How we test
GPU comparisons |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graphics cards | Current pricing | GPU clock (MHz) | Stream processors | Shader clock (MHz) | Memory clock (MHz) | Memory bus (bits) | Graphics driver |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 1,536MB | £389 | 772 | 512 | 1,544 | 4,008 | 384 | ForceWare 262.99 |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 1,280MB | £265 | 732 | 480 | 1,464 | 3,800 | 320 | ForceWare 263.09 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 480 1,536MB | £285 | 700 | 480 | 1,401 | 3,698 | 384 | ForceWare 262.99 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 470 1,280MB | £189 | 607 | 448 | 1,215 | 3,348 | 320 | ForceWare 260.89 |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1,024MB |
£199 | 822 | 384 | 1,645 | 4,008 | 256 | ForceWare 266.56 |
| KFA2
GeForce GTX 460 1,024MB |
£145 | 675 | 336 | 1,350 | 3,600 | 256 | ForceWare 266.58 |
| EVGA GeForce GTX 460 768MB | £125 | 675 | 336 | 1,350 | 3,600 | 192 | ForceWare 260.89 |
| HIS Radeon HD 5970 2,048MB | £425 | 725 | 3,200 | 725 | 4,000 | 256 x 2 | Catalyst 10.12P |
| HIS Radeon HD 6970 2,048MB | £299 | 880 | 1,536 | 880 | 5,500 | 256 | Catalyst 10.12P |
| Sapphire Radeon HD 6950 2,048MB | £225 | 800 | 1,440 | 800 | 5,000 | 256 | Catalyst 10.12 |
| HIS Radeon HD 6870 1,024MB | £180 | 900 | 1,120 | 900 | 4,200 | 256 | Catalyst 10.12 |
| Sapphire Radeon HD 6850 1,024MB | £145 | 775 | 960 | 775 | 4,000 | 256 | Catalyst 10.12 |
| XFX Radeon HD 5870 1,024MB | £210 | 825 | 1,600 | 825 | 4,800 | 256 | Catalyst 10.10P |
| XFX Radeon HD 5850 1,024MB | £155 | 725 | 1,440 | 725 | 4,000 | 256 | Catalyst 10.10P |
Test bench |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i7 980X Extreme Edition (3.33GHz, 12MB L3 cache, hexa-core, LGA1366 - Turbo Boost enabled) | |||||||||||
| Motherboard | ASUS P6X58D Premium | |||||||||||
| Motherboard BIOS | 1002 | |||||||||||
| Memory | 6GB Corsair DDR3 | |||||||||||
| Memory timings and speed | 9-9-9-24-1T @ DDR3-1,600 | |||||||||||
| PSU | Corsair HX1000W | |||||||||||
| Monitor | Dell 30in 3007WFP - 2,560x1,600px | |||||||||||
| Disk drive(s) | Corsair Force F80 SSD | |||||||||||
| Operating system | Windows 7 Ultimate, 64-bit | |||||||||||
Benchmarks |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aliens vs. Predator | DX11, 1,680x1,050, 1,920x1,080, 2,560x1,600 resolutions, 2xAA, 16xAF, very high quality. | |||||||||||
| Just Cause 2 | DX10, 1,680x1,050, 1,920x1,080, 2,560x1,600 resolutions, 4xAA, 16xAF, Dark Tower benchmark | |||||||||||
| Mafia II | DX9, 1,680x1,050, 1,920x1,080, 2,560x1,600 resolutions, AA on, 16x AF, built-in benchmark | |||||||||||
| Battlefield: Bad Company 2 | DX11, 1,680x1,050, 1,920x1,080, 2,560x1,600 resolutions, 4xAA, 16xAF, ultra quality, FRAPS-recorded benchmark. | |||||||||||
| Call of Duty: Black Ops | DX9, 1,680x1,050, 1,920x1,080, 2,560x1,600 resolutions, 4xAA, ultra quality, FRAPS-recorded benchmark. | |||||||||||
| Crysis Warhead | DX10, 1,680x1,050, 1,920x1,080, 2,560x1,600 resolutions, 4xAA, gamer quality, Frost map, FRAPS-recorded benchmark. | |||||||||||
| DiRT 2 | DX11, 1,680x1,050, 1,920x1,080, 2,560x1,600 resolutions, 4xAA, ultra quality, London map. | |||||||||||
| Temperature | To emulate real-world usage scenarios, we record GPU core temperature both when idle and whilst playing Call of Duty: Black Ops. And, for a worst-case scenario, we throw in numbers from the FurMark stress test. | |||||||||||
| Power consumption | To emulate real-world usage scenarios, we record mains power draw both when idle and whilst playing Call of Duty: BO. And, for a worst-case scenario, we throw in numbers from the FurMark stress test. | |||||||||||
| Noise | A PCE-318 noise level meter is placed at front of a Corsair 700D chassis with side panel on. | |||||||||||
Notes
NVIDIA supplied the press with the ForceWare 266.56 drivers for the GTX 560 Ti. Keeping matters fair we benchmarked the GTX 460 with the newest WHQL set, v266.58.
AMD's Radeon HD 6850, 6870, and 6950 have been benchmarked using Catalyst 10.12 WHQL drivers.
