HD5970 Reviews

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11-18-2009, 10:27 AM
tajoh111

Quote:

Originally Posted by Florinmocanu

Ever heard of CPU limitation? Your babbling

The 5970 is limited by the CPU, it cannot perform at 100%, even if OCed to the levels of 2 5870 because the CPU is to slow, even an I7 at 4.2ghz. We need 5Ghz Gulftowns really fast.

Don't be unrealistic and a fanboy. If Anandtech is running into CPU limitations now with top end cpu which are not likely going to be eclipsed by anyone that not buying a gulftown, than most people are going to run into cpu limitations anyways which makes these results relevant than imaginary non cpu bound results.

Real performance matters more to the general public than performance imagined by a 6ghz core i7 with liquid nitrogen cooling.

This is more of a limitation of performance limitations of the 300W envelope kicking in.
11-18-2009, 10:28 AM
Nautilius

Any news for water blocks?
11-18-2009, 10:30 AM
Florinmocanu

I'm not a fanboy, the 5970 is limited by the CPU.
I own an 8800GT and i want to buy a GTX 275 in short time, to go with my new 920 D0. So, i don't base my GPU opinions on fanboyism, i buy what is the best bang for the buck.

But, we need higher performing CPUs to really stress a 5970.
11-18-2009, 10:37 AM
tajoh111

Quote:

Originally Posted by Florinmocanu

I'm not a fanboy, the 5970 is limited

Your right its limited. Its limited by r600-r700 technology. The performance yields from just upping the specs and quantity were incredibly not linear from 4870 -> 5870. 5850 CF is the same speed as this card, yet it has 10% less shaders.

If AMD just doubled the specs again from r800 to r900, there would be even less of a performance gain.
11-18-2009, 10:44 AM
Florinmocanu

i'm not talking about architecture scaling between a 4870 and a 5870.

The reason why 5850 CF, 5870 CF and 5970 do not scale that well from the single cards is because they are CPU limited.
11-18-2009, 10:55 AM
Jowy Atreides

less power usage than the 4870x2?

Win.
11-18-2009, 10:56 AM
Splave

maybe at 1024x768-1280x1024 IE bench resolutions
Gaming at 19**x**** I doubt raising the cpu speed from 3.8ghz (techpowerup article) to 4.2ghz would net you much gain at all.

Check the OC results, 750 1000 to 950 1300 increased frames %20 in some cases. That wouldnt happen if the card was being choked by the cpu.
11-18-2009, 11:06 AM
ReverendMaynard

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobbylite

maybe at 1024x768-1280x1024 IE bench resolutions
Gaming at 19**x**** I doubt raising the cpu speed from 3.8ghz (techpowerup article) to 4.2ghz would net you much gain at all.

Check the OC results, 750 1000 to 950 1300 increased frames %20 in some cases. That wouldnt happen if the card was being choked by the cpu.

Bold for truth.
11-18-2009, 11:59 AM
misho

Any QUAD XFIRE? reviews of quad xfire???
I would love to see that !!
11-18-2009, 12:04 PM
Utnorris

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nautilius

Any news for water blocks?

Danger Den is the only one that has showed a block off. Expect more in the coming weeks. However it's a moot point if there are no HD5890's to be found.
11-18-2009, 12:06 PM
W1zzard

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobbylite

Check the OC results, 750 1000 to 950 1300 increased frames %20 in some cases. That wouldnt happen if the card was being choked by the cpu.

please note that unlike other vga reviews i tested the oc performance at 2560x1600 instead of 1920x1200 to avoid cpu limitation

Quote:

Originally Posted by misho

Any QUAD XFIRE? reviews of quad xfire???
I would love to see that !!

not possible. maximum 4 gpus
11-18-2009, 12:09 PM
InCredible

^ guru's had quad fire..and the scaling was pretty impressive imo on most tests

or was he referring to it as 4 5970s?...ignore response if so
11-18-2009, 12:16 PM
misho

Quote:

Originally Posted by InCredible

^ guru's had quad fire..and the scaling was pretty impressive imo on most tests

or was he referring to it as 4 5970s?...ignore response if so

Hey, i was referring to 2 x HD5970s , so thats quad. I saw the review, pretty good man, over $1500 in GPU power though :D
11-18-2009, 12:21 PM
Nedjo

