Radeon HD 5770, Radeon HD 4890, And GeForce GTX 275 Overclocked

Power Consumption, Noise, And Temperature

All power consumption measurements are taken at the wall socket and apply to the entire system, not just the individual card. The 2D value represents an idling system displaying the Windows Vista desktop with Aero deactivated. 3D power consumption is measured with both the graphics card and the CPU under full load. Our power supply is rated at an average efficiency of 82.4 percent by the manufacturer.

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Power Consumption2D (watts)3D (watts)Power Supply Requirements
GeForce GTX 295 (2 x 896MB)1834461 x 6 + 1 x 8 Pin PCIe
GeForce GTX 285 (1,024MB)1493472 x 6 Pin PCIe
GeForce GTX 280 (1,024MB)1543461 x 6 + 1 x 8 Pin PCIe
BFG GTX 275 (GTX 275 896MB)1553542 x 6 Pin PCIe
Gainward GTX275 GS (GTX 275 896MB)1573602 x 6 Pin PCIe
MSI N275GTX Lightning Max OC (GTX 275 1,792MB)1473502 x 6 Pin PCIe
MSI N275GTX Lightning (GTX 275 1,792MB)1473322 x 6 Pin PCIe
MSI N275GTX Lightning No OC (GTX 275 1,792MB)1473252 x 6 Pin PCIe
GeForce GTX 275 (896MB)1563512 x 6 Pin PCIe
MSI N260GTX Lightning (GTX 260 216SPs 1,792MB)1503002 x 6 Pin PCIe
Sparkle GeForce X265 (GTX 260 216SPs 896MB)1953682 x 6 Pin PCIe
Zotac GeForce GTX 260² (GTX 260 216SPs 896MB)1502952 x 6 Pin PCIe
GeForce GTX 260 216SPs (896MB)1502952 x 6 Pin PCIe
GeForce GTX 260 (896MB)1543302 x 6 Pin PCIe
GeForce GTS 250 (1,024MB)1562651 x 8 Pin PCIe
ATI Radeon HD 5770 OC (1,024MB)1372311 x 6 Pin PCIe
ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1,024MB)1372251 x 6 Pin PCIe
Sapphire Toxic HD4890 Vapor-X (HD 4890 1,024MB)1883531 x 6 + 1 x 8 Pin PCIe
MSI R4890 Cyclone SOC max OC (HD 4890 1,024MB)2023902 x 6 Pin PCIe
MSI R4890 Cyclone SOC (HD 4890 1,024MB)1963802 x 6 Pin PCIe
MSI R4890 Cyclone SOC no OC (HD 4890 1,024MB)1933482 x 6 Pin PCIe
Radeon HD 4890 (1,024MB)1823122 x 6 Pin PCIe
Radeon HD 4870 X2 (2 x 1,024MB)2344651 x 6 + 1 x 8 Pin PCIe
Radeon HD 4870 (1,024MB)1842772 x 6 Pin PCIe
HIS H487QT1GP ICEQ4+ (HD 4870 1,024MB)1962982 x 6 Pin PCIe
Sapphire Vapor-X HD4870 2G (HD 4870 2,048MB)1892932 x 6 Pin PCIe
Radeon HD 4870 (512MB)1912882 x 6 Pin PCIe
Radeon HD 4850 (512MB)1662701 x 6 Pin PCIe
Radeon HD 4830 (512MB)1402341 x 6 Pin PCIe
Radeon HD 4770 (512MB)1521991 x 6 Pin PCIe
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Noise Level2D dB (A)3D dB (B)Cooling Type
GeForce GTX 295 (2 x 896MB)38.249.7Active
GeForce GTX 285 (1,024MB)37.951.4Reference Active
GeForce GTX 280 (1,024MB)38.045.4Reference Active
BFG GTX 275 (GTX 275 896MB36.844.2Reference Active
Gainward GTX275 GS (GTX 275 896MB)37.743.4Active Dual Fans
MSI N275GTX Lightning max OC (GTX 275 1,792MB)36.842.0Active Dual Fans
MSI N275GTX Lightning (GTX 275 1,792MB)36.840.2Active Dual Fans
MSI N275GTX Lightning no OC (GTX 275 1,792MB)36.837.9Active Dual Fans
GeForce GTX 275 (896MB)36.844.2Reference Active
MSI N260GTX Lightning (GTX 260 216SPs 1,792MB)36.850.1-56.5Active
Sparkle GeForce X265 (GTX 260 216SPs 896MB)36.446.0Active
Zotac GeForce GTX 260² (GTX 260 216SPs 896MB)37.541.2Reference Active
GeForce GTX 260 216SPs (896MB)37.541.2Reference Active
GeForce GTX 260 (896MB)37.853.8Reference Active
GeForce GTS 250 (1,024MB)39.650.2Reference Active
ATI Radeon HD 5770 OC (1,024MB)36.740.5Reference Active
ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1,024MB)36.739.0Reference Active
Sapphire Toxic HD4890 Vapor-X (HD 4890 1,024MB)36.241.3Active Vapor-X
MSI R4890 Cyclone SOC Max OC (HD 4890 1,024MB)36.350.4Active
MSI R4890 Cyclone SOC (HD 4890 1,024MB)36.346.5Active
MSI R4890 Cyclone SOC No OC (HD 4890 1,024MB)36.343.1Active
Radeon HD 4890 (1,024MB)36.748.4Reference Active
Radeon HD 4870 X2 (2 x 1,024MB)51.260.4Reference (MSI Fan Profile)
Radeon HD 4870 (1,024MB)35.440.7Active
HIS H487QT1GP ICEQ4+ (HD 4870 1,024MB)36.852.1Active ICEQ4+
Sapphire Vapor-X HD4870 2G (HD 4870 2,048MB)36.038.2Active Vapor-X
Radeon HD 4870 (512MB)38.049.4Reference (MSI Fan Profile)
Radeon HD 4850 (512MB)36.247.9Reference Active
Radeon HD 4830 (512MB)40.541.2Active
Radeon HD 4770 (512MB)36.338.5Reference Active
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Temperature2D (Degrees C)3D (Degrees C)Fan Size
GeForce GTX 295 (2 x 896MB)46/4676/7684mm
GeForce GTX 285 (1,024MB)458575mm
GeForce GTX 280 (1,024MB)458675mm
BFG GTX 275 (GTX 275 896MB)479275mm
Gainward GTX275 GS (GTX 275 896MB)46882 x 75mm
MSI N275GTX Lightning max OC (GTX 275 1,792MB)41772 x 75mm
MSI N275GTX Lightning (GTX 275 1,792MB)41762 x 75mm
MSI N275GTX Lightning no OC (GTX 275 1,792MB)41782 x 75mm
GeForce GTX 275 (896MB)479275mm
MSI N260GTX Lightning (GTX 260 216SPs 1,792MB)4568-632 x 65mm
Sparkle GeForce X265 (GTX 260 216SPs 896MB)61872 x 65mm
Zotac GeForce GTX 260² (GTX 260 216SPs 896MB)458175mm
GeForce GTX 260 216SPs (896MB)458175mm
GeForce GTX 260 (896MB)489075mm
GeForce GTS 250 (1,024MB)447775mm
ATI Radeon HD 5770 OC (1,024MB)417268mm
ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1,024MB)416968mm
Sapphire Toxic HD4890 Vapor-X (HD 4890 1,024MB)498488mm
MSI R4890 Cyclone SOC max OC (HD 4890 1,024MB)517895mm
MSI R4890 Cyclone SOC (HD 4890 1,024MB)518195mm
MSI R4890 Cyclone SOC no OC (HD 4890 1,024MB)517895mm
Radeon HD 4890 (1,024MB)608073mm
Radeon HD 4870 X2 (2 x 1,024MB)497973mm
Radeon HD 4870 (1,024MB)497085mm
HIS H487QT1GP ICEQ4+ (HD 4870 1,024MB)687480mm
Sapphire Vapor-X HD4870 2G (HD 4870 2,048MB)587675mm
Radeon HD 4870 (512MB)607473mm
Radeon HD 4850 (512MB)799460mm
Radeon HD 4830 (512MB)346174mm
Radeon HD 4770 (512MB)527270mm
  • amdgamer666
    Nice article. Ever since the 5770 came out I've been wondering how far someone could push the memory to relieve that bottleneck. Being able to push it to 1430 allows it to be competitive to it's older sibling and makes it enticing (with the 5700 series' extra features of course)
    Reply
  • Onyx2291
    Damn some of these cards run really well for 1920x1200 which I run at. Could pick up a lower one and run just about anything at a decent speed if I overclock well. Good ol charts :)
    Reply
  • skora
    If you're trying to get to the next cards performance by OCing, shouldn't the 5850 be benched also? I know the 5770 isn't going to get there because of the memory bandwidth issue, but you missed the mark. One card is compared to its big brother, but the other two aren't.

