; Inside it is a specially low-boiling liquid. The fan installed in the center has massive sizes and small rotational frequencies, so it is very good in terms of sacchability of work. SAPPHIRE RADEON HD 6850 1024 MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI-E In essence, the device is very similar to its constructive, however, this radiator does not have an evaporative chamber, and only thermal tubes are used to transfer heat to the ribs of the radiator. The fan is a bit smaller, but there is also no complaints. And most importantly, probably, the difference: This cooler cools only the kernel, memory chips without cooling. SAPPHIRE RADEON HD 6870 1024 MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI-E It is perfectly clear that CO consists of two parts - a central cooler and radiators for cooling the memory, which work as it were for themselves, and the central device cools only the kernel. A cylindrical type device when a cylindrical fan is fixed at one end through the radiator installed above the core. Despite the copper sole, the radiator itself is small. In general, the device is rather quiet, and clearly indicates that the heating of the kernel is not so great. We conducted research temperature mode With the help of the MSI Afterburner utility (by A. Nikolaichuk Aka Unwinder) and obtained the following results: Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 VAPOR X 1024 MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI-E SAPPHIRE RADEON HD 6870 TOXIC 1024 MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI-E SAPPHIRE RADEON HD 6870 1024 MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI-E SAPPHIRE RADEON HD 6850 1024 MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI-E Studies were very clearly shown to us how more effective the CO, produced by Sapphire or it, somewhere ordered, compared with the reference cooler. In three maps, where there are unique CO, the heating of the kernel does not exceed 66 degrees, when both in the 6870, the funic reference cooler, the heating reached 80 and more degrees, although it is not critical for such cards. Now about the configuration. The basic delivery kit should include: User Guide, Drivers Drivers and Utilities and CrossFire Bridge. Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 VAPOR X 1024 MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI-E Basic set, plus power splitters, DVI-TO-VGA adapter, mini-dp-to-dp adapter, also an HDMI cable for direct connection to the receiver. SAPPHIRE RADEON HD 6870 TOXIC 1024 MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI-E Fully similar kit. SAPPHIRE RADEON HD 6870 1024 MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI-E Similar picture. SAPPHIRE RADEON HD 6850 1024 MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI-E The same kit with the exception of the MINI-DP-TO-DP adapter (due to unnecessaryness). In the queue Consideration of packages. Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 VAPOR X 1024 MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI-E All four packages have a similar structure: it is a glossy super, inside which a box of simple cardboard. The designs of the super binds are distinguished, the truth is uninterrupted why the TXIC and Vaporx cards having the same CO, penguins and a naked monk are drawn on the boxes. SAPPHIRE RADEON HD 6870 TOXIC 1024 MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI-E I thought for a long time why the designers naked monk are associated with increased frequencies, and could not understand. Well, a shooting girl in different forms and horseship - already ridiculous. SAPPHIRE RADEON HD 6870 1024 MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI-E Inside the video card lies in the compartment from the papier-mâché, it is additionally wrapped in a soft package, so when transporting the card will be in full safety and safety. All cards 6870 packaging principle is identical. SAPPHIRE RADEON HD 6850 1024 MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI-E If the external design is exactly the same in fact, then inside the card is already in the cardboard compartment, which does not reduce its safety during transport. It is also necessary to mark a good and clear design of all the inscriptions, speaking the user about all the basic parameters of the card, except for the exchange bus with memory. Installation and Drivers Test Stand Configuration: Computer based on Intel Core i7-975 (Socket 1366) intel Core i7-975 (3340 MHz) processor; systemic aSUS board P6T Deluxe by intel chipset X58; rAM 6 GB DDR3 SDRAM CORSAIR 1600 MHz; hard disk WD Caviar SE WD1600JD 160 GB SATA; power supply Tagan TG900-BZ 900 W. operational windows system 7,64 bits; DirectX 11; dell 3007WFP (30 ") monitor; aTI drivers Catalyst 11.4Beta; NVIDIA version 267.31 / 267.26 / 267.59 / 267.71. VSYNC disabled. Test results: performance comparison As a toolkit, we used: Far Cry 2 (Ubisoft) - DirectX 10.0, Shaders 4.0 (HDR), used utility from the game kit (Middle level) was used for testing. All settings are exhibited for maximum quality. We thank NVIDIA for providing a licensed product. Unigine Tropics Benchmark 1.3 (Unigine) - DirectX 10.0 ,. Test Settings - High. company Unigine. And personally Alexandra Zagryagayev 3DMark 11 (Futuremark) - DirectX 11.0, Test Settings - Performance. Aliens VS. Predator (2010) (Rebellion / SEGA), DirectX 11.0, Test Settings - Very High, Run Benchmarque from the menu. Crysis Warhead (Crytek / EA), DirectX 10.0, (Bachrient and Demo for Run), Test Settings - Very High, CARGO Level is used. We thank NVIDIA for providing a licensed product. Formula 1 (2010) (Codemasters) - DirectX 11.0, Test Settings - Ultra High (Benchmarket Run: Formulaone.exe -Benchmark Example_Benchmark.xml). We thank NVIDIA for providing a licensed product. Unigine Heaven Benchmark 2.0 (Unigine) - DirectX 11.0 ,. Test Settings - High. We want to thank the team separately company Unigine. And personally Alexandra Zagryagayev For help in the settings of the Benchmarck work. Colin McRea: Dirt2 (Codemasters) - DirectX 11.0, Test Settings - Ultra High (Launch Benchmarket: Dirt2.exe -Benchmark Example_Benchmark.xml). We thank AMD for providing a licensed product. Metro 2033 (4A Games / Thq) - DirectX 11.0, Test Settings - Super High, Physx Disabled (Run Benchmarket in the game itself separate file.). Just Cause 2 (Avalanche Studios / Eidos Interactive) - DirectX 10.0, Testing Settings - Super High (Benchmarket Run in the game itself in the settings). We thank NVIDIA for providing a licensed product. Readers who are well versed in 3D video cards will be able to draw conclusions on their own, looking at the results presented in the charts further. And for beginners and those who just engaged in choosing a video card, we will make some explanations. It makes sense to familiarize yourself with our brief directories on the families of modern video cards and processors based on which they are produced. It should be noted the frequency of work, support for modern technologies (shaders), as well as conveyor architecture. Now look at the tests. Of the four cards considered by us, only one had increased operation