Conclusion

We said it before and we will say it again - the ATI 5970 graphics card is without a doubt the single fastest graphics card ever released ... nothing even comes close. The performance throughout all our testing was incredible even when we cranked the settings to the limit. ATI are onto a winner with the 5970 and if getting the maximum frame rate with all the modern game engines is high on your list then you really need to look no further.

This however brings me to a seperate set of issues which we didn't delve into with the launch article earlier this week ... stocks are currently incredibly low, with most countries not showing any availability at all. This has been such a issue for us (and our enthusiast audience) that we managed to get some time to speak with John Byrne, AMD's Vice President of GPU and CPU worldwide sales. In a nutshell, AMD are aware (obviously) of the issues with availability and they say they are doing everything they can to rectify the situation as soon as possible. Whether this is next week or next month remains to be seen but we are skeptical that we will see any good stock levels of the 5970 until at least mid December, possibly January.

In regards to running 5970's in Crossfire x, the word 'overkill' immediately springs to mind - there really is absolutely no need for it right now, unless you need to play Crysis Warhead at Enthusiast settings on your 30 inch screen at the native resolution. This is the first time we have seen this title running like butter and it shows just how poorly put together the game was when it was released. Sure, its pretty, but it shouldn't need a dual 5970 configuration to run well with the eye candy maxed, even at 2560x1600.

All other games we tested ran silky smooth and no matter what you throw at these boards they never fail to deliver ... we could wax lyrical all day but you have seen for yourselves in this review just how powerful ATI's top end graphics solution really is.

Sapphire HD 5970
Sapphire's card is the fastest card we have tested in our labs, ever. The slight increase in both core and clock speeds, means that in most situations it is able to edge just ahead of the reference framerates in most games. Their bundle is excellent and the overclocking and overvoltage tools add some value to the package. If you buy one of these cards and want to crank it to the hilt then you will be able to get 10-15% more performance from already insane results.

Running two of them in Crossfire x is certainly a quick way to remove over £1000 from your wallet but in exchange you will be able to run titles such as Left4Dead2 at over 200fps at the maximum possible settings - those zombies never died so quickly. Heck, Crysis Warhead is playable on a 30 inch screen at enthusiast levels, which I never thought id be able to say.

Sapphire's name generally gives confidence to an end user as their support and reputation are well known to be one of the best in the industry. They have not failed to deliver again, however we hope they will ditch the substandard ATI cooling system and develop a Vapor X model shortly. If anyone can solve the one issue this card has, it will be Sapphire.

OCUK £529.99 inc vat (not in stock at time of press)

TBC est. $599-650

HIS 5970
The HIS 5970 card follows reference card specifications to the letter, with identical core and memory clock speeds - it is basically a reference card with a sticker of a sword on it. This is not really an issue as the card delivers the goods on all levels with every game we tested giving astounding results. If you can afford two of these cards then you will be surely set to game throughout 2010 without an issue, even at the highest resolutions. Sure, we could say the same about a single card configuration but it sounds much more dramatic when we say two.

The HIS bundle is just as impressive as Sapphire's and we like the idea of including a little tool kit with the card so you don't have to hunt for a screwdriver to fit it into your system. Maybe it seems like a gimmick to some people but we are all for little 'extras', especially after spending such a huge amount of money. All the other cables and adapters are supplied which mean you will not be stuck on connectivity to your TV or high resolution monitor.

It is a great bundle and the HIS model really deserves serious consideration, especially as it is one of the more competitively priced bundles in the UK right now.

OCUK £519.98 inc vat (not in stock at time of press)

TBC est. $599

Summary:
We already covered the Powercolor 5970 at launch and today we had a look at the HIS 5970 and the Sapphire 5970. Both cards are virtually identical except for the bundle supplied and a slight clock increase with the Sapphire version. Sapphire bundle a red line tool which is locked out to their bios configurations and it offers a slightly greater overhead when it comes to overclocking potential. Both cards would earn our highest GOLD award but the coolers are still a sticking point for me. When my colleague Stuart reviewed the Powercolor 5970 he mentioned that the noise was quite obtrusive, but I really had no idea just how annoying they could be, especially when running two of them in Crossfire X. I was actually really pleased to return the 5870 Sapphire Vapor X into my system even with the subsequent drop in framerate.

For most people these cards are a pipedream and priced at such a level they will never be affordable, I have seen many journalists complain they are overpriced, however when you take into consideration the fact that two cards similar to the specifications of a 5970 retail for similar prices then there really is an argument that they are not really 'overpriced' - especially when you aren't tied into needing a Crossfire capable motherboard. Sure I would love them to drop to £250 a piece so I could buy a few myself, but realistically the high end market is always priced to a point where it makes little sense for most people. There is an audience for these cards however - the discerning, high end, and wealthy enthusiast user. If nVidia bring out a competiting part in January then perhaps the prices will drop further but until then AMD can really charge whatever they want ... if in fact you can find a store selling one at all!

The fact that the release of the 5970 has basically turned into a 'paper launch' has disappointed me, ATI are in a prime position to capitalise on their market dominance right now, but most people are unable to upgrade to a 58xx series card - my fingers are crossed this changes really soon.

ATi high end cooling solutions - what should they do?

Although many of you will have seen the images below which I included on our last 5970 article, I felt they were worth showing again in case you missed our last review, We hope ATI listen to us and ditch the little red fans or start to include two on these high end boards and spin them much slower to keep noise levels down. When you pay almost £600 for a graphics card, you really don't want to be dealing with annoying noise levels.

this is the current card and the front mounted cooling system	A DH mockup of a rear mounted heatpipe design to aid the single fan

Adding an extra fan and spinning both slower really would help this card (and the user) in the long run - if adjustments could be make to the dimensions of the mounted vapor chamber