Powercolor Radeon HD 5970 2GB Graphics Card Review @ DH

Zardon · Nov 18, 2009, 04:51 AM

Read The Review Here
_______________
Today we will be taking a look at the Powercolor Radeon HD 5970 2GB and putting it through its paces in a selection of real world gaming tests, including the recently released Modern Warfare 2. In addition to this we will cover GPU computing and high definition playback as well as having a play with the surprise inclusion of an official voltage tweaking tool. This little application may well make this product a favourite with enthusiasts who want to get the most from their purchase.

Cow_160483 · Nov 18, 2009, 04:52 AM

Ohhoooo its out am going to read it right now

Quote:

For anyone on 1680x1050, 1920x1080 or 1920x1200 the 5970 will handle anything thrown at it, regardless of the settings.

This makes me want to jump up for joy

**kris23** · Nov 18, 2009, 05:25 AM

its here..... its really here....

i could feel tears of joy flowing down on the inside.....

those results are amazing..... thank you Stuart and Allan for the work put into this...

it looks like i cant get this right as it comes out.... spent some money due to unforseen circumstances...... lol wouldve had enough money had i not bought my liquid cooling system..... but i will collect money from a few accounts to buy it within a few days........ IT SHALL BE MINE!!!!!!!

SeraphicSorcerer · Nov 18, 2009, 07:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kris23

its here..... its really here....

i could feel tears of joy flowing down on the inside.....

those results are amazing..... thank you Stuart and Allan for the work put into this...

it looks like i cant get this right as it comes out.... spent some money due to unforseen circumstances...... lol wouldve had enough money had i not bought my liquid cooling system..... but i will collect money from a few accounts to buy it within a few days........ IT SHALL BE MINE!!!!!!!

*slaps kris* now go and get it!!!

I really like the extra effort in the review, the mockups, the advice, the overclocks, the graphs, high quality review my friends, and yes now I WANT ONE!!!

ET3D · Nov 18, 2009, 07:21 AM

Thanks for the review. I like the new min fps graphs.

BlueMak · Nov 18, 2009, 08:17 AM

Well done! Great review! I agree 100% with what was said. This is a excellent product, apart from the stubbornness of AMD with the cooling option.
This is the card to get.

asedsa · Nov 18, 2009, 08:19 AM

Great review DH, you are the best.

I am very happy to see that AMD finally won Nvidia.

Competition on GPU market is the best thing for us ordinary people.

Best Regards.

BlueMak · Nov 18, 2009, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by asedsa

Great review DH, you are the best.

I am very happy to see that AMD finally won Nvidia.

Competition on GPU market is the best thing for us ordinary people.

Best Regards.

I agree, although the 4870X2 did well too when it was released...

Cow_160483 · Nov 18, 2009, 08:43 AM

The only complaint it the naming system they should have just stuck with X2, but i doubt any real enthusiast will mess up when deciding to buy one

clanman · Nov 18, 2009, 09:10 AM

wow what a card, but the price of $600 is a bit scary, probably costs more than half of my PC !

Awesome review guys, best one ive read this morning.

Mourgolikos · Nov 18, 2009, 09:59 AM

Nice review! And even nicer card!

I liked the new min fps graphs.

The 5970 looks huge, very huge!
424 fps at CoD:MW2 lol!
I feel Crysis only this time is truly playable at 1920x1200 will full settings!
The overclock potential is amazing!
And it's temperatures are good.
BUT 599$ is almost a half new mid-range pc including and a new monitor lol!

I would like to see a benchmark directly against two 5870 in CF.

isaak · Nov 18, 2009, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mourgolikos

I would like to see a benchmark directly against two 5870 in CF.

and two 5850s in Xfire.

another great review from DH

IvanV · Nov 18, 2009, 12:20 PM

And two 295s in SLI. (joking a bit)

Loved the review.

I was hoping that vapor chamber would help a little more with noise and heat, better luck next time.

blibbax · Nov 18, 2009, 02:00 PM

What? No quad crossfire? :P

Nice review guys. As always though, there's the sense of disapointment that my not so old card is falling so far behind...