frequencies: Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 TOXIC 1024 MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI-E. Studies have shown that the card performance turned out to be such that she fell almost in the middle between 6870 (at regular frequencies) and 6950. Given that the charts below are already a lot of data, we did not begin to climb them with 6870 TOXIC indicators, since any A person can easily present the speed of the card in a particular application, mentally taking the average arithmetic indicators of 6870 and 6950. Well, what did you want? - After all, while watching the series people think: how many knees were born, or what is the degree of kinship in a heroine with her potential fiance ... Unigine Tropics Benchmark. All permits on one page, NO AA, NO AF All permissions on one page, AA 4X + AF 16X Usefulness rating only on game tests № Name accelerator Rating climb. Rating PRP. Price 01 1075 927 305 02 1034 644 142 03 1018 683 165 04 996 741 203 05 994 860 285 06 973 726 199 07 956 908 315 08 953 836 278 09 923 804 262 10 922 590 132 11 920 695 185 12 890 476 86 13 870 932 384 14 842 656 185 15 838 960 405 16 815 568 137 17 814 629 174 18 749 867 372 19 706 1209 768 20 688 1018 573 21 630 1213 850 22 613 1196 850 23 547 371 77 24 543 1220 1007 25 538 1302 1146 26 536 357 79 Utility rating for all tests № Name accelerator Rating climb. Rating PRP. Price 01 HD 5770 1024 MB, 850/850/4800 600 653 142 02 GTX 460 SE 1024 MB 680/1360/3400 577 688 165 03 HD 5670 1024 MB, 775/775/2000 575 490 86 04 HD 5750 1024 MB, 700/700/4600 563 605 132 05 HD 6850 1024 MB, 775/775/4000 543 745 203 06 GTX 560 TI 1024 MB, 1000/2000/4580 540 915 305 07 GTX 460 1024 MB 675/1350/3600 538 729 199 08 HD 6950 1024 MB, 800/800/5000 522 866 285 09 HD 6790 1024 MB, 840/840/4200 513 695 185 10 GTS 450 1024 MB, 783/1566/3600 506 585 137 11 GTX 560 Ti 1024 MB, 822/1644/4000 500 834 278 12 HD 6870 1024 MB, 900/900/4200 490 807 262 13 HD 6950 2048 MB, 800/800/5000 488 896 315 14 GTX 550 TI 1024 MB, 1000/2000/4400 487 666 185 15 GTX 550 TI 1024 MB, 920/1840/4100 480 641 174 16 GTX 570 1280 MB, 732/1464/3800 432 916 384 17 HD 6970 2048 MB, 880/880/5500 419 946 405 18 GT 430 1024 MB, 700/1400/3600 415 398 77 19 HD 5570 1024 MB 650/650/1660 382 360 79 20 HD 5870 1024 MB, 850/850/4800 379 855 372 21 GTX 570 SLI 2 × 1280 MB, 732/1464/3800 342 1193 768 22 GTX 580 1536 MB, 775/1550/4000 332 991 573 23 HD 6990 2 × 2048 MB, 880/880/5000 309 1211 850 24 HD 6990 2 × 2048 MB, 830/830/5000 302 1193 850 25 GTX 590 2 × 1536 MB, 607/1215/3414 256 1187 1007 26 GTX 580 SLI 2 × 1536 MB, 775/1550/4000 254 1281 1146 We have already noted earlier that Radeon HD 6850 is firmly in the top five of the most profitable cards in terms of price-speed ratios. So this video card is of particular interest. But 6870 is far behind in the ratings, because the price is too and unreasonably overestimated. However, this all concerns the general series, but it is necessary to draw conclusions and on specific cards. SAPPHIRE RADEON HD 6850 1024 MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI-E - It is worth recalling that this product successfully competes with numerous already options for GTX 460. And the Sapphire version enhances positive impressions with your cooler. Very nice product. In addition, it has a whole set of modern conclusions: DVI, HDMI, DP. Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 VAPOR X 1024 MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI-E - despite the fact that in general 6870 is not entirely beneficial due to overpriced prices, this option, again because of the unique and interesting CO, raises the 6870 bar and makes this product worthy. And do not forget about the set of sled's nests for all occasions. SAPPHIRE RADEON HD 6870 TOXIC 1024 MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI-E - This product has the advantages of the previous product, but there are also elevated work frequencies, which sharply raises the demand plank such a video card. In fact, even if the price is approximately like GTX 560 Ti, you can choose this option 6870. SAPPHIRE RADEON HD 6870 1024 MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI-E - In essence, a copy of the reference card. Unfortunately, prices for such products, as our rating showed, are greatly overestimated, and competitors in the face of GTX 460 and more expensive GTX 560 Ti occupy higher positions. So stay beyond prices. If 6870 it will be at the GTX 460 level - then it makes sense. The final decision, as usual, to make our readers. We only give information about the product considered, but do not make direct instructions on the choice of a particular product. Now we return to the initial topic. About the riddle: She is not only IT for old-timers, but also hardware sites and resources. I remind you that who first reigns the connection between the country, which is shown in the first shot in this article, and Sapphire, and write this answer to me, will receive a small gift. Tip number one: the relationship is very original, and in the person of one person :). Tip number two: if anyone remembers the Reactor Critical website and his permanent lead and founder, he will quickly guess. :-) Caution number one! Unfortunately, due to customs problems with sending gifts outside of Russia, we are forced to limit the range of potential participants of the riddles contest only by residents of the Russian Federation. Foreign our readers can also participate if they have an address in Russia to send prizes there. Attention number two! The winners of the previously conducted riddles contests in this kind of reviews from participation in the next competition are excluded. Winners are identified: V. Dameshko, A. Bondarev and D. Kravchenko. And also the incentive prize went to S. Stepchenkov. Competition is completed, so you don't need to send the answers! Correct answer: The photo shows Australia, and although, as many answered, the connection between Sapphire's name and world famous sapphires from Australia, it clearly said that Sapphire-Australia's connection through one employee. And indeed, the former owner of the popular site for 3D graphics of Reactor Critical, which has Kenguru's nickname (here is the connection with Australia), now works at Sapphire Technology. According to the results of the study, we reward in the nomination "Original Design" (for May 2011) Maps: Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 VAPOR X 1024 MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI-E SAPPHIRE RADEON HD 6870 TOXIC 1024 MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI-E SAPPHIRE RADEON HD 6850 1024 MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI-E And in the nomination "Excellent delivery" (for May 2011) we reward cards: Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 VAPOR X 1024 MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI-E SAPPHIRE RADEON HD 6870 TOXIC 1024 MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI-E SAPPHIRE RADEON HD 6850 1024 MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI-E SAPPHIRE RADEON HD 6870 1024 MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI-E

