AMD Radeon HD 6870: specifications, review, reviews

Given the rather high demand for various video card models using a video chip called Barts XT, the company from Taiwan MSI to date offers users five different solutions using the Radeon HD 6870 graphics processor. All these cards differ only in the design of the printed circuit board used In the cooling system, as well as the operating frequencies of the GPU and, accordingly, the cost. Earlier, many people paid attention to the Radeon HD 6870 card, which differs from its reference analog only with a standard sticker located on the cooling casing, as well as the BIOS version used, but today a more advanced solution related to the well-known series of HAWK devices has become more widespread.

Cost

Given the specifics of modern video cards of this model, most of the parameters were left intact in comparison with the reference version. But it should be noted that in addition to the additional design of the printed circuit board, as well as the specialized cooling system, which is typical for any video cards having a HAWK in the name, this manufacturer also decided to slightly increase the frequency of the work of the kernel in comparison with the reference sample. Thus, in the new Radeon HD 6870, instead of the standard 900 MHz, the GPU runs at 930 MHz. Next, we will consider how such overclocking ultimately affected the performance of this device, as well as understand other features of its operation.

Equipment

The video card is delivered in a large enough box, decorated in black and blue. One kind of this box already hints at the fact that the company has provided users with a really high-quality product in the form of Radeon HD 6870. The cardboard box is made in the form of a small suitcase and is more like the packaging of some motherboard, and not on the box from the graphics accelerator.

After opening the top cover, the cooling system used in the video card becomes visible. The place around the window, just like the inner side of the top cover, the designers preferred to leave in order to list the main features of the video card, as well as all kinds of technologies that were used in the production process.

What are these features?

According to the manufacturer, the power stabilization system, which is used in the AMD Radeon HD 6870, is equipped with 10 phases at the same time compared to the five that are present in the standard card, thus ensuring a fairly stable operation of the device, regardless of whether it will work in normal mode or At a sufficiently intense acceleration.

The card's power circuit utilized specialized components of the so-called "military" type, including tantalum and solid capacitors, all kinds of chokes equipped with ferrite cores, which also positively affects the overall overclocking potential of this card, and also substantially reduces any heat dissipation present in the power circuit.

At individual points, using a multimeter, you can measure the voltage supplied to the GPU, memory, and the PLL. This possibility is quite convenient, and in addition to this, the voltage values can be obtained as accurately as possible, which is also very important. The values of the main voltages obtained in this way can be changed by the user later using the proprietary Afterburner program, which is present in the initial package of the video card.

Separate attention has also been paid to switching the operating mode of the AMD Radeon HD 6870 video card using a specialized lever located on the PCB. The user can choose "quiet" mode of operation independently or prefer the mode in which the cooler starts to work with increased performance.

Information

On the back of the package there is not much useful information about how the Radeon HD 6870 works and what it is. Here are the minimal system requirements of the computer in which this card will be installed, as well as the main characteristics of the device. It should be noted that in the system where the Radeon HD 6870 Reference or its upgraded version is present, there should be a power supply unit having a power of at least 500 W, because otherwise the device is unlikely to be able to fully reveal the potential inherent in it by the developers.

Additional equipment

In addition to the card itself, there are also several useful elements in the box, such as:

• The disk on which the corresponding drivers are located, as well as the above utility, designed to control the characteristics of the device during its operation. If necessary, you can use the utility in order to overclock the video card to the desired level.
• A short guide for users, as well as a separate booklet, which details all the applied proprietary technologies.
• Adapter designed to reconnect the mini DisplayPort to a standard DisplayPort.
• Adapter, designed to reconnect DVI to standard VGS.
• Two adapters with two four-pin peripheral power connectors for one six-pin, designed to connect power to the video card.
• Adapters that allow you to connect a multimeter for constant voltage monitoring.

In addition, the CrossFireX bridge must also be present in the delivery package. Thus, a fairly rich set of delivery is formed, in which there is almost everything that is needed for normal interaction with this video card without any problems.

What does this give?

Considering that the AMD Radeon HD 6870 graphics card has two adapters at the same time, the user will not have any problems in order to connect the necessary monitor, projector or the plasma panel if necessary.