As a serial Nv customer, I just hope thy can match this!

Alex · Nov 18, 2009, 02:49 PM

massively impressive set of results, however the asking price is very high and I don't even think its available yet which is concerning. Not like ATI to deliver paper launches.

DJ BIG T · Nov 18, 2009, 03:49 PM

thats one bad mofo but looking at that scoll fan they put on it looks like a joke...

Chaos · Nov 18, 2009, 05:09 PM

very nice review guys. i wonder how my 2 5850's would compare

Zardon · Nov 18, 2009, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chaos

very nice review guys. i wonder how my 2 5850's would compare

probably quite favourably to one 5970.

Zardon · Nov 18, 2009, 05:50 PM

incidentally if anyone is lucky enough to pick up a 5970 please be aware the current version of GPUZ 0.3.6 causes freezing with some partner boards (works fine on the ATI reference board we have but causes lockups on Sapphire and HIS boards we have right now). Same with everest ultimate. This is to do with the ultra low settings the card goes into to save power. Wizzard is working on a new GPUz as we speak.

procupine14 · Nov 18, 2009, 06:17 PM

Well, I can't afford it but I am AMAZED!!!! Man if only I had the money lying around to buy one of these I would!

slugbug · Nov 18, 2009, 06:26 PM

This card is a beast. I only wish the ATI GPU folding client could take advantage of all those stream processors.

Judas · Nov 18, 2009, 07:45 PM

i want it...

but i said i wouldn't get another dual GPU solution UNTIL AMD design and provide a Dual Core GPU solution...

As for the fan layout..

I've mentioned it previous,

Put the damn power connectors between each intake air port, make them larger, and then have 1st gpu fan draw air from the one intack air port and have the 2nd gpu fan draw from air port 2. Make them so both are completely independant and do not "share" the air.

Both fans would run automatically independant of each other and sustain a much MUCH lower temperature and lower RPM...

ET3D · Nov 18, 2009, 09:34 PM

I hope that when the card companies get some time to design something that's not based on the reference board, they'd make shorter 5970 cards. The way I see it, that's the most serious drawback of this card.

**kris23** · Nov 19, 2009, 02:18 AM

dang.... every place is sold out now...... might as well wait for the 5950s....

they were in stock... but taxes and shipping were so high..... so i went to amazon and pre-ordered the sapphire HD 5970 OC..... if it doesnt ship within the next few days.... that sucks

A Desire to Game · Nov 19, 2009, 02:25 AM

I like the DH mock reference cooler. That can't be too difficult for ATi to fabricate.

I think (2) 5850's would be a better deal in the long run. Still have quite a few driver bugs on the 5000 series.

**kris23** · Nov 19, 2009, 02:37 AM

2 5850s?

5850 is $299 2x 5850 is $598

5970 is $599....

5970 is better man...

SeraphicSorcerer · Nov 19, 2009, 02:00 PM

The 5970 Is very reasonably priced. I really want this card. I am going to have to wait til after Christmas though

comp_ali · Nov 19, 2009, 05:11 PM

Thanks for the review for this monster card

I liked the mockup , I want this card but can't afford it

I still don't know why the heck they don't improve cooling on the reference model . Where are their engineers . Aside from that this one is probably the best GPU to get if you care about top notch performance. It is funny how most games in the FPS charts show +100 numeric range on maximum details apart from crysis which has +40 only on 1920*1050.
Also GTX295 best nVidia card yet shows little poor scores compared to 5970 , what does nVidia wait to move on ? a little strange for me.

Chaos · Nov 19, 2009, 05:44 PM

The price is decent when you compare it too a pair of 5850's and even better since it's really 2 5870's with the clocks reduced

Chaos · Nov 19, 2009, 05:57 PM

heads up there is a new GPU-z released today that adds full Hemlock support

Nov 18, 2009, 04:51 AM	#1
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 179	Powercolor Radeon HD 5970 2GB Graphics Card Review @ DH Read The Review Here _______________ Today we will be taking a look at the Powercolor Radeon HD 5970 2GB and putting it through its paces in a selection of real world gaming tests, including the recently released Modern Warfare 2. In addition to this we will cover GPU computing and high definition playback as well as having a play with the surprise inclusion of an official voltage tweaking tool. This little application may well make this product a favourite with enthusiasts who want to get the most from their purchase.

