XFX Radeon HD 5770 Review

OK, we're through playing nice with these new ATI 5xxx video cards. The corporate logo for XFX says: "play hard.", so Benchmark reviews is going to take that motto to heart and show what this cards can really do. Almost every single competing card runs at higher than reference clock rates, and they all come that way from the factory. Every single card I compared the HD5770 to, when we reviewed the reference design from ATI, was factory overclocked. That's just the way it is with video cards built on mature GPU technology. Well, every ATI 5xxx card can easily be overclocked using the standard driver package from ATI, Catalyst Control Center, since it includes ATI Overdrive. So let's do it, let's compare apples to apples, and as a bonus, I'll throw in some CrossfireX results, too.

The HD57xx mid-range cards compete in a crowded market with several competitors overlapping into their performance and price zones. There's a complex mix of old standards and new stars, and of course, each vendor has a different take on factory overclocking. Also, the market shifts every day; sometime imperceptibly, sometimes radically. The launch of the HD5xxx chips was a radical shift and we're still seeing ripples in the marketplace as the full performance capabilities of the new boards are explored. We looked at the standard performance envelope previously, now let's explore a bit beyond those boundaries.

About the company: XFX

XFX dares to go where the competition would like to go, but can't. That's because at XFX, the corporate philosophy is not about pushing the limits. For example, the Research and Development team never asks "why?" They usually ask "why not?" The company's tenacious quest to be the best of the best is what enables it to continually create the mind-blowing, performance-crushing, competition-obliterating video cards and motherboards that make up its core product line.

XFX's expansive product lineup continues to motivate, inspire and exceed the demands of its diverse audience. The company is a category leader thanks to its high-performance products that generate exceptional graphics and realistic and immersive 3D environments that vastly improve the gaming experience.

Satisfying the insatiable needs of gamers worldwide is just the tip of the iceberg; XFX is also highly visible in the gaming community. Over the years, the company has expanded its For Gamers By Gamers principle through a variety of award-winning advertising campaigns and a U.S. "search for the next professional gamer" that promote gaming as a professional sport rather than as entertainment. The company also maintains a strong alliance with the world's best known gamer, Fatal1ty, with whom XFX collaborates to create a professional level of video cards and gaming accessories. It is this dedication to producing the impossible that has enabled XFX to achieve a stronghold in the gaming community and to garner hundreds of awards along the way.

XFX is a division of PINE Technology Holdings Limited, a leading manufacturer and marketer of innovative solutions for the worldwide gaming technologies market. Founded in 1989, PINE designs, develops, manufactures and distributes high-performance video graphics technology and computer peripherals. The company's dedicated research and development team are continually pushing the limits to meet the demands of the ever-growing and performance-driven community.

The company has more than 1,000 employees worldwide with 17 offices around the globe. With distribution in over 50 countries around the world, PINE's XFX division maintains two state-of-the-art research and development facilities in Taiwan and Shenzhen, technical support centers in the U.S., Europe and Asia, product marketing the U.S., and a factory in Mainland China. To learn more about PINE, please visit www.pinegroup.com

XFX Radeon HD5770 Features

The feature set of the ATI HD5700 series video cards is nearly identical to the recently released HD5800 series. The important differences are all related to the fact that the HD5700 series chip is half the size of the HD5800, with half the processing power. For those who perused the mountain of details that accompanied the 5800 series launch, this graphic should look half familiar.

All XFX ATI Radeon HD 5700 Series graphics cards come with ATI Eyefinity Technology, which can instantly triple your visual real estate, up to three displays for the ultimate in innovative "wrap around" capabilities, all with crisp, sharp picture quality. ATI Eyefinity technology engages your peripheral vision and puts you right in the game. At the office, you can multi-task without needing to flip between windows. Ideal for multi-media applications, keep as many palettes or panels open as you would like, while you edit images or videos.

ATI Stream Technology unleashes the massive parallel processing power of your GPU to help speed up demanding every-day applications. Experience fast video encoding and transcoding, so that video playback, editing and transferring content to your iPod or other portable media players is quick and easy.

