AMD Radeon HD 6950 1GB Review
Written by
Harry Butler
February 11, 2011 | 11:48
Tags: #6950 #black-ops #cod #speed #temp #temperature #thermal
Companies: #amd
1 — AMD Radeon HD 6950 1GB Review2 — AMD Radeon HD 6950 1GB Specifications3 — Radeon HD 6950 1GB Test Setup4 — Radeon HD 6950 1GB Dirt 2 Performance5 — Radeon HD 6950 1GB Black Ops Performance6 — Radeon HD 6950 1GB Just Cause 2 Performance7 — Radeon HD 6950 1GB Bad Company 2 Performance8 — Radeon HD 6950 1GB Power and Thermals9 — Radeon HD 6950 1GB Performance Analysis10 — Radeon HD 6950 1GB Overclocking and Conclusion
ManufacturerAMD
UK price (as reviewed) Around £215 (inc VAT)
US price (as reviewed) Around $265 (ex tax)
AMD Radeon HD 6950 1GB Specifications
In our HD 6950 2GB review last December we found the card to be a solid performer at a fair price, but were quick to warn potential buyers of the impending release of a then unannounced Nvidia mid-range part. This was the right call, as our GTX 560 Ti 1GB review showed that the new card rendered the then-£200 Radeon HD 6870 1GB and then-£240 Radeon HD 6950 2GB pretty much redundant. Even worse for AMD fans, the GTX 560 Ti 1GB also proved to be a monstrous overclocker; we’ve yet to find a card that won’t hit a GPU core of 900MHz.
Click to enlarge.
While we were enthusing over the GTX 560 Ti 1GB, AMD looked to crash Nvidia’s party with the release of the Radeon HD 6950 1GB, a card with the same GPU and specifications as the HD 6950 2GB, but with half the memory. As the HD 6950 2GB trades blows with the GTX 560 Ti 1GB in our tests, the price drop due to the lower amount of memory should crank up the competition. That is, unless the drop in memory leads to a performance drop.
The launch of the HD 6950 1GB hasn’t exactly been a smooth one. While AMD stated it had released the card on the same day as the GTX 560 Ti 1GB, European review samples (not to mention stock in retailers) were non-existent – the very definition of a paper launch, at least on this side of the Pond.
There was no pre-release briefing or hype about the new AMD card either, so we weren’t in any position to talk about the card in the GTX 560 Ti 1GB review beyond the rumour that it might exist. In fact, it’s only now — two weeks since its announcement — that you can actually find HD 6950 1GB cards in meaningful quantities with European retailers.
The HD 6950 1GB and HD 6950 2GB are identical in all but memory density
There’s a further twist in the story too. The HD 6950 1GB solves the problem (from AMD’s point of view) that cheaper HD 6950 2GB cards could be converted into fully functional HD 6970 2GB cards via a vBIOS flash. This hack can’t be performed on HD 6950 1GB cards, as the lesser amount of memory prevents you from flashing a HD 6970 2GB vBIOS – you can’t even create a HD 6970 1GB.
When we asked AMD whether the 2GB version of the HD 6950 would remain on sale, we were told, ‘The 2GB cards will continue to exist and offer better capabilities for things like Eyefinity gaming or upcoming titles which may use more than 1GB of memory.
.. There are no plans for the ability for the 2GB vBIOS option to be changed.‘
AMD Radeon HD 6950 1GB Specifications
1 — AMD Radeon HD 6950 1GB Review2 — AMD Radeon HD 6950 1GB Specifications3 — Radeon HD 6950 1GB Test Setup4 — Radeon HD 6950 1GB Dirt 2 Performance5 — Radeon HD 6950 1GB Black Ops Performance6 — Radeon HD 6950 1GB Just Cause 2 Performance7 — Radeon HD 6950 1GB Bad Company 2 Performance8 — Radeon HD 6950 1GB Power and Thermals9 — Radeon HD 6950 1GB Performance Analysis10 — Radeon HD 6950 1GB Overclocking and Conclusion
Review: Sapphire Radeon HD 6950 TOXIC 2GB — Graphics
Sapphire Technology is patently waiting for AMD to release a slew of next-generation graphics chips. Up until that happens, which looks likely at the tail end of this year, Sapphire’s engineers are endevouring to make the most out of current crop of 6-series GPUs.
