ATI Radeon Eyefinity6 2GB Video Card at 5760 x 1200

The Eyefinity6 that we've known about for months is finally here. Let's check it out at 5760 x 1200.

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Manufacturer: Game.AMD
14 minutes & 25 seconds read time

Introduction




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Eyefinity6 is finally here and with word now coming out that the HD 5870 is officially going to have 2GB of GDDR5 from some partners, we're not 100% sure how the Eyefinity6 model is going to go.

The chances are that you already know about the model and you know a fair bit about what it's capable of. Really, we saw the Eyefinity card on offer by ATI when the original HD 5870 launched last year, but the big question was, why didn't we see the card released then instead of months later?

It seemed to be driver related and an issue with the six monitors working together. While we'd seen a fair bit of footage on the cards running games on six monitors, it tended to be the same game. While we'll probably never know the full story, it's possible that maybe there were issues with other games.

We'll be taking a bit of a different approach to this review and making it a bit more of an article due to the fact that we haven't received an active Dual-Link DVI adapter which in turn has made it impossible to test at 2560 x 1600. Instead we're going to look at Eyefinity performance with three monitors against a couple of other ATI offerings.

Since the card we're looking at is a reference one from ATI, there's no bundle to look at so we'll get into the card itself and check out the specifications of the model.

The Card and Specifications


The Card

When you have a look at the card you shouldn't see anything that you haven't really seen before. We've got the big black cooler that covers the card from top to bottom and side to side with the red line that runs down the middle of it.

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On the right hand side we've got our fan which is designed to help push cool air across the GPU and straight out the back of the card.

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Having a look around the card, you will see our power connectors at the back of the card; this is one of the first things you may notice that is different to the standard HD 5870. While we have two power connectors, unlike the HD 5870 which has two 6-Pin power connectors, this model is similar to the HD 5970 which carries a single 6-Pin and 8-Pin power connector.

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As far as Crossfire support goes, you can see the two connectors across the top of the card.

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The I/O department is where the biggest changes are seen when compared to all the other cards we've seen on the market. We've got 6 Mini DisplayPorts which in conjunction with a Mini DisplayPort-to-DisplayPort connector support up to six monitors.


Specifications

The Eyefinity6 is essentially a 2GB version of the HD 5870 and for that reason we see the card carries with it the same 850MHz core clock that is seen on the HD 5870.

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One of the big selling points on the model is of course the 2GB of memory. While doubled over the standard HD 5870, it does carry with it the same 1200MHz clock or 4800MHz QDR.

Test System Setup and 3DMark Vantage


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We would like to thank the following companies for supplying and supporting us with our test system hardware and equipment: Intel, ASRock, Kingston, Western Digital, Noctua and Thermaltake.

Today the benchmark line-up won't be as large as it normally is. Instead we'll be testing three cards at 5760 x 1200 in the games we normally test with to see how performance is.

The first will be of course the Eyefinity6; the other two cards will be the standard HD 5870 and the HD 5970 which is what I use to drive my own Eyefinity setup.

We have included 3DMark Vantage as a jumping point just so you can see where the models sit. Once you've made your way through the benchmarks you'll be able to find a number of pictures that were taken with the monitors when running Eyefinity. Actual pictures give you a bit of a better idea of the setup as opposed to just screen shots.

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.

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Here we can see the extra memory really does nothing for performance with the two HD 5870 based cards, performing almost identical to each other with just a bit of fluctuation being the difference.

Benchmarks - BattleForge


BattleForge

Version and / or Patch Used: Auto Patched at Load
Timedemo or Level Used: Built-in Test
Developer Homepage: http://www.battleforge.com/
Product Homepage: http://www.battleforge.com/





The Gods have disappeared and the old sun has died, letting a vile twilight engulf the world of Nyn. In exchange for all treasures the mortals possessed, the evil giants agreed to forge a new sun and hurl it into the sky.

But the deal was betrayed, the treasure stolen and now the mortals flee the wrath of the giants. Under the light of a new sun the mortals stumble into a world changed and twisted by an age of twilight. The long journey home has become a conquest of survival.

Note: Supporting DirectX 11 we have seperated the graphs for NVIDIA and ATI cards. While the numbers between the two brands can be compared you have to make note that ATI based HD 5000 series cards are running DirectX 11.

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Even at this high resolution we can see the extra memory doesn't do anything extra for performance. More importantly, though, when we don't have a minimum the average we want to look for is around 60 FPS. As you can see, the HD 5870 and Eyefinity6 card are a fair distance from this, while the HD 5970 doesn't have any trouble breaking it.

Benchmarks - Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X.


Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X.