As the first fully Microsoft DirectX 11-compatible GPUs in their class, the XFX ATI Radeon HD 5700 Series delivers unrivaled visual quality and intense gaming performance. Enjoy in-your-face 3D visual effects and dynamic interactivity, with features like HDR Texture Compression, DirectCompute 11 and Tessellation.

The 5700 Series is further supersized with GDDR5 memory, 1.8X of graphics performance boost with ATI CrossFireX technology in dual mode, and unparalleled anti-aliasing and enhanced anisotropic filtering for slick graphics and supreme realism.

ATI Radeon HD 5770 GPU Feature Summary

• 1.04 billion 40nm transistors
• TeraScale 2 Unified Processing Architecture
  • 800 Stream Processing Units
  • 40 Texture Units
  • 64 Z/Stencil ROP Units
  • 16 Color ROP Units
• GDDR5 memory interface
• PCI Express 2.1 x16 bus interface
• DirectX 11 support
  • Shader Model 5.0
  • DirectCompute 11
  • Programmable hardware tessellation unit
  • Accelerated multi-threading
  • HDR texture compression
  • Order-independent transparency
• OpenGL 3.2 support₁
• Image quality enhancement technology
  • Up to 24x multi-sample and super-sample anti-aliasing modes
  • Adaptive anti-aliasing
  • 16x angle independent anisotropic texture filtering
  • 128-bit floating point HDR rendering
• ATI Eyefinity multi-display technology_2,3
  • Three independent display controllers - Drive three displays simultaneously with independent resolutions, refresh rates, color controls, and video overlays
  • Display grouping - Combine multiple displays to behave like a single large display
• ATI Stream acceleration technology
  • OpenCL 1.0 compliant
  • DirectCompute11
  • Accelerated video encoding, transcoding, and upscaling_4,5
  • Native support for common video encoding instructions
• ATI CrossFireXTM multi-GPU technology₆
  • Dual GPU scaling
• ATI Avivo HD Video & Display technology₇
  • UVD 2 dedicated video playback accelerator
  • Advanced post-processing and scaling₈
  • Dynamic contrast enhancement and color correction
  • Brighter whites processing (blue stretch)
  • Independent video gamma control
  • Dynamic video range control
  • Support for H.264, VC-1, and MPEG-2
  • Dual-stream 1080p playback support_9,10
  • DXVA 1.0 & 2.0 support
  • Integrated dual-link DVI output with HDCP₁₁
    • Max resolution: 2560x1600₁₂
  • Integrated DisplayPort output
    • Max resolution: 2560x1600₁₂
  • Integrated HDMI 1.3 output with Deep Color, xvYCC wide gamut support, and high bit-rate audio
    • Max resolution: 1920x1200₁₂
  • Integrated VGA output
    • Max resolution: 2048x1536₁₂
  • 3D stereoscopic display/glasses support₁₃
  • Integrated HD audio controller
    • Output protected high bit rate 7.1 channel surround sound over HDMI with no additional cables required
    • Supports AC-3, AAC, Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio formats
• ATI PowerPlayTM power management technology₇
  • Dynamic power management with low power idle state
  • Ultra-low power state support for multi-GPU configurations
• Certified drivers for Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP

1. Driver support scheduled for release in 2010
2. Driver version 8.66 (Catalyst 9.10) or above is required to support ATI Eyefinity technology and to enable a third display you require one panel with a DisplayPort connector
3. ATI Eyefinity technology works with games that support non-standard aspect ratios which is required for panning across three displays
4. Requires application support for ATI Stream technology
5. Digital rights management restrictions may apply
6. ATI CrossFireXTMtechnology requires an ATI CrossFireX Ready motherboard, an ATI CrossFireXTM Bridge Interconnect for each additional graphics card) and may require a specialized power supply
7. ATI PowerPlayTM, ATI AvivoTMand ATI Stream are technology platforms that include a broad set of capabilities offered by certain ATI RadeonTMHD GPUs. Not all products have all features and full enablement of some capabilities and may require complementary products
8. Upscaling subject to available monitor resolution
9. Blu-ray or HD DVD drive and HD monitor required
10. Requires Blu-ray movie disc supporting dual 1080p streams
11. Playing HDCP content requires additional HDCP ready components, including but not limited to an HDCP ready monitor, Blu-ray or HD DVD disc drive, multimedia application and computer operating system.
12. Some custom resolutions require user configuration
13. Requires 3D Stereo drivers, glasses, and display

