Gigabyte GV-R577D5-1GD-B

AMD’s 5700 series consists of two GPUs – the 5770 and 5750 - both of which target the mid-range market. The 5770 GPU powering Gigabyte’s GV-R577D5-1GD-B card is the higher end part of the two models.

Our test sample adheres to AMD’s specifications, so the 5770 GPU runs at a clock frequency of 850MHz. On the memory front the 1GB of GDDR5 memory ticks along at 4800MHz. Like the more expensive 5800 series of GPUs the 5700 series is compatible with Microsoft’s DirectX 11 and should you desire more graphics firepower, you can take advantage of AMD’s CrossFireX multi-GPU graphics technology.

This GPU also supports Eyefinity, which allows a single card to be hooked up to six different displays. To accommodate this, the Gigabyte features dual DVI ports, a HDMI output and a DisplayPort connector.

Moving to our benchmarks, at 1920 x 1200 the card returned framerates of 41fps, 31fps and 53fps in our Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X, World in Conflict and Company of Heroes tests. While these framerates don’t make for a butter smooth gaming experience, the games were playable. At 1680 x 1050 pixels the card performed far better thus making the Gigabyte a great buy for those with 17- or 19-inch screens running at the latter resolution.