Version and / or Patch Used: Benchmark Demo
Timedemo or Level Used: Built-in Test
Developer Homepage: http://www.ubi.com/UK/default.aspx
Product Homepage: http://www.hawxgame.com/





Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X is an arcade-style flight simulator video game developed by Ubisoft Romania and published by Ubisoft for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and iPhone OS.

The fundamental gameplay mechanics are similar to those of other console-based flight series. Players take on enemies with over 50 aircraft available. Each mission is at real world locations in environments created with commercial satellite data. A cockpit, first person, and third person view are selectable. The third person view gives the player an external view of both their plane and the target.

Set above the skies of a near-future world, increasingly dependent on private military companies with elite mercenaries who have a relaxed view on the law. As these non-governmental organizations gain power, global conflict erupts with one powerful PMC attacking the United States.

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H.A.W.X. is one of the main games that ATI have shown us on 6 monitors. Using only three monitors at 5760 x 1200, you can see that again the card struggles to hit that 60 FPS mark, while the HD 5970 has no issues.

Again, though, we can see even with all the pixels we're pushing the extra memory doesn't impact performance.

Benchmarks - Darkest of Days


Darkest of Days

Version and / or Patch Used: 1.4
Timedemo or Level Used: Built-in Test
Developer Homepage: http://www.darkestofdays.com/index.php
Product Homepage: http://www.darkestofdays.com/index.php





Darkest of Days takes the player through time into historic battles in an effort to save key individuals from certain death. The battles range from Custer's Last Stand at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876 to fighting in Pompeii as ash and fire rain down from an erupting Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. Other locations include the battles of Antietam and Tannenberg, and a German World War II P.O.W. camp. There are different missions in every time period and the game takes about 4 hours to complete.

The game features over twenty weapons, both from the original time period as well as those brought back from the future. In addition, there are artillery weapons from different time periods to assist in battle.

Note: With the PhysX set to Medium or High Darkest of Days take advantage of the NVIDIA PhysX abilities. For that reason we will test ATI cards at the Low preset, NVIDIA based cards though will be tested at Low and High.

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Darkest of Days hates Crossfire and for that reason we see the HD 5970 falls behind the pack. As for the HD 5870 and Eyefinity6 card, both models are close to that 60 FPS mark with the Eyefinity6 able to pull out a 1 FPS win for the first time.

Benchmarks - Far Cry 2


Far Cry 2

Version and / or Patch Used: 1.01
Timedemo or Level Used: Ranch Long
Developer Homepage: http://www.ubi.com/
Product Homepage: http://www.farcry2.com/
Buy It Here




The Dunia Engine was built specifically for Far Cry 2 by the award-winning Ubisoft Montreal development team. It delivers the most realistic destructible environments, amazing special effects such as dynamic fire propagation and storm effects, real-time night-and-day cycle, dynamic music system, non-scripted enemy A.I. and so much more.

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Firing up Far Cry 2, we've got our first game in which we have a minimum to deal with. You can clearly see that the HD 5870 and Eyefinity6 cards both score the same, but more importantly the minimum we're seeing is a good chunk below that 30 FPS area we want to see.

The HD 5970 on the other hand offers us a minimum of 38 FPS which is fantastic. More importantly, though, it's the difference between the game being playable at this resolution and not.

Benchmarks - Batman Arkham Asylum


Batman Arkham Asylum

Version and / or Patch Used: 1.1
Timedemo or Level Used: Built-in Test
Developer Homepage: http://www.batmanarkhamasylum.com/
Product Homepage: http://www.batmanarkhamasylum.com/





Batman: Arkham Asylum exposes players to a unique, dark and atmospheric adventure that takes them to the depths of Arkham Asylum - Gotham's psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane. Gamers will move in the shadows, instigate fear amongst their enemies and confront The Joker and Gotham City's most notorious villains who have taken over the asylum.

Using a wide range of Batman's gadgets and abilities, players will become the invisible predator and attempt to foil The Joker's demented scheme.
Batman: Arkham Asylum features an original story penned exclusively for the game by famous Batman author and five-time Emmy award winner Paul Dini, whose credits include Lost season one and Batman: The Animated Series.

Note: With support for PhysX NVIDIA based cards will be tested with the technology on and off, ATI cards will be tested with the technology off due to it not being supported on their cards.

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Batman AA isn't only a great looking game, but runs extremely well on most cards. While we're seeing some of the lowest numbers to date from the game due to the massive resolution, it's clear that all three cards make the game playable.

As for the difference between the HD 5870 and Eyefinity6 model with twice the amount of memory, we've got a 1 FPS difference in favor of the Eye6 in the average department.

Benchmarks - Dark Void


Dark Void

Version and / or Patch Used: Benchmark Demo
Timedemo or Level Used: Built-in Test
Developer Homepage: http://www.airtightgames.com
Product Homepage: http://www.darkvoidgame.com/




The game's story takes place during World War II and centers around a cargo pilot named William Augustus Grey (voiced by Nolan North) who is teleported to another world while flying through the Bermuda Triangle. In this world, known as the 'Void', Will encounters an alien race as well as other humans, which are known as the Watchers and the Survivors respectively.

