The Official Graphics Card and PC gaming Thread

Kane and Lynch 2 makes me happy as I was quite fond of the first one, graphically and gameplay-wise. Both 1 + 2 are made by the same geniuses behind Freedom Fighters(greatest squad shooter ever made) Here's hoping it doesn't suck XD

 

Link still works, not sure if it's what you intended but I've seen far worse than what that link brings up XD I actually like AD's strict rules since, like sam said, it keeps the loading times down when browsing over 3g.

 

Mmm hmm. That page is on the extreme side. I think the link included something else this time. The link changed. Or rather it's being redirected. That page does look ridiculous! LOL! I definitely like how clean afterdawn is by comparison

 

No, that is the page I linked, though the background used to be lime green!

 

Found in Catalyst 10.8:

223, CAYMAN GL XT (6700), NI CAYMAN
224, CAYMAN GL XT (6701), NI CAYMAN
225, CAYMAN GL XT (6702), NI CAYMAN
226, CAYMAN GL XT (6703), NI CAYMAN
227, CAYMAN GL PRO (6704), NI CAYMAN
228, CAYMAN GL PRO (6705), NI CAYMAN
229, CAYMAN GL (6706), NI CAYMAN
230, CAYMAN GL LE (6707), NI CAYMAN
231, CAYMAN GL (6708), NI CAYMAN
232, CAYMAN GL (6709), NI CAYMAN
233, CAYMAN XT (6718), NI CAYMAN
234, CAYMAN PRO (6719), NI CAYMAN
235, ANTILLES PRO (671C), NI CAYMAN
236, ANTILLES XT (671D), NI CAYMAN
237, BLACKCOMB XT / PRO (6720), NI BLACKCOMB
238, BLACKCOMB LP (6721), NI BLACKCOMB
239, BLACKCOMB XT / PRO Gemini (6724), NI BLACKCOMB
240, BLACKCOMB LP Gemini (6725), NI BLACKCOMB
241, BARTS GL XT (6728), NI BARTS
242, BARTS GL PRO (6729), NI BARTS
243, BARTS XT (6738), NI BARTS
244, BARTS PRO (6739), NI BARTS
245, WHISTLER XT (6740), NI WHISTLER
246, WHISTLER PRO / LP (6741), NI WHISTLER
247, WHISTLER XT / PRO Gemini (6744), NI WHISTLER
248, WHISTLER LP Gemini (6745), NI WHISTLER
249, ONEGA (6750), NI TURKS
250, TURKS XT (6758), NI TURKS
251, TURKS PRO (6759), NI TURKS
252, SEYMOUR XT / PRO (6760), NI SEYMOUR
253, SEYMOUR LP (6761), NI SEYMOUR
254, SEYMOUR XT / PRO Gemini (6764), NI SEYMOUR
255, SEYMOUR LP Gemini (6765), NI SEYMOUR
256, CAICOS GL PRO (6768), NI CAICOS
257, CASPIAN PRO (6770), NI CAICOS
258, CAICOS PRO (6779), NI CAICOS

Cayman: HD6830/6850/6870 (presume: Cayman GL LE, GL Pro, GL XT)
Barts (St. Bartholomew): HD6750/HD6770 (Presume: Barts Pro, XT)
Whistler: Possibly HD6650/6670? Significance of Gemini?
Antilles: HD6970/6950(?)

That Barts, Cayman and Antilles refer to 6700, 6800 and 6900 series products (or should the name change [unlikely] the equivalent thereof) is apparently confirmed. As to the other names, Blackcomb, Whistler, Onega, Turks, Seymour, Caicos and Caspian, not sure. A fair few of them will probably be notebook chipsets, and all of the GL prefixes may have something do with whether the card is consumer-grade or enterprise-grade (a la FireGL).

 

maybe its just me but why do i see square soft and star wars character/groups/places in the code names list....