Positioned as the ‘world’s fastest’ Radeon HD 6950 2GB card is the TOXIC version, above.
Sapphire is hoping to exploit the pricing sweetspot that exists between the 6950 and 6970.
The TOXIC’s 880MHz core and 5,200MHz speeds are impressive, almost matching the default clocks of a Radeon HD 6970, though Sapphire’s beastie ships with a standard HD 6950-matching 1,408 cores. Spelling it out:
| GPU | Shaders | Core Clock | Memory clock |
|---|---|---|---|
| AMD HD 6950 2GB | 1,408 | 800 | 5,000 |
| Sapphire HD 6950 TOXIC | 1,408/1,536* | 880 | 5,200 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6970 | 1,536 | 880 | 5,500 |
* not guaranteed.
See, the card falls between the two Radeon parts.
Extending the hybrid nature of this card, it uses a HD 6970-like PCB. We know this because it’s outfitted with both six-pin and eight-pin PCIe power connectors on the left-hand side.
Look to the right and two CrossFireX fingers bring multi-GPU usage into play. Rather more interesting is the BIOS switch, found on Cayman-class cards, which can load a second BIOS profile with higher frequencies and more shaders.
Sapphire reckons that you should be able to flick the switch over and activate the extra cores, from 1,408 to 1,536, to make this TOXIC into a Radeon HD 6970-esque card.
But there’s more, folks, because this card is outfitted with a new type of rear bracket that, Sapphire says, enables more hot air to be exhausted out of the back. The premise is simple: just add more space for the air to escape from. It makes sense as the cooler is otherwise fully enclosed inside the plastic cover.
Two mini-DisplayPort, HDMI and dual DVI ports are standard fare. Readers who are lucky enough to run two 30in (DVI) monitors need to know that only one DVI port supports dual-link transfers.
2GB of GDDR5 memory is all on the upside. Really, this is a Radeon HD 6970 card in all but name. The PCB and cooling are practically identical to one of Sapphire’s HD 6970’s.
The company includes an HDMI cable, miniDP-to-full-DP cable, eight-pin PCIe connector running from a couple of Molexes and a Steam-redeemable coupon for DiRT 3. We’re informed the card will be priced at £235 or so, neatly bisecting the two high-end Radeons’.
Trouble in paradise
The specifications are impressive enough but we ran into a wrinkle during testing. You see, by default, the card is set to run at 880MHz core and 5,200MHz memory when gaming, which all makes sense. However, load up a game and the performance isn’t quite what it should be, going by previous results obtained from Radeon HD 6950/70 cards.
Examine further and it transpires that the TOXIC card constantly modulates the core frequency when under load, something which shouldn’t happen unless it’s crossing some power threshold.
Sapphire informed us the card needs more power than a regular HD 6950 2GB part, meaning that AMD’s PowerTune Technology kicks in when gaming, and this is why the core clock’s frequency changes constantly.
The only way around this is to delve into the Catalyst Control Centre, enable Overdrive, and then manually set the Power Control bar to +50 per cent. Doing so increases the amount of power deliverable to the board before it begins throttling the core frequency. Testing shows that having a +50 per cent rating enables the TOXIC to run at 880MHz core during gaming.
We’re surprised and disappointed that users need to manually configure the control panel before the card attains the stated (pre-overclocked) core frequency; it should be taken care by a revised BIOS and Sapphire-specific Catalyst driver.