Will reluctantly joins the Survivors who are engaged in a feud with the alien race to satisfy his desire to return to Earth. While aiding the Survivors, Will discovers that the Void is a middle ground that connects both the Watchers homeworld and Earth. It also becomes apparent that the Watchers are supplying the Axis powers with various supplies for reasons unknown. With the help of Nikola Tesla, Will utilizes retrofited Watcher technology to combat the Watchers and eventually find a way to escape the Void.

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Dark Void runs great on these higher end cards and again you see the game get playable FPS on all cards here. There's a bit of movement in the minimum department between all the cards, but you can clearly see the averages are almost identical across the board.

The problem we had with Dark Void was it didn't want to make use of all our screens when it came to running the game at 5760 x 1200. You'll be able to see what we mean in a couple of pages when we show you some pics.

Temperature and Sound Tests


Temperature Tests



With the TES 1326 Infrared Thermometer literally in hand we found ourselves getting real-world temperatures from the products we test at load (3D clock speeds).

There are two places we pull temperature from - the back of the card directly behind the core and if the card is dual slot and has an exhaust point we also pull a temperate from there, as seen in the picture.

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Compared to the standard HD 5870 the card does run a little warmer.


Sound Tests



Pulling out the TES 1350A Sound Level Meter we find ourselves quickly yelling into the top of it to see how loud we can be.

After five minutes of that we get a bit more serious and place the device two CM away from the fan on the card to find the maximum noise level of the card when idle (2D mode) and in load (3D mode).

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Noise is also slightly up but it's nothing that's too worrying.

Power Consumption Tests






Using our new PROVA Power Analyzer WM-01 or "Power Thingy" as it has become quickly known as to our readers, we are now able to find out what kind of power is being used by our test system and the associated graphics cards installed. Keep in mind; it tests the complete system (minus LCD monitor, which is plugged directly into AC wall socket).

There are a few important notes to remember though; while our maximum power is taken in 3DMark06 at the same exact point, we have seen in particular tests the power being drawn as much as 10% more. We test at the exact same stage every time; therefore tests should be very consistent and accurate.

The other thing to remember is that our test system is bare minimum - only a 7,200RPM SATA-II single hard drive is used without CD ROM or many cooling fans.

So while the system might draw 400 watts in our test system, placing it into your own PC with a number of other items, the draw is going to be higher.

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Idle power draw on the Eyefinity6 model is the highest out of the batch. Again, though, it's nothing we'd be worried about. As for load power, it's again up compared to the HD 5870, but nothing that is going to affect most people.

Dark Void and Batman AA Pictures


Dark Void

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ATI Radeon Eyefinity6 2GB Video Card at 5760 x 1200 51


ATI Radeon Eyefinity6 2GB Video Card at 5760 x 1200 52


ATI Radeon Eyefinity6 2GB Video Card at 5760 x 1200 53



Batman AA

ATI Radeon Eyefinity6 2GB Video Card at 5760 x 1200 54


ATI Radeon Eyefinity6 2GB Video Card at 5760 x 1200 55


ATI Radeon Eyefinity6 2GB Video Card at 5760 x 1200 56


ATI Radeon Eyefinity6 2GB Video Card at 5760 x 1200 57

Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. and Darkest of Days Pictures


Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X.

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ATI Radeon Eyefinity6 2GB Video Card at 5760 x 1200 59


ATI Radeon Eyefinity6 2GB Video Card at 5760 x 1200 60


ATI Radeon Eyefinity6 2GB Video Card at 5760 x 1200 61



Darkest of Days

ATI Radeon Eyefinity6 2GB Video Card at 5760 x 1200 62


ATI Radeon Eyefinity6 2GB Video Card at 5760 x 1200 63


ATI Radeon Eyefinity6 2GB Video Card at 5760 x 1200 64


ATI Radeon Eyefinity6 2GB Video Card at 5760 x 1200 65

BattleForge and Far Cry 2 Pictures


BattleForge

ATI Radeon Eyefinity6 2GB Video Card at 5760 x 1200 66


ATI Radeon Eyefinity6 2GB Video Card at 5760 x 1200 67


ATI Radeon Eyefinity6 2GB Video Card at 5760 x 1200 68


ATI Radeon Eyefinity6 2GB Video Card at 5760 x 1200 69



Far Cry 2

ATI Radeon Eyefinity6 2GB Video Card at 5760 x 1200 70


ATI Radeon Eyefinity6 2GB Video Card at 5760 x 1200 71


ATI Radeon Eyefinity6 2GB Video Card at 5760 x 1200 72


ATI Radeon Eyefinity6 2GB Video Card at 5760 x 1200 73

Final Thoughts




Personally I feel that the way ATI have done the 6 monitor card is wrong. For starters, you can see that when using only three monitors in a gaming environment we more often than not see the Eyefinity6 model not offering us playable frame rates at 5760 x 1200. Now, you throw another three monitors into the mix and double the amount of pixels the card has to push and most games are going to come down to a crawl.