Nov 18, 2009, 05:25 AM	#3
kris23 Going Insane..... Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 6,017 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	Re: Powercolor Radeon HD 5970 2GB Graphics Card Review @ DH its here..... its really here.... i could feel tears of joy flowing down on the inside..... those results are amazing..... thank you Stuart and Allan for the work put into this... it looks like i cant get this right as it comes out.... spent some money due to unforseen circumstances...... lol wouldve had enough money had i not bought my liquid cooling system..... but i will collect money from a few accounts to buy it within a few days........ IT SHALL BE MINE!!!!!!! __________________ Hardwareheaven Super-Moderator Building a new computer system and not sure where to start? Click Here! last updated (5/18/11) Rosewill FUTURE case replaces CM 690 II with its greater interior length. Building a PC: Step by Step Guide Written by Kristopher Pedemonte and Nathan Marks-Forder Edited by Allan Campbell Questions or Comments? feel free to post them in the forums!

Nov 18, 2009, 07:21 AM	#5
ET3D Hopeless Dreamer Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Dreamland, near the pool of infinite graphics cards Posts: 3,057 Rep Power: 105 System Specs	Re: Powercolor Radeon HD 5970 2GB Graphics Card Review @ DH Thanks for the review. I like the new min fps graphs.

Nov 18, 2009, 08:17 AM	#6
BlueMak HH's Asteroids' Dominator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Hellas->Macedonia->Thessaloniki Posts: 13,465 Rep Power: 349 System Specs	Re: Powercolor Radeon HD 5970 2GB Graphics Card Review @ DH Well done! Great review! I agree 100% with what was said. This is a excellent product, apart from the stubbornness of AMD with the cooling option. This is the card to get. __________________ The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm *Sic semper tyrannis.*

Nov 18, 2009, 08:19 AM	#7
asedsa HardwareHeaven Lover Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Bosnia and Herzegovina Posts: 245 Rep Power: 58 System Specs	Re: Powercolor Radeon HD 5970 2GB Graphics Card Review @ DH Great review DH, you are the best. I am very happy to see that AMD finally won Nvidia. Competition on GPU market is the best thing for us ordinary people. Best Regards.

Nov 18, 2009, 08:43 AM	#9
Cow_160483 HH's only cow moooooo... Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: BOTSWANA Posts: 6,813 Rep Power: 300 System Specs	Re: Powercolor Radeon HD 5970 2GB Graphics Card Review @ DH The only complaint it the naming system they should have just stuck with X2, but i doubt any real enthusiast will mess up when deciding to buy one __________________ Decode! Muhahahahah!

Nov 18, 2009, 09:10 AM	#10
clanman DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 152 Rep Power: 33	Re: Powercolor Radeon HD 5970 2GB Graphics Card Review @ DH wow what a card, but the price of $600 is a bit scary, probably costs more than half of my PC ! Awesome review guys, best one ive read this morning.

Nov 18, 2009, 09:59 AM	#11
Mourgolikos HardwareHeaven Addict Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Greece, Salonika Posts: 356 Rep Power: 38 System Specs	Re: Powercolor Radeon HD 5970 2GB Graphics Card Review @ DH Nice review! And even nicer card! I liked the new min fps graphs. The 5970 looks huge, very huge! 424 fps at CoD:MW2 lol! I feel Crysis only this time is truly playable at 1920x1200 will full settings! The overclock potential is amazing! And it's temperatures are good. BUT 599$ is almost a half new mid-range pc including and a new monitor lol! I would like to see a benchmark directly against two 5870 in CF. __________________

Nov 18, 2009, 12:20 PM	#13
IvanV HH Assassin Guild Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 5,912 Rep Power: 333 System Specs	Re: Powercolor Radeon HD 5970 2GB Graphics Card Review @ DH And two 295s in SLI. (joking a bit) Loved the review. I was hoping that vapor chamber would help a little more with noise and heat, better luck next time. __________________ If anyone has Portal 2 and hasn't played the co-op and wants to do me a favour, let me know (PM me or whatever).