 

Hehe, multiplay exhibition stand was amazing. Got to meet Harry Butler of Bit-tech, Tom Lamb of CCL and a few of the QuietPC staff. Already met Graeme from KustomPCs last year
Free stuff abound, including a customPC mag

 

awww gay! You went to i40? (i think that's the ones right?)


next year for me. Brother really wants to go. What free stuff ya get?

 

T-shirts, brochures, one of us scored a free PSU from Antec, the only requisite being we have to review it
So far Thermaltake get props for having Haribo tangfastics by the stand. They had one of those Level 10 cases there to look at. Plenty of cool peripherals on show, I took a few photos, will hope to upload them when the internet improves.

Pretty poor organisation so far though, internet is very dodgy, the power keeps going off in different areas, and so on. We've not really played any games yet because of that!

 

lol, its that new cell PC they got with the 4000watt power supply.

anyone ever put arctic silver on a gpu, ive been told its a bad idea. my 5770 needs goop bad but that's all i got lying around.

 

I wonder why that would be a bad idea? With zero conductivity, I'm uncertain why it would be a bad idea. I'd probably never delve that deep into a GPU though. My 260 runs extremely cool even during gameplay. And I don't overclock the precious babies

 

Just be careful, it's conductive. If any spills over, it will short stuff. You ought to try and use non-conductive TIM if you can.

 

Whaaaat? Conductive thermal compound? I would think stuff like that would need to be near 100% NON conductive. If not completely non conductive

 

it supposedly has very fine silver granite in it. i would think placing it on the bare GPU die would cause issues. i guess not.

I wouldn't OC an nvidia either, they already have a very crappy life span. well at least the 7800 did, the last nvidia card i ever owned.

 

BFG was a good company. However, I'll remain hopeful that I don't have problems. My Asus 8600Gt has been flawless. I'm no Nvidia fanboy. Fact of the matter is, with all I've been hearing as of late, an ati card will be in my not too distant future

 

i might order Céramique, 1.99 plus 5 bucks shipping bah.

 

Arctic Silver is conductive and GPUs are very small and the electronics are exposed. If you are very careful it can be done, but something non-conductive would make things easier. Arctic Silver Ceramique is like $5 for a tube worth 15-20 applications over at Newegg. If you think you can do it without gooping, go for it. I personally wouldn't do it with Arctic Silver 5.

 

Big textwall inc, this is a translation of Xbit Labs' review of the GTX460 in SLI alongside the 5870 and 5970, in my opinion a more accurate representation of how SLI/CF stack up in the DX11 generation.
I have split the results into 5fps brackets, for ease of comparison on a 'points' basis.
Fingers are too tired to comment on the results, haha.
[These are 1GB GTX460s]

DC load:
Idle
Geforce GTX460: 20W @37ºC ref, 40ºC non-ref
Geforce GTX470: 29W @ 43ºC
Geforce GTX465: 30W @ 44ºC
Geforce GTX480: 42W @ 49ºC
Radeon HD5770: 14W @ 45ºC
Radeon HD5850: 16W @ 44ºC
Radeon HD5870: 16W @ 54ºC
Radeon HD5830: 17W @ 33ºC

High-clock Idle [HD playback, Alt-tabbed]
Geforce GTX460 non-ref 52W
Geforce GTX460 reference 70W
Geforce GTX470 90W
Geforce GTX465 91W
Geforce GTX480 131W
Radeon HD5770 42W
Radeon HD5830 47W
Radeon HD5850 49W
Radeon HD5870 57W

Full load [Typical, non-stresstest]
Geforce GTX460 non-ref: 141W @ 72ºC
Geforce GTX460 reference: 150W @ 76ºC
Geforce GTX470: 202W @ 85ºC
Geforce GTX465: 224W @ 90ºC
Geforce GTX480: 262W @ 91ºC
Radeon HD5770: 77W @ 80ºC
Radeon HD5850: 122W @ 80ºC
Radeon HD5830: 125W @ 76ºC
Radeon HD5870: 170W @ 75ºC