BIOS switch
Flick over the switch and, on our sample, the extra HD 6970-matching shaders present fine. The problem here is that even with Power Control set to +50 per cent, the maximum core frequency is locked to 800MHz.
One has to go an extra step and manually force an 880MHz core speed in the Overdrive section, intimating complete user-based overclocking.
Summary
Sapphire’s Radeon HD 6950 TOXIC 2GB claims to be the world’s fastest card of its kind. That’s true enough, we suppose, but one needs to jump through unnecessary hoops to ensure that it does run at stated speeds.
ATI Radeon HD 3570 vs AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT
comparison
AMD Radeon RX 6950XT
ATI Radeon HD 3570
VS
WINNER
AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT
Rating: 0 points
ATI Radeon HD 3570
Rating: 0 points
Performance
Memory
General info
Features
Top specifications and features
- GPU base clock
- RAM
- Memory Bandwidth
- GPU memory frequency
- FLOPS
GPU base clock
AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT: 1925 MHz
ATI Radeon HD 3570: 800 MHz
RAM
AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT: 16 GB
ATI Radeon HD 3570: 0.
512 GB
Memory bandwidth
AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT: 576 GB/s
ATI Radeon HD 3570: 7.92 GB/s
GPU Memory Clock
AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT: 2250 MHz
ATI Radeon HD 3570: 495 MHz
AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT: 23.9 TFLOPS
ATI Radeon HD 3570: 61.3 TFLOPS
Description
The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT graphics card is based on the RDNA 2.0 architecture. ATI Radeon HD 3570 based on TeraScale architecture. The first has 26800 million transistors. Second 181 million AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT transistor size is 7 nm, versus 55.
The base clock frequency of the first video card is 1925 MHz versus 800 MHz for the second.
Let’s move on to memory. AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT has 16 GB. The ATI Radeon HD 3570 has 16 GB installed. The bandwidth of the first video card is 576 Gb / s versus 7.92 Gb / s of the second.
FLOPS for AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT is 23.
9. ATI Radeon HD 3570 has 61.3.
Moves to benchmark tests. Passmark AMD Radeon RX 69 benchmark50 XT scored No data points. But the second card No data points. In 3DMark, the first model scored No data points. Second No data points.
For interfaces. The first video card is connected using No data. Second — No data. The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT graphics card has Directx version 12. OpenGL version 4.6. The ATI Radeon HD 3570 has a Directx version of 10.1. The OpenGL version is 3.3.
Why AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT is better than ATI Radeon HD 3570
- GPU base clock 1925 MHz vs 800 MHz, 141% higher
- RAM 16 GB vs. 0.512 GB, 3025% more
- Memory bandwidth 576 GB/s vs 7.92 GB/s, 7173% more
- GPU memory frequency 2250 MHz vs. 495 MHz, 355% more
- Process 7 nm vs 55 nm, -87% less
- GDDR memory versions 6 vs. 2, 200% more
AMD Radeon RX 69 Comparison50 XT and ATI Radeon HD 3570: the main points
AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT
ATI Radeon HD 3570
Base Cabinal Frequency GPU
Graphic processor (GPU) is characterized by high frequency.
1925MHz
max 2459
Average: 1124.9 MHz
800MHz
max 2459
Average: 1124.9 MHz
GPU memory frequency
This is an important aspect calculating memory bandwidth
2250MHz
max 16000
Average: 1468 MHz
495MHz
max 16000
Average: 1468 MHz
FLOPS
The measurement of processing power of a processor is called FLOPS.
23.9TFLOPS
max 1142.32
Average: 53 TFLOPS
61.
3TFLOPS
max 1142.32
Average: 53 TFLOPS
RAM
16 GB
max 128
Average: 4.6 GB
0.512GB
max 128
Average: 4.6 GB
Texture Speed
749
max 940
Average: 185.4
3.2
max 940
Average: 185.4
Number of threads
5120
max 18432
Average: 1326.3
40
max 18432
Average: 1326.