Nov 18, 2009, 02:00 PM	#14
blibbax What does this do? Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oxford, UK Posts: 4,220 Rep Power: 251 System Specs	Re: Powercolor Radeon HD 5970 2GB Graphics Card Review @ DH What? No quad crossfire? :P Nice review guys. As always though, there's the sense of disapointment that my not so old card is falling so far behind... As a serial Nv customer, I just hope thy can match this! __________________ Donate the spare computing power of your PC to help to cure Alzheimer's, ALS, Huntington's, Parkinson's disease and cancer: Fold for HH!

Nov 18, 2009, 02:49 PM	#15
Alex Driverheaven Lover Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 260 Rep Power: 45	Re: Powercolor Radeon HD 5970 2GB Graphics Card Review @ DH massively impressive set of results, however the asking price is very high and I don't even think its available yet which is concerning. Not like ATI to deliver paper launches.

Nov 18, 2009, 03:49 PM	#16
DJ BIG T DH FaN BoY Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: ORLANDO,FL Posts: 930 Rep Power: 69 System Specs	Re: Powercolor Radeon HD 5970 2GB Graphics Card Review @ DH thats one bad mofo but looking at that scoll fan they put on it looks like a joke... __________________

Nov 18, 2009, 05:09 PM	#17
Chaos Number Nine Join Date: May 2002 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 5,268 Rep Power: 167 System Specs	Re: Powercolor Radeon HD 5970 2GB Graphics Card Review @ DH very nice review guys. i wonder how my 2 5850's would compare __________________

Nov 18, 2009, 05:50 PM	Thread Starter #19
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 179	Re: Powercolor Radeon HD 5970 2GB Graphics Card Review @ DH incidentally if anyone is lucky enough to pick up a 5970 please be aware the current version of GPUZ 0.3.6 causes freezing with some partner boards (works fine on the ATI reference board we have but causes lockups on Sapphire and HIS boards we have right now). Same with everest ultimate. This is to do with the ultra low settings the card goes into to save power. Wizzard is working on a new GPUz as we speak.

Nov 18, 2009, 06:17 PM	#20
procupine14 Why is it Beeping!?!?! Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: USA, Missouri Posts: 1,400 Rep Power: 58 System Specs	Re: Powercolor Radeon HD 5970 2GB Graphics Card Review @ DH Well, I can't afford it but I am AMAZED!!!! Man if only I had the money lying around to buy one of these I would! __________________ HTPC/file server: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit - AMD Phenom x4 9850 - 4GB OCZ DDR2 800 (2x2GB) - 1TB WD Black - 4 x 1TB Hitachi DeskStar in RAID 5 - ATi TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuner - HIS Raedon 4850 512MB - ASRock N68C-S UCC mobo - OCZ ModExtreme Pro 500W PSU GF's Gaming PC: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit - AMD Phenom 9850 - 4GB OCZ DDR2 1066 - 500GB Western Digital GP - HIS Raedon 5770 1GB - ASUS M3A78-EM - Zalman 650W PSU Media Streamer: Win 7 Pro 64-bit - AMD Athlon x2 3200+ - 4GB SuperTalent DDR2 800 - 250GB SeaGate Barracuda - MSI K9N6PGM2-V2 - ASUS Raedon 5450 SILENT - FSP group 250W PSU

Nov 18, 2009, 06:26 PM	#21
slugbug Going Broke Saving Money Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 571 Rep Power: 70 System Specs	Re: Powercolor Radeon HD 5970 2GB Graphics Card Review @ DH This card is a beast. I only wish the ATI GPU folding client could take advantage of all those stream processors.