Aliens vs. Predator 4xAA 16xAF [Load rating: 28.6]

GTX460: M20A30 @ 1600x900, M10A20 @ 1920x1080, M5A10 @ 2560x1600. 19
GTX480: M30A45 @ 1600x900, M20A35 @ 1920x1080, M10A20 @ 2560x1600. 32
SLI470: M40A55 @ 1600x900, M30A35 @ 1920x1080, M10A20 @ 2560x1600. 38
HD5970: M40A60 @ 1600x900, M30A45 @ 1920x1080, M10A25 @ 2560x1600. 42
SLI460: M40A60 @ 1600x900, M35A45 @ 1920x1080, M15A25 @ 2560x1600. 44
HD5870 not included as results are wrong.

Battlefield Bad Company 2 4xAA 16xAF [Load rating: 15.7]

GTX460: M40A50 @ 1600x900, M30A35 @ 1920x1080, M15A20 @ 2560x1600. 38
HD5870: M45A60 @ 1600x900, M40A50 @ 1920x1080, M25A35 @ 2560x1600. 51
GTX480: M60A70 @ 1600x900, M50A55 @ 1920x1080, M30A35 @ 2560x1600. 60
SLI460: M80A85 @ 1600x900, M60A70 @ 1920x1080, M35A40 @ 2560x1600. 74
HD5970: M75A90 @ 1600x900, M65A75 @ 1920x1080, M40A50 @ 2560x1600. 79
SLI470: M75A95 @ 1600x900, M60A75 @ 1920x1080, M45A50 @ 2560x1600. 80

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 4xAA 16xAF [Load rating: 9.1]
GTX460: M55A85 @ 1600x900, M35A70 @ 1920x1080, M20A40 @ 2560x1600. 61
HD5870: M70A115@ 1600x900, M50A110@ 1920x1080, M40A75 @ 2560x1600. 92
GTX480: M100A145@1600x900, M80A120@ 1920x1080, M40A85 @ 2560x1600. 114
SLI460: M110A160@1600x900, M100A135@1920x1080, M45A85 @ 2560x1600. 127
SLI470: M125A180@1600x900, M85A155@ 1920x1080, M50A100@ 2560x1600. 139
HD5970: M95A145@ 1600x900, M90A125@ 1920x1080, M80A105@ 2560x1600. 128

Crysis Warhead 4xAA 16xAF [Load rating: 33.0]
GTX460: M20A25 @ 1600x900, M15A20 @ 1920x1080, M5A10 @ 2560x1600. 19
HD5870: M20A35 @ 1600x900, M15A30 @ 1920x1080, M5A10 @ 2560x1600. 23
GTX480: M35A40 @ 1600x900, M25A30 @ 1920x1080, M10A15 @ 2560x1600. 31
HD5970: M30A50 @ 1600x900, M25A40 @ 1920x1080, M5A15 @ 2560x1600. 33
SLI460: M35A50 @ 1600x900, M30A40 @ 1920x1080, M5A15 @ 2560x1600. 35
SLI470: M35A55 @ 1600x900, M30A45 @ 1920x1080, M15A25 @ 2560x1600. 41

Far Cry 2 4xAA 16xAF [Load rating: 10.7]
HD5870: M50A85 @ 1600x900, M45A70 @ 1920x1080, M25A50 @ 2560x1600. 65
GTX460: M60A80 @ 1600x900, M50A65 @ 1920x1080, M30A40 @ 2560x1600. 65
HD5970: M90A120@ 1600x900, M75A105@ 1920x1080, M40A70 @ 2560x1600. 100
GTX480: M95A120@ 1600x900, M75A100@ 1920x1080, M45A60 @ 2560x1600. 99
SLI460: M95A135@ 1600x900, M90A125@ 1920x1080, M45A80 @ 2560x1600. 114
SLI470: M90A130@ 1600x900, M90A130@ 1920x1080, M55A95 @ 2560x1600. 118