Quote:

Originally Posted by InCredible

^ guru's had quad fire..and the scaling was pretty impressive imo on most tests

or was he referring to it as 4 5970s?...ignore response if so

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon...review-test/23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hilbert

"We are in high-quality DX10 mode with 8x AA (anti-aliasing) and 16xAF (anisotropic filtering). And ooh .. i just felt something move in my pants"

:D

on a serious note it scales surprisingly well!
11-18-2009, 12:22 PM
Manicdan

just read the TPU review, i was very shocked at how well this did for cyrsis, (over 100% scaling?)

i hope im not being dumb, but were the 5870 and 5970 using the same drivers?
11-18-2009, 12:23 PM
D749

Quote:

Originally Posted by InCredible

thats wallpaper worthy :)

My new work desktop wallpaper. Good thing I use two monitors.
11-18-2009, 12:27 PM
W1zzard

oh just two cards? been there, done that
11-18-2009, 12:43 PM
Monstru

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nedjo

on a serious note it scales surprisingly well!

Yes, it does. I was amazed in some situations, most of the problems that I ran into with older generations are gone now. I think that the drivers for HD5xxx series have imporved a lot compared to how drivers were for other generations at launch. I had all sorts of problems with 2 x 3870X2 and 2 x 4870X2 back in the day, but no problems with 2 x 5970. :clap:
11-18-2009, 01:00 PM
Solus Corvus

Quote:

Originally Posted by tajoh111

Your right its limited. Its limited by r600-r700 technology. The performance yields from just upping the specs and quantity were incredibly not linear from 4870 -> 5870.

That's not an r600-r700 limitation. You are not going to see linear scaling by simply doubling the number of execution units on any architecture. Even an nvidia one. :rolleyes:

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amdahl%27s_law
11-18-2009, 01:15 PM
Helloworld_98

Quote:

Originally Posted by misho

Hey, i was referring to 2 x HD5970s , so thats quad. I saw the review, pretty good man, over $1500 in GPU power though :D

how is $599 x2 over $1500?
11-18-2009, 01:16 PM
kadozer

Quote:

Originally Posted by Florinmocanu

I'm not a fanboy, the 5970 is limited by the CPU.
I own an 8800GT and i want to buy a GTX 275 in short time, to go with my new 920 D0. So, i don't base my GPU opinions on fanboyism, i buy what is the best bang for the buck.

But, we need higher performing CPUs to really stress a 5970.

I believe its mainly 3 games severely bottlenecked which guru3d illustrates the severe bottleneck in its graphs: COD WaW, RE5, and Fallout 3. I agree also this card is ahead of its time in terms of raw power.

Games we have right now and an overclocked i7 @3.8ghz is barely keeping up.
11-18-2009, 01:17 PM
Hellmann

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...HD5970&x=0&y=0

650 dolars
11-18-2009, 01:21 PM
InCredible

^ 624.99 now.
11-18-2009, 01:46 PM
D749

Any idea if ATI is going to provide the software voltage tweaking tool released to reviewers?
11-18-2009, 01:47 PM
dan7777

when will these be available in the uk ?
11-18-2009, 01:48 PM
naokaji

Quote:

Originally Posted by Helloworld_98

how is $599 x2 over $1500?

Maybe he took uk prices:shrug:

A certain uk store has them on preorder for 870$ to 930$:rofl:
11-18-2009, 02:10 PM
dan7777

well.... me gtx 295 can play anything maxed so i will wait for price drops
11-18-2009, 02:26 PM
Splave

Quote:

Originally Posted by dan7777

well.... me gtx 295 can play anything maxed so i will wait for price drops

arrrrhhh to that cpt! :ROTF:
11-18-2009, 02:28 PM
misho

Quote:

Originally Posted by Helloworld_98

how is $599 x2 over $1500?

well, 625each x 2 = 1250, + tax + shipping if you order from the store = roughly $1500.. cmon dawg don't be so picky. :P
11-18-2009, 02:30 PM
dan7777

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobbylite

arrrrhhh to that cpt! :ROTF:

will hold out see what fermi got to offer and wait for prices to drop on cards.:up:
11-18-2009, 02:38 PM
Manicdan

Quote:

