[Tested] SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6870 1024MB Review
SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6870 Review Index
- 1 – Meet with SAPPHIRE’s Radeon HD 6870
- 2 – SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6870 Features
- 3 – SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6870 OpenGL performances
- 4 – SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6870 Direct3D performances
- 5 – SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6870 Gaming performances
- 6 – SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6870 DirectCompute performances
- 7 – SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6870 Power consumption and overclocking
- 8 – SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6870: Misc Links and Reviews
After having tested ASUS Radeon HD 6870, let’s test today another Barts XT based product, this time branded SAPPHIRE! I would like to say thanks to Konstantin and Bill from SAPPHIRE for this sample. FurMark already loves it ?
SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6870 follows AMD instructions: reference board and clocks. This HD 6870, based on a Barts XT GPU (1120 shader processors), come with a 900MHz GPU and 1024MB of GDDR5 memory clocked at 1050MHz real speed 4200MHz effective / QDR speed. More details on the reference Radeon HD 6870 can be found here: AMD Radeon HD 6870 Launch Day: Meet Barts XT.
SAPPHIRE’s HD 6870 is a Direct3D 11 and OpenGL 4.1 capable graphics hardware (SAPPHIRE’s website has not been updated, still OpenGL 3.2). The card also support OpenCL 1.1, the standard GPU computing API. Bart XT is the second generation of DX11-class GPU and hardware speaking, AMD’s GPU offers nice prestations.
SAPPHIRE’s HD 6870 is priced at around 210 euros (see here for more prices).
Here are some pictures of the SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6870:
Many more Hi-resolution pictures of SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6870 can be found here:
SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6870 Gallery – (14 pictures total).
SAPPHIRE’s bundle includes the following components:
– CrossFire™ Bridge Interconnect Cable
– D-Sub Adapter
– Mini-DP to DP Cable
– 6 PIN to 4 PIN Power Cable
– HDMI 1.4a high speed 1.
8 meter cable(Full Retail SKU only)
In the overclocking side, SAPPHIRE’s product is a nice piece of hardware as we’ll see it inthe iverclocking part of this review. What’s more, SAPPHIRE develops its own overclocking utility called TriXX. We’ll use it for pushing the HD 6870 to the maXX!
SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6870 Review Index
- 1 – Meet with SAPPHIRE’s Radeon HD 6870
- 2 – SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6870 Features
- 3 – SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6870 OpenGL performances
- 4 – SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6870 Direct3D performances
- 5 – SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6870 Gaming performances
- 6 – SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6870 DirectCompute performances
- 7 – SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6870 Power consumption and overclocking
- 8 – SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6870: Misc Links and Reviews
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Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 TOXIC graphics card review — Graphics
Can you believe AMD’s 6000-series GPUs were introduced in the form of the Radeon HD 6870 and 6850 just last October? Since then, the red team has moved on and ushered in the high-end Radeon HD 6970 and 6950, whilst the rival green team has been keeping us all on our toes with the introduction of the GeForce GTX 580, GTX 570 and the venerable GTX 560 Ti.
There’s no lack of choice when its comes to new-generation GPUs, but if you’re working on a £200 budget, AMD’s Radeon HD 6870 remains an excellent bet and it’s being made all the more attractive by the launch of Sapphire’s TOXIC Edition.
The TOXIC brand is synonymous with souped-up AMD Radeon parts, and Sapphire’s 6870 derivative is no exception. For many readers, this is the 6870 you’ve been waiting for — and the paper specification suggests that you won’t be disappointed.
Out the box, Sapphire pre-overclocks the GPU core to 970MHz (up from a reference 900MHz), while the 1GB GDDR5 frame buffer trots along at a merry 4,600MHz (up from an effective 4,200MHz). That makes this one of the fastest Radeon HD 6870s money can buy, and Sapphire’s clearly out to one-up NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 560 Ti. We reckon there’s still a little additional headroom to work with on the 6870 core, though, but perhaps Sapphire is saving the magic 1GHz for an ATOMIC successor?