Nov 18, 2009, 09:34 PM	#23
ET3D Hopeless Dreamer Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Dreamland, near the pool of infinite graphics cards Posts: 3,057 Rep Power: 105 System Specs	Re: Powercolor Radeon HD 5970 2GB Graphics Card Review @ DH I hope that when the card companies get some time to design something that's not based on the reference board, they'd make shorter 5970 cards. The way I see it, that's the most serious drawback of this card.

Nov 19, 2009, 02:18 AM	#24
kris23 Going Insane..... Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 6,017 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	Re: Powercolor Radeon HD 5970 2GB Graphics Card Review @ DH dang.... every place is sold out now...... might as well wait for the 5950s.... they were in stock... but taxes and shipping were so high..... so i went to amazon and pre-ordered the sapphire HD 5970 OC..... if it doesnt ship within the next few days.... that sucks __________________ Hardwareheaven Super-Moderator Building a new computer system and not sure where to start? Click Here! last updated (5/18/11) Rosewill FUTURE case replaces CM 690 II with its greater interior length. Building a PC: Step by Step Guide Written by Kristopher Pedemonte and Nathan Marks-Forder Edited by Allan Campbell Questions or Comments? feel free to post them in the forums!

Nov 19, 2009, 02:25 AM	#25
A Desire to Game HardwareHeaven Hoosier Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Indiana Posts: 296 Rep Power: 33 System Specs	Re: Powercolor Radeon HD 5970 2GB Graphics Card Review @ DH I like the DH mock reference cooler. That can't be too difficult for ATi to fabricate. I think (2) 5850's would be a better deal in the long run. Still have quite a few driver bugs on the 5000 series. __________________ Three is my new favorite number. (SATA III, USB 3.0, and triple channel memory)

Nov 19, 2009, 02:37 AM	#26
kris23 Going Insane..... Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 6,017 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	Re: Powercolor Radeon HD 5970 2GB Graphics Card Review @ DH 2 5850s? 5850 is $299 2x 5850 is $598 5970 is $599.... 5970 is better man... __________________ Hardwareheaven Super-Moderator Building a new computer system and not sure where to start? Click Here! last updated (5/18/11) Rosewill FUTURE case replaces CM 690 II with its greater interior length. Building a PC: Step by Step Guide Written by Kristopher Pedemonte and Nathan Marks-Forder Edited by Allan Campbell Questions or Comments? feel free to post them in the forums!

Nov 19, 2009, 02:00 PM	#27
SeraphicSorcerer HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Florida Posts: 2,295 Rep Power: 156 System Specs	Re: Powercolor Radeon HD 5970 2GB Graphics Card Review @ DH The 5970 Is very reasonably priced. I really want this card. I am going to have to wait til after Christmas though __________________

Nov 19, 2009, 05:11 PM	#28
comp_ali Sniper Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Egypt Posts: 10,469 Rep Power: 339 System Specs	Re: Powercolor Radeon HD 5970 2GB Graphics Card Review @ DH Thanks for the review for this monster card I liked the mockup , I want this card but can't afford it I still don't know why the heck they don't improve cooling on the reference model . Where are their engineers . Aside from that this one is probably the best GPU to get if you care about top notch performance. It is funny how most games in the FPS charts show +100 numeric range on maximum details apart from crysis which has +40 only on 1920*1050. Also GTX295 best nVidia card yet shows little poor scores compared to 5970 , what does nVidia wait to move on ? a little strange for me. __________________

Nov 19, 2009, 05:44 PM	#29
Chaos Number Nine Join Date: May 2002 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 5,268 Rep Power: 167 System Specs	Re: Powercolor Radeon HD 5970 2GB Graphics Card Review @ DH The price is decent when you compare it too a pair of 5850's and even better since it's really 2 5870's with the clocks reduced __________________

Nov 19, 2009, 05:57 PM	#30
Chaos Number Nine Join Date: May 2002 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 5,268 Rep Power: 167 System Specs	Re: Powercolor Radeon HD 5970 2GB Graphics Card Review @ DH heads up there is a new GPU-z released today that adds full Hemlock support __________________