Originally Posted by misho

well, 625each x 2 = 1250, + tax + shipping if you order from the store = roughly $1500.. cmon dawg don't be so picky. :P

for that price, newegg better send it to me for free, and the delivery man better be a hot delivery woman. then ill consider buying one
11-18-2009, 02:45 PM
jaredpace

Quote:

Originally Posted by misho

well, 625each x 2 = 1250, + tax + shipping if you order from the store = roughly $1500.. cmon dawg don't be so picky. :P

yeah it's expensive. I saw this at Hardocp forums:

http://img682.imageshack.us/img682/845/5970price.jpg
11-18-2009, 02:54 PM
dan7777

wow! they are here....http://www.overclockers.co.uk/ £520 christ!!! exspensive oh well..... fermi will drive the price down im sure lol
11-18-2009, 02:59 PM
Chickenfeed

Quote:

Originally Posted by Manicdan

for that price, newegg better send it to me for free, and the delivery man better be a hot delivery woman. then ill consider buying one

That was good haha...

They are going for 700cnd here which is pretty nuts. I paid 600 for my 4870x2 at launch. But based on current market placement and 5850 price / performance, it makes sense.
11-18-2009, 02:59 PM
misho

Lol who is looking to buy a HD5970?? I know a local guy selling his for a good price. I will resell to you guys :P
11-18-2009, 03:01 PM
D749

Quote:

Originally Posted by dan7777

wow! they are here....http://www.overclockers.co.uk/ £520 christ!!! exspensive oh well..... fermi will drive the price down im sure lol

Yup, when it comes out in 2011. I kid, I kid. :p:
11-18-2009, 03:01 PM
W1zzard

i should ebay off my review samples for like 1k$ to some rich kid :)
11-18-2009, 03:04 PM
misho

Quote:

Originally Posted by W1zzard

i should ebay off my review samples for like 1k$ to some rich kid :)

Imho, you should lol, some crazy buyers out there.
11-18-2009, 03:12 PM
Piotrsama

Quote:

Originally Posted by dan7777

wow! they are here....http://www.overclockers.co.uk/ £520 christ!!! exspensive oh well..... fermi will drive the price down im sure lol

http://img2.pict.com/e4/bb/b0/2011105/0/uk5970.png
VAT is adding to that price. 70£... ouch.
11-18-2009, 03:15 PM
dan7777

which is better 5850x2 or a 5970 ???
11-18-2009, 03:18 PM
misho

Quote:

Originally Posted by dan7777

which is better 5850x2 or a 5970 ???

2 x X1900XTX XXX editions

on a serious note, the HD 5970 looks better, easier to manage (no xfire cables etc etc), but its loooooooooong
11-18-2009, 03:24 PM
dan7777

Quote:

Originally Posted by misho

2 x X1900XTX XXX editions

on a serious note, the HD 5970 looks better, easier to manage (no xfire cables etc etc), but its loooooooooong

should fit in me HAF 932 shouldnt it ?
11-18-2009, 03:28 PM
misho

Quote:

Originally Posted by dan7777

should fit in me HAF 932 shouldnt it ?

That i can't confirm, but i think it should, considering the HAF is a full tower.
If it doesnt, make some mods You have 3 choices. Either cut the case, or cut a part of the video card. or cut both. Its up to you
11-18-2009, 03:29 PM
gumballguy

Quote:

Originally Posted by W1zzard

i should ebay off my review samples for like 1k$ to some rich kid :)

Nah you should sell em cheap to me coz I got a 6600gt and single core

And my mobos dying lol
11-18-2009, 03:30 PM
dan7777

anthor place in the uk that have 5 in stock wow! big price difference £573....http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/p...IHD5900Series/
11-18-2009, 03:45 PM
jaredpace

Quote:

Originally Posted by dan7777

which is better 5850x2 or a 5970 ???

http://oboerista.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/hotdog.jpg http://oboerista.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/hotdog.jpg

or

http://http.cdnlayer.com/smoola/00/0...24eff477_m.jpg
11-18-2009, 03:48 PM
dan7777

[QUOTE=jaredpace;4115971]http://oboerista.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/hotdog.jpg http://oboerista.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/hotdog.jpg

or

http://http.cdnlayer.com/smoola/00/0...24eff477_m.jpg[/QUOTE:ROTF:
11-18-2009, 04:01 PM
Solus Corvus

