Radeon HD 6850 & 6870 reviews...

[[XC] gomeler]

LegitReviews -> http://legitreviews.com/article/1445/1/
Hexus -> http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=27053&page=1

[BeepBeep2]

Yes, but 900 Mhz 6870 = ~775-825 Mhz 5850. Tesselation performance is roughly the same as well. I'm just saying, a 6870 @ 1000 is simply going to lose against a 1000 Mhz 5850. The 6870 IMO would need 1100 Mhz to really grab my attention as something superior to the 5850 from an overclocking/performance standpoint at it's price range.

Yes, once again, I know that power consumption is a few watts lower. Is it REALLY significant? I'm not quite sure.

EDIT:

HIS 6870 hit 1030 Mhz with 1.5v. Sounds like it's quite a jolly card considering 5850's at $15 more will hit that speed at 1.3v and demolish it. I think i'll pass.

[Metroid]

Yes and looks like both cards can reach 1000Mhz core frequency 1.27v which is amazing for the 6850 and reasonable for the 6870.

[zanzabar]

im disappointed with the naming now, but satisfied with the scores if they were named 67xx, but knowing that the cayman is coming we should get something good for all price ranges

[SamHughe]

The actual review is live (and their crossfire review is up too).

[SKYMTL]

Methinks we need to combine threads...

[onethreehill]

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/H...HD_6870/1.html
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/HIS/Radeon_HD_6850/
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/A...850_Direct_Cu/
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3987/a...idrange-market
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/gra...-6870-review/1
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/gra...-6850-review/1
http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon...0-6870-review/
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum...50-review.html
http://hothardware.com/Reviews/AMD-R...50-GPUs-Debut/
http://www.legionhardware.com/articl...hd_6870,1.html
http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=1022
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/...eo_card_review
http://vr-zone.com/articles/amd-rade...html?doc=10117
http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=27053
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.ph...=628&Itemid=72
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.ph...=627&Itemid=72
http://techgage.com/article/amd_radeon_hd_6870_hd_6850/
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/360...ard/index.html
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/360...ard/index.html
http://www.bjorn3d.com/read.php?cID=1941
http://www.bjorn3d.com/read.php?cID=1944
http://www.techspot.com/review/325-amd-radeon-6870/
http://www.computerbase.de/artikel/g...0-und-hd-6850/
http://lab501.ro/placi-video/asus-ra...870-si-hd-6850
http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Ha...eon_6870_6850/
http://www.pcgameshardware.de/aid,79...fikkarte/Test/
http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews.php?reviewid=1053
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...arts,2776.html
http://www.rage3d.com/reviews/video/..._launch_review
http://www.pureoverclock.com/images/...review1109.jpg
http://www.pureoverclock.com/article1108.html
http://www.pureoverclock.com/article1107.html
http://www.hardware.fr/articles/804-...6870-6850.html
http://plaza.fi/muropaketti/artikkel...barts-pro-xt,4
http://www.hitechlegion.com/reviews/...eo-card-review
http://www.hitechlegion.com/reviews/...-hd6850-review
http://www.hitechlegion.com/reviews/...eo-card-review
http://www.vortez.co.uk/review.php?id=235
http://www.vortez.co.uk/review.php?id=234
http://ht4u.net/reviews/2010/amd_rad..._hd_6870_test/
http://www.hardwarespot.de/?pageid=100025759&newscat=4
http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/g...usive_review/1
http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/g..._6870_review/1
http://pro-clockers.com/videocards/1...n-hd-6850.html
http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/amd_6800series/
http://www.insidehw.com/Reviews/Grap...-Diamonds.html
http://www.thinkcomputers.org/sapphi...o-card-review/
http://www.madboxpc.com/review-amd-r...870-y-hd-6850/
http://www.modders-inc.com/modules.p...Story&reid=336
http://lanoc.org/review/hardware/vid...imedia-hd-6870
http://www.techwarelabs.com/diamond-...raphics-cards/
http://alienbabeltech.com/main/?p=21598&all=1
http://www.techreport.com/articles.x/19844
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/...2371282,00.asp
http://www.cluboverclocker.com/revie.../hd6850/p1.asp
http://www.guru3d.com/article/his-ra...0-6870-review/
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.ph...=631&Itemid=72
http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Ha...phire_HD_6870/
http://www.guru3d.com/article/gigaby...d-6870-review/
http://www.pureoverclock.com/article1115.html
CrossfireX Reviews
http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon...sfirex-review/
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1445/1/
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/A...870_CrossFire/
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/A...850_CrossFire/
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3987/a...idrange-market
http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/g...usive_review/1
http://lanoc.org/review/hardware/vid...re-performance
http://techgage.com/article/amd_rade...in_crossfirex/
http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=27167