AMD is slowly working towards a future vision of graphics computing, as is their main competitor, Intel. They both believe that integrating graphics processing with the CPU provides benefits that can only be achieved by taking the hard road. For now, the only thing we can see is their belief; the roadmap is both sketchy and proprietary. One look at the size of the Juniper GPU die and it starts to look more like a possibility than a pipe dream, though.

XFX Radeon HD5770 Specifications

The XFX Radeon HD5770 specifications don't fit neatly between two or more competing, or legacy models. It's tempting to compare the card to the HD4870 and HD4890, but the HD5770 has only half the memory bus width of the entire HD48xx series; however every single 5xxx card runs GDDR5 memory at very high clock rates. The memory bandwidth of the HD5750 compares favorably to the HD4850, at 73.6 GB/sec versus 63.5 GB/s, but falls way behind the HD4890 which runs at 124.8 GB/s, as well as all the NVIDIA G200-based cards. It's the penalty ATI paid for slicing the "Cypress" directly in half in order to get the "Juniper". You can see the complete specs in detail a little further below on this page. The real story is how ATI has been able to reduce the cost of the HD5700 platform to below the HD4850. Take a look at where the four versions of the HD5xxx series end up relative to their forefathers. And remember, this is all based on launch pricing...

Now let's look at the actual HD5770 specs in detail:

Radeon HD5770 Speeds & Feeds

• Engine clock speed: 850 MHz
• Processing power (single precision): 1.36 TeraFLOPS
• Polygon throughput: 850M polygons/sec
• Data fetch rate (32-bit): 136 billion fetches/sec
• Texel fill rate (bilinear filtered): 34 Gigatexels/sec
• Pixel fill rate: 13.6 Gigapixels/sec
• Anti-aliased pixel fill rate: 54.4 Gigasamples/sec
• Memory clock speed: 1.2 GHz
• Memory data rate: 4.8 Gbps
• Memory bandwidth: 76.8 GB/sec
• Maximum board power: 108 Watts
• Idle board power: 18 Watts

Although this review is for the HD5770, the HD5750 is being released at the same time and the two cards are based on the same silicon. The HD5750 is likely built with chips that didn't meet the top clock spec, and/or had a defect that killed one of the stream processor units. As anyone who has followed the AMD product line knows, modern processors are designed with the capability of disabling portions of the die. Sometimes, it's done because there are defects on the chip (usually a small particle of dust that ruins a transistor) and all the internal sections don't pass testing. Sometimes it's done with perfectly good chips because the manufacturer needs to meet production requirements for lower cost market segments.

It's aways a delicate balance between economies of scale (building massive quantities of only one part) and the fact that you can usually meet the requirements for the lower priced product with a cheaper part. ATI has all the bases covered in this latest series of product launches; they've got the more expensive chips in the HD5800 series and the much cheaper, half-size chips in the HD5700 series. Within each series, they've got reduced spec versions that ensure that they make the most of the manufacturing yields that TSMC is able to achieve at the 40nm process node.

Closer Look: XFX Radeon HD5770

The HD 5770 follows the general design of the HD5850 card, only on a slightly smaller scale. The card is only 220 mm long (8.63"), which means it will fit into most any case without an issue. The signature red blower wheel, sourced from Delta is there, pushing air through a finned heatsink block that sits on top of the GPU, and out the back of the card through the small set of vents on the I/O plate. The reference design cooler also provides a large expanse of real estate for ATI's retail partners to display their branding.

The collection of I/O ports on the dual-width rear panel of the card is consistent across the entire HD5xxx family at this point: two DVI, one HDMI and one DisplayPort connector. This doesn't leave much room for the exhaust vents, but if ATI can keep the HD5800 series cool with the same design, the half-size HD5700 series GPU should be fine. The housing is a one-piece plastic affair, and removes easily. The external appearance hints at a simplistic design; it looks like a cover and nothing more. Once we look inside, that impression will be laid to rest.

