RSS
XFX Radeon HD 5870
Ready to dance with Microsoft's DirectX 11
Ratings Breakdown
Editor's Rating:- Performance:
- Features:
- Value for money:
- Overall:
- Performance:
- Features:
- Value for money:
- Overall:
Key Specs
API supported:DirectX 11, Connections:DVI x2, HDMI x1, Display Port x1 , GPU:ATI Radeon HD 5870, GPU frequency:850MHz, Interface type:PCI-E
Display complete specs ›The Radeon HD 5870 is AMD's latest high-end GPU offering and XFX is one of the first vendors out the door with cards available for the mass market.
The Radeon HD 5870 is manufactured using a 40nm fabrication process and in this case, runs at a frequency of 850MHz. Its 1GB of high-fast GDDR5 memory on the other hand ticks along at 4.8GHz. Decent specifications but the big news is that this GPU fully supports Microsoft's forthcoming DirectX 11, so you'll be able to enjoy games such as Colin McRae Dirt 2 in full visual splendor. (The card ships with a key code that will allow you to download and play the full version of the game when it becomes available.)
This new GPU also supports AMD's new Eyefinity technology which allows you to run six monitors in HD mode from a single card. The technology isn't compatible with every game on the market but games such as Crysis, Far Cry 2 and Half Life 2 can be run using this technology. Trying these we're happy to say that the technology helped immerse us into the game further and whereas traditional multi-monitor setups have proved difficult to work with, when it comes to games, Eyefinity's experience was quite straightforward.
Running our benchmarks we found ourselves impressed with XFX's Radeon HD 5870. The card trounced nVidia's GeForce GTX 285 in all of the benchmarks and at all of the test resolutions.
Verdict:
With XFX’s Radeon HD 5870 you can not only take on existing games but next generation DirectX 11 titles as well. The Eyefinity is also nothing short of impressive.
Eddie
Pros: - Incredible frame rates. (+60Hz) - Extraordinary performance. - Efficient use of power especially at idle.
Cons: None encountered to this point.
My 5870 replaced a 295 that could not handle very large scenes with high resolution. The 5870 provided the greatest visualization performance I have ever seen. My opinion is based on experience with more than a few video cards. I cannot believe this card only costs $400.
X
Pros: plays everything I threw at it and kept asking for more :)
Cons: none so far
I agree about not comparing the card to gtx285, both are great cards but how old is the 285 now ? and it's still one of the best cards
ATI
Pros: Comparing this card to NVIDIA's GTX285 is rather embarrassing to NVIDIA. ATI has made a tremendous card
Cons: none
Very fast, great scaling, 2x in crossfire is unbeatable