Introduction
For the third time in a month, we are announcing a new AMD graphics card. This time, we will talk about a double opening. So, we meet the Radeon HD 6570 and 6670.
Both cards are a natural evolution of the Radeon HD 5570 and 5670, two very important pillars of AMD in the under $ 100 price class. For some time now we have viewed the Radeon HD 5570 as the most affordable graphics card to play modern games. The average retail price of this model is about $ 65. The Radeon HD 5670, priced at $ 20 more, is still considered the most powerful reference model that does not require additional power.
Most of the new Radeon 6000 series models represent a subtle but tangible reworking of the architecture of the corresponding 5000 series solutions, and we should expect that new products will be closely related to their predecessors.
Now let's see what the new Turks GPU is.
In terms of architecture, for gPU base Turks was taken from the Barts GPU introduced in the Radeon HD 6800 series. This, in turn, was an evolution of the Cypress core. The number of SIMD engines at Barts has been reduced to six. Each of the six SIMD engines includes four texture units and 16 streaming units with 5 ALU (Arithmetic and Logic Unit) processors.
The memory bus is 128 bits. It is formed by two 64-bit controllers, each of which is connected to four Color ROP rasterization units. Thus, the GPU Turks has 24 texture processing units, 480 stream processors, 8 Color ROP units (2x4) and a 128-bit memory bus (2x64 bits).
From the above, it follows that Turks has a fairly powerful computing "muscle" and in the new AMD line takes an intermediate place between the productive cards on GPU Barts ( radeon series HD 6800) and models entry level on Caicos (Radeon HD 6450).
Why did AMD 6000-series GPUs get their names? All three are named after the islands of the same name: St. Barts is an island in the Caribbean Sea, Caicos and Turks are islands in the Indian Ocean.
Between themselves, these GPUs differ not qualitatively, but quantitatively: the memory bus (64 or 128 bits), the number of SIMD engines and rasterization units. Moreover, all of them, including Turks, have qualitative differences from the 5000 series models. Namely: improved performance per watt, optimized geometry and tessellation processing speeds, improved anti-aliasing and texture filtering, Eyefinity technology (connecting three monitors to one video card). 6000 Series cards support full MPEG-2, MPEG-4 Part 2 hardware decoding (including DivX and XviD codecs), Blu-ray 3D stereo video streaming hardware decoding when connected via HDMI 1.4a.
Currently, GPU Turks can be found in two card configurations: Radeon HD 6570 and 6670. Let's take a look at them, along with some other cards in this price class.
| Graphics card specifications | ||||||
| Radeon HD 5570 | Radeon HD 6570 | Radeon HD 6670 | Radeon HD 5670 | GeForce GT 240 | GeForce GTS 450 | |
| Universal shader cores | 400 | 480 | 480 | 400 | 96 | 192 |
| Texture Blocks | 20 | 24 | 24 | 20 | 32 | 32 |
| ROP Blocks Color ROP | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 16 |
| Technical process | 40 nm | 40 nm | 40 nm | 40 nm | 40 nm | 40 nm |
| Shader unit frequency | 650 MHz | 650 MHz | 800 MHz | 775 MHz | 550/1360 MHz | 783/1566 MHz |
| Frequency and type of video memory | 900 MHz for DDR3; 900-1000 MHz for GDDR5 |
900 MHz for DDR3; 900-1000 MHz for GDDR5 |
1000 MHz GDDR5 | 1000 MHz GDDR5 | 850 MHz GDDR5 | 902 MHz GDDR5 |
| Memory bus width | 128 bit | 128 bit | 128 bit | 128 bit | 128 bit | 128 bit |
| Memory bandwidth | 28.8 Gbps for DDR3; 64 Gbps for GDDR5 |
28.8 Gbps for DDR3; 64 Gbps for GDDR5 |
64 Gbps | 64 Gbps | 54.4 Gbps | 57.7 Gbps |
| Power consumption, W | 9,7/43 | 10/44 | 11/60 | 14/61 | 69W (Max) | 106W (Max) |
| Price | about $ 65 (store) | $ 79 (recommended) | $ 99 (recommended) | about $ 80 (store) | about $ 80 (store) | about $ 115 (store) |
This table clearly shows that the Radeon HD 6570 and 6670 are just an evolution of the Radeon HD 5570 and 5670. And although all Radeon cards have identical characteristics of SIMD engines, the new models use six engines instead of five, which ultimately gives an increase of 80 shader processors and 4 texturing units.
If we compare the younger models - Radeon HD 5570 and 6570 - here the core and video memory frequencies completely coincide. The memory frequency of the older models also coincides, but the Radeon HD 6670 outperforms the HD 5670 in terms of the core frequency (by 25 MHz).
Thus, we assume that the new cards will show a slight advantage over their predecessors, although it is doubtful that the performance will increase significantly, which is due to the same number of ROP units and the bandwidth of the 128-bit memory bus.
The difference in the number of shader cores between AMD and nVidia models is striking, but the cores themselves are not equal in terms of architecture. Nevertheless, the younger nVidia model presented in the review looks less advantageous. Although the price of the GeForce GT 240 is comparable to the Radeon models: it seems that the outsider of our test is predetermined.
However, with a certain amount of luck, you can find GeForce GTS 450 on the shelves for less than $ 100. This card is twice the number of shader processors and ROPs on the GeForce GT 240, and twice the number of ROPs on the Radeon model. It is the GeForce GTS 450 that is the most serious competitor to the older model Radeon HD 6670. But before we see how these cards come together in battle, let's look at the reference design. AMD Radeon HD 6570 and 6670.
