AMD has introduced Radeon HD 6800 series cards

Friday was about the new Radeons, the cover has been removed from the HD 6850 and 6870 cards, which are blessed with second-generation DX 11 support and 40nm GPUs dubbed Barts. Some reputable manufacturers were reluctant to present their own ideas either.

The Radeon HD 6850 will take up two seats in our machine, drawing extra power through its 6-pin PCIe connector, 960 Stream Processor, 48 texturing units, 256-bit memory interface, 1GB GDDR5 VRAM, 775MHz GPU and 4000MHz memory has a clock signal. Connectors include dual-DVI, HDMI 1.4 and two mini DisplayPort 1.2. Furthermore, dedicated UVD 3 helps with video recording, supports CrossFire, and thanks to HD3D technology, we can also run 3D games. It starts at $ 179.

The Radeon HD 6870 has similar specifications, but in contrast to its little brother, it has two 6-pin connectors, an 1120 Stream Processor, 56 texturing units, a GPU / memory clock of 900/4200 MHz. Its suggested retail price is $ 239.

Gigabyte

Gigabyte has replaced the reference cooling with a solution called WindForces, which uses two fans and two heat pipes to avoid overheating.

The GV-R685D5-1GD and GV-R687D5-1GD-B, i.e. HD 6850 and 6870, match the factory solution in clock signals. The former is priced at $ 180, the latter at $ 240. It seems like an absolutely good buy, as the recommended consumer price is not exceeded, but we get individual cooling for our money.

Sapphire

The Sapphire HD 6850 also works with a 960 Stream Processor, 1GB of GDDR5 memory and a 775/4000 MHz GPU / memory clock. An HDMI, a DisplayPort and two DVI outputs come with the card for $ 180. Apparently, the manufacturer did not change the reference solution.

The HD 6870 GPU has a clock speed of 900 MHz and 1GB of memory running at 4200 MHz, with 1120 Stream Processors. Outputs include dual-DVI, HDMI 1.4a and two mini DisplayPort 1.2. Whoever chooses to pay $ 240 for it.

PowerColor

PowerColor did not delay the release of its 6800 cards either, they immediately asked for three cards.

Their two 6850 cards have been individually cooled, the cheaper $ 180 version has nothing surprising on the 775MHz GPU clock, but the 1GB of memory is ticking at 4200MHz. While the more expensive, Premium Edition GPU has a clock speed of 800 MHz, the memory clock is the same as the other solution, i.e. 4200 MHz. For this speed, PowerColor could not break the cooling either, we get a four-tube ZEROtherm cooler for our money, unfortunately the latter has not yet been quantified how much should be left in stores for it. Dual-DVI, HDMI and Display ports were added to the cards.

The big brother was a bit neglected by the manufacturer, we get a complete reference solution with 1120 Stream Processor with 900/4200 MHz clock signals. For $ 240, you get the standard dual-DVI, HDMI and two mini DisplayPorts.

XFX

However, the XFX did not touch the clocks and mounted its own heatsink on both of its cards. The cards, of course, have DX 11 support, a Barts GPU, a 256-bit interface, and 1GB of GDDR5 VRAM. The Radeon HD 6870 (HD-687A-ZNFC) is ticking at 900/4200 MHz, priced at $ 280, while the HD 775 (HD-4000X-ZNFC) running at 6850/685 MHz is available for $ 210. We certainly have to pay for the XFX logo and cooling, and the tests will reveal how much the investment is worth.

HIS

The two cards just introduced by Hightech Information System are also equipped with a 40nm Barts GPU, DirectX 11 support, a 256-bit memory interface and 1GB of memory.

The names of the HD 6850 Fan and HD 6870 Fan are pretty telltale, as they try to draw attention to their unique double-seat cooler, but other than that, the two cards offer nothing extra. The former runs on a 775/4000 MHz clock, has two DVI, one HDMI and one Display Port outputs. The 900/4200 MHz of the older brother is not surprising either, the standard dual-DVI, HDMI, and two mini DisplayPorts are on the card. There is no information about their prices yet, but short experience shows there will not be much deviation from the recommended factory values.

MSI

To date, only MSI cards remain, of course, this does not mean that other manufacturers will not introduce the HD 6800 series, as Asus, Club 3D, Diamond Multimedia, Force3D solutions are yet to come. However, MSI thought there would be no delay, the fully reference Radeon HD 6870 (R6870-2PM2D1GD5) was accompanied by a custom Radeon HD 90 (R6850-PM6850D2GD1) with a 5mm PWM valve and two copper heat pipes.

Manufacturers seem to prefer the smaller model for now, though in most cases it's just cooling, now there's no other way for the HD 6850 GPU / memory clock 775/4000 MHz, 960 Stream Processor, a 6-pin PCIe power connector, dual-DVI , HDMI and DisplayPort.

The MSI HD 6870 is the same as the other 6870 in everything except it costs $ 280. Which, compared to the fact that the card doesn’t offer anything plus, might be called a draw.