The far end of the card showcases the new "hood scoop" design that is carried over from the high end ATI cards. They don't feed a lot of air into the blower, but if you look closely at the back side of the fan housing in the image after next, you should see some vents on the back side that do feed air into the center of the squirrel cage blower wheel. So, the HD5770 has an extra trick up its sleeve, compared to the HD58xx series, which use a different blower housing. This provides some ventilation for most of the power supply components located at the far end of the card. Power supply + ventilation is always a good thing. The red racing graphics on the top edge is both decorative and functional, as there are some additional vents molded in there.

Popping off the cover reveals a deceptively simple, ducted heat sink with a copper base and tightly spaced aluminum fins. The blower is thinner than the units in the HD5800 series, but follows the same format. A portion of the duct opens up to the case by way of some vents in the top rail, molded here in red. Clearly, the majority of the air is meant to exhaust through the I/O plate, but it never hurts to have a backup plan.

For most high-end video cards, the cooling system is an integral part of the performance envelope for the card. Make it run cooler, and you can make it run faster is the byword for achieving gaming-class performance from the latest and greatest GPUs. Even though the HD5770 is a mid-range card with a small GPU die size, it's still a gaming product and will be pushed to maximum performance levels by most potential customers. We'll be looking at cooling performance later on, to see how well the cooler design holds up under the strain of GPU overclocks.

The back of the XFX Radeon HD5770 is bare, which is normal for a card in this market segment. The main features to be seen here are the metal cross-brace for the GPU heatsink screws, which are spring loaded, and the four Hynix GDDR5 memory chips on the back side. They are mounted back-to-back with four companion chips on the top side of the board. Together, they make up the full 1GB of memory contained on this card.

Now, let's peek under the covers and have a good look at what's inside the XFX Radeon HD5770.

XFX Radeon HD5770 Detailed Features

The main attraction of ATI's new line of video cards is the brand new GPU with its 40nm transistors and an improved architecture. The chip in the 5700 series is called "Juniper" and is essentially half of the "Cypress", the high-end chip in the HD5800 series that was introduced in September, 2009.

The Juniper die is very small, as can be seen with this comparison to a well known dimensional standard. ATI still managed to cram over a billion transistors on there, and the small size is critical to the pricing strategy that ATI is pursuing with these new releases.

1 GB of GDDR5 memory, on a 128-bit bus with a 4.8 Gbps memory interface offers a maximum memory bandwidth of up to 76.8 GB/sec. Cutting the Cypress GPU in half limited the bus to 128-bit, but ATI has bumped up the clock rate on all their new boards. With GDDR5 running at 1200 MHz, the memory itself won't be a bottleneck on this card, but the narrower bus width does have a major performance impact. There is some room for memory overclocking via the Overdrive tool distributed by AMD.

The H5GQ1H24AFR-T2C chip from Hynix is rated for 5.0 Gbps, and is one of the higher rated chips in the series, as you can see in the table below. An overclock to the 1250-1300 MHz range is not unthinkable, especially if utilities become available to modify memory voltage.

The power section provides 3-phase power to the GPU; that's about average for a mid-range graphics card, and while increasing the number of power phases achieves better voltage regulation, improves efficiency, and reduces heat, ATI has used the inherently lower power requirements of the Juniper GPU and some fancy footwork in the power supply control chip to reduce power draw to very low levels.

Where the HD5800 series used a number of Volterra regulators and controllers, the HD5770 makes do with one L6788A controller chip from ST. It's still a relatively sophisticated controller, and the combination of a lower power GPU, low power GDDR5 memory, and smart power supply design yields an incredibly low power consumption of 18W at idle and 108W under duress. These numbers are derived from testing with 3DMark03; ATI says it pulls higher current than more recent versions of the synthetic benchmark. Another cost-cutting measure can be seen here, the use of standard electrolytic capacitors in a few locations.