Both AMD reference boards are designed in a low profile form factor, making them ideal for home theater PCs. At first glance, it is impossible to see the external differences between the Radeon HD 6570 and the Radeon HD 6450, despite the huge difference in performance between these models. AMD Radeon HD 6670 differs from them due to significantly more powerful coolerhowever the board size is exactly the same (16 cm long, 7.5 cm wide). Despite the large cooler, the board fits into the space of one PCIe slot.
These cards fit into the food limit for pCI bus Express second generation at 75W and the Radeon HD 6670 is the fastest power-free graphics card available today.
Both reference models are equipped with DVI-D, DisplayPort and analog VGA ports. The DVI port supports the connection of DVI-\u003e HDMI adapters, which allows you to view 3D video using the HDMI 1.4a standard. The Turks GPU can handle up to four monitors at the same time and it is possible that some manufacturers will supply the original cards with more ports. However, most vendors will predictably try to reduce the price of the card and limit themselves to a standard set of interfaces.
Since the reference Radeon HD 6570 and 6670 are based on a common design printed circuit boardIt comes as no surprise that both cards are equipped with GDDR5 memory. Probably, the version of the Radeon HD 6570 with DDR3 memory will have a slightly different "bodywork". Be that as it may, this is worth bearing in mind. The performance of the DDR3 version of the HD 6570 will be inferior to the reference model with GDDR5 memory that took part in the test.
Test bench and benchmarks
As well as new Radeon HD 6570 GDDR5 and 6670, we included the main competitors in the test, namely the Radeon HD 5570, Radeon HD 5670, GeForce GT 240 GDDR5 and GeForce GTS 450.
| Test Equipment | |
| CPU | Intel Core i5 2500K on Sandy Brige core Overclocked to 4 GHz, 6 MB L3 cache, power saving enabled, Turbo Boost disabled. |
| Motherboard | Asus P8P67 Pro on Intel P67 |
| RAM | 2 modules of 2 GB each, operating at a frequency of 1338 MHz, OCZ PC3-16000, timings 9-9-9-20-1. |
| Winchester | 750 GB Western Digital Caviar Black 7200 RPM, 32 MB cache, sATA interface 3 GB / s. |
| Video card | GeForce GTS 450 1 GB, 783 MHz processor frequency, 1566 MHz shader core frequency, 3608 MHz memory frequency. GeForce GT 240 GDDR5 1 GB, AMD Radeon HD 6670 512 MB, AMD Radeon HD 5670 512 MB, AMD Radeon HD 6570 512 MB, AMD Radeon HD 5770 512 MB, |
| Power Supply | ePOWER EP-1200E10-T2 1200W ATX12V, EPS12V |
| CPU cooler | Cooler Master Hyper TX 2 |
| System software and drivers | |
| operating system | Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate x64 |
| DirectX | DirectX 11 |
| Driver version | GeForce: 270.51 Beta Radeon: Catalyst 11.4 Beta |
Performance testing
Note that the test results do not include the GeForce GT 240 GDDR5 - this card does not support DirectX 11. The center of the table is occupied by Radeon models with GDDR5 memory, the Radeon HD 5570 DDR3 is left behind. GeForce GTS 450 leads by a noticeable margin, which can be regarded as a double victory, because 3DMark 11 prefers AMD's VLIW5 architecture.
Without DirectX 11 support, the GeForce GT 240 dropped out of our second synthetic benchmark as well.
The Radeon HD 6570 GDDR5 is on par with the 5670 in this test, and the Radeon HD 6670 has a slight edge over other AMD cards. GeForce GTS 450 takes the first place by a significant margin, which is not surprising, because this card was initially positioned in the upper price segment.
The full version of Crysis 2, as it turned out, is much more friendly to AMD cards than the multiplayer demo that our colleagues at the English-language site THG used to describe this benchmark.
Surprisingly, the Radeon HD 6670 and GeForce GTS 450 showed almost identical results in this game. The Radeon HD 5670 and 6570 are also close to the GeForce GT 240 GDDR5. The Radeon HD 5570 sits at the bottom of our test chart.
Bulletstorm still has a performance drop at 1680x1050, but we still used this game in our benchmarks.
While all cards equipped with GDDR5 memory at 1280x1024 show similar results, when the resolution is increased to 1920x1080, the results differ noticeably. We see a typical balance of power, consistent with the results of previous benchmarks.
Metro 2033 supports tessellation in DirectX 11 compatibility mode, but GeForce GT 240 does not latest version DirectX. So we tested this card using DirectX 10 compatibility mode.
A less heavy load doesn't seem to help the GeForce GT 240 GDDR5 struggling to outrun the Radeon HD 5570 DDR3. The rest of the cards are located relative to each other as we are used to seeing.
Aliens Vs. Predator is another DirectX 11 benchmark that is not supported by the GeForce GT 240. However, it should be noted that the game itself can only work with previous generation DirectX cards.
On high resolutions the result is not impressive, but the balance of power is similar to the previous benchmarks.
In F1 2010 we decided not to select the "High details" preset, as its application requires too much computational resources for maps. of this class and this significantly affects performance. The good news is that the Medium quality preset is very detailed.
The test results coincide with the previous benchmarks - the model again became the leader nVidia GeForce GTS 450.
Let's take a look at the results in Just Cause 2. Does the computationally demanding engine of this game represent a unique chance for Radeon to take a leading position?
As you can see, no. The balance of power has not changed and we see the same that we saw in all previous benchmarks.
H.A.W.X. 2 actively uses tessellation, but we disabled this feature so that the GeForce GT 240 GDDR5 can take part in the test.
Even with H.A.W.X. tessellation turned off. 2 continues to show a clear preference for the nVidia architecture. The GeForce GT 240 looks relatively good in this benchmark, not inferior to the performance Radeon models. The GeForce GTS 450 retains a significant lead.
