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KitGuru has reviewed many of the custom, overclocked cards from AMD's partners in the last month, and today we are taking a look at the much awaited HD6970 Black Edition from XFX.
XFX have earned quite a reputation for creating some of the finest graphics cards for the enthusiast market, and in a similar fashion to Sapphire, we always look forward to testing their products.
The XFX HD6970 Black Edition is preoverclocked, running at 925mhz core (from 880mhz reference) and the GDDR5 memory is also increased to 1425mhz (5.7GBps effective) from 1375mhz (5.5Gbps effective) on the reference board.
| Product | AMD HD6970 | XFX HD6970 Black Edition |
| Core Clock speed | 880mhz | 925 mhz |
| Primitive Rate |
2 prim/clk
|
2 prim/clk |
| Shader Architecture |
VLIW4
|
VLIW4 |
| Stream Processors |
24 SIMD/1536 ALU
|
24 SIMD/1536 ALU |
| Texture Units | 96 | 96 |
| ROPs/Z-Stencil | 32/128 | 32/128 |
| Frame Buffer | 2GB GDDR5 | 2GB GDDR5 |
| Memory Width/Speed | 256 bit, 5.5 Gbps | 256 bit, 5.7 Gbps |
| Power Connectors | 8 pin & 6 pin | 8 pin & 6 pin |
| Display Outputs | 2xDVI + 2x mDP + HDMI | 2xDVI + 2x mDP + HDMI |
Great results. runs a bit hot in furmark, but it tends to push hardware to limits no game will. shame they didnt opt for a dual slot cooler like they used on their 6800 series.
We all know how good the HD6970 is, but why would they not do the full monty on this. If powercolor can do it, surely XFX can.
those temps are too high. if I see 90c with any card I panic. I liked their dual cooler system on their other cards, really helped drop the temps. Can they update this card later with a new cooler ?
When I saw the card on page 2 I was stunned. its a reference cooler with an XFX sticker! I dont mind this on release day, but months later? what a letdown.
Its worth paying extra for their warranty, as my card failed and they replaced it without a problem last year. I wouldnt pay for a reference AMD card without a new cooler as my mates 6970 runs higher than this after he flashed his bios.
How much extra is it? £20?
That is no Black Edition Card. The only thing slightly above average were the memory speeds. Come on XFX! You can do better than that!
It’s ironic isn’t it; XFX One of AMD’s leading partners got out classed By Powercolor. Seems Powercolor Grew some man junk overnight and XFX decided profit was more important than a good product.
A rather disappointing release from XFX really. 95c in furmark is very high.
It is really going to struggle against some of the very cool competiting cards from people like powercolor and asus.
I love the HD6970, but this card isn;t offering anything the reference design isnt. its easy to overclock to these speeds with all 6970s. so why pay for it.