AMD Radeon HD 6790 Review: More Mid-Range Might

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Hot on the heels of Nvidia's GeForce GTX 550 Ti introduction, AMD releases a card with the same MSRP and vastly superior performance. But can it also stand up to the GeForce GTX 460 768 MB? We put the new card to the test!

Test Setup And Benchmarks

All of the competing cards are included in our benchmarks: AMD's Radeon HD 5770, Radeon HD 6850, Nvidia's GeForce GTX 550 Ti, and GeForce GTX 460 768 MB. The GeForce GTS 450 is also included as a baseline.  

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Test Hardware
ProcessorIntel Core i5-2500K (Sandy Bridge)Overclocked to 4.0 GHz, 6 MB L3 Cache, power-saving settings enabled, Turbo Boost disabled.
MotherboardAsus P8P67 Pro, Intel P67 Chipset
MemoryOCZ PC3-16000, 2 x 2 GB, 1338 MT/s, CL 9-9-9-20-1T
Hard DriveWestern Digital Caviar Black 750 GB, 7200 RPM, 32 MB Cache, SATA 3Gb/s
Graphics CardsNvidia GeForce GTS 450 1 GB783/1566 MHz Core/Shaders, 902 MHz Memory (3608 MHz effective)
Row 5 - Cell 0 Nvidia GeForce GTS 550 Ti 1 GB900/1800 MHz Core/Shaders, 1025 MHz Memory (4200 MHz effective)
Row 6 - Cell 0 Nvidia GeForce GTX 460 768 MB675/1350 MHz Core/Shaders, 900 MHz Memory (3600 MHz effective)
Row 7 - Cell 0 AMD Radeon HD 5770 1 GB 850 MHz Core, 1200 MHz Memory (4600 MHz effective)
Row 8 - Cell 0 AMD Radeon HD 6790 1 GB840 MHz Core, 1050 MHz Memory (4200 MHz effective)
Row 9 - Cell 0 AMD Radeon HD 6850 1 GB775 MHz Core, 1000 MHz Memory (4000 MHz effective)
Power SupplyePower EP-1200E10-T2 1200 W, ATX12V, EPS12V
CPU CoolerCooler Master Hyper TX 2
System Software And Drivers
Operating SystemMicrosoft Windows 7 Ultimate x64
DirectXDirectX 11
Graphics DriverGeForce GTX 550 Ti: 267.59 BETAGeForce GTS 450 and GeForce GTX 460: 266.58 WHQL
Row 16 - Cell 0 Radeon HD 6790: Catalyst 11.4 BETA Radeon HD 5770 and 6850: AMD Catalyst 11.2 WHQL
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Games
Crysis 2Very High Quality setting, No AA, 60 second gameplay, FRAPS
Just Cause 2Medium Quality Settings, Textures High, all options enabled except vsync, No AA / 16xAF, Bokeh filter and GPU water disabled (for Nvidia cards), Concrete Jungle Benchmark
BulletstormHighest Settings, No AA, 60 second sequence, FRAPS
F1 2010Ultra High Settings, No AA, Steam version, in-game benchmark, DX11 Rendering
Aliens Vs. Predator BenchmarkTexture and Shadow quality set to medium, 8x AF, SSAO off, Dx11 tessellation off, Dx11 advanced shadows off, 0x AA
Metro 2033DiectX 11, Medium Detail,  4x AF, tessellation enabled, advanced PhysX disabled.
Lost Planet 2Medium settings, motion blur enabled, built-in benchmark test A
H.A.W.X. 2Highest settings, DirectX 11 tessellation enabled, built-in benchmark
3DMark VantagePerformance Preset, 1680x1050
Unigine HeavenHighest settings, no AA, 16x AF, 1680x1050
Don Woligroski
60 Comments Comment from the forums
  • rohitbaran
    Wow. Great card for the price, considering what nVidia has for the same segement.
    Reply
  • tacoslave
    I think the 550ti is the most useless release this year and yes even though the 6790 card draws more power than i would like its still miles ahead of the 550 ti. As for the gtx460 768 i think it would be stupid to take it off the market its nvidia's new 8800gt and only competition for amd 6790.
    Reply
  • compton
    The best part of 6790 appears to be the bitchin' CF scaling, if nothing else. Depending on where prices end up, it still would be hard to recommend when a few dollars more can get you the 6850.
    Reply
  • plznote
    Should be a bit cheaper imo.
    Reply
  • compton
    I would hope that prices end up around $139 or so, without rebates. Still the 5770 and 460s are the value kings, so I'm glad to see AMD not over pricing them. nVidia could take a lesson.
    Reply
  • error with 6970 min fps f1 game at 1920 x 1080 res
    Reply
  • Trueno07
    Wow, nice card for the money, and very competitive. Good job AMD...
    Reply
  • dragonsqrrl
    rohitbaranWow. Great card for the price, considering what nVidia has for the same segement.Nvidia no longer has anything in this segment. Well, maybe the GTX460 768, but on average it's still priced above $150. The GTX550Ti underwent an expected below MSRP price drop soon after launch, and the average price is now around $130, probably where it should've been to start.
    tacoslaveI think the 550ti is the most useless release this year and yes even though the 6790 card draws more power than i would like its still miles ahead of the 550 ti. As for the gtx460 768 i think it would be stupid to take it off the market its nvidia's new 8800gt and only competition for amd 6790.Again the GTX550Ti doesn't directly compete with the HD6790 and has underwent a pretty significant price drop in the short time since its launch. The GTX560 is set to replace the GTX460 768 and compete directly against the HD6790 at the $150 price point.
    Reply
  • bombat1994
    Nvidia fail at the mid range segment. the only good card they have released recently was the 460. the 450, 550, failed hard. this card will be good if the companies can lower the the power usage. good job ati
    Reply
  • ivan_chess
    On the final graph, why is the 6790 listed below the 460? According to the graph it should be above it.
    Reply