    I am glad to see the 5770 produce playable frame rates at 1920x1200. Nice game selection also.
    Reply
  • quantumrand
    I'm really disappointed that they aren't any benchmarks from the 5870 or 5850 series included. Why even bother with tha GTX 295 or 4870x2 and such without the higher 5-series Radeons?

    I mean if I'm considering an ATI card, I'm going to want to compare the 5770 to the 5850 and 5870 just to see if that extra cost may be justified, not to mention the potential of a dual 5770 setup.
    Reply
  • presidenteody
    I don't care what this article says, when the 5870 or 5970 become available i am going to buy a few.
    Reply
  • kartu
    Well, at least in Germany 4870 costs quite a bit less (30-40 Euros) compared to 5770. It would take 2+ years of playing to compensate for it with lower power consumption.
    Reply
  • kartu
    "Power Consumption, Noise, And Temperature" charts are hard to comprehend. Show bars instead of numbers, maybe?
    Reply
  • arkadi
    Well that put things in prospective. I was really happy with 260gtx numbers, and i can push my evga card even higher easy. To bad we didn't see the 5850 here, it looks like the optimal upgrade 4 gamers on the budget like my self. Grade article overall.
    Reply
  • B16CXHatch
    I got lucky with my card. Before, I had a SuperClocked 8800GT from EVGA. I ordered a while back, a new EVGA GeForce GTX 275 (896MB). I figured the extra cash wasn't worth getting an overclocked model particularly when I could do it myself. I get it, I try to register it. The S/N on mine was a duplicate. They sent me an unused S/N to register with. I then check the speeds under one utility and it's showing GTX 275 SuperClocked speeds, not regular speeds. I check 2 more utilities and they all report the same. I had paid for a regular model and received a mislabeled SuperClocked. Flippin sweet.

    Now they also sell an SSC model which is overclocked even more. I used the EVGA precision tool to set those speeds and it gave me like 1 or 2 extra FPS is Crysis and F.E.A.R. 2 already played so well without overclocking. So overclocking on these bad boys doesn't really do much. Oh well.

    One comment though, GTX 275's are HOT! Like, ridiculously hot. I open my window in 40 degree F weather and it'll still get warm in my room playing Team Fortress 2.
    Reply
  • With the 5970 out there seems to be nothing else about graphic cards that interests me anymore :D Its supposed to be the fastest card yet and beats Crysis too!
    Reply