Test System Setup

Processor(s): Intel Core i7 920 @ 3.8GHz (190MHz x 20)
Cooling: Noctua NH-U12P (Supplied by Noctua)
Motherboard(s): GIGABYTE EX58-UD5 (Supplied by GIGABYTE)
Memory: 3 X 2GB Kingston Hyper X PC3-16000 2000MHz DDR CL9 (Supplied by Kingston)
Hard Disk(s): Western Digital 300GB Velicorapter (Supplied by Western Digital)
Operating System: Windows 7
Drivers: Catalyst 9.10, Catalyst 9.10 5700 Series Beta, Catalyst 9.11

Not mentioned in the new features section, but no doubt still important, is the fact that the new Catalyst 9.11 drivers now offer support for the HD 5700 series which was something that wasn't included in the 9.10s. In saying that, there was a 5700 series beta of the 9.10s which did offer support, for which reason we've used that driver for the HD 5770 which is now included.

Also included in the new and improved Windows 7 lineup is the HD 5850 and HD 5870. What would've also been included if the 9.11 drivers supported it is the HD 5970. It's disappointing to see that the new driver doesn't support the new model, but it's something we're becoming accustomed to. For now people will probably find themselves using the driver that came with the card.

While we don't doubt that some people are going to have issues with the fact that the HD 4000 series cards are no longer included and that Vista is gone, I learnt a long time ago that you can't please everyone. We're sure that ATI will now shift their focus to supporting the new HD 5000 series models and for that reason it's what we want to concentrate on.

Finally, before we get everything moving I just want to let you know that when you look through the graphs and you see only two lines for the HD 5770 with 2560 x 1600 tests being empty, it's not a mistake. Since 2560 x 1600 isn't really an option for the model, we chose to skip it. It's also the reason the HD 5770 isn't included in our AA tests. What this ultimately lets me do is test the drivers faster and really not waste anyone's time with a result that moves from say 3.2 FPS to 3.8 FPS.

Let's get started!

3DMark Vantage

Version and / or Patch Used: 1.0.1
Developer Homepage: http://www.futuremark.com
Product Homepage: http://www.futuremark.com/products/3dmarkvantage/
Buy It Here

3DMark Vantage is the new industry standard PC gaming performance benchmark from Futuremark, newly designed for Windows Vista and DirectX10. It includes two new graphics tests, two new CPU tests, several new feature tests, and support for the latest hardware.

3DMark Vantage is based on a completely new rendering engine, developed specifically to take full advantage of DirectX10, the new graphics API from Microsoft.

HD 5770 - Here we see no real change.

HD 5850 - Here we see no real change.

HD 5870 - It seems that the HD 5870 owners are going to get a bump in their Performance 3DMark Vantage score.