KitGuru KitGuru.net – Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards
The tests were performed in a controlled air conditioned room with temperatures maintained at a constant 25c – a comfortable environment for the majority of people reading this.
Idle temperatures were measured after sitting at the desktop for 30 minutes. Load measurements were acquired by playing Crysis Warhead for 30 minutes and measuring the peak temperature. We also have included Furmark results, recording maximum temperatures throughout a 30 minute stress test. All fan settings were left on automatic.
The HD6870 is a reference design (with the standard AMD cooler) and as such we don’t expect wonderful results. The load results aren't bad, but we would expect this to drop when customised cooling solutions make their entrance onto the market.
Return to ambient is a feature we have recently added to our reviews … we measure the time it takes for a solution to return to idle temperatures, immediately after full load. The faster the time, the better the cooler – for example a Noctua NH D14 cooler will return an Intel processor to idle temperatures much faster than a reference cooler. This is a good indication of how quickly a heatsink can dissipate heat.
The HIS card is reasonably quiet, with their techs having focused on generating a reasonable cooling profile without causing much noise. The return to idle time is what we would expect with a reference cooler.
Very nice overclocking. the 6870’s seem pretty close to their limits. I wonder will anyone be able to sell one at 1ghz core with a custom cooler down the line? I dont think so. might be 950mhz will be the limit for these retail.
Seems a good buy, but the 6850 would be my choice as they overclock so well. seem basically the same limits as the 6870s on the core anyway.
HIS are really good. I think their reputation is a little unwarranted. ive owned a few of their ATI (Amd?) boards in the past and never had an issue. I would wait on a custom cooled one though, these reference coolers are never wonderful. 80+c on these cards seems rather high, id like to see mid 70s. which a reference cooler wont deliver.
Very nice, but HD6850 is more in line with what I want. im buying one at christmas then another in the new year. should keep me going for years. I like the 1080p tests here. I cant afford a 30 inch screen and find those results hard for me to work out. maybe a lot of people own a 30 inch screen, lucky bastards 🙁
Good card, they all are though. not sure id pay £20 for a bios update, unless the card is a hand picked model then it seems worth it. sadly HIS dont mention this, so I would assume they are maybe just from a specific batch with good yield.
A problem I always have is with reviewer samples. If this card is £20 more for 20mhz core increase and its identical, then it seems a bit expensive. Granted the memory is much higher than reference, but I think most 6870s hit those speeds anyway.
Could very well be HIS hand pick reviewer samples. but its hard to know.
IM furious. and will lodge a complaint with OCUK. I bought this last week for £240. its down to £215 on their site now. fucking pissed off.
IM furious. and will lodge a complaint with OCUK. I bought this last week for £240. its down to £215 on their site now. fucking pissed off.
You know, this would have been great to test against a 580 if you used both HIS cards in Crossfire. Actually, where is your 580 review?
Real shame they didnt use a custom cooler on this 🙁 makes them all more attractive. Are AMD blocking custom designs still or has that not passed?