XFX Radeon HD 5970 Black Edition Limited Reviewed

[Psywar]

Nice job Chris!

 

Very sexy technology we have right there! I would definitively love to have one!

[Bosco]

some of the labels on the power consumption graphs dont match up. i'd be very concerned if an overclocked gtx460 was using 630 watts fully loaded

did you get chance to test the 5970 BE on a single monitor set up to see how it compares or did i miss something

 

That was a GTX 465 not a 460.

 

As for the single monitor testing:

 

The HD 5970 Black Edition Limited in itself didn’t have any real issues to report, though when it came to the bundled adapters I was a little disappointed. This was due to three of the six adapters having a different connection type, which could make it hard to setup six monitors with the included adapters. Also, since all the DVI adapters are all single-link this card does not support resolutions beyond 1920x1200 out-of-the-box. Depending on your needs this could create a situation where additional funds are needed to get the correct cable(s), and when shelling out $1200 you really just want it all to be included.

 

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/xfx_hd5970_be_limited/18.htm

[Lhiannon]

An observation. Chris mentions that a selling point would be that the card pulls air through it and disperses it out of the rear of the case, thus keeping it cooler in your case. As I understand it, the fan will draw air in through it's top opening, and then disperse it in both directions through the shroud of the card, thus cooling both pcb's. Given that, at least half of the hot air involved WILL be vented into the case, as it exits the card on the opposite end from the adapters. Am I incorrect here?

 

It's a minor thing, to be sure.

[DeathNote]

I would LOVE to have one of these, but I really dont have $1200 to put out

[Boinker]

Just for my curiousity what kind of meter are you using to measure the power consumption of the cards, are you measuring at the front of the power supply or are you measureing at the video card connector? or is there another method used?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Boinker.

[jlqrb]

Just for my curiousity what kind of meter are you using to measure the power consumption of the cards, are you measuring at the front of the power supply or are you measureing at the video card connector? or is there another method used?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Boinker.

 

I used a P3 Kill A Watt reader connected to the PSU, so the wattage in the graphs is for the whole system.

[bilcliff]

That was a GTX 465 not a 460.

 

As for the single monitor testing:

 

The HD 5970 Black Edition Limited in itself didn’t have any real issues to report, though when it came to the bundled adapters I was a little disappointed. This was due to three of the six adapters having a different connection type, which could make it hard to setup six monitors with the included adapters. Also, since all the DVI adapters are all single-link this card does not support resolutions beyond 1920x1200 out-of-the-box. Depending on your needs this could create a situation where additional funds are needed to get the correct cable(s), and when shelling out $1200 you really just want it all to be included.

 

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/xfx_hd5970_be_limited/18.htm

i was referring to the last 2 graphs in the power consumption. the very dark blue bar is labeled "null" and the light blue bar is labeled ASUS GTX 460 TOP and shows 630W which is more than a stock 5970 at full load not to mention nearly double the Watts of a stock 460 at full load.

 

by single monitor testing i was meaning benching the 5970 BE using a single monitor vs single monitor on all the other cards. im assuming that the 5760x1080 is 3? monitor and and 5670x2160 is 6 monitors. but for all the other resolutions (1280x1024, 1680x1050, 1920x1200, 2500x1600) theres no bar for the 5970BE? somehow i think i'm missing something. probably due to me not fully understanding what's single link dvi (i know what a dvi connection is)

[jlqrb]

i was referring to the last 2 graphs in the power consumption. the very dark blue bar is labeled "null" and the light blue bar is labeled ASUS GTX 460 TOP and shows 630W which is more than a stock 5970 at full load not to mention nearly double the Watts of a stock 460 at full load.

 

by single monitor testing i was meaning benching the 5970 BE using a single monitor vs single monitor on all the other cards. im assuming that the 5760x1080 is 3? monitor and and 5670x2160 is 6 monitors. but for all the other resolutions (1280x1024, 1680x1050, 1920x1200, 2500x1600) theres no bar for the 5970BE? somehow i think i'm missing something. probably due to me not fully understanding what's single link dvi (i know what a dvi connection is)

 

You are right those are mislabeled and I will have an editor fix it. Thanks for bringing it to our attention! The numbers in the graph are correct though and are in the same arrangement as the graph above it.

 

As for the testing we tested in Eyefinity because this is an Eyefinity edition graphics card. However, we wanted people to have a general idea of how the Black Edition Limited would run on a single display so we added charts with another 4GB HD 5970's performance as a reference point.

 

Also Single Link DVI is the same as Dual Link, but it uses less pins for the data signal. Higher resolution screens require the extra pins as do monitors with higher refresh rates (120Hz).

 

[bilcliff]

You are right those are mislabeled and I will have an editor fix it. Thanks for bringing it to our attention! The numbers in the graph are correct though and are in the same arrangement as the graph above it.

 

As for the testing we tested in Eyefinity because this is an Eyefinity edition graphics card. However, we wanted people to have a general idea of how the Black Edition Limited would run on a single display so we added charts with another 4GB HD 5970's performance as a reference point.

i understood the reason for having the eyefinity tests i was just unsure about the usual tests but it all makes sense now. so now i'm going to go back to my corner to sit quietly

 

btw great work. maybe that card can "accidentally get misplaced in a shipping box to australia"

Edited September 9, 2010 by bilcliff

[ccokeman]

You are right those are mislabeled and I will have an editor fix it. Thanks for bringing it to our attention! The numbers in the graph are correct though and are in the same arrangement as the graph above it.

 

As for the testing we tested in Eyefinity because this is an Eyefinity edition graphics card. However, we wanted people to have a general idea of how the Black Edition Limited would run on a single display so we added charts with another 4GB HD 5970's performance as a reference point.

 

Also Single Link DVI is the same as Dual Link, but it uses less pins for the data signal. Higher resolution screens require the extra pins as do monitors with higher refresh rates (120Hz).

 

 

 

Fixed!