[O/C] AMD HD6970 Graphics Card Review

Overclockers.com · 12-14-10, 11:20 PM

AMD HD 6970 Graphics Card Review
by Jeremy Vaughan (hokiealumnus)

Quote:

It’s that time again; time for AMD to release another flagship that is! This time it’s their current single GPU flagship, right on the heels of their new Phenom II x6 1100T Black Edition

... Return to the article to continue reading.

Discuss this article below. If you are interested in contributing to the front page (www.overclockers.com), please feel free to contact splat, mdcomp, or hokiealumnus. For the latest updates, follow Overclockers.com on Twitter (@Overclockerscom).

Dolk · 12-14-10, 11:35 PM

Leave it to our news team to push out new hardware benches right after NDA lifts

watchthisspace · 12-15-10, 03:37 AM

It might be time to upgrade my old HD4850.

dejo · 12-15-10, 05:38 AM

Jeremy, thanks for the wonderful write-up. this has all the info you could need on this card to make a decision as to what to buy, and more importantly, what to expect from it.

i would also expect there to be a new AB coming out this week also, to allow those voltage tweaks you so desire.

EarthDog · 12-15-10, 06:07 AM

Very nice review Hokie!!!

HousERaT · 12-15-10, 06:10 AM

Good article. It will be interesting to see what these cards can do once the voltage and oc limits are gone.

sandyduff · 12-15-10, 06:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EarthDog

Very nice review Hokie!!!

A big +1 to that!!

GoD_tattoo · 12-15-10, 07:06 AM

Great review...Thank you

Brolloks · 12-15-10, 07:08 AM

Excellent review Jeremy

, great to see our forums bringing such a top class review on the eve of a launch, thanks for your hard work making it happen

hokiealumnus · 12-15-10, 07:31 AM

Thanks for all the kind words folks!

Definitely looking forward to that new AB HousERaT, I'll post some updated clocks/benches in here when I'm able. Just the tiniest voltage bump will get 6000 in 3DMark11. Can't wait to see how far it will really go.

Douken · 12-15-10, 07:37 AM

Good review. Wanted to see besides DirectX 11 topics how Arma II stresses the GPU. Also maybe some brief subtitles to the slides. Also I noticed the ATi Brand name drop.

macklin01 · 12-15-10, 08:07 AM

You guys have been slashdotted (by IMOG):

http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?.../12/15/1319218

You might want to pop over there to answer questions. -- Paul

hokiealumnus · 12-15-10, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Douken

Good review. Wanted to see besides DirectX 11 topics how Arma II stresses the GPU. Also maybe some brief subtitles to the slides. Also I noticed the ATi Brand name drop.

Yep, they dropped it with the earlier 68xx release.

I'd like to include more games, but there are SO many it's tough to choose which ones. Plus our audience consists of gamers and benchers. Being one of the latter, I tend to focus on those. I don't plan on running ten different game benches -you can see that on other sites- but wouldn't argue with introducing one or two more in the future. No guarantees, but I'll look into it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by macklin01

You guys have been slashdotted (by IMOG):

http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?.../12/15/1319218

You might want to pop over there to answer questions. -- Paul

Done; thanks for pointing that out!

I.M.O.G. · 12-15-10, 11:30 AM

Comments cleaned up... Axe grinding is welcome in my inbox, but not in these article comments.

Nice work Hokie, and thanks for pumping this out under real world limitations, and coming out with some great results.

Brolloks · 12-15-10, 12:26 PM

For what is worth I will post some benchmarks of the 6970 vs GTX 580, GTX 570, 5970 and 5870 in the next couple of days to supplement Hokie's review, that way we can expand the picture as far as relative performance is concerned, that is if Splat, IMOG and Hokie are OK with it.

hokiealumnus · 12-15-10, 01:41 PM

That would be wonderful, no arguments here. Thank you for the offer!

Peeved Kitten · 12-15-10, 01:45 PM

I'm dieing for the eventual 6990 review, pretty sure that will be my next card.

vixro · 12-15-10, 05:47 PM

Was kinda hoping at least OCforums would do a review on the 10.12 betas, looks like another 10.11 benchmark.