3
Turbo GPU
If the GPU speed drops below its limit, it can go to a high clock speed to improve performance.
Show all
2340MHz
max 2903
Average: 1514 MHz
MHz
max 2903
Average: 1514 MHz
The name of the architecture
RDNA 2.0
TERASCALE
Graphic processor name
Navi 21
RV620
memory capacity
is the speed with which the device saves or reads information.
576GB/s
max 2656
Average: 257.8 GB/s
7.92GB/s
max 2656
Average: 257.
8 GB/s
RAM
16 GB
max 128
Average: 4.6 GB
0.512GB
max 128
Average: 4.6 GB
Maximum memory
16 GB
max 128
Average: 6.2 GB
0.512GB
max 128
Average: 6.2 GB
GDDR Memory Versions
Latest GDDR memory versions provide high data transfer rates for improved overall performance
Show all
6
Mean: 4.9
2
Mean: 4.
9
Memory bus width
A wide memory bus indicates that it can transfer more information in one cycle. This property affects the performance of the memory as well as the overall performance of the device’s graphics card.
Show all
256bit
max 8192
Average: 283.9bit
64bit
max 8192
Average: 283.9bit
Heat dissipation (TDP)
Heat dissipation requirement (TDP) is the maximum amount of energy that can be dissipated by the cooling system. The lower the TDP, the less power will be consumed.
Show all
300W
Average value: 160 W
30W
Average value: 160 W
Process technology
The small size of the semiconductor means it is a new generation chip.
7 nm
Average: 34.7 nm
55 nm
Average: 34.7 nm
Number of transistors
The higher their number, the more processor power it indicates
26800 million
max 80000
Average: 7150 million
181 million
max 80000
Average: 7150 million
PCIe version
Considerable speed is provided for an expansion card used to connect a computer to peripherals. The updated versions have impressive throughput and provide high performance.
Show all
4
Average: 3
2
Average: 3
Dusty 9000
$999
max 419999
Average: $5679.
5
$
max 419999
Average: 5679.5$
DirectX
Used in demanding games providing enhanced graphics
12
max 12.2
Mean: 11.4
10.1
max 12.2
Mean: 11.4
OpenCL version
Used by some applications to enable GPU power for non-graphical calculations. The newer the version, the more functional it will be
Show all
2.1
max 4.6
Average: 2.2
max 4.6
Average: 2.2
opengl version
Later versions provide better game graphics
4. 6
max 4.6
Average: 4.2
3.3
max 4.6
Average: 4.2
Shader model version
6.5
max 6.6
Average: 5.9
4.1
max 6.6
Average: 5.9
Vulkan version
1.3
n/a
Has HDMI output
HDMI output allows you to connect devices with HDMI or mini HDMI ports. They can transmit video and audio to the display.
Show all
Yes
N/A
DisplayPort
Allows connection to a display using DisplayPort
2
Average: 2. 2
2
Average: 2.2
Number of HDMI connectors
The more there are, the more devices can be connected at the same time (for example, game/TV type consoles)
Show all
1
Average: 1.1
Average: 1.1
HDMI
Yes
No data
FAQ
How does AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT perform in benchmarks?
Passmark AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT scored No data points. The second video card in Passmark scored No data points.
What is the FLOPS of video cards?
FLOPS AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT is 23.9 TFLOPS. But the FLOPS of the second video card is 61.3 TFLOPS.
What is the energy consumption?
AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT 300 Watt. ATI Radeon HD 3570 30 Watt.
How fast are AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT and ATI Radeon HD 3570?
AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT runs at 1925 MHz. In this case, the maximum frequency reaches 2340 MHz. The clock base frequency of the ATI Radeon HD 3570 reaches 800 MHz. In turbo mode it reaches N/A MHz.
What kind of memory do graphics cards have?
AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT supports GDDR6. Installed 16 GB of RAM. The throughput reaches 576 GB/s. ATI Radeon HD 3570 works with GDDR2. The second one has 0.512 GB of RAM. Its bandwidth is 576 GB/s.
How many HDMI connectors do they have?
AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT has 1 HDMI output. The ATI Radeon HD 3570 is equipped with No HDMI outputs.
Which power connectors are used?
AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT uses No data. The ATI Radeon HD 3570 is equipped with No HDMI outputs.
What architecture are the graphics cards based on?
AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT is built on RDNA 2.0. The ATI Radeon HD 3570 uses the TeraScale architecture.
What graphics processor is used?
AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT equipped with Navi 21. ATI Radeon HD 3570 has RV620 installed.
How many PCIe lanes
The first graphics card has no PCIe lane data. And the PCIe version is 4. ATI Radeon HD 3570 does not have these PCIe lanes. PCIe version 4.
How many transistors?
AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT has 26800 million transistors. ATI Radeon HD 3570 has 181M
transistors
ATI Radeon HD 3570
VS
AMD Radeon RX 6950XT
ATI Radeon HD 3570
VS
AMD Radeon RX 6750XT
ATI Radeon HD 3570
VS
AMD Radeon RX 6850XT
ATI Radeon HD 3570
VS
Intel UHD Graphics 710
ATI Radeon HD 3570
VS
Intel Iris Xe Graphics 80EU
ATI Radeon HD 3570
VS
Intel Iris Xe Graphics 96EU
ATI Radeon HD 3570
VS
Intel UHD Graphics 48EU
ATI Radeon HD 3570
VS
Intel UHD Graphics 64EU
ATI Radeon HD 3570
VS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 8 GB
ATI Radeon HD 3570
VS
Intel Arctic Sound-M
ATI Radeon HD 3570
VS
Intel UHD Graphics 64EUs (Alder Lake 12 Gen)
ATI Radeon HD 3570
VS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Ti
ATI Radeon HD 3570
VS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050
ATI Radeon HD 3570
VS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060
ATI Radeon HD 3570
VS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070
ATI Radeon HD 3570
VS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080
ATI Radeon HD 3570
VS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090
ATI Radeon HD 3570
VS
AMD Steam Deck GPU
ATI Radeon HD 3570
VS
NVIDIA h200 PCIe
ATI Radeon HD 3570
VS
NVIDIA h200 SXM5
Comparison of AMD Radeon HD 6950 and ATI Mobility Radeon X2500
Comparative analysis of AMD Radeon HD 6950 and ATI Mobility Radeon X2500 video cards by all known characteristics in the categories: General information, Specifications, Video outputs and ports, Compatibility, dimensions, requirements, API support, Memory, Technology support.
Analysis of video card performance by benchmarks: PassMark — G3D Mark, PassMark — G2D Mark, Geekbench — OpenCL, CompuBench 1.5 Desktop — Face Detection (mPixels/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop — Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop — T -Rex (Frames/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop — Video Composition (Frames/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop — Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s), GFXBench 4.0 — Car Chase Offscreen (Frames), GFXBench 4.0 — Manhattan (Frames), GFXBench 4.0 — T-Rex (Frames), GFXBench 4.0 — Car Chase Offscreen (Fps), GFXBench 4.0 — Manhattan (Fps), GFXBench 4.0 — T-Rex (Fps), 3DMark Fire Strike — Graphics Score.
AMD Radeon HD 6950
versus
ATI Mobility Radeon X2500
Benefits
Reasons to choose AMD Radeon HD 6950
- Newer graphics card, release dates difference 3 year(s) 6 month(s)
- core clock rate
- 38.