But those little hotdogs will never fill you up like the big one can. They're all bread. :lol:
11-18-2009, 04:02 PM
Hell Hound

Hmm :confused::shrug:
11-18-2009, 04:10 PM
iTravis

As expected, this card is Out of Stock everywhere, but I would keep my 4870X2 for awhile b4 dropping $600 cash, I'll get it for $500 or less with rebate or cashback. :D Another problem would be will it fit in my old Thermaltake Armor full tower?
11-18-2009, 04:11 PM
jaredpace

get it quick!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102863
11-18-2009, 04:13 PM
Jakethesnake011

just got mine from Newegg.com I ordered a Diamond 5970, for MSRP, $599.99, and shipping was only 8 bucks. I am happy.
11-18-2009, 04:18 PM
jaredpace

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jakethesnake011

just got mine from Newegg.com I ordered a Diamond 5970, for MSRP, $599.99, and shipping was only 8 bucks. I am happy.

:up: I cant see the diamond 5970 on the egg, you have a link to it?
11-18-2009, 04:23 PM
iTravis

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaredpace

:up: I cant see the diamond 5970 on the egg, you have a link to it?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-088-_-Product

It was available by the time I clicked on it, guess not anymore. :ROTF:
11-18-2009, 04:35 PM
Jakethesnake011

it went quick i was going to get the HIS elarier today around 4 when it was up but I was like 2 minutes to late and then the gigabyte went before the diamond, would have preferred gigabyte over diamond but my diamond 4870x2 served me very well, so I didnt hesitate to get this one, i hope it overclocks well.
11-18-2009, 04:50 PM
xenolith

GIGABYTE HD 5970 2GB for $599.99

It was gone before I could even get it in my cart.

You geeks are going after these 5xxx cards like the running-of-the-brides at a Filene's Basement gown sale.
11-18-2009, 05:27 PM
annihilat0r

Well these are expected results, just like in the case of 5870... 5970 is about 40% faster than 5870 (I had predicted more like 30-35, so good work) but this is nothing next to the 70% difference that was between 4870 and 4870x2. It might be the CPU limiting everything here.

I have a 5870 and I use it at 19x12... I haven't overclocked it even 1MHz, because quite frankly only Crysis needs overclocking when its maxed and I have finished it like 5 times already. So I don't think I can justify buying a 5970 for $600 to increase my already overdelivering rig 40 percent.

I also don't think 5970 is a good option for a new build. Even it's super high end, you can't get more high end than 25x16 and even at that resolution there doesn't seem to be any need for anything faster than a 5870.
11-18-2009, 05:28 PM
Manicdan

Quote:

You geeks are going after these 5xxx cards like the running-of-the-brides at a Filene's Basement gown sale.

its cause they know the price is going up again
11-18-2009, 05:41 PM
xenolith

Quote:

Originally Posted by Manicdan

its cause they know the price is going up again

That's why I'm going to stay cool, bide my time, and get one of these in 1/2010 when (hopefully) the dust settles down a little bit.
11-18-2009, 05:53 PM
Manicdan

Quote:

Originally Posted by xenolith

That's why I'm going to stay cool, bide my time, and get one of these in 1/2010 when (hopefully) the dust settles down a little bit.

that little bit part scares me. given normal circumstances, the price should have gone down 20-30% from Oct to Mar
11-18-2009, 06:09 PM
xenolith

I'm hopeful TSMC will finally uncorked their head out of the buttocks soon...
11-18-2009, 06:17 PM
Solus Corvus

Will someone who gets or has one of these elusive cards try it with Shattered Horizon? I'll even give you my last guest pass to do it. :D
11-18-2009, 06:27 PM
Russian

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solus Corvus

Will someone who gets or has one of these elusive cards try it with Shattered Horizon? I'll even give you my last guest pass to do it. :D

I'll ask our reviewer to run it. We should have a copy.
11-18-2009, 06:36 PM
Solus Corvus

Sweet. I just want to know how it scales relative to vantage since most reviews have that.
11-18-2009, 06:46 PM
NapalmV5

3 phase per gpu?!? theyre just playing.. they keep the 4 phase 5990 for fermi arrival
11-18-2009, 09:24 PM
gumballguy

There's probably something I'm missing...

If you want extreme, surely two 5870's is a better option, due to decreased clockspeeds on 5970.