Memory bandwidth decides a lot about anti-aliasing performance. All the tested cards have a 128-bit memory bus, but due to differences in clock speed and memory type, we see more than a twofold gap between the fastest and slowest models.
The Radeon HD 6670 has significantly reduced the lag behind the GeForce GTS 450, which is not surprising since it does have a slightly higher memory bandwidth (thanks to its 100 MHz superiority in the GDDR5 memory clock speed). The slowest predictably was the Radeon HD 5570 with DDR3 memory.
Overclocking and work in crossFire mode
The reference Radeon HD 6570 GDDR5 card has a 675 MHz ceiling in the processor overclocking options provided by the driver (Overdrive tab of the Catalyst Control Center shell). Therefore, we turned to MSI's Afterburner overclocking utility to achieve more impressive results. The reward for our efforts was 845 MHz for the processor and 1150 MHz for the memory. For the processor, this means a 195 MHz overclock, which is 45 MHz more than the stock Radeon HD 6670. Even more impressive, this is the maximum GPU frequency that can even be set via Afterburner.
The frequency of the graphics processor Radeon HD 6670 has already been "overclocked" to 800 MHz. Using Afterburner, we were able to get it up to 940 MHz. But the memory was overclocked to the same 1150 MHz, which coincides with the result of overclocking the Radeon HD 6570 GDDR5.
On top of that, we decided to combine these cards in CrossFire mode. Initially, we were going to run both cards at the stock frequencies of the older model. But when the cards were installed, Afterburner refused to work. As a result, we had to lower the frequencies of the Radeon HD 6670 in order to imitate the operation of the older model as the "second" 6570 GDDR5 in the CrossFire configuration.
At higher frequencies, the Radeon HD 6570 outperforms the stock Radeon HD 6670 in performance. Overclocking the Radeon HD 6670 gives a definite advantage, but it is a little short of the GeForce GTS 450. Two Radeon HD 6570 GDDR5 cards, combined in CrossFire mode, approach the performance of the Radeon HD 6790.
HD video quality. Benchmark HQV 2.0
Let's move on from performance in games to assessing the quality of HD video. For this task we use the HQV 2.0 benchmark. It includes many short videos run through various scenarios for deinterlacing, noise reduction, motion correction, and other image enhancement techniques. The result is assessed in terms of the absence of artifacts, noise and other similar problems. We used the HQV 2.0 HD version that comes on Blu-ray disc.
Benchmark results HQV 2.0 HD GeForce GT 240 GeForce GTS 450 Radeon HD 5670 Radeon HD 6570 Radeon HD 6670
Test Class 1: Reducing noise and artifacts 20 20 44 54 54
Test Class 3: Image Scaling and Quality Enhancement Technologies 30 30 30 30 30
Test Class 4: Adaptive Machining 20 20 7 27 27 Overall Score 157 157 190 201 201
While the Radeon HD 5670 cannot eliminate fine noise without losing detail, the new 6570 and 6670 do the job. It means that best quality AMD HD Graphics - 201 HQV 2.0 - you can get by paying $ 80 for the Radeon HD 6570. More expensive Radeon models don't offer anything better. And this is a notable achievement in relation to nVidia, in the line of which even the models of the upper price category reach no more than 160 points.
When you consider that the reference designs of the Radeon HD 6570 and 6670 are made in a low-profile board form factor and do not need additional power, the obvious conclusion suggests itself: the new AMD cards have every chance to become an excellent choice for multimedia systems (HTPC).
Power consumption, temperature, noise level
Before examining the results of the following tests, it should be noted that we did not have a reference GeForce GT 240 at our disposal, but an original Gigabyte card. For this reason, test results may not reflect data consistent with the reference model.
Let's start with the energy consumption level.
The Radeon HD 6670 surprised us with lower power consumption compared to the HD 5670, despite the fact that new model has more stream cores and the processor runs at a higher clock speed. GeForce GTS 450 turned out to be an outsider in the test: it consumes significantly more power than other cards. Please note that we use 3DMark 11 based on DirectX 11 to measure power consumption. Therefore, the table of results does not contain information on the GeForce GT 240 model that supports previous version API.
At rest, the cards show similar results that do not differ much from the average temperature in the system. Under load, the hottest card turned out to be the Radeon HD 6570, which is not surprising given the weak cooler. The HD 6570 is equipped with a more powerful radiator and cooler, which makes the cooling system more efficient. Also pretty high temperature The GPU under load is the GeForce GTS 450.
But when it comes to noise levels, the GeForce models perform well. Radeon cards are slightly inferior to GeForce, while demonstrating similar results. Even though the Radeon HD 6570 seems to be a more powerful noise source, the 56dB result under load was measured at a distance of two and a half centimeters from the cooler, so the cooler performance of this card will be difficult to distinguish against the background of a running system.
Conclusions: A good but relatively expensive option for HTPC
In conclusion, let's take a look at the average gaming performance at 1680x1050, which is the main target for this class of cards.
The performance of the Radeon HD 6670 is slightly higher than that of the HD 5670, and the HD 6570 with GDDR5 memory is slightly more modest.
At the bottom of the table, we see Radeon HD 5570 DDR3 - this card showed the weakest results, so its performance is taken as 100%. When buying this model, you can keep within about $ 60, which makes it a good budget solution for games at 1280x1024 and maybe even 1680x1050 if you underestimate the quality parameters in games. The performance of the GeForce GT 240 GDDR5 is 20% higher, but this card also costs about $ 80. For the same money, you can buy the Radeon HD 5670, which will provide twice the performance gain (43%). The GeForce GT 240 is the only card in our review that does not support API Direct X11, and it clearly does not match the price at the moment.