Flip the card over, and we get a look at Sapphire’s re-jigged blue PCB.
Measuring 240mm in length, the TOXIC card is as long as AMD’s reference design but includes a few enthusiast-orientated niceties — including a 10-phase power supply and Sapphire’s patented second-generation Black Diamond chokes.
In keeping with AMD’s 6870 architecture — which you can read all about over here — the mid-to-high-end card retains two six-pin PCIe power connectors and a single CrossFire link for dual-GPU configurations.
A couple of changes to the PCB, then, but what’s arguably of more interest is Sapphire’s exclusive Vapor-X cooler. The latest iteration consists of an 11-blade fan, three thick copper heatpipes and an array of aluminium fins than encompass the majority of the card.
It’s a meaty-looking solution, and it needs to be — running a 6870 core at 970MHz demands adequate cooling.
The cooler’s thick copper base makes direct contact with the GPU, and without spoiling the surprises later in the review, the Vapor-X’s cooling credentials are really rather good.
It’s an all-round impressive package, and there’s little need to chop and change AMD’s dizzying array of ports. Dual-link DVI, single-link DVI, HDMI and a pair of mini-DisplayPorts will cover almost all bases, and the card can output to up to four monitors in Eyefinity mode.
Making its way to retail in the very near future, Sapphire’s Radeon HD 6870 TOXIC is expected to fetch roughly £200 — making it a direct competitor to the GeForce GTX 560 Ti. Let’s see who comes out on top, shall we?
Video card review Sapphire HD 6870 1GB DiRT3 Edition
Video cards of the Radeon HD 6800 line are deservedly popular among gamers who, when choosing components for their PCs, prefer the most balanced options. In general, these are «workhorses» from the middle price segment, which, even in complex graphics modes, are able to provide acceptable performance.
Radeon HD 6870 video cards are based on Barts chips, with the capabilities and architectural nuances of which we are already well acquainted (more).
These GPUs are no longer hot news. These 40nm solutions were announced at the end of 2010, but the products turned out to be so successful in their time that new adapters based on them are still appearing and remain quite relevant. nine0003
Sapphire traditionally does not want to be content with reference graphics adapters with its own logo, trying to offer a wide range of original models with improved design, technical characteristics and even packaging.
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As you can easily guess from the name of the device, video card revision Sapphire HD 6870 1GB DiRT3 Edition should primarily interest fans of technological projects from Codemasters. But, what is remarkable about this modification, in addition to being equipped with a popular arcade car simulator?
This video card is similar to the reference Radeon HD 6870 only in the use of the AMD Barts graphics chip.
Otherwise, the components of the device are noticeably modified by Sapphire developers.
Zmist
- 1 Complete set
- 2 Design and cooling system
- 3 in the work
- 4 Acceleration and performance
- 5 Results
- 6 liked
- 7 I did not like
- 8 Technical characteristics SAPPHire HD 6870 1GB DIRT3 EDITION 9003 9003 package Sapphire HD 6870 1GB DiRT3 Edition. In the box with the video card, you can also find two adapters from molex to a 6-pin 12V connector, adapters from Mini-DisplayPort to full-format DisplayPort and from DVI to D-Sub (VGA), a bridge for creating CrossFireX configurations. A 1.8 m HDMI cable will also be a useful addition, and, of course, the promised certificate with a code for a free download of DiRT 3.
Design and cooling system
The interface panel houses a pair of Mini-DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI-I (Dual Link , 2560×1600) and DVI-D (Single Link, 1920×1200). The fourth part of the mounting plate area is occupied by a ventilation grille.
The top panel has a connector for pairing with a second video card in CrossFireX mode. There are also six-pin connectors for connecting additional power. This arrangement is convenient in cases where the system is assembled in a compact case, although the length of the video card as a whole does not require a spacious case. nine0003
The printed circuit board differs from the reference PCB not only in the textolite color. The power block returned to a more familiar place in the tail of the video card, while in the reference Radeon HD 6870 this module is shifted closer to the mounting panel. There are no special circuitry frills here. The 4+1 power phase distribution model is used.