Damn there are also no GTX 580 comparisons in the game graphs either!

sandyduff · 12-16-10, 06:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brolloks

For what is worth I will post some benchmarks of the 6970 vs GTX 580, GTX 570, 5970 and 5870 in the next couple of days to supplement Hokie's review, that way we can expand the picture as far as relative performance is concerned, that is if Splat, IMOG and Hokie are OK with it.

Now that would be the icing on the cake...

hokiealumnus · 12-16-10, 07:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vixro

Was kinda hoping at least OCforums would do a review on the 10.12 betas, looks like another 10.11 benchmark.

Damn there are also no GTX 580 comparisons in the game graphs either!

For what it's worth, the drivers given to us were pre-release press drivers that happened to be 10.11 with the 69xx added to them. I tried the pre-release 10.12 we were given and it didn't get along with the card for whatever reason. Haven't had time to try the official 10.12 yet.

I agree it would have been very nice to have better comparison cards. It's just one of those things...you can only bench what you have. Thankfully we have AMD's current top dog, so now all we need to do is obtain NVIDIA's high-end for comparison. With each review, the comparison chart grows (until the next generation test rig comes into play, then I just have to re-bench those cards still in my office

).

12-14-10, 11:35 PM	#2
Dolk I once overclocked an Intel in a nightmare and it was HORRIBLE Senior OCF's Plaything Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: St. Louis MO	Leave it to our news team to push out new hardware benches right after NDA lifts __________________ （╯°v°）╯︵ ┻━┻ currently has .2738428927348 internets create your own rules to find the answer be proud of the pink stars Earthdog: New codename for SB for extreme overclockers... BLEH. Phenom II Result Thread Phenom II Guide Llano Result Thread
	QUOTE Thanks

12-15-10, 03:37 AM	#3
watchthisspace Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Christchurch, New Zealand	It might be time to upgrade my old HD4850. __________________ Cpu:Intel Q6600 @ 3.2ghz - Thermalright Ultima-90 Motherboard:Asus P5Q Pro RAM:Corsair 2X2g + 2x1G 1066mhz Video:Gigabyte 560 ti OC
	QUOTE Thanks

12-15-10, 05:38 AM	#4
dejo Senior Moment Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Tyler, Texas	Jeremy, thanks for the wonderful write-up. this has all the info you could need on this card to make a decision as to what to buy, and more importantly, what to expect from it. i would also expect there to be a new AB coming out this week also, to allow those voltage tweaks you so desire. __________________ if it screams, crank it. if it cries, kill it Asrock z77 ex6 2600k @4.8ghz Samsung 2x4gb rams OCZ Vertex4 256gb ssd EVGA GTX480 Sparkle 1250 gold PSU Arc Midi case
	QUOTE Thanks

12-15-10, 06:07 AM	#5
EarthDog Senior PITA Member Overclockers.com Editor Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Stuck in Maryland...	Very nice review Hokie!!! __________________ Should I R0 my SSD? / SandyBridge / Ivybridge Overclocking Guide / AMD Overclocking Guide / Power Supply Guide SSD Reliability/Write Endurance / JOIN THE BENCHING TEAM! / Bulldozer Overclocking Guide / Forum Etiquette Want to see your writing featured on the overclockers.com Front Page? PM me, I can help! "We have more information and more ways of accessing it than ever, yet seem increasingly less inclined to do so."- Michael Wilbon
	QUOTE Thanks