In the middle of the table is the Radeon HD 6570 - packed with GDDR5 memory, but not as fast as the HD 5670. However, its MSRP is $ 79, which is very similar to the average retail price of the HD 5670. You might argue that the Radeon HD 6570 GDDR5 has more overclocking potential. But we cannot be sure of this, while in our hands is not a video card from a retail sale, but a reference sample. In any case, the old Radeon HD 5670 remains a good alternative at around $ 80. And of course, this map is not outdated yet.
Although we did not have a 512MB DDR3 version of the Radeon HD 6570, this model could be more interesting in terms of price. Frankly, we're not sure if the GDDR5 version will dominate store shelves, as graphics card manufacturers had a similar choice with the Radeon HD 5570 and opted to use slower DDR3 memory to keep the card more affordable.
Time will tell, but with the HD 6570, history may repeat itself. Packed with 512MB of DDR3 memory, the HD 6570 might not have outperformed the Radeon HD 5570 in gaming benchmarks, but given the lower price point, such a card could be a great choice for multimedia PCs (HTPCs). Considering that the HD 6570 DDR3 can deliver the same high quality HD video as the new Radeon models we tested, we can get uncompromising HD quality for less than $ 80. But this will remain only an assumption until we are convinced of the opposite.
What about the older GPU Turks model, the Radeon HD 6670? Rest assured, its performance is higher than that of the Radeon HD 5670. But the recommended price of this model is $ 99 and for this money you can find more powerful modelssuch as the Radeon HD 5750 and GeForce GTS 450.
At the moment, the most low price the GTS 450 in Russian stores is fixed at just under $ 100. This only confirms once again how dynamic the market is. graphics cards - after all, quite recently, this model occupied the top lines in price lists. A more powerful card from AMD's previous line, the Radeon HD 5750, costs about the same. Compared to such rivals, the HD 6670 with a recommended price of $ 99 does not seem to be the best buy.
But do not forget that we are talking about a new product presented recently. Over time, the retail price will fall and reach $ 80, which is now asked for HD 5670. Recall that the recommended price of the latter at the time of the start of sales was the same $ 99.
General characteristics
Graphics card type
Modern video adapters can be roughly divided into three classes that will determine the performance and cost of a video card: budget, business class and top models. Budget cards are not very expensive, but they will not allow playing modern, resource-demanding games. Business class models will allow you to play all modern games, but with restrictions on image resolution, frame rate and other parameters. Top models give you the ability to play the most advanced games at the highest quality.
office GPU ATI Radeon HD 6570 Interface
The type of slot in which the video card is installed. Through the slot, data is exchanged between the video card and the motherboard. When choosing a video card, you need to proceed from which slot is used in your motherboard. The two most common types of video cards are AGP, PCI-E 16x and PCI-E 1x.
PCI-E 16x 2.1 GPU codename Turks PRO Process technology 40 nm Number of Monitors Supported 2 Maximum resolution 2560x1600Specifications
GPU frequency
The GPU frequency largely determines the performance of the video system. However, as the processor frequency increases, its heat dissipation also increases. Therefore, for modern high-performance video systems, you have to install a powerful cooling system, which takes up additional space and often creates loud noise at work Glossary of terms by category Video cards
650 MHz Video memory size 1024 MB Video Memory Type GDDR3 Video memory frequency 1334 MHz Bit width of the video memory bus 128 bit RAMDAC frequency 400 MHz SLI / CrossFire support
NVIDIA SLI technology and ATI CrossFire technology combine the processing power of two graphics cards installed on one motherboard. The simultaneous use of two video cards can be interesting in those cases when you need to get a super-performance video system that surpasses all existing single video cards in speed.
there is CrossFire X support there isConnection
Connectors DVI-I, HDCP, HDMI, VGA support HDMI version 1.3aMath block
The number of universal processors 480 Shader version
Shaders are microprograms that allow you to reproduce such effects as, for example, metallic sheen, water surface, realistic volumetric fog, all kinds of deformation of objects, motion effect blur (motion blur), etc. The higher the shader version, the more the video card has the ability to create special effects.
5.0 Number of texture units 24 Rasterization units 8 Maximum degree of anisotropic filteringWe continue our series of articles about budget video cards. This time we turn to the fresh Radeon HD 6570 and HD 6670, which have recently replaced the 5K series cards. This article will consider three video cards with different types of memory. We will compare the performance of the newcomers with their predecessors and some cards from NVIDIA, but a large-scale comparison with competing models will be in one of the following articles.
The new video adapters are based on the GPU, which is codenamed Turks. There is nothing revolutionary about it - this is the well-known Redwood, to which one more SIMD block has been added. Thanks to this, the total number of stream processors has been increased from 400 to 480, and texture units from 20 to 24. The number of rasterization units has not changed - there are eight of them. Data exchange with memory is carried out via a standard 128-bit bus.
Turks produces two video cards - Radeon HD 6570 and Radeon HD 6670. The first replaces the Radeon HD 5570, and the second is intended to eventually replace the Radeon HD 5670. The clock speeds of the HD 6570 are no different from those of its predecessor: the core runs at 650 MHz , 4000 MHz memory in case of using GDDR5 or 1800 MHz memory for models with regular DDR3. But the core frequency of the older Radeon HD 6670 has been raised to 800 MHz, which is 25 MHz more than that of the old HD 5670. This card is supposed to use only high-speed 4 GHz GDDR5 memory, but many manufacturers also release versions with cheaper DDR3.