There are some drawbacks - More power consumption, less motherboard options... but aren't you buying this because you want performance?

The 5970 is the price of 2 5850's... but that's to be expected, performance per dollar, isn't it? I havent gotten to the reviews yet.
11-18-2009, 09:29 PM
safan80

This review has two 285s in SLI( they are much faster than a 295) in it.
http://techreport.com/articles.x/17986
11-18-2009, 11:07 PM
rouvio

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaredpace

get it quick!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102863

ohhhh!!
I missed that :mad:

Two questions:
- When will they restock the cards?
- Black Friday... will they give 10% discount? :p:
11-18-2009, 11:13 PM
kadozer

Something to look forward to if you're in the market for a 5790: XFX 5970 Black edition
Comes late Nov or early Dec.

http://filesmelt.com/downloader/ATrH..._medBEcopy.jpg

What a nice looking card.
11-19-2009, 12:57 AM
STEvil

looks like a 5970 with a sticker.

I want 2gb per GPU.
11-19-2009, 01:02 AM
dan7777

when is the 5990 out ? i think i can hold out for that or fermi to take back the crown :)
11-19-2009, 01:05 AM
rouvio

Whats the deal with Sapphire's version of the 5970?
They only clocked it 10MHz higher then stock.... and they call it "OC Edition" ? :hammer:
11-19-2009, 01:08 AM
Raja@ASUS

If looking at overclocking this card long term, I'd wait for non-ref designs with enhanced power delivery.The biggest slaves Volterra currently supply are rated at 45 amps each. Assuming those are the ones ATI used on the ref design, you've got 135 amps per GPU before OCP kicks in.

later
Raja
11-19-2009, 01:11 AM
Florinmocanu

About the CPU limitation, do you guys remember when the I7 came out and suddenly all multi gpu configurations ran at higher fps?
Check this review on guru3d.com

http://www.guru3d.com/article/core-i...ance-review/19

Well, for 5970, we need another I7 release.

Even if we have good scaling when we OC them, that doesn't mean we are getting 100% out of these cards, they seriously need faster CPUs.
11-19-2009, 01:47 AM
D749

Quote:

Originally Posted by kadozer

Something to look forward to if you're in the market for a 5790: XFX 5970 Black edition
Comes late Nov or early Dec.

http://filesmelt.com/downloader/ATrH..._medBEcopy.jpg

What a nice looking card.

It's all the same when you rip off the heatsink and put it under water. :shrug:
11-19-2009, 01:48 AM
kadozer

Quote:

Originally Posted by D749

It's all the same when you rip off the heatsink and put it under water. :shrug:

nope, these are supposedly higher bin chips... if they allow easier to get 1000/1500 sound good? But thanks for pointing out the other obvious asthetics didnt realize that one.
11-19-2009, 01:51 AM
D749

Quote:

Originally Posted by kadozer

nope, these are supposedly higher bin chips... if they allow easier to get 1000/1500 sound good? But thanks for pointing out the other obvious asthetics didnt realize that one.

You're welcome. Where did you read that they will "supposedly" use higher binned chips?
11-19-2009, 01:53 AM
W1zzard

Quote:

Originally Posted by kadozer

http://filesmelt.com/downloader/ATrH..._medBEcopy.jpg

What a nice looking card.

you really like that sticker design?

Quote:

Originally Posted by D749

You're welcome. Where did you read that they will "supposedly" use higher binned chips?

amd stated they used chips binned for leakage voltage, not higher clock

oh and i fixed the crysis scores in my review. it ran at high, not very high
11-19-2009, 01:54 AM
jaredpace

Quote:

Originally Posted by D749

You're welcome. Where did you read that they will "supposedly" use higher binned chips?

