ATI Radeon HD 5870: DirectX 11, Eyefinity, And Serious Speed

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System Setup And Benchmarks

We tested on an LGA 1366-based machine sporting Intel's fastest Core i7 processor, the 975 Extreme, overclocked to 4 GHz. The idea here is that we wanted to eliminate CPU bottlenecks wherever possible, though you'll noticed these graphics cards are so fast that CPU-bound situations are unavoidable at times.

Also, the GeForce GTX 285s had to be run at 100% fan duty cycle in SLI mode, else they'd crash.

Finally, it's worth noting that the Radeon HD 5870 intermittently exhibited corruption in the first 3DMark Vantage test.

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Test Hardware
ProcessorIntel Core i7-975 Extreme (Bloomfield) 3.33 GHz, 6.4 GT/s, 8 MB L3 Cache, power-saving settings disabledOverclocked to 4 GHz (25 * 160 MHz)
MotherboardAsus Rampage II Extreme (LGA 1366) X58/ICH10, BIOS 1504
MemoryCorsair Dominator 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 8-8-8-24 @ 1,600 MHz
Hard DriveIntel SSDSA2MH160G2C1 160 GB SATA 3 Gb/s
NetworkingRealtek RTC8111C, 1 Gbps
Graphics CardsATI Radeon HD 5870 1GB
Row 6 - Cell 0 ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB
Row 7 - Cell 0 ATI Radeon HD 4890 1GB
Row 8 - Cell 0 ATI Radeon HD 4870 1GB
Row 9 - Cell 0 Nvidia GeForce GTX 295 1.8GB
Row 10 - Cell 0 Nvidia GeForce GTX 285 1GB
Power SupplyCooler Master UCP 1100 W
CPU CoolerThermalright Ultra 120 Extreme
System Software And Drivers
Operating SystemMicrosoft Windows 7 x64
DirectXDirectX 11
Platform DriverIntel INF Chipset Update Utility 9.1.1.1019
Graphics DriverAMD Catalyst 8.66 RC6
Row 18 - Cell 0 AMD Catalyst 9.9
Row 19 - Cell 0 Nvidia GeForce 190.62
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BenchmarkConfiguration
World in ConflictVery High Quality Settings, No AA / No AF, vsync off, 1680x1050/1920x1200, 2560x1600, Patch 1009, DirectX 10
Row 1 - Cell 0 Very High Quality Settings, 4x AA / 16x AF, vsync off, 1680x1050/1920x1200, 2560x1600, Patch 1009, DirectX 10
Far Cry 2Ultra High Quality Settings, No AA / No AF, vsync off, 1680x1050/1920x1200, 2560x1600, Steam Version
Row 3 - Cell 0 Ultra High Quality Settings, 8x AA / No AF, vsync off, 1680x1050/1920x1200, 2560x1600, Steam Version
CrysisVery High Quality Settings, No AA / No AF, vsync off, 1680x1050/1900x1200, 2560x1600, Patch 1.2.1, DirectX 10, 64-bit Executable
Row 5 - Cell 0 Very High Quality Settings, 8x AA / No AF, vsync off, 1680x1050/1900x1200, 2560x1600 Patch 1.2.1, DirectX 10, 64-bit Executable
Left 4 DeadHighest Quality Settings, No AA / No AF, vsync off, 1680x1050/1920x1200, 2560x1600, Steam Version
Row 7 - Cell 0 Highest Quality Settings, 8x AA / 16x AF, vsync off, 1680x1050/1920x1200, 2560x1600, Steam Version
Grand Theft Auto IVHighest Quality Settings, No AA / "High" AF, vsync off, 1680x1050/1920x1200, 2560x1600, Patch #3
Stalker: Clear SkyExtreme Quality Setting, No AA / No AF, vsync off, 1680x1050, 1920x1200, 2560x1600, DirectX 10 lighting
Row 10 - Cell 0 Extreme Quality Setting, 4x MSAA / No AF, vsync off, 1680x1050, 1920x1200, 2560x1600, DirectX 10 lighting
H.A.W.X.Highest Quality Settings, No AA / No AF, vsync off, 1680x1050, 1920x1200, 2560x1600, AO enabled, DirectX 10/10.1
Row 12 - Cell 0 Highest Quality Settings, 8x AA / No AF, vsync off, 1680x1050, 1920x1200, 2560x1600, AO enabled, DirectX 10/10.1
Resident Evil 5High Quality Settings, No AA / No AF, vsync off, 1680x1050, 1920x1200, 2560x1600, DirectX 10, Fixed Benchmark
Row 14 - Cell 0 High Quality Settings, 8x AA / No AF, vsync off, 1680x1050, 1920x1200, 2560x1600, DirectX 10, Fixed Benchmark
3DMark VantagePerformance Default, High Quality, Extreme Quality
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.
214 Comments Comment from the forums
  • hispeed120
    I'm. So. Excited.
    Reply
  • Can't wait
    Reply
  • crosko42
    So it looks like 1 is enough for me.. Dont plan on getting a 30 inch monitor any time soon.
    Reply
  • jezza333
    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.
    Reply
  • woostar88
    This is incredible at the price point.
    Reply
  • LORD_ORION
    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.
    Reply
  • tipmen
    wait, wait, before I look can it play cry... HOLY SHIT?!
    Reply
  • viper666
    why didn't they thest it against a GTX 295 rather than 280??? its far superior...
    Reply
  • cangelini
    viper666why 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 :)
    Reply
  • Annisman
    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.
    Reply