Metro 2033 NoAA 16xAF [Load rating: 15.0]
GTX460: M35A60 @ 1600x900, M25A40 @ 1920x1080, M10A20 @ 2560x1600. 38
HD5870: M55A85 @ 1600x900, M40A60 @ 1920x1080, M25A35 @ 2560x1600. 60
SLI460: M65A100@ 1600x900, M45A70 @ 1920x1080, M20A35 @ 2560x1600. 67
GTX480: M70A90 @ 1600x900, M55A65 @ 1920x1080, M25A30 @ 2560x1600. 67
SLI470: M80A110@ 1600x900, M60A80 @ 1920x1080, M35A45 @ 2560x1600. 82
HD5970: M90A120@ 1600x900, M50A75 @ 1920x1080, M40A55 @ 2560x1600. 86

STALKER Call of Pripyat 4xAA 16xAF [Load rating: 24.7]
GTX460: M25A40 @ 1600x900, M20A30 @ 1920x1080, M10A15 @ 2560x1600. 28
HD5870: M25A45 @ 1600x900, M25A30 @ 1920x1080, M10A20 @ 2560x1600. 31
GTX480: M40A55 @ 1600x900, M30A40 @ 1920x1080, M15A25 @ 2560x1600. 41
HD5970: M30A60 @ 1600x900, M25A50 @ 1920x1080, M20A30 @ 2560x1600. 43
SLI460: M45A65 @ 1600x900, M35A55 @ 1920x1080, M15A25 @ 2560x1600. 48
SLI470: M50A65 @ 1600x900, M40A50 @ 1920x1080, M20A35 @ 2560x1600. 52

Just Cause 2 4xAA 16xAF [Load Rating: 24.8]
GTX460: M25A40 @ 1600x900, M20A30 @ 1920x1080, M10A15 @ 2560x1600. 28
HD5870: M30A45 @ 1600x900, M20A35 @ 1920x1080, M15A25 @ 2560x1600. 34
SLI460: M35A65 @ 1600x900, M20A45 @ 1920x1080, M10A30 @ 2560x1600. 41
GTX480: M40A60 @ 1600X900, M25A45 @ 1920x1080, M15A25 @ 2560x1600. 42
HD5970: M40A55 @ 1600x900, M30A50 @ 1920x1080, M20A30 @ 2560x1600. 45
SLI470: M40A75 @ 1600x900, M30A60 @ 1920x1080, M15A40 @ 2560x1600. 52

Resident Evil 5 4xAA 16xAF [Load rating: 8.6]
GTX460: M80A105 @ 1600x900, M65A85 @ 1920x1080, M40A50 @ 2560x1600. 85
HD5870: M115A130 @ 1600x900, M75A125 @ 1920x1080, M60A75 @ 2560x1600. 116
GTX480: M125A130 @ 1600x900, M90A110 @ 1920x1080, M70A80 @ 2560x1600. 121
SLI460: M90A120 @ 1600x900, M85A120 @ 1920x1080, M75A95 @ 2560x1600. 117
SLI470: M90A105 @ 1600x900, M90A105 @ 1920x1080, M90A100 @ 2560x1600. 116
HD5970: M120A150 @ 1600x900, M115A145@ 1920x1080, M75A110 @ 2560x1600. 143

Mass Effect 2 4xAA 16xAF [Load rating: 11.3]
GTX460: M60A85 @ 1600x900, M35A60 @ 1920x1080, M20A35 @ 2560x1600. 59
HD5870: M45A90 @ 1600x900, M40A75 @ 1920x1080, M20A50 @ 2560x1600. 64
GTX480: M60A115 @ 1600x900, M45A90 @ 1920x1080, M30A50 @ 2560x1600. 78
HD5970: M55A120 @ 1600x900, M45A100@ 1920x1080, M30A65 @ 2560x1600. 83
SLI460: M110A170@ 1600x900, M75A125@ 1920x1080, M50A70 @ 2560x1600. 120
SLI470: M105A190@ 1600x900, M70A145@ 1920x1080, M50A80 @ 2560x1600. 128