12-15-10, 06:10 AM	#6
HousERaT Senior Air Extraordinaire Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Imladris	Good article. It will be interesting to see what these cards can do once the voltage and oc limits are gone. __________________ CM-690 \| Maximus Formula \| Ballistix D9GMH 2GB - 4-4-4-10 - 2.2v (active cooled) \| E6850 @4GHz (L719B) 602 Bios 500x8 - 1.475v \| Ultra 120 Extreme \| 2x HD3870 840/1300 \| Lite-On 52327s CDRW \| WD 74GB - Raptor HDD \| Corsair 620HX PSU \| Windows XP Pro sp2 \| Support the OC Benchmarking Team The HD 4870/50 Thread The HD 3870/50 Thread The X1900XT/XTX Thread X800GTO² Thread Heatware Make friends with your "FAST" - 90K 01SE - 77K 03 - 29K 05 - 19K 06 - 274K AM3 - single card all air baby!
	QUOTE Thanks

[O/C] AMD HD6970 Graphics Card Review

Internet Services

Website Development

Tech Hardware

12-15-10, 07:06 AM	#8
GoD_tattoo Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Massachusetts	Great review...Thank you __________________ i7 3930K @ 4.5 GHZ 2X XFX Double D Black Edition 7970's Crucial M4-256gb boot drive, 4x 1TB WD Caviar Black Antec HCP-1000 Platinum 24gb G-Skill 1600 PSU Buying Guide Core 2 Overclocking Guide Miah's i3,i5,i7 O/C Guide Classified Rules My HWBOT My Heat
	QUOTE Thanks

12-15-10, 07:08 AM	#9
Brolloks Benching Senior on Siesta Premium Member #8 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Land of Long Horns	Excellent review Jeremy, great to see our forums bringing such a top class review on the eve of a launch, thanks for your hard work making it happen __________________ Should I get a Quad- or Dual-Core? - How about joining us in the Benching Lounge for some secrets - Want to bench sub-zero...take a look. Heatware 280-0-0 HWBOT Profile
	QUOTE Thanks

12-15-10, 07:31 AM	#10
hokiealumnus Water Cooled Moderator Overclockers.com Lead Editor Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Raleigh, NC	Thanks for all the kind words folks! Definitely looking forward to that new AB HousERaT, I'll post some updated clocks/benches in here when I'm able. Just the tiniest voltage bump will get 6000 in 3DMark11. Can't wait to see how far it will really go. __________________ Enjoy benchmarks? Join the benching team! \| New to water cooling? Read the Beginner's Guide to Water Cooling Your PC. xsuperbgx - "As a wise man once said: "Less talky. More clocky."" \| cyberfish - "When overclocked, it's undefined behavior." I.M.O.G. - "Vaseline on Ivy Bridge is a bad idea. But not so bad of an idea that it can't be fixed with a torpedo heater, a dishwasher, an oven, and a few hours. " \m/ OverClockers mATX L33T Club \m/ - Join Now! - My mITX Build
	QUOTE Thanks

12-15-10, 07:37 AM	#11
Douken Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Boston, MA	Good review. Wanted to see besides DirectX 11 topics how Arma II stresses the GPU. Also maybe some brief subtitles to the slides. Also I noticed the ATi Brand name drop. __________________ Main Rig RIP BioStar TF7025-M2 AM2 X2 4000+ @ 2.6GHz\| 2x1GB Patriot DDR2 800 @750MHz\| 8800GT @ 666-980 \| X-Fi Xtreme Music\| 596GB \| PC Power & Cooling Silencer 470W Main Rig MSI 880GM-E41\| AM3 Phenom II 640\| 2x2GB G Skill Rip Jaws DDR3 1333 \| Radeon HD 5670 \| 596GB \| Rosewill 500W ADO \| Join the OCF X-Fire Clan \| My Heat \| Phenom II X6 Thread Imran Tam from EVE Online said once, "if your sausage looked anything like that, you should have checked the expiration date."
	QUOTE Thanks

12-15-10, 08:07 AM	#12
macklin01 Computational Oncologist / Biomathematician / Moderator on Vacation, Ph.D. Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Pasadena, CA	You guys have been slashdotted (by IMOG): http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?.../12/15/1319218 You might want to pop over there to answer questions. -- Paul __________________ My heatware (macklin01) Need image I/O for your science apps? Try EasyBMP My biomedical research: Mathematical Cancer Modeling & Simulation I'm on vacation as a moderator as I devote more time to my faculty position. Thank you for your understanding if I don't respond to your PM. -- Paul
	QUOTE Thanks