If Redwood consisted of 627 million transistors, then Turks already had 716 million. The new GPU is made according to the 40-nm process technology, like its predecessor, so its area is slightly larger - 118 mm² versus 104 mm². Despite all this, the power consumption of the new video cards has hardly changed. The Radeon HD 6570 consumes up to 44 W, which is only one watt more than the appetites of the Radeon HD 5570. And the consumption of the Radeon HD 6670 is limited to 66 W, which is two watts more than its predecessor. In idle, the HD 6670 is even more economical by 2 watts than the HD 5670 and consumes only 12 watts.
| Video adapter | Radeon HD 6670 |
Radeon HD 6570 |
Radeon HD 5670 |
Radeon HD 5570 |
Radeon HD 5550 |
Radeon HD 4670 |
| Core | Turks | Turks | Redwood | Redwood | Redwood | RV730XT |
| 716 | 716 | 627 | 627 | 627 | 514 | |
| Technological process, nm | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 55 |
| Core area, sq. mm | 118 | 118 | 104 | 104 | 104 | 145 |
| 480 | 480 | 400 | 400 | 320 | 320 | |
| Number of texture units | 24 | 24 | 20 | 20 | 16 | 32 |
| Number of rendering units | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Core frequency, MHz | 800 | 650 | 775 | 650 | 550 | 750 |
| Memory bus, bit | 128 | 128 | 128 | 128 | 128 | 128 |
| Memory type | GDDR5 | DDR3, GDDR5 | GDDR5 | DDR3, GDDR5 | DDR3, GDDR5 | GDDR3, GDDR4 |
| Memory frequency, MHz | 4000 | 1800 DDR3, 4000 DDR5 | 4000 | 1800 DDR3, 3600/4000 GDDR5 | 1600/1800 DDR3, 3600/4000 GDDR5 | 2000 GDDR3, 2200 GDDR4 |
| Memory size, MB | 512/1024 | 512/1024/2048 | 512/1024 | 512/1024 | 512/1024 | 512/1024 |
| 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10.1 | |
| Interface | PCI-E 2.1 | PCI-E 2.1 | PCI-E 2.1 | PCI-E 2.1 | PCI-E 2.1 | PCI-E 2.0 |
| 66 | 44 | 64 | 43 | 39 | 75 |
AMD did not release a replacement for the Radeon HD 5550. Probably in order not to create unnecessary competition for the older Redwood models. Moreover, old video cards are still actively produced and, apparently, will be on the market for a long time. New items have taken their price niche, old models have taken their own, cheaper. The end consumer only benefits from such a variety.
All video cards support MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 hardware video decoding, including DivX and XviD. Added support for AMD HD3D 3D technology. And finally budget aMD cards learned to decode Blu-ray 3D, which the competitor had in the GeForce GT 240. Conclusion digital signal possible via HDMI 1.4a and DisplayPort 1.2.
We have included three video cards in our review. Radeon HD 6570 is represented by two models with different memory - DDR3 and GDDR5. The first ones dominate the domestic market, because such cards are cheaper. But, as our recent testing of the Radeon HD 5570 showed, the performance of video cards with different memory varies greatly. The Radeon HD 6670 is represented by one HIS model equipped with GDDR5 memory.
MSI R6570-MD1GD3 / LP
We'll start our review with a graphics accelerator manufactured by MSI. The company has only one Turks-based model so far, and this model is far from the most productive, because it uses DDR3 memory.
Supplied in a small box, inside which, in addition to the video card itself, you can find a disc with software and user manual.
The card has a low-profile design and is equipped with a cooling system with two fans. Outwardly, such a cooler is somewhat reminiscent of Twin Frozr of senior MSI video cards. The similarity is given by the arrow-shaped casing of the R6570-MD1GD3 / LP.
The rear panel contains DVI, HDMI and D-Sub connectors.
The cooling system takes up two slots. A simple aluminum heatsink contacts the core and memory chips soldered on the front side of the board. It is blown by a pair of 50 mm Power Logic fans.
The video card is made according to the reference design. The assembly of the elements is very tight. Memory chips are located on both sides of the board. The power supply system for the core and memory is made according to a single-phase scheme.
And here is the Turks GPU in person:
This model is notable for the fact that it uses AMD memory chips. And it came as a real surprise for us. It was not possible to find out whether AMD was really engaged in the release of memory chips or are they relabeled DDR3 chips from other manufacturers.
The clock frequencies are standard: the core runs at 650 MHz, the memory at 1800 MHz. In 2D mode, the frequencies are reduced to 100/300 MHz.
The dual-fan cooler has proven to be quite effective. In an open case at an indoor temperature of 28 ° C, the core did not heat up above 60 ° C in our standard 12-minute Crysis: Warhead test with maximum quality settings. The noise level is very low.
The video adapter has demonstrated good overclocking potential. The GPU was able to run stably at 860 MHz, the memory at 2120 MHz. The total increase in frequencies was 32 and 18%.
During overclocking, the fan speed rose to the maximum. At the same time, the noise became already noticeable, but it may well be that such acceleration is possible without a significant increase in revs. We didn't have time to test the card's capabilities in quiet mode. HIS HD 6570 Silence 1GB GDDR5 (H657HC1GD)
Next in line is the Radeon HD 6570 with GDDR5 memory.
The HIS video adapter comes in a traditional box. Complete only with instructions and driver disc.
Outwardly, this model resembles the recently reviewed HIS HD 5550 Silence. The adapter is full-size, equipped with a massive black radiator without a fan.
The set of external interfaces includes DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort connectors. Unlike other video cards, here we see DVI-D, which does not support output analog signal... So it will be impossible to connect D-Sub equipped monitors to this card. And this category includes not only CRT monitors long sunk into oblivion, but also budget models with an LCD matrix. This combination of connectors is now found not only in HIS, but also in some other AMD partners.