The assembly quality on the XFX Radeon HD5770 PCB is up to the levels I expect to see on a high-end retail product like this. The image above is from the back side of the printed circuit board, directly below the GPU. It is one of the most crowded portions of the PCB, and one where any small misplacement of a component can have serious implication on stability, especially for overclocking. Before we dive into the testing portion of the review, let's look at one of the most exciting new features available on every Radeon HD5xxx series product, EyeFinity.

ATI Eyefinity Multi-Monitors

ATI Eyefinity advanced multiple-display technology launches a new era of panoramic computing, helping to boost productivity and multitasking with innovative graphics display capabilities supporting massive desktop workspaces, creating ultra-immersive computing environments with superhigh resolution gaming and entertainment, and enabling easy configuration. High end editions will support up to six independent display outputs simultaneously.

In the past, multi-display systems catered to professionals in specific industries. Financial, energy, and medical are just some industries where multi-display systems are a necessity. Today, more and more graphic designers, CAD engineers and programmers are attaching more than one display to their workstation. A major benefit of a multi-display system is simple and universal - it enables increased productivity. This has been confirmed in industry studies which show that attaching more than one display device to a PC can signficantly increase user productivity.

Early multi-display solutions were non-ideal. Bulky CRT monitors claimed too much desk space; thinner LCD monitors were very expensive; and external multidisplay hardware were inconvenient and also very expensive. These issues are much less of a concern today. LCD monitors are very affordable and current generation GPUs can drive multiple display devices independently and simultaneously, without the need for external hardware. Despite the advancements in multi-display technology, AMD engineers still felt there was room for improvement, especially regarding the display interfaces. VGA carries analog signals and needs a dedicated DAC per display output, which consumes power and ASIC space. Dual-Link DVI is digital, but requires a dedicated clock source per display output and uses too many I/O pins from the GPU. It was clear that a superior display interface was needed.

In 2004, a group of PC companies collaborated to define and develop DisplayPort, a powerful and robust digital display interface. At that time, engineers working for the former ATI Technologies Inc. were already thinking about a more elegant solution to drive more than two display devices per GPU, and it was clear that DisplayPort was the interface of choice for this task. In contrast to other digital display interfaces, DisplayPort does not require a dedicated clock signal for each display output. In fact, the data link is fixed at 1.62Gbps or 2.7Gbps per lane, irrespective of the timing of the attached display device. The benefit of this design is that one reference clock source provides the clock signal needed to drive as many DisplayPort display devices as there are display pipelines in the GPU. In addition, with the same number of I/O pins used for Single-Link DVI, a full speed DisplayPort link can be driven which provides more bandwidth and translates to higher resolutions, refresh rates and color depths. All these benefits perfectly complement ATI Eyefinity Multi-Display Technology.

ATI Eyefinity Technology from AMD provides advanced multiple monitor technology delivering an immersive graphics and computing experience, supporting massive virtual workspaces and super-high resolution gaming environments. Legacy GPUs have supported up to two display outputs simultaneously and independently for more than a decade. Until now graphics solutions have supported more than two monitors by combining multiple GPUs on a single graphics card. With the introduction of AMD's next-generation graphics product series supporting DirectX 11, a single GPU now has the advanced capability of simultaneously supporting up to six independent display outputs.

ATI Eyefinity Technology is closely aligned with AMD's DisplayPort implementation providing the flexibility and upgradability modern user's demand. Up to two DVI, HDMI, or VGA display outputs can be combined with DisplayPort outputs for a total of up to six monitors, depending on the graphics card configuration. The initial AMD graphics products with ATI Eyefinity technology will support a maximum of three independent display outputs via a combination of two DVI, HDMI or VGA with one DisplayPort monitor. AMD has a future product planned to support up to six DisplayPort outputs. Wider display connectivity is possible by using display output adapters that support active translation from DisplayPort to DVI or VGA.

The DisplayPort 1.2 specification is currently being developed by the same group of companies who designed the original DisplayPort specification. Its feature set includes higher bandwidth, enhanced audio and multi-stream support. Multi-stream, commonly referred to as daisy-chaining, is the ability to address and drive multiple display devices through one connector. This technology, coupled with ATI Eyefinity Technology, will be a key enabler for multi-display technology, and AMD will be at the forefront of this transition.