ELPIDA memory chips marked W1032BBBG-50-F according to the standard specification must operate at 5000 MHz.
Video card uses original cooling system. It is based on a not very large aluminum radiator, on which two separate typesetting cassettes with plates are fixed.
The copper heat sink is connected to a pair of large 8mm heat pipes. Soldering is used to improve contact between these elements. Traces of solder are also visible at the junctions of the tubes with the plates. A reliable connection in this particular area of \u200b\u200bthe structure is very important for the overall efficiency of the CO. nine0003 The system is ventilated by two oversized 90 mm fans. A pair of such propellers practically covers the entire area of the radiator block. The power elements are covered with an additional cooler, and the memory chips are blown by air currents from the propellers.
Given the relatively low thermal package of the Radeon HD 6870 (151 W), this solution is sufficient for good cooling of the adapter.
Video cards equipped with coolers with axial fans always cause criticism when it comes to the distribution of air flows and the removal of heated air outside the system unit. Whether to attribute this fact to a disadvantage is not so unambiguous, but it is definitely worth considering this nuance when organizing cooling in the case.
nine0003 In operation
During testing on an open bench, the fan speed in idle mode was at the level of 1000-1100 rpm, while the chip temperature did not exceed 35 C. The noise level is very low. Under heavy load in real games and synthetic applications, the maximum GPU temperature is 65 C, while the fan speed increases to 1700 rpm.
After a ten-minute «frying» in FurMark, the temperature of the chip increased to 73 degrees, and the speed increased to 1970 rpm The noise of the cooling system in this case is already well felt. However, this CO still works noticeably quieter than the «turbine» of the reference Radeon HD 6870 in such conditions, and it cools better.
Overclocking and performance
Taking into account rather high standard GPU frequencies for the Radeon HD 6870 (900 MHz), an additional 20 MHz for the GPU can be considered a rather modest bonus from the manufacturer. Much more can be achieved during self-acceleration. The final values after our experiments are 1010 MHz for the chip and 5040 MHz for the memory.
The result is quite worthy, although not very different from the indicators that can be obtained when forcing alternative models on Barts. nine0003 Note that even after overclocking, the cooler manages to remove heat without any problems at all. The temperature of the chip under load increased by only 2-3 degrees.
The performance of the video card in normal mode is not much different from that of a typical Radeon HD 6870.
Easy factory tuning of the chip brings a minimal increase in performance (1-1.5%). But after additional forcing, the results improved by already tangible 9-eleven%.
Results
Sapphire HD 6870 1GB DiRT3 Edition is remembered primarily for its high-quality cooling system and good equipment. The bundled game, even such as DiRT3, is unlikely to become a serious argument when choosing a specific video card model. In addition, over time, such a gift quickly loses its original value. So, a nice bonus, but nothing more.
However, the video card is interesting in itself. If only she could drop a few more in price. $210-215 is already the level of forced GeForce GTX 560 models or even the most affordable GeForce GTX 560 Ti variants with a reference cooling system. Especially with the latest Sapphire HD 6870 1GB DiRT3 Edition, it will be very difficult to compete in terms of performance. However, for fans of adapters with AMD chips, the considered option may well be the best choice in its class. nine0003
Liked
+ Efficient CO
+ Low operating noise
+ Well equipped
+ Decent overclocking potential
Disliked
— Price
Specification Sapphire HD 6870 1GB DiRT3 Edition
Graphics chip AMD Barts Chip technology 40 nm Number of stream processors 1120 Chip clock speed 920 MHz Memory clock 4200 MHz Size and type of memory 1024MB GDDR5 Memory bus 256 bit Interface connectors 2×Mini-DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI-I, DVI-D Video card dimensions nine0123 245×110×36 mm
Provided by Sapphire, www.
