iXBT Labs - Computer Hardware in Detail

Platform

Video

Multimedia

Mobile

Other

PowerColor HD6850 1GB GDDR5 and PowerColor PCS+ HD6870 1GB GDDR5



<< Previous page

     Next page >>

Performance tests

Testbed:

  • Intel Core i7-975 3340 MHz CPU
  • ASUS P6T Deluxe motherboard on the Intel X58 chipset
  • 6GB of 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM from Corsair
  • WD Caviar SE WD1600JD 160GB SATA HDD
  • Tagan TG900-BZ 900W PSU
  • Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit, DirectX 11
  • 30" Dell 3007WFP monitor
  • VSync disabled
  • NVIDIA Drivers 266.58
  • ATI CATALYST 11.1

Benchmarks:

  • Far Cry 2 (Ubisoft) — DirectX 10.0, Shaders 4.0 (HDR), built-in benchmarking utility (the Middle level), maximum settings.
  • CRYSIS Warhead (Crytek/EA) — Cargo, DirectX 10.0, Shaders 4.0, Very High settings, batch file, timedemo available by e-mail request.
  • Colin McRae: DiRT 2 (Codemasters) — DirectX 10.0/11.0, Ultra High settings, run as follows: "dirt2.exe -benchmark example_benchmark.xml".
  • Metro 2033 (4A Games/THQ) — DirectX 11.0, Super High settings, PhysX disabled, run from in game.
  • Just Cause 2 (Avalanche Studios/Eidos Interactive) — DirectX 11.0, Super High settings, run from in game.
  • Aliens vs. Predator (Rebellion/SEGA) — DirectX 11.0, Shaders 5.0, Very High settings, run from in game.
  • F1 2010 (Codemasters) — DirectX 11.0, Ultra High settings, run as follows: "formulaone.exe -benchmark example_benchmark.xml". Game provided by NVIDIA.
  • Tropics Benchmark 1.3 (Unigine) — DirectX 10.0, High settings.
  • Heaven Benchmark 2.0 (Unigine) — DirectX 11.0, High settings.
  • 3DMark 11 (FutureMark) — DirectX 11.0, Performance settings.

We'd like to thank Unigine for helping us set up their benchmarks.

Please note that there's a misprint in the diagrams: "GTX 570 1280MB 800/1600/4000 MHz" should actually be "GTX 570 1280MB 825/1650/4400 MHz."

The factory overclocking from 900 MHz to 940 MHz boosts the performance of PowerColor PCS+ HD6870 1GB GDDR5 by just 4-5%, so there's no sense in adding another item to the diagrams. You can easily guess that it's just a bit faster.

Far Cry 2


Crysis Warhead, Cargo


Colin McRae: DiRT 2


Metro 2033


Just Cause 2


Aliens vs. Predator DirectX 11.0


F1 2010


Unigine Tropics Benchmark


Unigine Heaven Benchmark DirectX 11.0


3DMark 11 Graphics Marks


Conclusions

PowerColor HD6850 1GB GDDR5 is a very nice solution in terms of both price/performance ratio (it's in the top ten) and cooler efficiency.

PowerColor PCS+ HD6870 1GB GDDR5 is not as nice but still very decent, and the cooler is quite efficient, too.

We express gratitude to PowerColor for the provided graphics cards. The PSU is provided by TAGAN, the monitor is provided by NVIDIA.


Write a comment below. No registration needed!


<< Previous page

Article navigation:

Page 1: Intro, design

Page 2: Cooling, bundles, boxes

Page 3: Performance tests, conclusions



blog comments powered by Disqus

  Most Popular Reviews More    RSS  

AMD Phenom II X4 955, Phenom II X4 960T, Phenom II X6 1075T, and Intel Pentium G2120, Core i3-3220, Core i5-3330 Processors

Comparing old, cheap solutions from AMD with new, budget offerings from Intel.
February 1, 2013 · Processor Roundups

Inno3D GeForce GTX 670 iChill, Inno3D GeForce GTX 660 Ti Graphics Cards

A couple of mid-range adapters with original cooling systems.
January 30, 2013 · Video cards: NVIDIA GPUs

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1

An external X-Fi solution in tests.
September 9, 2008 · Sound Cards

AMD FX-8350 Processor

The first worthwhile Piledriver CPU.
September 11, 2012 · Processors: AMD

Consumed Power, Energy Consumption: Ivy Bridge vs. Sandy Bridge

Trying out the new method.
September 18, 2012 · Processors: Intel
  Latest Reviews More    RSS  

i3DSpeed, September 2013

Retested all graphics cards with the new drivers.
Oct 18, 2013 · 3Digests

i3DSpeed, August 2013

Added new benchmarks: BioShock Infinite and Metro: Last Light.
Sep 06, 2013 · 3Digests

i3DSpeed, July 2013

Added the test results of NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 and AMD Radeon HD 7730.
Aug 05, 2013 · 3Digests

Gainward GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST 2GB Golden Sample Graphics Card

An excellent hybrid of GeForce GTX 650 Ti and GeForce GTX 660.
Jun 24, 2013 · Video cards: NVIDIA GPUs

i3DSpeed, May 2013

Added the test results of NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770/780.
Jun 03, 2013 · 3Digests
  Latest News More    RSS  

Platform  ·  Video  ·  Multimedia  ·  Mobile  ·  Other  ||  About us & Privacy policy  ·  Twitter  ·  Facebook


Copyright © Byrds Research & Publishing, Ltd., 1997–2011. All rights reserved.