[O/C]AMD 6870 Video Card Review

[Overclockers.com]

AMD 6870 Video Card Review (http://www.overclockers.com/amd-6870-video-card-review/)
by Jeremy Vaughan (hokiealumnus (http://www.overclockers.com/author/hokiealumnus/))

http://www.overclockers.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/AMD6870-01-300x211.jpg

Ahh, new generations of video cards. Gamers and overclockers eagerly await their arrival every time a new one comes around. This one was met with a bit of controversy when rumors circulated that AMD was changing the numbering scheme. That they did, but is the relatively inexpensive 6870 a stout contender - especially for the price? Let's find out.

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[ratbuddy]

I'm not sure I'd call ~15% OC even overvolted a 'darn good OCer' :)

[hokiealumnus]

Video cards are not CPUs, obviously. That's a pretty good overclock for a video card. Consider the last video card I reviewed - the Matrix 5870 Platinum. With its voltage maxed out, it wouldn't even pass Vantage past 1000 MHz.

The 470 loaned by EarthDog is a very good overclocker as 470's go and thanks to its lower starting clock, the ~150 MHz it gained was a higher percentage at ~23%. That's a very good overclock. Clock-for-clock, that's only 15 MHz more than the 6870 got over its stock speed.

Sorry, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on what is and isn't a good overclock. :shrug:

[ratbuddy]

Video cards are not CPUs, obviously. That's a pretty good overclock for a video card. Consider the last video card I reviewed - the Matrix 5870 Platinum. With its voltage maxed out, it wouldn't even pass Vantage past 1000 MHz.

The 470 loaned by EarthDog is a very good overclocker as 470's go and thanks to its lower starting clock, the ~150 MHz it gained was a higher percentage at ~23%. That's a very good overclock. Clock-for-clock, that's only 15 MHz more than the 6870 got over its stock speed.

Sorry, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on what is and isn't a good overclock. :shrug:

I'm just a little bummed there was no 460 1GB included. They clock up 25% on average with no voltage increase, and 30% is easy to hit on most of them, placing performance alongside the 470 and 6870.. At $240 vs $190 ($160 AMIR) it's a comparison I think is worth making.

[hokiealumnus]

I agree, it's definitely a comparison worth making. Unfortunately, there isn't one here to test. We test with the cards we have, not the cards we wish we had. :)

[OnDborder]

Can you use the Trixx with other brands or do you have to flash to Sapphire?

[hokiealumnus]

I assume other brands. Mine is reference straight from AMD and I didn't modify its BIOS at all.

[OnDborder]

Gave Trixx a couple of tries and I got bsod with my Asus cards.

Now what to use to get over 1000 core??

[hokiealumnus]

Huh, very odd. I've got no idea. Is ASUS' software limited at 1000?

[OnDborder]

Yep. Limited at 1000.
What paste did you use on the core?
Did you happen to get a pic of the ceramique on the mosets? Does it make good contact?
All I did was replace the tim on the core.

[hokiealumnus]

I used Ceramique on the core & the MOSFETs. Bought a giant tube of it a while ago and just use it for anything. Didn't take a pic, but I did check the contact to make sure it was good and everything looked fine. Sorry about the limitation on the core; that's rough on these cards considering they can go farther pretty easily. Hope they're working on an updated version for you. Did you try afterburner?

[OnDborder]

Afterburner taps out at 1000 too.
Hopefully someone will come out with a registry tweak for this.
Tried amd gpu tool but it wouldn't cooperate with the Vista64.
Ya, I think it's got more mhz'z in it.
Only thing else is to try a flash to Sapphire bios but I'm kind of wondering if it's got to do with the board itself? http://www.sapphiretech.com/ssc/TriXX/

[Brolloks]

Can you use the Trixx with other brands or do you have to flash to Sapphire?


Trixx works on both my Sapphire and MSI 6870's, no problem

Great review Jeremy:thup:

[hokiealumnus]

Thank you kind sir!

[OnDborder]

Hey hey,, I got the Trixx working..
After some researching, I found that to disable the "EnableUlps" in the registry.
Maybe I should have done that anyway for my bench'n setup..

[Parad0x420]

Any idea if the Trixx software will work on my XFX HD6870? I was able to get to 950/1150 just through CCC, but wouldn't mind trying to get above 1000 on the core. :D

[hokiealumnus]

If it has a BIOS similar to the reference BIOS, chances are it would. Might want to check the registry like OnDborder did too.

[OnDborder]

Run>Regedit>HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet00 1\Control\Class\{4D36E 968-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

You will have 0000 folder, 0001, 0002... Disable ULPS in all folders that have it.
Only the 0003 and 0004 had the option in mine.

From what I understand, is that this is for crossfire. The "EnableUlps" is a power saving control. When not in use or demand, the second card goes into a power saving mode with this "enabled"..