It is worth noting separately that the fact that four monitors can be connected to such accelerators at the same time, the resolution of each of which is up to 1900х1200, and given the availability of two additional DisplayPort hubs that are purchased separately from the standard set, there is the possibility of additional connection of two more monitors, forming an integral six-monitors Configuration.

Reviews

In their feedback, users often pay attention to the possibility of playing simultaneously on multiple monitors, since the card shows stable performance in most cases.

The only thing that some did not like is the size of this device, as it is not always convenient to insert it into medium-sized cases. Also, not all are satisfied with the fact that the device can become very hot and loud enough in case of a serious load, but during the game the latter is almost imperceptible.

Pay

The design of the PCB is slightly different from the reference one, which is quite expected. In order to fully accommodate the present elements of the 10-phase power scheme, it was decided to increase it by two centimeters. For owners of small buildings that want to install a Radeon HD 6870, the characteristics of this card may not play any role, if they can not allocate at least 275 mm inside the chassis. By itself, the 10-phase scheme was used precisely to ensure the maximum stable operation of the device, as well as provide users with more options in terms of overclocking the video card to the desired value.

It is worth noting once again that in the production of this card, specialized components are used that meet the Military Class II standard, with the help of which the maximum durability, extremely low heating of the power supply elements, and the excellent overclocking potential of this device are achieved.

The reverse side of the board

The various light indicators on the back of the PCB make it possible to clearly see how much the graphics core is loaded, since the power regulator of this device provides dynamic switching of the active phases, if necessary. This makes it possible to completely disconnect unnecessary phases in the event that there is a sufficiently low load on the accelerator.

There are also small controls, with which thermal control is activated, as well as specialized protection of the GPU, ensuring the safety of the device when applying too high voltage. Of course, such functions are relevant only for a fairly narrow range of professional specialists who use the appropriate equipment to cool the card in the process of "nitrogen" tests, so ordinary users are extremely not recommended to conduct any serious experiments, carrying out extreme overclocking of the device with the installed regular cooler only.

Also, the reverse side of the board, in addition to the components already mentioned, has a cooler card mount. Thus, all the main elements in the Radeon HD 6870, reviewed above, are located on the front side of the textolite, so that they are most effectively cooled.

Connectors

Often, the Radeon HD 6870 reviews are positive, and this is often due not only to the characteristics and cost of the device, but also to the fact that it provides a sufficiently large number of connectivity options due to the mass of connectors and specialized adapters.

So, immediately you can see the connector intended for connection to the CrossFireX bridge device, in this connection the user can simultaneously combine two accelerators to provide complex calculation of graphic effects.

In addition to the standard PCI-Express bus, the card can also be powered by two six-pin connectors located on the side of this card. Near them there are voltage measurement points, as well as a switch of modes in which the cooler will work.

Core

The graphics core, code-named Barts XT, is manufactured in accordance with the standards of 40 nm process, and also represents the main element of the AMD Radeon HD 6870. The characteristics of this device show 1120 absolutely universal shader pipelines, and simultaneously 32 blocks of rasterization, while The exchange of information between the memory and the kernel is performed using a 256-bit bus.

Video memory

Video memory is made in the standard GDDR5, and its total volume is 1 GB, obtained by using simultaneously eight chips, each of which has a capacity of 128 MB. Chips, in accordance with technical documentation, can operate under conditions of effective frequency not exceeding 5 GHz. Considering the fact that in the tested video card the memory operation is initially performed at an effective frequency of 4.2 GHz, the user has the opportunity to significantly accelerate it using overclocking, resulting in a significant performance gain.

Cooling system

It should be noted that when the standard map and the Gigabyte Radeon HD 6870 review was conducted, special attention was always paid to the original Twin Frozr III cooling system, which occupies two slots and consists of an aluminum radiator with five heat pipes, as well as a special jacket with a duo of 80 mm fans, Providing an effective air injection on the radiator.

According to the manufacturer, thanks to the use of the cooling system, the temperature of the graphics core is 21 degrees lower compared to a standard reference turbine, when the device operates at the maximum possible load. At the same time, marketers say that the proprietary cooler perfectly copes with its mission, so that in the process of work, 7 dB less noise is produced. According to the information from the description, this high efficiency of the cooler is achieved through the use of the Propeller Blade fans, which are the development of MSI and were first used on these devices.