The heatsink is made of aluminum and does without heat pipes. The radiator shape is identical to the HIS HD 5550 Silence cooling system.
The plates have a corrugated corrugated surface, which helps to increase the dispersion area.
The PCB design doesn't differ much from the HIS HD 5570 iCooler IV board. The core power system includes one phase.
A standard Turks GPU running at 650 MHz.
One gigabyte of video memory is recruited with 4 Hynix H5GQ2H24MFR T2C chips.
The frequencies meet the standard specifications - 650/4000 MHz for GPU and memory. In idle time, they drop to 100/600 MHz.
To our surprise, the video card turned out to be colder than the HIS HD 5550 Silence with the same heatsink. Under 12 minutes load of Crysis: Warhead, the temperature did not exceed 87 ° C at 28 degrees Celsius indoors. It is difficult to say for sure what this is connected with. Perhaps the HD 6570 has a better thermal interface or the voltage of the HD 5550 is quite high. One of the reasons may be different crystal sizes, because Turks has a large contact area with the radiator with a similar level of heat release.
Additional airflow was used for overclocking. A low-speed 140mm fan with 950 rpm was installed 12 centimeters from the video card, which allowed maintaining the temperature within 72 ° C even during overclocking. The overclocking itself was 790/4160 MHz for the core and memory.
Finally, it should be said that the HD 6570 Silence (H657HC1GD) video card is not listed on the HIS website. We got our hands on a model again, which never reached retail. A similar situation was with the HIS HD 6450 Silence (H645HT1GD), which appeared in one of the recent reviews. HIS HD 6670 Fan 1GB GDDR5 (H667F1GD)
Moving on to the older Turks-based video adapter. This is another representative lineup HIS. This time it is a very relevant and existing model.
The packaging of the video card is quite standard for a HIS product. The package includes only a CD with a driver and a short instruction.
Externally this card does not stand out against the background of its brothers because of the familiar Arctic Cooling cooler, which is often used both by HIS itself and by other AMD partners.
On the rear panel, we again see a combination of only digital interfaces: DVI-D, HDMI and DisplayPort.
The cooler has a typical design. Aluminum rectangular radiator with a series of parallel fins.
A plastic casing with an 80 mm fan (blade diameter 75 mm) is mounted on top.
The board is created according to the same design as the HIS HD 5570 discussed above, but the GPU power system already includes two phases.
The graphics chip is surrounded by a protective plastic frame.
The volume of video memory in 1 GB is recruited with 4 Hynix H5GQ2H24MFR T2C microcircuits.
Specifications are standard: the core operates at 800 MHz, GDDR5 memory at 4 GHz. In idle, the frequencies are reduced to 100/600 MHz.
In gaming tests, the GPU temperature did not exceed 66 ° C at 28 degrees indoors. The noise is low.
We managed to overclock this card to 930/4720 MHz at higher fan speeds.
Approximately the same overclocking results were observed in the recently reviewed ASUS EAH5670 / DI / 1GD5 video card. So we can compare the performance of the Radeon HD 6670 with the HD 5670 not only in nominal value, but also when overclocked at the same GPU frequency. Characteristics of the tested video cards
For comparison, we took budget aMD graphics cards the five thousandth series reviewed in a recent article added the results of the GeForce GT 430 and GeForce GT 240. Since the last card represented by ASUS ENGT240 / DI / 1GD3 / A has an underestimated memory frequency, we decided to additionally test it at 550/1340/2000 MHz recommended for the GeForce GT 240. But the ASUS memory frequency changed with a large step, it turned out to be impossible to set exactly 2000 MHz, we stopped at 1974 MHz.
| Video adapter | HIS HD6670 Fan | HIS HD6570 Silence | MSI R6570-MD1GD3 / LP | ASUS EAH5670 / DI / 1GD5 |
HIS HD5570 iCooler IV |
ASUS EAH5570 / DI / 1GD3 (LP) | Inno3D GeForce GT430 | ASUS ENGT240 / DI / 1GD3 / A |
| Core | Turks | Turks | Turks | Redwood | Redwood | Redwood | GF108 | GT215 |
| Number of transistors, mln.pcs | 716 | 716 | 716 | 627 | 627 | 627 | 585 | 727 |
| Technological process, nm | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 |
| Core area, sq. mm | 118 | 118 | 118 | 104 | 104 | 104 | 116 | 139 |
| Number of stream processors | 480 | 480 | 480 | 400 | 400 | 400 | 96 | 96 |
| Number of texture units | 24 | 24 | 24 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 16 | 32 |
| Number of rendering units | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 8 |
| Core frequency, MHz | 800 | 650 | 650 | 775 | 650 | 650 | 700 | 550 |
| Shader domain frequency, MHz | 650 | 650 | 650 | 128 | 128 | 128 | 1400 | 1340 |
| Memory bus, bit | 128 | 128 | 128 | 128 | 128 | 128 | 128 | 128 |
| Memory type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 | DDR3 | GDDR5 | GDDR5 | GDDR3 | GDDR3 | GDDR3 |
| Memory frequency, MHz | 4000 | 4000 | 1800 | 4000 | 4000 | 1600 | 1800 | 1580 |
| Memory size, MB | 1024 | 1024 | 1024 | 1024 | 512 | 1024 | 1024 | 1024 |
| Supported DirectX Version | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10.1 |
| Interface | PCI-E 2.1 | PCI-E 2.1 | PCI-E 2.1 | PCI-E 2.1 | PCI-E 2.1 | PCI-E 2.1 | PCI-E 2.0 | PCI-E 2.0 |
| Declared maximum power consumption, W | 66 | 44 | <44 | 64 | 43 | 43 | 49 | <69 |
Test stand
The test bench configuration is as follows:
- processor: Core i7-965 EE (3, [email protected], 91 GHz, BCLK 170 MHz);
- cooler: Thermalright Venomous X;
- motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R (Intel X58 Express);
- memory: G.Skill F3-12800CL8T-6GBRM (3x2GB, [email protected] MHz, 8-8-8-24-1T);
- hard drive: Hitachi HDS721010CLA332 (1 TB, SATA2, 7200 rpm);
- power supply unit: Seasonic SS-850HT (850 W);
- operating system: Windows 7 Ultimate x64;
- radeon driver: ATI Catalyst 11.6.
