Radeon HD 5870 Graphic Card From AMD

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ATI is proud to present its first GPU with DirectX 11, the Radeon HD 5870. Engraved in 40 nanometers, GPU based Radeon HD 4000 has a load capacity of 2.7 TFlops! And how many FPS in games? The answer in our article.

Windows 7 is coming and with it a new variation of DirectX, version 11. It is automatically incorporated into the new operating system from Microsoft, but will be available for download by updated only for Windows Vista users. Who say that new version of DirectX, said new generation of graphics cards compatible with this new API, the aim is obviously to take advantage of new visual effects in our favorite games but also feature a change that can go beyond the fun.

The Radeon HD 5870
At a presentation held in London, the manufacturer has been constantly telling us that the information was vital for rememberance that ATI was the first to release a DirectX 11 chip. It suffices to recall the launch of the first DirectX 10 GPU ATI: the famous Radeon HD 2900 XT, Exits 7 months after the cards from Nvidia DirectX10, the GeForce 8 that were launched. At the time, it was the first ATI occurring after the acquisition by AMD and the least we can say is that this card was not very successful. It was less efficient than GeForce 8800 GTX and forces behind the 8800 Ultra. It also showed a high consumption and was very noisy. It was difficult to find any interest. ATI had understood at the time and quickly took out the Radeon HD 3870 and 3850 which saw a well-deserved success before giving way to the Radeon 4800 which also made the happiness of many users with a price / performance ratio much more interesting than the Nvidia cards.

Following the GT200, Nvidia has developed a huge and complex chip and it's not for nothing that the firm to the chameleon will long to release a dual GPU card when AMD came out very quickly with the 4870 X2. Today, Nvidia is not ready with its future DirectX 11 chips and are expected to better end of the year and most likely in early 2010. Nvidia took the opportunity to remind us that games supporting DirectX 11 would not be very many in 2009 and 2010 but the PhysX-enabled games would be abound. Not forgetting a sentence launched by an official Nvidia stating that current games did not need the power of the Radeon HD 5800. Not sure that the speech had been the same if Nvidia DirectX 11 cards had been ready before ATI. Recall also the speech of the firm to the chameleon at the launch of the GeForce 8: "the first DirectX 10 cards, before anyone else." It's fair game ...

DirectX 11 is currently only a pretext, the goal of our test is to see the behavior in the 5870 games currently available ...

But these trade wars and marketing does not interest us. We prefer to explore the new Radeon HD 5870 from another angle: See what it has in its performance for gaming! For DirectX 11 or not, the goal is ultimately to know what is its level of performance in DirectX 10 games over the previous generation Radeon and compared to the current generation of Nvidia cards.

Specifications of the Radeon HD 5800
The 5870 is code-named Cypress and abandoned the codenames beginning with R or RV followed by 3 digits. In late October or early November it should reach as the GPU known as the Hemlock and code which will be the high end ATI and resume the two-GPU which has proved itself over the 3870X2. This will be accompanied by 5870X2 card for the midrange and known under the name Juniper. Finally in 2010, the ATI chips Direcxt 11 attack the low end, it will chip Redwood and Cedar. In less than 6 months, ATI has released for 4 different GPUs, or at least to four different market segments.

Etching in 40 nanometers
The fine engraving of 40 nanometers was inaugurated by the famous AMD Radeon HD 4770 which was a comet in the galaxy of graphics cards. Indeed, it was very difficult to find commercially and even today it is very rare to cross. At the time, AMD had even been to undercut prices of the Radeon HD 4850 to alleviate the problem. The reason for this shortage was very poor yields at TSMC for this fine engraving, with a very high waste. In an interview with Joe Macri who participated in the development of new Radeon, we learned that ATI's teams have examined the waste in detail to understand the problem. TSMC sent defective chips to ATI, who studied for 3 weeks, then reported back to TSMC. The errors were in the two heads: the design of the chip was partly involved and the manufacturing process not yet fully mastered by TSMC. But this has also enabled ATI to prepare the ground of its chips on the 5800 series which are also engraved in 40 nanometers. But given what has been said above, it is reasonable to ask whether the yields on the silicon wafers are as good as claimed for these new chips.