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Battlefield Bad Company 2 DX11 COLIN MCRAE DIRT 2 Far Cry 2. Metro 2033. Anno 1404 - Dawn of Discovery Crysis Warhead. 3DMark Vantage (DirectX 10) Overclocking video cards Radeon 6850 and 6870 conclusions

Get acquainted with Radeon HD 6850 and 6870 closer

Many rumors were about the characteristics of cards based on graphic nucleus Barts, which only insane versions have not been put forward. Now, it's time to know the truth. Let's look at the plate, corrades, so neatly compiled by Gilbert:

Specifications	Radeon HD 5770.	Radeon HD 5850.	Radeon HD 6850.	Radeon HD 6870.
Graphic kernel	Juniper XT.	Cypress pro.	BARTS PRO.	Barts Xt.
Technical processing	40nm	40nm	40nm	40nm
Frequency of graphic nucleus	850 MHz	725 MHz	775 MHz	900 MHz
Number of streaming processors	800	1440	960	1120
Memory frequency	4800 MHz	4000 MHz	4000 MHz	4200 MHz
Memory bit	128-bit	256-bit	256-bit	256-bit
Number of typical memory	1 GB GDDR5	1 GB GDDR5	1 GB GDDR5	1 GB GDDR5
Energy consumption	108 Watt.	151 Watt.	~ 127 watts.	\u003e 150 watt
Performance	-	-	Faster 5830.	Faster 5850.