DiRT 2 [Load rating: 11.3]
GTX460: M60A75 @ 1600x900, M45A60 @ 1920x1080, M30A35 @ 2560x1600. 61
HD5870: M65A75 @ 1600x900, M55A70 @ 1920x1080, M35A45 @ 2560x1600. 69
GTX480: M80A105@ 1600x900, M70A90 @ 1920x1080, M40A55 @ 2560x1600. 88
HD5970: M80A100@ 1600x900, M60A85 @ 1920x1080, M50A65 @ 2560x1600. 88
SLI460: M100A125@1600x900, M85A110@ 1920x1080, M55A65 @ 2560x1600. 108
SLI470: M105A130@1600x900, M100A120@1920x1080, M60A75 @ 2560x1600. 118

H.A.W.X. 4xAA 16xAF
HD5870: A60 @ 1600x900, A55 @ 1920x1080, A45 @ 2560x1600. 32
GTX460: A80 @ 1600x900, A65 @ 1920x1080, A40 @ 2560x1600. 37
HD5970: A90 @ 1600x900, A75 @ 1920x1080, A65 @ 2560x1600. 46
GTX480: A110@ 1600x900, A100@ 1920x1080, A60 @ 2560x1600. 54
SLI460: A160@ 1600x900, A120@ 1920x1080, A75 @ 2560x1600. 71
SLI470: A170@ 1600x900, A140@ 1920x1080, A95 @ 2560x1600. 81

Battleforge 4xAA 16xAF [Load rating: 20.8]
HD5870: M10A60 @ 1600x900, M5A45 @ 1920x1080, M5A30 @ 2560x1600. 31
GTX460: M30A40 @ 1600x900, M15A35 @ 1920x1080, M10A20 @ 2560x1600. 30
SLI460: M35A80 @ 1600x900, M10A65 @ 1920x1080, M5A40 @ 2560x1600. 47
HD5970: M20A85 @ 1600x900, M15A70 @ 1920x1080, M10A45 @ 2560x1600. 49
GTX480: M50A80 @ 1600x900, M50A65 @ 1920x1080, M25A35 @ 2560x1600. 61
SLI470: M60A110@ 1600x900, M30A90 @ 1920x1080, M10A55 @ 2560x1600. 71

Starcraft 2 4xAA 16xAF [Load rating: 16.3]
GTX460: M40A45 @ 1600x900, M25A35 @ 1920x1080, M15A25 @ 2560x1600. 37
HD5870: M45A60 @ 1600x900, M30A45 @ 1920x1080, M20A30 @ 2560x1600. 46
GTX480: M45A60 @ 1600x900, M35A50 @ 1920x1080, M20A30 @ 2560x1600. 48
SLI460: M70A95 @ 1600x900, M60A75 @ 1920x1080, M30A45 @ 2560x1600. 75
HD5970: M70A95 @ 1600x900, M60A80 @ 1920x1080, M30A45 @ 2560x1600. 76
SLI470: M80A100@ 1600x900, M75A80 @ 1920x1080, M35A55 @ 2560x1600. 85

World in Conflict: Soviet Assault 4xAA 16xAF [Load rating: 18.3]
GTX460: M35A60 @ 1600x900, M25A45 @ 1920x1080, M15A25 @ 2560x1600. 41
HD5870: M30A55 @ 1600x900, M25A50 @ 1920x1080, M15A35 @ 2560x1600. 42
GTX480: M35A75 @ 1600x900, M30A65 @ 1920x1080, M25A40 @ 2560x1600. 54
HD5970: M30A85 @ 1600x900, M25A75 @ 1920x1080, M25A50 @ 2560x1600. 58
SLI460: M40A90 @ 1600x900, M40A80 @ 1920x1080, M25A50 @ 2560x1600. 65
SLI470: M40A90 @ 1600x900, M35A80 @ 1920x1080, M35A60 @ 2560x1600. 68

 

tl:dr

so whats the conclusion taking in all factors? (for each resoltuion aswell)?