FF to 12:30

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhTb2DRPUoI
11-19-2009, 02:01 AM
D749

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaredpace

FF to 12:30

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhTb2DRPUoI

Quote:

Originally Posted by W1zzard

you really like that sticker design?

amd stated they used chips binned for leakage voltage, not higher clock

oh and i fixed the crysis scores in my review. it ran at high, not very high

Good link, thanks. I was referring to the fact that all the current 5970s are the same once you rip off the heatsink - they're all reference designs as far as I'm aware. Kadozer seemed to imply that the XFX used higher binned chips. I doubted this and thus ask for more information. ;)
11-19-2009, 02:05 AM
W1zzard

all 5970 cards are the same, came from the same factory, only changes are the sticker and possibly very light changes to the bios (subvendor id, minor clock changes). in a conference call, amd said they dont expect/allow pcb changes until q2 2010
11-19-2009, 02:27 AM
jaredpace

oh yeah. You're right the "black edition" is the same as all the other 5970's. I pointed you at that video because i thought you were asking about the gpus inside a 5800 vs. 5900 card.
11-19-2009, 02:49 AM
kadozer

Quote:

Originally Posted by D749

Good link, thanks. I was referring to the fact that all the current 5970s are the same once you rip off the heatsink - they're all reference designs as far as I'm aware. Kadozer seemed to imply that the XFX used higher binned chips. I doubted this and thus ask for more information. ;)

The assumption is that its similar to Sapphire Toxic series, but since XFX doesn't official state it I can't confirm. Which is what people point out as the justification for the higher price tag vs other vendors. ie less voltage better required, better power components..I guess will have to wait for 1 of the review sites to get their hands on it. All the speeds are ref however.

Quote:

Originally Posted by W1zzard

all 5970 cards are the same, came from the same factory, only changes are the sticker and possibly very light changes to the bios (subvendor id, minor clock changes). in a conference call, amd said they dont expect/allow pcb changes until q2 2010

Thanks for the Crysis confirmation btw. :up:
11-19-2009, 03:01 AM
initialised

Any word on waterblock/pre-blocked availability?
11-19-2009, 03:32 AM
naokaji

Quote:

Originally Posted by Piotrsama

VAT is adding to that price. 70£... ouch.

Even before vat it is still 768$, msrp is 600$, which is 360£, so the shops are trying to con you out of 100£+, that has to be some new negative record.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dan7777

anthor place in the uk that have 5 in stock wow! big price difference £573....http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/p...IHD5900Series/

957$...
:shakes:

We need a price war, nvidia where are you?
11-19-2009, 04:24 AM
Chrono Detector

Its a bit disappointed ATI had to downclock the card due to heat or power issues, if you want the extra FPS then Crossfired 5870's is the way to go. I hope ATI will release a 5890 because I'm interested in that the most.
11-19-2009, 04:44 AM
kadozer

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chrono Detector

Its a bit disappointed ATI had to downclock the card due to heat or power issues, if you want the extra FPS then Crossfired 5870's is the way to go. I hope ATI will release a 5890 because I'm interested in that the most.

Not really as many others already showed its not hard to overclock higher than ref 5870 speeds.
11-19-2009, 04:48 AM
rouvio

wonder why they really did that if the card can easily go over 900MHz.
I mean.. this card is intended for the hardcore gamers.. right?

I think that a person spending over 600$ for a GPU has enough airflow in his/her computer case to compensate for the heat generated by the "extra" few MHz's..
11-19-2009, 04:53 AM
kadozer

Quote:

Originally Posted by rouvio

wonder why they really did that if the card can easily go over 900MHz.
I mean.. this card is intended for the hardcore gamers.. right?

I think that a person spending over 600$ for a GPU has enough airflow in his/her computer case to compensate for the heat generated by the "extra" few MHz's..

Directly from horse's mouth "ATI was adamant that OEMs didn’t play the deciding role this time around. While OEMs feelings regarding a 300W+ board certainly were a concern, ATI says the primary reason why they decided not to opt for the full 5870 speeds and feeds for the 5970 was they wanted to maintain compatibility with the existing power supply infrastructure.

Quite simply, ATI didn’t want users to potentially have to upgrade their PSU (power supply unit) just to run the 5970. They wanted the card to be compatible with as wide a variety of PSUs as possible. Therefore in order to make the card work with as wide a variety of PSUs as possible, while still retaining as much of the 5870’s performance, ATI opted to deliver a card with the full 1600 shaders as the 5870, but with the 5850’s clock speeds.
"

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/...view/page2.asp

Their nice way of saying : We gotta account for the noobs out there with crappy psu's trying to run this.
11-19-2009, 04:54 AM
Shadov

Quote:

Originally Posted by naokaji

We need a price war, nvidia where are you?