[KoHaN69]

I'm a little dissapointed. Was expecting the a higher performance jump. Like 4870 >to> 5870
and why the hell do they limit 6870 just 1GB?! what about the budget eyefinity builds. we NEED AT LEAST 2GB!

Also, do any of these reviews have some crossfire benchmark results.

I want to see some 5760x1200 2xAA results

[aznsniper911]

I'm a little dissapointed. Was expecting the a higher performance jump. Like 4870 >to> 5870

I was hopping for that in the beginning then realized how hard it is for them to keep pushing out performance like that.

[bamtan2]

6850 and gtx 460 are both so good, such good value, that I dont feel you can lose by getting either. that said, if 6850 is 10 bucks cheaper, and it can match or beat gtx 460 even more when they are both reasonably overclocked to 850mhz, then the extra ports and lower power of 6850 really put it ahead.

Edit: there are a lot of typos in these reviews, they were obviously rushed. But here is what you need to know:

"The overclocks of our [6850] card are 945 MHz core (20% overclock) and 1165 MHz Memory (17% overclock). Both overclocks are phenomenal. Such an overclocking potential enables willing users to buy the cheaper HD 6850 and overclock it to HD 6870 performance levels."

Overclocked 460 vs overclocked 6850 is the new enthusiast battleground!

[tajoh111]

Very good card for the price, if I was building a system and wanted something 250 dollars I would be having a tough time picking cards. At around 250, the 5850 and gtx 470 would make some stiff competition, it would be a tough choice and would really rely on the power supply I was getting. The gtx 470 would be good for a big power supply and the 5850 would be good for a low end power supply. However is only when your overclocking.

At stock clocks, though the 6870 is a great card, better than a stock 5850 and 470(for power reasons). It look like they added a bit of efficiency of the cores, not a huge amount but enough to make it a bit faster than a 5850. I don't think there was anything huge though done to the architecture. Directx 11 performance is disappointing. Besides lost plant 2, I don't see really anything that would make this part seem like a next gen directx 11 card.

Neither card deserves their new naming moniker however. I hope AMD drops their cards another 20 dollars as some reviewers are suggesting. That would be the perfect price for them. At 220, this card would be very very 8800gt like.

Man though, NV having to sell their gtx 470 for 240 bucks, ouch.

CF performance is very impressive and honestly(I dislike the single CF connector though), shake any want of a gtx 480 since they are the same price and they use less power.

The 6850 isn't really impressive because the gtx 460 performs more or less the same with the gtx 460 overclocking better.

[bamtan2]

The 6850 isn't really impressive because the gtx 460 performs more or less the same with the gtx 460 overclocking better.

that is not accurate. reviewers were blown away by the gtx 460 value, and now they think 6850 is an even better value. and we don't even know the final street prices once all this settles down.

and the overclocking verdict between the two has yet to be conclusively decided. users don't have the cards in their hands yet!

[zerazax]

The 6850 isn't really impressive because the gtx 460 performs more or less the same with the gtx 460 overclocking better.

That's not really what most were concluding..

[zerazax]

Hints about what Cayman has coming up next:

HardwareCanucks

November will see the release of the Cayman XT-based HD 6970 and Cayman Pro-based HD 6950 which have all of the features seen in Barts plus enhanced rendering scalability and off-chip buffering for DX11 applications. These will be the spiritual successors to the HD 5870 and HD 5850 and should go head to head with the higher end Fermi cards.

December will see the introduction of Antilles which is meant to be the lynchpin of AMD’s renewed assault on the DX11 market. The HD 6990 will bring untold performance to the table through the use of a pair of Cayman GPU cores and additional features we can’t divulge at this time.