Both cards support all the "feathers" DX11 (and how otherwise?), Their graphic chips consist of 1.7 billion transistors. From the important characteristics not specified in the table, it is worth noting for 6850 (competitor 768MB version of the GTX460): 12 SIMD blocks, 48 \u200b\u200btextural units, 32 ROPA and energy consumption in a simple ~ 19 watt. Solution performance - 1.5 TFLOPS. As can be seen - 5770 far behind, as it should be.

HD 6870, in turn, has 14 SIMD blocks, 56 textural units, 32 ROPs. His task is to show what GTX460 is from 1GB of memory. Energy consumption in a simple is ~ 19 watts, performance (according to which the novelty takes place between 5850 and 5870) - 2 TFLOPS.

Many "feathers" cards inherited from predecessors, but something new, such as DisplayPort video output versions 1.2 and HDMI 1.4A appeared. Added support for HD3D and UVD3 technologies and new method Antiasing called Morphological AA. Add to this improved anisotropic filtering and increased (~ 2 times, compared with cards 5000 series) with tessellation.

And now you can admire the core of the novelties:

What is HD3D and UVD3?

AMD HD3D - Analogue of 3D Vision technology, allows you to play 3D games, watch 3D Blurei video, etc. All this with the help of special glasses. According to Guru3D, this technology is still realized - to view the video in 3D compulsory requirements is the presence of those most specials, a graphics card, 3D TV or monitor and HDMI 1.4A cable + software, without which all this is useless. In games, it's even worse - there are no kit "s (sets for developers, to implement 3D in games) and support this" feathers "in the Catalyst driver settings, in other words will have to use third-party solutionsand not from AMD, and this is extra spending and troubles. As an example, the author of the original article, tells about the software from DDD (Dynamic Digital Depth), which costs 50 bucks (but so far - 25, apparently discounts) and allows you to play games in 3D, but on the elegance of performance and quality, This solution is inferior to a similar from NVIDIA. In other words, the situation is such - the developers of the software will be glad to be able to be welded on the unstoppableness of the amdschnikov, the users of the same - on the contrary (for the external expenses to carry additional expenses).

Universal Video Decoder 3.0 - video decoding technology by graphics cards. The useful thing is undoubtedly. Everyone knows that although the modern PC is coping with the playback of Full HD video in any formats, it still creates a certain load on cPUBut the UVD 3.0 technology is capable of significantly reduced this load. And what's new here, because we saw the same in UVD 2.0 and older versions? Here is a list of changes / innovations:

• Supported hardware decoding of two 1080P signals at the same time
• Compatibility with Windows Aero - Playing HD content during activated aero (i.e., the latter does not need to be turned off)
• Independent color scheme control from Windows desktop
• Brighter white color due to the use of stretching blue (?!)
• Control the shade of black and white colors during video playback

Also supported automatic color correction, contrast enhancing and support for Bitstream video in MPEG2 and MPEG4 DivX / XVID formats and audio, of course.

A new family of graphic adapters from AMD leads, if this did not happen, we would have shown the slide

Eyefinity.

About "iPhiniti", I think all you have heard. This technology allows you to connect to one video card from three to 6 monitors, and with a ruler 6000 it becomes even easier, because Connect six monitors to two ports to connect to two ports (displayport version 1.2 help), using an additional rectangular device. Here is a slide:

The most common will be the connection of three monitors, for this, no devices will not have to arrive.

Otherwise, the eyefinity technology itself has not changed much since the 5000th series. The author of the article with GURU3D gives an example that you can easily connect three 30 "monitor to seeing, each with a resolution of 2560x1600 and all this business will work correctly. The configuration of six monitors shows the image in the resolution of 7680x3200, which is quite cool. There are video:

Crossfirex

Little performance of one card? You can create from 2 or more seeas, CrossFirex tandem, which is certainly quenched thirst for speed (measured, in our case, by the number of frames per second).

What is needed to build a crossfayer? Just a couple of video cards, bridge for their connection and any motherboard with two (or more) PCIE X8 and PCIE X16 slots.

On Gur3D in tests, a reference design design of the HIS was used. 6850 is powered by only one 6-pin connector from BP, so that on CrossFire from such cards you need only two above-mentioned connector, for 6870 - four.

Here is what the bridge, connecting the cards in CrossFirex:

After installing the connecting bridge on both seats (pre-installed in the system in the corresponding PCIE slots), it remains only to turn on the PC and in the Catalyst driver settings, put a tick activating CFX mode:

That's all - now you can enjoy the dual power of new products!