 

In AvP, despite its bias and the bugs with crossfire, the HD5970 is close to the GTX460 SLI pairing. More interestingly though it outperforms two GTX470s, since scaling for the higher-end Fermi cards would appear to be broken, or at least it was for Xbit.

In Bad Company 2, the HD5970 beats two GTX460s, despite what the HardOCP test says, notably proving the most beneficial at 2560 res. Both the 5970 and two GTX460s can minimum 60fps at 1920x1080, so anything beyond on a 24" is largely unnecessary.

In Modern Warfare 2, the HD5870 is largely superior to the GTX460 solo, but when in crossfire form only proves useful at high-res. However, given that a single GTX470 could probably minimum 60fps at 1920x1080, everything but high-res is irrelevant. The HD5970 doubles the minimum fps of the 480, and massively outstrips even two GTX470s at 2560, which is where MW2 actually needs graphics power.

In Crysis Warhead, none of the setups tested could minimum even 20fps at 30" res, though perhaps two GTX480s could. The HD5970 is not far behind a pair of GTX460s or GTX470s, though the pair of 460s is by far the best deal as it's joint first in all the resolutions tested - 1600x900 and 1920x1080 are the only resolutions really playable though.

In Far Cry 2, the HD5870 can't manage M60 at 1600x900 but the far cheaper GTX460 can. The lead thins later on, but the 460 is the better card for the game. The HD5970 and 2xGTX460 are similar competition, but two GTX470s are far superior, especially at 2560x1600, where they almost manage 60fps minimum. Two 480s certainly would achieve this.

Metro 2033 isn't tested with AA due to the crazy demand, which places it, interestingly, less than half as demanding as Crysis Warhead. The HD5870 destroys the GTX460 in the single GPU arena, and actually takes on the GTX480 at 30" (not at smaller resolutions, however). Two GTX460s work out slower than GTX480 as scaling is far from perfect, and the HD5970 actually beats two GTX470s in all examples. Minus the silly AA, Radeons are the way to go for Metro, especially since they don't bugger with the texture quality.

In STALKER CoP, 2560x1600 isn't ever really playable at max. 1920x1080 is far from smooth, but it's far better with SLI than with CF, with two 470s 60% above the HD5970, 460s aren't far behind, but they do fall back a bit at 30", irrelevant though that is. The HD5870 marginally beats the GTX460, with the GTX480 slightly behind the HD5970.

In Just Cause 2, 2560x1600 is again unplayable at max. 1920x1080 is also pretty dire, as SLI doesn't work quite as well. The HD5870 is better than the GTX460, but disappointingly one GTX480 is better than two GTX460s. The HD5970 is slightly further ahead, so is two GTX470s, but really the difference is pretty marginal. What a GTX480 can do, so can the expensive dual setups, but nothing further.

Resident Evil 5 is very undemanding for a modern game, even a GTX460 can minimum 65fps at 1920x1080, but it doesn't have the grunt to do 30". The HD5870 does. Unsurprisingly, the dual GPU configs can too, but dual graphics scaling is largely moderate, CF is very low, SLI is good, but unexceptional (not that it's necessary!)

Mass Effect 2 is much more difficult, as not even two 470s can get 60fps minimum at 30", not sure if two 480s would either. The HD5870 is faster than the GTX460 at high res, slower at low res. The same story occurs with the HD5970 vs the GTX480. The SLi configs are in a league of their own, however, powering past the 5970 and 480, especially at 2560.

DiRT 2 is maxable at 30" on two 470s smoothly, two 460s are very close behind, the HD5970 a little further behind. The GTX480 surpasses the 5970 clearly at low res, but not at 2560. The single 460 can max the game at 1600x900, but is clearly behind the HD5870 beyond that res.

I'll comment the other games later