I'll ignore the fact for just a moment that ATI seem to push Eyefinity as 99% gaming and 1% productivity and say from a productivity perspective that these cards now just seem overkill.

If you're in financing or any other area which requires a huge amount of desktop real estate it seems pointless to pay HD 5870 money when you're not ever going to make use of the graphical power on offer.

Today we should've been looking at two Eye6 cards; one based on the HD 5700 series and the other based on the HD 5970. One for business which will carry a cheaper cost and one for gamers which will offer a higher cost, but more performance.

It seems I'm not the only one who thinks this, though, because PowerColor recently released an Eyefinity 5 version of the HD 5770. It doesn't carry with it massive amounts of memory or anything too crazy; it carries with it what it needs to carry; 5 mini DisplayPorts. You can check out our news post on it here. You may find yourself wondering why the card only carries 5 connectors and not 6; our understanding is it's actually a limitation to the HD 5770. We're not sure if companies are going to be able to get around it, but the chances are probably not. It's still a good step up from the standard three monitor support seen on all other HD 5770s.

On the higher end front we saw pictures of a special Eyefinity Black Edition of the HD 5970 from XFX at Cebit here. The fact it's from XFX and is labeled as a Black Edition means you're going to pay more than you should for it, but more importantly it shows us that it's possible to have a Eyefinity6 version of the HD 5970.

So why didn't we see these models 6 months ago instead of this one based on the single GPU HD 5870? The chances are because it's probably extremely hard to make these cards. We're sure that for ATI it wasn't just a matter of replacing DVI and HDMI ports with Mini DisplayPorts. The biggest reason for delays seems to be drivers and it would've been no doubt easier to concentrate on one model instead of two. This is probably the same reason we didn't see the HD 5970 get the treatment initially; throwing a second GPU into the mix would make the job even harder for ATI.

What it seems is that now they've got the Eyefinity6 driver sorted, probably only small amounts of tweaking need to be done to get the 6 monitor setup working on other models; or in the case of the PowerColor HD 5770, 5 monitors.

On the topic of Eyefinity, I love this technology and for me it has been flawless. In saying that, there are plenty of people out there who have or are having issues, but it's clear that Eyefinity is a strong focus for ATI these days; and for good reason.

While initially I did very little gaming on my Eyefinity setup when I got it in December, a few months on I've played Counter Strike: Source, World of Warcraft, Napoleon Total War, Aliens vs Predator, MLB 2K10 and my favorite game at the moment, Battlefield Bad Company 2 and I've loved every minute of it.

The most common complaint I hear about Eyefinity setups from people who don't actually have or use the technology is that it would be such a pain constantly having to swing your head side to side looking at the side monitors.

After playing heaps of BF BC2 online, I have to say that you don't constantly look to the side of the monitors. So what I'm saying is that they're not used? Absolutely not; you use the side monitors with your peripheral vision; the amount of times I've been sitting there as a sniper and seen an enemy try to come flank me from the sides, I see that bit of movement of the corner of my eye and think to myself "Oh knowz! I can see youz on my side monitorz" before I turn to them and give them a bullet between the eyes.

We constantly see things in the corner of our eyes; it's just that little bit of movement we see in the corner of our eye on another monitor that let us know something is going on over there. Plus our eyes don't stay in one position; once you've noticed the enemy you can just roll your eyes to the sides as you move the mouse over to line them up on your middle monitor.

From a productivity perspective as well, don't even get me started; moving from a single 30" to a Eyefinity 24" setup has been fantastic. I even had a dual 30" setup at one stage, but the issue with that is as soon as you want to game, the bezel down the middle is impossible to work with and in turn you need to disable one of the monitors.

Eyefinity lets you have your cake and eat it, too. While it's not for everyone, if you've got the money and the room, it's a fantastic setup. To have a closer look at my own Eyefinity setup, I recommend checking out the Proluma Triple Monitor stand review here.

Once we've got an Active adapter as well, expect a full review on the Eyefinity6 card at 1680 x 1050 to 2560 x 1600 which will no doubt be soon.

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Shawn takes care of all of our video card reviews. From 2009, Shawn is also taking care of our memory reviews, and from May 2011, Shawn also takes care of our CPU, chipset and motherboard reviews. As of December 2011, Shawn is based out of Taipei, Taiwan.

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