You are talking as if a price war would fix availiability issues caused by TSMC? Get real... :shakes:
11-19-2009, 04:56 AM
Tuvok-LuR-

Quote:

Originally Posted by rouvio

wonder why they really did that if the card can easily go over 900MHz.
I mean.. this card is intended for the hardcore gamers.. right?

I think that a person spending over 600$ for a GPU has enough airflow in his/her computer case to compensate for the heat generated by the "extra" few MHz's..

maybe the want to leave more room for a 5990 in first half of 2010
11-19-2009, 06:03 AM
Manicdan

Quote:

Originally Posted by kadozer

Directly from horse's mouth "ATI was adamant that OEMs didn’t play the deciding role this time around. While OEMs feelings regarding a 300W+ board certainly were a concern, ATI says the primary reason why they decided not to opt for the full 5870 speeds and feeds for the 5970 was they wanted to maintain compatibility with the existing power supply infrastructure.

Quite simply, ATI didn’t want users to potentially have to upgrade their PSU (power supply unit) just to run the 5970. They wanted the card to be compatible with as wide a variety of PSUs as possible. Therefore in order to make the card work with as wide a variety of PSUs as possible, while still retaining as much of the 5870’s performance, ATI opted to deliver a card with the full 1600 shaders as the 5870, but with the 5850’s clock speeds.
"

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/...view/page2.asp

Their nice way of saying : We gotta account for the noobs out there with crappy psu's trying to run this.

i would hope to see an overdrive checkbox that automatically overclocks it back to 5870 speeds. make it an idiot proof 15% bonus
11-19-2009, 06:57 AM
grimeleven

Quote:

Originally Posted by dan7777

should fit in me HAF 932 shouldnt it ?

I measured my HAF932, it should fit, there is a 14 inch gap to the first x16 slot, once installed it shall be 1 inch apart the HDD bays plate.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kadozer

Quite simply, ATI didn’t want users to potentially have to upgrade their PSU (power supply unit) just to run the 5970. They wanted the card to be compatible with as wide a variety of PSUs as possible. Therefore in order to make the card work with as wide a variety of PSUs as possible, while still retaining as much of the 5870’s performance, ATI opted to deliver a card with the full 1600 shaders as the 5870, but with the 5850’s clock speeds.

Yeah i fully understand them, smart move support wise... but that 300W limit spec needs to be raised now :) if possible.
11-19-2009, 07:18 AM
trinibwoy

When did we switch from complaining about high power consumption to complaining about not-high-enough power consumption? :ROTF:
11-19-2009, 07:40 AM
bigdaddy25fb

I don't understand why A*TI*MD would lower the speed just for users who don't have a beefy enough PSU? Yes it's to reach a wider customer base, but hasn't it been said time and time again that the high end cards aren't the money makers? If I'm going to buy a $600 graphics card I'm going to make sure that my PSU can handle it. Just doesn't make sense to me...
11-19-2009, 07:47 AM
trinibwoy

Because not every gamer is a PSU or hardware enthusiast.

Computerbase is up - http://www.computerbase.de/artikel/h...formancerating
11-19-2009, 08:01 AM
Earzz

Well i dont get it, they are worrying about the PSU limitations for some users but they forgot about that the card wont fit in a lot of cases :shrug:
11-19-2009, 08:21 AM
grimeleven

Like reviewers said, they just couldn't release a card that wasn't compliant with the PCI-e spec. http://www.pcisig.com/news_room/faqs/pcie2.0_faq/

*Edit* err it's 2.1 http://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&q=c....1&hl=en&gl=uk
11-19-2009, 08:50 AM
Manicdan

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigdaddy25fb

I don't understand why A*TI*MD would lower the speed just for users who don't have a beefy enough PSU? Yes it's to reach a wider customer base, but hasn't it been said time and time again that the high end cards aren't the money makers? If I'm going to buy a $600 graphics card I'm going to make sure that my PSU can handle it. Just doesn't make sense to me...

this also gives them an opportunity to release one or two exclusive cards that are real monsters, and dont obey the laws of PCIe (kinda like the MARS, except that somehow got approved)
11-19-2009, 09:23 AM
Nedjo

remember 4890? It was capable of reaching higher clocks, but ATI didn't go as high as possible to make room for partners to differentiate with overclocked cards...

option to differentiate is appealing to the partners, and it makes them want to put additional effort around these kind of products... and that helps if you have product in highend, high price market...

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