Tried it: Radeon HD 6790 vs. GeForce GTX 550 Ti OC - lightning test!

Our test configuration included the following elements:

• Motherboard:
  • GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD4P (BIOS: F13)
• Processor:
  • Intel Core i7 920 2,66 GHz @ 3,6 GHz (200 × 18)
• Processor cooler:
  • Scythe Ninja 2 Rev B
• Memory:
  • Kingston HyperX T1 1600 MHz 9-9-9-24 2 × 2 GB 1,65 V
• Mass storage:
  • Kingston SSD Now V Series 64 GB SATA2 (SNV425-S2 / 64)
  • Samsung 320 GB SATA2 (HD322HJ)
• Video cards:
  • GeForce GTX 550 Ti OC (Leadtek WinFast GTX 550 Ti OC 1 GB GDDR5)
  • Radeon HD 6790 OC (HIS 6790 IceQ X Turbo 1 GB GDDR5)
• Power supply: Xigmatek NRP-HC1501 1500 W
• Software environment:
  • Windows 7 RTM 64 bit Ultimate ENG + updates
  • Intel INF 9.1.1.1019
  • NVIDIA GeForce 270.61 WHQL x64
  • AMD Catalyst 11.5 WHQL × 64 + AMD Media Codec Package (AVIVO)
  • Realtek HD Audio 2.58 Driver
• Display: ASUS 24T1 TV Monitor

Test configuration settings:

Core i7 920 @ 3600 MHz + Kingston HyperX T1 1600 MHz CL8 + GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD4P

Delivered WinFast GTX 550 Ti OC 1 GB GDDR5

HIS 6790 IceQ X Turbo 1 GB GDDR5

Using graphics drivers:

Before describing the results of the tests, we need to clarify how we performed them. For the synthetic measurements (3DMark11, 3DMark Vantage (PhysX off /, Unigine Heaven Benchmark), neither the GeForce driver nor the Catalyst settings were checked, everything ran according to the factory configuration. However, after the synthetic measurements, we manually turned on the 16 × anisotropic filtering for both drives for the games, because in many applications this is not possible from the program, but we felt its presence was necessary for the measurements.

Consumption and heating measurement:

Opponents were also subjected to consumption and warm-up measurements. The appetite of the cards was examined with a wattmeter by recording the value of no-load consumption at rest under Windows, this time we tested the systems with Blu-ray and Furmark running at load. During all measurements, we tried to form an approximate average from the data seen, but since these are not measurements performed under laboratory conditions, they are for information only. Afterburner 2.0.1 was used to monitor temperature values, load levels, and fan speeds, monitoring was performed after a brief period of rest during the FurMark load phase, and then the cards were allowed to cool.

In terms of consumption, it has been proven that the HD 6790 has an appetite under heavy load, but it is not dangerous, as under GT load, the GTX 550 Ti ate more than it did. When unloaded, the two models consume virtually the same amount, with the GeForce GTX 550 Ti proving to be more economical during Blu-ray playback.

Examination of the clocks, temperature data, load and fan speed of the cards working in the configurations:

Delivered WinFast GTX 550 Ti OC 1 GB GDDR5

HIS 6790 IceQ X Turbo 1 GB GDDR5

List of applications used in the test:

• CPU-Z 1.56
• GPU-Z 0.5.3
• FurMark 1.8.2
• 3Dmark Vantage 1.0.2
• 3DMark11 1.1
• Unigine Heaven Benchmark 2.1
• Cyberlink MediaEspresso 6.5
• FRAMBUFFER Benchmark Tool 0.33
• Crysis Warhead 1.1
• Far Cry 2 1.03
• Alien versus Predator Benchmark Tool 1.03
• F1 2010 1.1th
• STALKER - Call of Pripyat Benchmark 1.6.00
• Battlefield - Bad Company 1.2
• Tom Clancy's HawX 2 demo benchmark b_v1.04
• Metro 2033 Benchmark Tool 1.02