12-15-10, 11:30 AM	#14
I.M.O.G. Glorious Leader Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Rootstown, OH	Comments cleaned up... Axe grinding is welcome in my inbox, but not in these article comments. Nice work Hokie, and thanks for pumping this out under real world limitations, and coming out with some great results. __________________ The OC Forums Way We are a team. We are a community. We are a fellowship made strong by mutual respect and shared dedication to the task of enriching all who come here. The OC Forums Thank You Thread Put your computer to work for our OC Forum Teams! Try out our POST TEMPLATES, they save you time answering common questions! I spend half my money on CPUs, GPUs, and Liquid Nitrogen. The other half I waste.
	QUOTE Thanks

12-15-10, 12:26 PM	#15
Brolloks Benching Senior on Siesta Premium Member #8 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Land of Long Horns	For what is worth I will post some benchmarks of the 6970 vs GTX 580, GTX 570, 5970 and 5870 in the next couple of days to supplement Hokie's review, that way we can expand the picture as far as relative performance is concerned, that is if Splat, IMOG and Hokie are OK with it. __________________ Should I get a Quad- or Dual-Core? - How about joining us in the Benching Lounge for some secrets - Want to bench sub-zero...take a look. Heatware 280-0-0 HWBOT Profile Last edited by Brolloks; 12-15-10 at 01:48 PM.
	QUOTE Thanks

12-15-10, 01:41 PM	#16
hokiealumnus Water Cooled Moderator Overclockers.com Lead Editor Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Raleigh, NC	That would be wonderful, no arguments here. Thank you for the offer! __________________ Enjoy benchmarks? Join the benching team! \| New to water cooling? Read the Beginner's Guide to Water Cooling Your PC. xsuperbgx - "As a wise man once said: "Less talky. More clocky."" \| cyberfish - "When overclocked, it's undefined behavior." I.M.O.G. - "Vaseline on Ivy Bridge is a bad idea. But not so bad of an idea that it can't be fixed with a torpedo heater, a dishwasher, an oven, and a few hours. " \m/ OverClockers mATX L33T Club \m/ - Join Now! - My mITX Build
	QUOTE Thanks

12-15-10, 01:45 PM	#17
Peeved Kitten Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: San Luis Obispo, CA	I'm dieing for the eventual 6990 review, pretty sure that will be my next card. __________________ System: Darkside CPU: AMD Phenom X6 1090T Thuban BE @ 4.2 ghz 27c max temp Cooling: EK supreme LT MCP655 Bitspower 150 inline RES magicool 1080 extreme radiator Motherboard: Asus Crosshair IV Formula BIOS 1209 Video cards: MSI AMD 6970 950/1450mhz @ 61c max temp Ram: G. Skill Ripjaws 8-8-8-22-31 @ 1600 8GB (4x2gb DIMMs) Hard-drives: Adata 32GB SSD Startup Drive 500GB Western Digital Black Data drive. Power supply: Rosewill Xtreme Series RX950-D-B 950W My Mentor told me: It means unless you move the computer, I have to move programs. What you did is good thing. Rather than explain I think I will rewrite the programs.
	QUOTE Thanks

12-15-10, 05:47 PM	#18
vixro Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Denver	Was kinda hoping at least OCforums would do a review on the 10.12 betas, looks like another 10.11 benchmark. Damn there are also no GTX 580 comparisons in the game graphs either! __________________ Intel i7-2600K @ 45x100 (4.5ghz) 1.36v G.Skill Ripjaw Z 4x4GB 2134mhz @ DDR3-1068 9-11-10-27-2T - 1.65v ASRock Z68 Extreme4 1.70 Gigabyte GTX 680 2GB @ 1250mhz / 7030mhz Auzen X-Fi Prelude 7.1 on Cardas recabled HD580 Little Dot MKIII Headphone Amplifier (Cardas mini-RCA IC) Silverstone DA750 750w PSU heatware
	QUOTE Thanks

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search