- geForce driver: NVIDIA GeForce 275.33;
Test results
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
In DirectX 9, all newbies can cope without problems even with a resolution of 1680x1050, demonstrating an average result well above 30 fps. Although the minimum fps for the younger Radeon HD 6570 is still below the comfortable threshold - only 23 frames. According to this indicator, the difference between HD 6570 with different types of memory reaches 38%, according to the average - 17% in favor of the HIS Silence video card. Radeon HD 6670 is 8-12% more productive than Radeon HD 5670.
In this game, the greatest advantage of Radeon HD 6570 GDDR5 over a card with slower memory in the heaviest mode reaches 20%. However, on the Gamer settings profile, only the Radeon HD 6670 demonstrates a more or less acceptable minimum fps. The advantage of the Radeon HD 6670 is about 14% on average, and with the younger Turks the difference in performance is from 18 to 22% for the card with GDDR5 and from 38 to 44% for the DDR3 version. The overclocked HIS HD 6570 Silence falls short of just a couple of percent to the level of its older brother working at par.
Crysis 2
In Crysis 2, the difference between Radeon HD 6570 graphics cards ranges from 30% in the simpler mode to 25% in the heavier mode at high quality settings. The advantage of the Radeon HD 6670 over the HD 5670 is approximately 11%. HIS HD 5550 Silence with GDDR5 memory separates 6-8% of the performance from the flagship Redwood. The MSI card with DDR3 memory demonstrates the same result only when overclocked.
First, let's look at the test results in DirectX 9.
All six thousandth series video cards provided high performance at 1680x1050 resolution. The memory frequency in this application does not affect the final result as much as in previous games. Therefore, the difference between the two versions of the Radeon HD 6570 is 17.5% for the average fps and 10% for the minimum. MSI R6570-MD1GD3 / LP is inferior to Radeon HD 5570 GDDR5 by only 2% in minimum and 9% in average frame rate. HIS HD 6570 Silence is separated from HD 5670 by 4-6% of productivity.
In DirectX 11, the new video cards slightly increase the lead over their predecessors. Even the simplest version of the Radeon HD 6570 with DDR3 memory is faster than the highest performing version of the Radeon HD 5570 GDDR5. Between the Radeon HD 6670 and the Radeon HD 5670, the difference is 11%.
Tom Clancy "s H.A.W.X. 2
MSI R6570-MD1GD3 / LP falls short of the results of the Radeon HD 5570 GDDR5 with just one frame. Radeon HD 6570 with GDDR5 is 9-11% more productive than its counterpart. Radeon HD 6670 is 10% better than its predecessor.
In this test, we see the advantage of the new Radeon HD 6670 over its predecessor Radeon HD 5670 by 8.4%. The senior Radeon HD 6570 wins 4.6% over its predecessor. The difference between cards with DDR3 memory reaches 8%. This is also explained by the slight difference in memory frequency. The MSI R6570-MD1GD3 / LP score is 19% better than the GeForce GT 430.
conclusions
With the release of the new Radeon HD 6570 and Radeon HD 6670 graphics cards, AMD has strengthened its position in the budget graphics card market. The market in this segment is now more saturated than ever. Representatives of the five thousandth series are still on sale and, apparently, will coexist with new products based on Turks for a long time. It's just that the representatives of the previous generation have moved to a slightly cheaper category, making room for the representatives of the new series. NVIDIA's choice in this segment is not rich and apart from the old GeForce GT 240 and the late GeForce GT 430/440 there is nothing to oppose to AMD solutions. And in the camp of "green" there are no adequate competitors for the senior budget video cards Radeon. NVIDIA has formed a kind of vacuum between the GeForce GTS 450 and the GeForce GT 440. However, we will burn this out in detail in the next article, in which we will bring together all the budget video cards GeForce and Radeon.
The performance of the Radeon HD 6570 is 5-10% higher than that of the similarly clocked Radeon HD 5570. Due to the higher GPU frequency, the Radeon HD 6670 outperforms its predecessor by 8 to 15%. The gain is not huge, but not bad, and is fully justified by the difference in price. With this advantage, the new items almost do not differ in terms of energy consumption from solutions based on Redwood. Memory bandwidth has a significant impact on performance. According to the test results, it can be seen that the card with DDR3 memory is 5 to 38% inferior, depending on the application. Slow memory in some cases significantly limits the potential of Turks and prevents the video card from fully opening up. And although models with DDR3 memory are cheaper, the overpayment for GDDR5, as you can see for yourself, is fully justified.
The MSI R6570-MD1GD3 / LP video adapter belongs to the category of more affordable solutions with DDR3 memory. Equipped with a simple but very efficient cooling system. The overclocking potential is quite high, which allows you to reach the performance level of cards with GDDR5 at higher frequencies. And the compact size of this model will allow it to be installed in miniature cases for HTPC systems. True, there are no additional low-profile plugs for the rear panel in the kit, and the cooler slightly increases the overall height, which can create slight difficulties when installing the R6570-MD1GD3 / LP in miniature cases.
