Hardware ATI Radeon HD 5870 1GB Review

I don't really see a problem with the review or the performance. This was a 'preview review' rather than a full retail in depth look at the card.
The power has gone right down (something ATI should have controlled before now) which is a big plus as far as I'm concerned. The performance is around as good as the 2 chip design from the previous generation - on beta drivers. Usually the big improvements in performance come with the first few driver revisions so we should see this getting better.

I think the general tame reactions from people are because the present generation of cards can do wonders with the current widely used monitors and games.

 

I'm surprised there's so little love for this card so far. It's as fast as current dual GPU offerings even on it's beta drivers, and uses way less power. Yes, it's not cheap, and no, it's not a quantum leap in performance, but is capable in some titles of equalling the X2 and the GTX295.

I think it's a fair sized step ahead, and can't wait to see the dual GPU version that will inevitably follow.... and the nvidia response.

 

I think the lack of love comes from the fact that after 18 months we get a card that does the same as cards we've already got, for a little less power consumption.

Why show it off with beta drivers too? Surely it would be better PR to actually have drivers that work properly? Or is this it?

 

So its good but not that good...
And i nearly thought about switching over to the red side..

Time will tell

 

@blackerthanblack

I think you are correct I just read a few more reviews and spoke to a few friends at pc hardware outlet in the uk who played around with the cards yesterday and they say its worth the investment if you have the cash so I just bought two and will bench them tomorrow when they arrive. I have an OC'd core i7 920 d0 stepping at 4ghz (I could push it to 4.2/4.3 if I need to), 6GB of Corsair Dominator GT ram so will let you guys know how they compare to my 4890's in Xfire.

 

Hmm now that you mention drivers, didn't think of that much....it might get a lot better than this still...
then again, this might end up midrange in a few months.... who knows.

Now that is going to be worth waiting for!

 

Not all reviews are created equal

LegitReviews

Intel Core i7 975
ASUS P6T Deluxe V2
6GB Corsair DDR3 1866MHz
Western Digital VelociRaptor
Intel Reference CPU Cooler
Cooler Master 1000W
Windows Vista Ultimate 64-Bit

Bit-tech

Intel Core i7 965 processor (3.2GHz: 133MHz x 24);
Asus P6T V2 motherboard (Intel X58 Express with three PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slots);
3x 2GB Corsair TR3X6G1333C9 memory modules (operating in dual channel at DDR3 1,349.4MHz 9-9-9-24-1T);
OCZ Vertex 120GB SSD running 1.3 firmware;
Windows Vista Home Premium x86-64 (with Service Pack 2);

legit reviews had a better base setup, even though they didn't even run crysis at all

 

that's the problem many have those dual gpu cards or dual gpu setup, and it's apparent that it's not really worth upgrading for the same performance and some power savings

 

Not a bad card, but without scores to compare to older cards it doesnt really sway me into upgrading.

But it would be nice to see how it compares to other nVidia cards in the range, like the 8800 range, as I do not think it is reasonable to assume the average gaming rig has a GTX285/295 in it.

Kimbie

 

I honestly cannot understand why people aren't impressed by the performance. First off, the drivers aren't fully matured yet. Then, the power draw has been greatly reduced. But already you get performance on the same level as yesteryear's dual GPU cards.

There are a few niggles, though. The price is a bit too high. DX11 performance is (at this point) unknown. And also, regarding the review, I'm sorely missing comments on the noise this new beast produces.

 

Surely if its running the GTX295 close then you don't need to see others in the range.
This has to be the top of Nvidia's ladder..

 

C'mon Bindi

On the topic of the review - I am slightly underwhelmed after all the pre-launch hype.
Definitely worth it at $380 but it still can't play Crysis

 

be looking forward to see your results

 

Not a quantum leap in performance, and hte cooler is the same crap as on the regular 48XX cards, turning into a jet turbine under load. Btw, I'd have loved to see some Stream Computing bench marks, too (including double precision Stream applications) - maybe the card would have shone there.

 

didn't anyone notice the increace in ave fps in crysis from 1,680 x 1,050 0xAA to 4xAA (56 to 74fps that is)?

 

Cheers Mark - won't point out the typos...

I'm looking at this initial review as bit of a preview. You're using beta drivers (not your fault) you're running Vista (again, not your fault - majority have it) so once the 9.10 Cats are out along with Windows 7 - I'll be even more interested to see how things go, and hopefully we maybe a have one or two DX11 titles. Cough DiRT 2.

Good stuff guys, already linked the article in a few threads.

 

Now that it's 9am UK time, we can post our awesome HD 5870 competition, giving you the chance to win a Sapphire Radeon HD 5870 Vapor-X card!

Good luck!

 

Yes i did, it seems to be good in the AA dept

 

Which for me, is where it counts. I have to have AA enabled in my games - I hate jaggies... I HATE JAGGIES!

>.<

 

Nice review , nice card , but i aint going to buy one at the moment , i'm happy to wait a few months to see what nvidia brings to the table and the ensuing price war that follows