[H]ardOCP:

The 6900 series will have a superset of features compared o the 6800 series. This means that there will be features and architecture differences between 6900 and 6800 series. This allows AMD to take more chances on the high-end enthusiast class GPUs and architecture things different, to really step up performance that enthusiasts demand. So, just to restate, the new 6800 series will offer performance of the 5800 series, at a lower price, with lower power, and a smaller chip.

PC Perspective

Later in the year we will see the release of future architectures that much more unique in the Cayman and Antilles product lines. We'll have to leave you with that tease for now and touch again on both of those items later.

Hexus

These arrive armed with improvements in the two metrics discussed above, soon to be followed by a genuine performance GPU in the form of the Radeon HD 6950 and HD 6970 'Cayman' parts and, a little while later, the dual-GPU Radeon HD 6990, code-named Antilles. Phew!

Looks like AMD might be back to playing the high-end GPU game

[highoctane]

One thing for sure the ~$200 price segment from either camp is looking really good. Guess I'm glad I'm not really looking for a video card right now, would be a tough choice.

[Glow9]

I'm not sure if the value is worth the potential headaches of AMD/ATI drivers... Have they gotten better recently?

[zerazax]

I'm not sure if the value is worth the potential headaches of AMD/ATI drivers... Have they gotten better recently?

uh oh here we go again

[tajoh111]

that is not accurate. reviewers were blown away by the gtx 460 value, and now they think 6850 is an even better value. and we don't even know the final street prices once all this settles down.

and the overclocking verdict between the two has yet to be conclusively decided. users don't have the cards in their hands yet!

That's my own opinion. The 6870 to me is the better card because NV really doesn't have a practical solution at the moment to compete with it.

Man you can't get away with saying anything about AMD cards unless its overwhelming praise. Not impressive doesn't mean its a bad card. It just not a game changer to me.

The gtx 460 just needs a price drop. The overclocks in the reviews seem alot less impressive than when the gtx 460 launched.

[zerazax]

The gtx 460 just needs a price drop. The overclocks in the reviews seem alot less impressive than when the gtx 460 launched.

What will be interesting to see is if, over time, they can sustain having a large # of highly OC'able cores, or if this is a limited supply

[qcmadness]

That's my own opinion. The 6870 to me is the better card because NV really doesn't have a practical solution at the moment to compete with it.

Man you can't get away with saying anything about AMD cards unless its overwhelming praise. Not impressive doesn't mean its a bad card. It just not a game changer to me.

The gtx 460 just needs a price drop. The overclocks in the reviews seem alot less impressive than when the gtx 460 launched.

For customers, GTX460 is still a solid card.
But NVIDIA would not like another price war initiated by AMD again.

[Booj]

I'm a bit surprised at some of the early OC results on the 6870. Quick bench with mine shows 1000 core easy with no voltage increase. Max of the slider actually.

Cant wait for i2c support in the oc utilities

[tajoh111]

What will be interesting to see is if, over time, they can sustain having a large # of highly OC'able cores, or if this is a limited supply

I think they can. They sold the various gens of g92 in the 130-120 dollar range and they still made money in their income statements if it wasn't for lawsuits and other similar payments.

The gtx 470 at 250 dollars is not sustainable though. NV needs to get a full gf104 on the market with 750 clock about to compete with the 6870 and they will lose on the power front, but it won't be a disaster like the gtx 470 in this regard.

[qcmadness]

I think they can. They sold the various gens of g92 in the 130-120 dollar range and they still made money in their income statements if it wasn't for lawsuits and other similar payments.

The gtx 470 at 250 dollars is not sustainable though. NV needs to get a full gf104 on the market with 750 clock about to compete with the 6870 and they will lose on the power front, but it won't be a disaster like the gtx 470 in this regard.

The one sold in $120-130 price range is G92b but not G92.

[kuroikenshi]

I'm a bit surprised at some of the early OC results on the 6870. Quick bench with mine shows 1000 core easy with no voltage increase. Max of the slider actually.

Cant wait for i2c support in the oc utilities

where did u get yours from? not in Aus I presume, hell expensive everywhere I looked

[zanzabar]

The one sold in $120-130 price range is G92b but not G92.

the 9800gt sold in the range for a while with the g92 but the g92b sells there with the 250gts. but that thing is almost worthless now for any range it uses to much power and is to low performance for anything but phsyX.