PowerColor Radeon HD 5870 LCS: The GHz Limit, Broken

Features
By Don Woligroski
published

Test System And Benchmarks

We're not going to waste our time benchmarking 1280x1024 or 1680x1050. If you buy this class of card, you're going to play at 1920x1200 or 2560x1600. To that end, we'll test those high resolutions with and without anti-aliasing (AA) and anisotropic filtering (AF) enabled.

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Header Cell - Column 0 Graphic Test System
CPUIntel Core i7-920 (Nehalem), 2.67 GHz, QPI-4200, 8MB CacheOverclocked to 3.06 GHz @ 153 MHz Bclk
MotherboardASRock X58 Supercomputer Intel X58, BIOS P1.90
NetworkingOnboard Realtek Gigabit LAN controller
MemoryKingston PC3-10700 3 x 1,024MB, DDR3-1225, CL 9-9-9-22-1T
GraphicsPowercolor Radeon HD 5870 LCS875 MHz Core, 1250 MHz Memory, 1GB GDDR52 x HIS Radeon HD 4890 in CrossFire850 MHz Core, 975 MHz Memory, 1GB GDDR5
Hard DriveWestern Digital Caviar WD50 00AAJS-00YFA, 500GB, 7,200 RPM, 8MB cache, SATA 3.0Gb/s
PowerThermaltake Toughpower 1,200W1,200W, ATX 12V 2.2, EPS 12v 2.91
Software and Drivers
Operating SystemMicrosoft Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit 6.0.6001, SP1
DirectX versionDirectX 10
Graphics DriversAMD Catalyst 9.10
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Benchmark Configuration
3D Games
CrysisPatch 1.2.1, DirectX 9, 64-bit executable, benchmark tool Low Quality, Medium Textures, Shadows, Physics, Shaders, Water, and Sound, No AA
Far Cry 2Patch 1.02, in-game benchmark Medium Quality, No AA
World In Conflict: Soviet AssaultPatch 1.11, DirectX 9, timedemo Medium Details, No AA/No AF
Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X.Patch 1.02, DirectX 10 & 10.1, in-game benchmark Low Shadows, Sun ShaftsMedium View Distance, Environment, SSAOHigh Forest, TexturesHDR, Engine Heat, and DOE On, No AA
Left 4 DeadVersion 1.0.1.5., Custom THG Benchmark Run 1: High Settings, no AA, no AFRun 2: High Settings, Medium Shaders, 4x AA, 8x AF
Resident Evil 5Resident Evil 5 Benchmark VersionHigh Shadows and Textures, Medium Overall Detail, Motion Blur On, no AA, no AF
Fallout 3Patch 1.4.0.6., Custom THG Benchmark High Quality, No AA, No AF
Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings
3DMark VantageVersion: 1.02, PhysX Off, 3DMark scores
Don Woligroski
91 Comments Comment from the forums
  • tacoslave
    AMD = EPIC WIN

    oh and you too powercolor. mmmmmmmmm waterblock...
    Reply
  • CoryInJapan
    Wow...is ATI leading again...O wait they are.
    Nice to see ATI back on top. Would be nice to have that card.
    Reply
  • tacoslave
    so much potential lost for shame...

    sorry for double posting but i got cut off.
    Reply
  • jimmysmitty
    Enjoy it while it lasts ATI.

    Unless nV screws G300 up (rebranding G200) then it may be a nice time but wont last forever.

    If only they could get a damn seperate shader clock. With 1600 SPs running at 1.7GHz they could blow nV out of the water....
    Reply
  • anamaniac
    It's dissapointing to hear the memory had to be put so low...
    Though I'd love to liquid cool my i7, then add a 5870 and liquid cool that also. I got a radiator at work that can likely handle a 10 kilowatt system, add to that it's constantly cooled by sub zero temperatures (during winter atleast), with a 5 barrel resevoir, and dual 24" fans (used to cool 3000psi hydraulics).

    Even more dissapointing to see it can't keep up with it's dual 4xxx series cousin.
    Also, GPU waterblocks just look so inneficient...
    Reply
  • micky_lund
    hmmm...
    can i has one to sell? then buy dual 5850s
    Reply
  • 7amood
    WOOOOOOOW extremely low temperatures... but not worth the 500W draw.
    I think now am interested in water cooled video cards.

    but honestly, i thought the gain will be 20% at least... disappointing.
    Reply
  • liquidsnake718
    You made a mistake on the test and benchmark page on the Crysis Bench config. It states you tested it at low quality. This would mean at least 100-150FPS....

    Nice work but I also wish you guys tested Crysis at Very High settings.... its always great to see Crysis tested at its maximum threshhold.
    Reply
  • shubham1401
    Being a single card 5870 performs very impressively...
    And the power usage is impressive too(Only on stock).

    This is the best card for now and with a lil price dip it'll be fav. of all high end gamers.
    Reply
  • IzzyCraft
    I love the draw on their oc 1 gpu is greater then 2 older gen gpus draw that's just hilariously bad results. Still with the waterblock set up maybe you can afford the 1000 dollar electric bill with you're fastest possible machine. Sorry but as far as ATI venders powercolor is low on the list of ones i trust. Poor 5870 gpu wasted on excess and ya can't waste those things, hard to come by with tsmc doing jack in the yields department.
    Reply