AMD Radeon HD 5870 Eyefinity 6 Edition: One Card, Six Screens

Features
By Chris Angelini
published

Test Hardware And Benchmarks

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Test Hardware
ProcessorIntel Core i7-980X Extreme (Gulftown) 3.33 GHz, 6.4 GT/s, 12MB L3 Cache, power-saving settings enabled
MotherboardGigabyte X58A-UD5 (LGA 1366) X58/ICH10, BIOS F5
MemoryKingston HyperX T1 Series 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3-2000 8-8-8-24 @ 1,600 MHz
Hard DriveIntel SSDSA2MH160G2C1 160GB SATA 3 Gb/s
NetworkingRealtek RTC8111D, 1 Gb/s
Graphics CardsAMD Radeon HD 5870 2GB
Row 6 - Cell 0 Nvidia GeForce GTX 480 1.5GB
Row 7 - Cell 0 Nvidia GeForce GTX 470 1.25GB
Row 8 - Cell 0 Nvidia GeForce GTX 295 1.79GB
Row 9 - Cell 0 Nvidia GeForce GTX 285 1GB
Row 10 - Cell 0 ATI Radeon HD 5970 2GB
Row 11 - Cell 0 ATI Radeon HD 5870 1GB
Row 12 - Cell 0 ATI Radeon HD 5850 1GB
Row 13 - Cell 0 ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB
Power SupplyCooler Master UCP 1100W
CPU CoolerIntel DBX-B Thermal Solution
System Software And Drivers
Operating SystemMicrosoft Windows 7 Ultimate x64
DirectXDirectX 11
Platform DriverIntel INF Chipset Update Utility 9.1.1.1019
Graphics DriverNvidia GeForce 197.17 (GTX 480/470)
Row 21 - Cell 0 Nvidia GeForce 197.13 (GTX 295/285)
Row 22 - Cell 0 AMD Catalyst 10.3a
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Games
Far Cry 2Ultra High Quality Settings, No AA / No AF, 8xAA / No AF, vsync off, 6048x2276 / 5760x1080, DirectX 10, Steam Version, benchmark Tool, Ranch Medium
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of PripyatExtreme Quality Settings, No AA / No AF, 4xAA / No AF, vsync off, 1680x1050 / 1920x1200 / 6048x2276 / 5760x1080, DX10 Rendering, Benchmark Tool
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2Ultra High Settings, No AA / No AF, 4xAA / No AF, 1680x1050 / 1920x1200 / 6048x2276 / 5760x1080, Second Sun, 45 second sequence, FRAPS
DiRT 2Ultra High Settings, No AA / No AF, 4xAA / No AF, 1680x1050 / 1920x1200 / 6048x2276 / 5760x1080, In-Game Benchmark (Demo), Forced DX9 Rendering
Left 4 Dead 2Highest Quality Settings, No AA / No AF, vsync off, 6048x2276 / 5760x1080, Custom Tom's Hardware Demo, Steam Version
Battlefield: Bad Company 2Custom (Highest) Quality Settings, 1xAA / No AF, 8x MSAA / No AF, vsync off, 1680x1050 / 1920x1200 / 6048x2276 / 5760x1080, opening cinematic, 145 second sequence, FRAPS
Chris Angelini
Chris Angelini
Chris Angelini is an Editor Emeritus at Tom's Hardware US. He edits hardware reviews and covers high-profile CPU and GPU launches.
116 Comments Comment from the forums
  • phantomtrooper
    I would hate playing with that much black area between screens. I will stick with my 1080p monitor thank you.
    Reply
  • megamanx00
    :O They got two of those cards!! Lucky punks.
    Reply
  • megamanx00
    Glad they compared the 1GB and 2GB cards in a 3x1 setup. Glad I got my 5870 instead of waiting for a 2GB card :D. Even so, I want some thin bezel monitors before I hook up three of them. The bezel on my HP LCD is just to think so I'm not keen on buying another two.
    Reply
  • duk3
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125322&cm_re=5870-_-14-125-322-_-Product
    Immediate availability? Yes.
    Even in stock! (When linked :P )
    Reply
  • magicbullet
    wow......i feel so poor.
    Reply
  • Should have just made the 5970 the eyefinity edition
    Reply
  • ltcommander_data
    So I guess Apple's miniDP connector is quite useful after-all and is now seeing adoption outside of Macs.

    It's too bad you didn't test GTA IV like you used to do. I believe GTA IV at max settings exceeds 1GB of VRAM usage so perhaps 2GB graphics cards may be of some use assuming the game isn't still CPU limited despite 12 threads with the Core i7 980X. At the very least, I'm guessing Liberty City at 6048x2276 would be amazing.
    Reply
  • mtyermom
    This begs the question: how long until we have zero-bezel displays?
    Reply
  • oldscotch
    Obviously, the best solution is a 3x3 grid of displays to make sure your centre focus is not interfered with.

    Lesse, that'd be 5760 x 3240.
    No sweat ;)
    Reply
  • So, I guess if you already have a 1GB 5870 and 3x1 Eyefinity setup, the only advantage of the 2GB version is being able to pile on the AA/AF effects and still have a playable frame rate.
    Reply