Frequencies and TDP
In terms of frequency, the 5870 seems to be a GPU clocked at 850 MHz and 1024 MB of GDDR5 on 256-bit bus at 1200 MHz. The 5850 in turn provides its 725 MHz GPU and 1000 MHz to its "gigs" for GDDR5. On the side of the TDP, ATI announces progress where the cards were often caught hot at idle. The TDP of the 5870 and 5850 is in effect announced only 27 watts in idle against 90 for 4870. This improvement is achieved by reducing significantly the frequencies in 2D since the GPU goes to 157 MHz and memory at 300 MHz. In support, the TDP is 170 watts to 5850 watts and 188 for 5870. To recall, the 4870 it has a TDP of 170 watts in load. As for the power connectors, the 5870 needs 2-pin PCI-Express, like the Radeon HD 4870.

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Presentation of the 5870 from every angle
The first thing that surprised us when receiving the card is its length. At first glance, it seems as long as a 4870X2. In reality it is longer than a Radeon HD 4870 X2 and a GeForce GTX 295. It is therefore the longest card out by ATI and Nvidia together. The difference is not huge: 1.3 inches. But in some cases confined, that may pose problems. The fault is not attributed to PCBs that is still 26.7 inches long, like the Radeon HD 4870 X2, but the black hull which surrounds the cooling system. If they provide fresh air for the fan, AMD seems to have wanted to treat the aesthetics of the card at the point of forgetting the measurements.

The Radeon HD 5870 alongside the 4870 and 4870 X2

Aesthetically speaking, the card is a success ... in its state. It is indeed clear that versions of the trade will be all decked out with colorful stickers of the brand that will sell. For its new cards, ATI has opted for full camber of the card, except the back of the GPU. Is something of an advantage because it becomes difficult to damaging a component during its handling. The upper shell is made of plastic while there is plywood under the PCB is made of metal. Despite its size, the card does not exceed the pound, 960 grams to be precise. It is certainly less than a 4870X2, which is 1.1 pounds at the weigh but significantly more than 4870 which is merely 790 grams.

The inputs / outputs given are four in total on our reference card, two DVI, one HDMI and DisplayPort output. As already mentioned, three of them can be used to display simultaneously on 3 screens. We also note the presence of 2 Crossfire connectors at the usual place, these cards can be up to a total number of 4 on a same configuration. In terms of power connectors, one remains with two PCI-Express 6 pin placed on the top of the card and notthing at the back, logical given the length of the Radeon HD 5870.

The cooling system of the card is not surprising for the size of the radiator, AMD has taken advantage of this design for longer use for the available space. The radiator has a copper base from which 4 heat pipes are running through the thick machined aluminum fins. The radiator is welded to a black metal plate that handles dissipate heat from memory chips and the floor supply through thermal pads. The fan is a 92 mm well known same as that of the Radeon HD 4870, HD 4890 and HD 4870 X2. It is radial and can operate from 1000 to 4800 rpm.

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Temperatures
Before going further, here are the values observed for the fan of each adapter:

In general, the minimum speed in the drivers (ATI) or RivaTuner (for Nvidia cards) is 20% of potential fan by manual adjustment. In idle, Nvidia settles the fan on 40% and 25% on ATI. In the test, the Radeon HD 4870 remains the most discreet followed by 5870. Nvidia cards are a little noisy because of their fans who do not fall below 40% in idle. The GTX 295 for its part is audible even when idle.

Temperatures were measured using GPU-Z to read the probe card. In 3D display, OCCT was used to load the graphics card. The Radeon HD 5870 made tremendous progress as compared to 4870 and to a lesser extent compared to 4890. The Radeon HD 5870 is cooler than 4870 and obtained the same temperature as the GTX 285.

Conclusion
The final outcome of this new generation of ATI graphics cards is positive in many respects. One might also add as a negative point the length of the card, which can be problematic in some cases that are confined. The Radeon HD 5850 for its part is announced for $259. Although we know nothing of its performance for the last time, it will certainly be between the Radeon HD 4890 and 5870 and again the price may be difficult to justify to the Radeon HD 4890.

Before closing this issue: the performance production of Radeon GPUs is in 40 nanometers. One remembers the problems encountered by the Radeon HD 4770, but we hope that everything is solved for the Radeon HD 5000. Despite the discourse of AMD, we are not completely reassured by what we found, namely a 5850 that is slow to arrive for Journalists and manufacturers and a 5870 which should be available but in small quantities. Unless ATI has insisted on leaving its card well before the launch of Windows 7 without having yet producing enough GPU, enjoy the history behind Nvidia on the DirectX 11 chip.