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

Benchmark Results: Left 4 Dead

It’s nearly pointless to spend time analyzing performance in Left 4 Dead without anti-aliasing enabled. Our 4 GHz CPU opens up tons of headroom, but there’s still a definite ceiling that the single- and dual-Radeon HD 5870 setups run into, in addition to the GeForce GTX 295 and SLI’d GeForce GTX 285s.

The worst performer, ATI’s Radeon HD 4870 1GB, delivers in excess of 60 frames per second at 2560x1600, so let’s just move on to our AA- and AF-based numbers.

Everything here is playable enough at 1680x1050 and 1920x1200, so let’s focus on 2560x1600 for a second. The Radeon HD 4870, 4890, and GeForce GTX 285 all dip below 60 frames in this fast-paced shooter. A single Radeon HD 5870 is able to outpace a Radeon HD 4870 X2 and Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 295, but is bested by a pair of GTX 285s. Not to worry, though, a pair of Radeon HD 5870s sails past the SLI’d Nvidia cards and pegs out our 4 GHz processor at two of the tested resolutions.

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.
  • 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