3 times more texture speed: 70.4 GTexel / s vs 1.84 GTexel / s
- 117.3 times more shader processors: 1408 vs 12
- A newer manufacturing process for the video card makes it more powerful, but with less power consumption: 40 nm vs 90 nm
- Maximum memory size is 8 times more: 2 GB vs 256 MB
- Memory frequency is 56% more : 1250 MHz vs 800 MHz
- 32.2x better performance in PassMark — G3D Mark benchmark: 2641 vs 82
- About 83% better performance in PassMark — G2D Mark benchmark: 431 vs 235
more: 800 MHz vs 460 MHz
| Issue date | 14 December 2010 vs 1 June 2007 |
| Boost core clock | 800 MHz vs 460 MHz |
| Texturing Speed | 70.4 GTexel/s vs 1.84 GTexel/s |
| Number of shaders | 1408 vs 12 |
| Process | 40 nm vs 90 nm |
| Maximum memory size | 2 GB vs 256 MB |
| Memory frequency | 1250 MHz vs 800 MHz |
| PassMark — G3D Mark | 2641 vs 82 |
| PassMark — G2D Mark | 431 vs 235 |
Benchmark comparison
GPU 1: AMD Radeon HD 6950
GPU 2: ATI Mobility Radeon X2500
| PassMark — G3D Mark |
|
|||
| PassMark — G2D Mark |
|
| Name | AMD Radeon HD 6950 | ATI Mobility Radeon X2500 |
|---|---|---|
| PassMark — G3D Mark | 2641 | 82 |
| PassMark — G2D Mark | 431 | 235 |
| Geekbench — OpenCL | 5252 | |
| CompuBench 1. |
16.999 | |
| CompuBench 1.5 Desktop — Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s) | 899.056 | |
| CompuBench 1.5 Desktop — T-Rex (Frames/s) | 1.659 | |
| CompuBench 1.5 Desktop — Video Composition (Frames/s) | 49.698 | |
| CompuBench 1.5 Desktop — Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s) | 251.203 | |
| GFXBench 4.0 — Car Chase Offscreen (Frames) | 3652 | |
| GFXBench 4. |
2523 | |
| GFXBench 4.0 — T-Rex (Frames) | 11657 | |
| GFXBench 4.0 — Car Chase Offscreen (Fps) | 3652 | |
| GFXBench 4.0 — Manhattan (Fps) | 2523 | |
| GFXBench 4.0 — T-Rex (Fps) | 11657 | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike — Graphics Score | 0 |
Performance comparison
| AMD Radeon HD 6950 | ATI Mobility Radeon X2500 | |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | TeraScale 3 | R500 |
| Codename | Cayman | M66 |
| Design | AMD Radeon HD 6000 Series | |
| Issue date | December 14, 2010 | June 1, 2007 |
| Price at first issue date | $299 | |
| Place in the rating | 617 | 718 |
| Price now | $89. |
|
| Type | Desktop | Laptop |
| Price/performance ratio (0-100) | 45.34 | |
| Boost core clock | 800MHz | 460MHz |
| Floating point performance | 2,252.8 gflops | |
| Technological process | 40nm | 90nm |
| Number of shaders | 1408 | 12 |
| Texturing Speed | 70. |
1.84 GTexel/s |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 500 Watt | |
| Number of transistors | 2,640 million | 157 million |
| Core frequency | 460MHz | |
| Video connectors | 2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort | No outputs |
| DisplayPort support | ||
| Support Dual-link DVI | ||
| Eyefinity | ||
| HDMI | ||
| VGA | ||
| Tire | PCIe 2. |
|
| Interface | PCIe 2.0 x16 | PCIe 1.0 x16 |
| Length | 267 mm | |
| Additional power connectors | 2x 6-pin | |
| Notebook size | medium sized | |
| DirectX | 11 | 9.0c |
| OpenGL | 4.4 | 2.0 |
| Maximum memory size | 2GB | 256MB |
| Memory bus width | 256 Bit | 400 Bit |
| Memory frequency | 1250MHz | 800MHz |
| Memory type | GDDR5 | 64 / 128 |
| Memory Bandwidth | 12. |