The HIS HD 6570 Silence (H657HC1GD), thanks to its fast GDDR5 memory, demonstrates an excellent level of performance at par. The passive cooling system copes with its task with dignity, and with a little additional airflow will allow you to achieve very low operating temperatures. The overclocking potential is pretty good, in contrast to the recently reviewed HIS HD 5570 iCooler IV. And to the level of the older Radeon HD 6670, this instance did not reach only 10 MHz in terms of the core frequency. In general, everything is good and even excellent. However, this wonderful card cannot be found on sale, and it does not appear on the HIS website either. Again, we got a copy that was released specifically for test labs, and not for the retail market. For ordinary buyers, HIS has in store for simpler models equipped with DDR3.
But with HIS HD 6670 Fan 1GB GDDR5 (H667F1GD) there are no such problems. The video card is quite real and quite affordable. Not bad cooling, good (but not outstanding) overclocking potential, which allows you to increase performance by 10-15%. A worthy representative of the HD 6670 series and a good choice for its price point.
Testing equipment was provided by the following companies:
- 1-Incom - G.Skill F3-12800CL8T-6GBRM memory;
- DCLink - ASUS ENGT240 / DI / 1GD3 / A and EAH5670 / DI / 1GD5 video cards;
- Gigabyte - GA-X58A-UD3R motherboard;
- HIS - video cards HD 5570 iCooler IV, HD 6570 Silence, HD 6670 Fan;
- Inno3D - GeForce GT 430 video card;
- Intel - Core i7-965 EE processor;
- MSI - R6570-MD1GD3 / LP video card;
- PCShop - ASUS EAH5570 / DI / 1GD3 (LP) video card;
- Syntex - Seasonic SS-850HT (S12D-850) power supply;
- Thermalright - Thermalright Venomous X.
Few would argue that the main goal of manufacturers of computer components, and indeed any other product, is to maximize profits. Nvidia and AMD mainly make money by releasing graphics accelerators. The more they manage to sell pieces, the faster they will recoup the production of the current model. In addition, the further development of the company and the appearance of new products depend on the profit. No matter how strange it may sound, but the main income for them comes from budget video accelerators, in the segment of which there is a constant struggle.
AMD Radeon HD 6570 and Integrated Accelerators
Processors equipped with integrated cores occupy a significant share of the accelerator market today. More recently, they were only suitable for office solutions that are designed to work with text editors. Today, they allow you to watch videos in high definition, work with resource-intensive applications, and even run some games. However, they have not yet succeeded in crowding out the budget segment. In 2011, "greens" and "reds" introduced new affordable models. Let's talk today about the brainchild of the latter - AMD 6570. The characteristics of the video card are impressive, and the cost is attractive.
Packaging and equipment
The AMD Radeon HD 6570 graphics card comes in a small cardboard box. To give originality, a bright drawing is applied, but it does not make an impression. The reason for this is the similar approach of other manufacturers. On the front side, AMD Radeon HD 6570 is doing its best to attract the user to purchase it. Here are the main advantages, guarantees, and even a demonstration of technologies that appeared in the model. Of course, some of the packaging details depend on the particular AMD Radeon HD 6570 publisher.
The characteristics in more detailed form are on the reverse side, which is not surprising. There is a description of each "chip" of the accelerator, differences from competitors - all this is presented in several languages. It is also possible to get acquainted with the requirements for the user's personal computer.
In general, the packaging does not evoke violent emotions. Despite the bright performance, the cheapness of paper is felt. However, it is impossible to find fault with this - affordable price does not allow.
Don't expect a generous package. Inside the box is a set typical for the budget segment. Except for the video card, only a CD with drivers and a user manual. Considering the cost, there is nothing to be surprised at, but I would like to see at least a set of plugs.
Appearance
In this regard, like many other models, AMD Radeon HD 6570 is not able to surprise either. User reviews confirm this. The video card is made in a rather typical form for AMD. The components are soldered onto a branded PCB. The size is small, which allows you to install the accelerator in any case, even a very compact one.
The board was assembled according to the reference design. Everything was done neatly. The memory modules are located on both sides. There are holes for mounting the cooling system, which, by the way, may not be useful to some users. A standard set of interfaces is located on one of the accelerator edges. 3 inputs are enough to connect most plasmas, monitors and projectors. The power supply system is not divided into subsystems - it is supplied in one phase to both the graphics core and memory modules.
Specifications
The graphics core is released under the name Turks and is made using 40 nm technology. Despite being in the budget class, the GPU runs at 650 MHz. In light load mode, the frequency is reduced to 100 MHz to save power. For information transfer, a 128-bit memory bus is used, the bandwidth of which is 28.8 GB.
AMD Radeon HD 6570 received 1 GB of video memory, made according to the GDDR3 standard. It operates at a clock frequency of 1800 MHz, which drops under average loads to 300 MHz. It is surprising that AMD itself was engaged in the production of memory modules, as indicated by the marking. The chips are manufactured in Taiwan.
Cooling system
Some configurations come without a cooler. This is due to the fact that the video card does not heat up too much, especially when working with undemanding programs. A small radiator is enough to cool it, and free space in the case will also not be superfluous.
However, some lots are supplied with an active cooling system. It includes a heatsink and 1 or 2 fans. Such a system will certainly save the board from overheating, besides it works quite quietly. In this case, even under heavy loads, the core did not heat up above 65 degrees, which is an excellent indicator. Of course, the noise level also increased, but remained acceptable. Under average loads, the accelerator does not "warm up" above 45 degrees, and the sound of the cooler merges with the rest of the system unit. We will feel the sound of the cooling system only after manually setting the speed to the maximum value. True, this mode is unlikely to be needed by the average user.
