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We were a bit surprised when Far Cry 2 favored the Radeon HD 4870 X2 over ATI’s Radeon HD 5870. Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 295 usurps the new single-GPU card, too. But the GeForce GTX 285 cannot keep up (not that it’s a huge problem yet, as the GTX 285 manages more than 50 frames per second even at 2560x1600).
Unlike Crysis, where ATI didn’t scale very well moving from one to two Radeon HD 5870s, the technology demonstrates much better results here, quite nearly doubling performance. Nvidia also sees good SLI scaling going from one GeForce GTX 285 to two, but by the time you’re running at 2560x1600, there’s a nearly 40 frame difference between the competitors.
As you can see, we’ve stepped our Far Cry 2 testing up to Ultra Quality settings. But even then, the Radeon HD 4870 1GB delivers fairly smooth performance all the way up to 1920x1200. Turning on anti-aliasing should have a bigger impact on graphics performance, though.
Indeed, demanding 8xAA from these cards has a much more profound impact on performance. The single-GPU Radeon HD 4800-series cards are no longer considered fluid at any resolution, and even the 4870 X2 chokes up at 2560x1600. Nvidia’s cards fare much better, and the GeForce GTX 285 is the only board to choke up a bit at 2560x1600.
Yet again, ATI’s anti-aliasing enhancements shine through. In the previous chart, the Radeon HD 5870 was getting its backside handed to it by the 4870 X2. Now it’s the 5870 on top though, and a pair of the cards kicks things into high gear with playable performance all the way up to 2560x1600. The two GTX 285s can’t quite catch ATI’s latest, though it’s worth noting that you can still get playable performance at 2560x1600 using a duo of Nvidia’s quickest single-GPU boards. Nevertheless, it’s an impressive showing from ATI, improving the way its own hardware behaves at high resolutions and with intense detail settings enabled.
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I'm. So. Excited.
Can't wait
So it looks like 1 is enough for me.. Dont plan on getting a 30 inch monitor any time soon.
Looks like the NDA lifted at 11:00PM, as there's a load of reviews now just out. Once again it shows that AMD can produce a seriously killer card...
Crysis 2 on an x2 of this is exactly what I'm waiting for.
This is incredible at the price point.
Err... I thought I was going to see more for the price. Regardless, I think ATI missed the mark here. I am interested in playing games on my HDTV since me and my monitor don't care about these higher resolutions. Fail cakes... Nivida is undoubtedly going to rape ATI in performance with the 300 series. This is good news for mainstream prices however.... you can ptobably upgrade to a current DX10 board soon for a very good price, and then buy a 5850 for $100 in a year from now. Result? Don't but a 5000 series card yet until the price comes down? Heh, I bet the cards will be $100 less in December if the 300 series launches.
This is not to say I am an Nvidia fan, just undoubtedly you would do well for yourself to hold off for a bit if you want to buy a 5000 series... as the price will come down for a good price/performance ratio soon enough.
wait, wait, before I look can it play cry... HOLY SHIT?!
why didn't they thest it against a GTX 295 rather than 280??? its far superior...
why didn't they thest it against a GTX 295 rather than 280??? its far superior...
Ran it against a GTX 295 and a 285 and 285s in SLI
I refuse to buy until the 2GB versions come out, not to mention newegg letting you buy more than 1 at a time, paper launch ftl.
Thanks for the timely review. I have to say though, some of the technical details are beyond me. It'd be useful if you explained terms such as "VLIW architecture" or "tessellation engine"
oh my bad... didn't see the rest of the pages
O M F G!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just wish the darn thing wasn't so big, but man, what a card! Now I'm thinking about a bigger case
Oops, who am I kidding ? I just ordered 2 5870's. One Sapphire, and one HIS, seeing as how they limit you to one per customer.
I think most of this review has to do with how many games are optimized for nVidia. The Crytek Engine 2.0 and Source Engine are well known for heavily favoring nVidia architecture yet compose the bulk of the benchmarks. I think the fact ATI can do best in these engines when they have a detect ATI instant nerf its performance speaks measures for the actual card.
I WANT MY MOOOMMYYYYYY !!!!!!!
Another thing is that the 5800x2 isn't out yet, now think of two of those bad boys in Crossfire.
Not bad for Crysis benchmark. I really want 5870 for my christmas present, but damn I also need to buy a new PSU.
In addition, I am impressed that the 5870 has a better power consumption and better gaming performance compare to DX10 cards. If the card is affordable I'd definite buy one.
Thanks for the timely review. I have to say though, some of the technical details are beyond me. It'd be useful if you explained terms such as "VLIW architecture" or "tessellation engine"
Jasper,
TBH, the architectural details are secondary to how the card performs. However, if you'd like a better idea of what tessellation can do for you, check out the picture of the Alien on page six!