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Today we are using an overclocked Core i7 970 system which is running at 4.33ghz. We thought we would compare against a range of AMD cards which we tested recently, as well as the excellent Powercolor HD6970 Devil 13 2GB video card, which we reviewed on November 28th. This is one of the fastest HD6970's on the market, so it should make for an interesting head to head.
Processor: Core i7 970 @ 4.33ghz
Cooling: Coolit Vantage
Motherboard: MSI X58A-GD65
Chassis: Thermaltake Level 10 GT
Power Supply: Corsair AX1200
Memory: 6GB ADATA @ 2133mhz 9-10-9-32
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V+ 512GB Gen 2 SSD (Storage) / Crucial RealSSD C300 256GB (OS boot)
Monitors: Sharp Aquos 50 inch LCD 1080p.
Comparison Cards:
PowerColor HD6970 Devil 13 2GB
HD6950
HD6870
HD6790
HD6770
HD6670
Software:
Windows 7 Enterprise 64 bit
Catalyst 10.11
ForceWare 285.62 WHQL
Unigine Heaven Benchmark
3DMark Vantage
3DMark 11
Fraps Professional
Steam Client
FurMark
Technical Monitoring and Test Equipment:
Nikon D3X with R1C1 kit
Keithley Integra unit
Thermal Diodes
Raytek Laser Temp Gun 3i LSRC/MT4 Mini Temp
Extech digital sound level meter & SkyTronic DSL 2 Digital Sound Level Meter
Games:
HomeFront
Alien V Predator
Dead Island
Tom Clancy HAWX 2
Resident Evil 5
Lost Planet 2
Far Cry 2
F1 2011
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
All the latest BIOS updates and drivers are used during testing. We perform generally under real world conditions, meaning KitGuru tests games across five closely matched runs and then average out the results to get an accurate median figure. If we use scripted benchmarks, they are mentioned on the relevant page.
Some game descriptions are edited from Wikipedia.
They make great cards, although I read a thread on guru3d last month from some guy who bought a similarly cooled card and he said it failed on him in the space of a few weeks. maybe he got unlucky.
570 is a great price now, very competitive and faster than HD6970 at reference clocks.
I would probably still spend a bit more on 580.
My frozr card was running v ery hot. IO removed the cooler, and replaced the thermal paste. it fixed the problem. its a common factory related issue going on threads on internet. whoever is applying paste is not applying enough.
Nice. good price for a modified card too. I am happy with my 560 however. I only game at 1080p and dont worry about anti aliasing.
Good range of cards, never owned one, but the reviews are always positive. I would always change the thermal paste on a card before using it, as factory application is always garbage.
This is why I never buy XFX, because you invalidate warranty now by taking the cooler off. (stickers on the screws).