Video Card Testing Methodology

This is the beginning of a new era for testing at Benchmark Reviews. With the imminent release of Windows7 to the marketplace, and given the prolonged and extensive pre-release testing that occurred on a global scale, there are compelling reasons to switch all testing to this new, and highly anticipated, operating system. Overall performance levels of Windows 7 have been favorably compared to Windows XP, and there is solid support for the 64-bit version, something enthusiasts have been anxiously awaiting for several years.

Our site polls and statistics indicate that the over 90% of our visitors use their PC for playing video games, and practically every one of you are using a screen resolutions mentioned above. Since all of the benchmarks we use for testing represent different game engine technology and graphic rendering processes, this battery of tests will provide a diverse range of results for you to gauge performance on your own computer system. All of the benchmark applications are capable of utilizing DirectX 10, and that is how they were tested. Some of these benchmarks have been used widely for DirectX 9 testing in the XP environment, and it is critically important to differentiate between results obtained with different versions. Each game behaves differently in DX9 and DX10 formats. Crysis is an extreme example, with frame rates in DirectX 10 only about half what was available in DirectX 9.

At the start of all tests, the previous display adapter driver is uninstalled and trace components are removed using Driver Cleaner Pro.We then restart the computer system to establish our display settings and define the monitor. Once the hardware is prepared, we begin our testing. According to the Steam Hardware Survey published at the time of Windows 7 launch, the most popular gaming resolution is 1280x1024 (17-19" standard LCD monitors) closely followed by 1024x768 (15-17" standard LCD). However, because these resolutions are considered 'low' by most standards, our benchmark performance tests concentrate on the up-and-coming higher-demand resolutions: 1680x1050 (22-24" widescreen LCD) and 1920x1200 (24-28" widescreen LCD monitors).

Each benchmark test program begins after a system restart, and the very first result for every test will be ignored since it often only caches the test. This process proved extremely important in the World in Conflict benchmarks, as the first run served to cache maps allowing subsequent tests to perform much better than the first. Each test is completed five times, the high and low results are discarded, and the average of the thre remaining results are displayed in our article.

Test System

• Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P Rev 1.1 (F7c BIOS)
• System Memory: 4X 1GB OCZ Reaper HPC DDR2 1150MHz (5-5-5-15)
• Processor: Intel E7300 Core2 Duo 2.66GHz (Overclocked to 3.8 GHz)
• CPU Cooler: CoolerMaster Hyper 212 RR-CCH-LB12-GP
• Video: XFX Radeon HD5770, HD-577A-ZN
• Drive 1: OCZ Summit SSD, 60GB
• Drive 2: Western Digital VelociRaptor VR150, 150GB
• Optical Drive: Sony NEC Optiarc AD-7190A-OB 20X IDE DVD Burner
• Enclosure: SiverStone Fortress FT01BW ATX Case
• PSU: Corsair CMPSU-750TX ATX12V V2.2 750Watt
• Monitor: SOYO 24"; Widescreen LCD Monitor (DYLM24E6) 1920X1200
• Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate Version 6.1 (Build 7600)

Benchmark Applications

• 3DMark Vantage v1.0.1 (8x Anti Aliasing & 16x Anisotropic Filtering)
• Crysis v1.21 Benchmark (High Settings, 0x and 4x Anti-Aliasing)
• Devil May Cry 4 Benchmark Demo (Ultra Quality, 8x MSAA)
• Far Cry 2 v1.02 (Very High Performance, Ultra-High Quality, 8x Anti-Aliasing)
• World in Conflict v1.0.0.9 Performance Test (Very High Setting: 4x AA/16x AF)
• Battleforge Renegade v1.1 (Max Quality, 8x Anti-Aliasing, MT Rendering)
• Resident Evil 5 (8x Anti-Aliasing, Motion Blur ON, Quality Levels-High)

Video Card Test Products

• XFX Radeon HD5750 (HD-575X-ZN - Catalyst 8.66.6_Beta1)
• XFX Radeon HD5770 (HD577A-ZN - Catalyst 8.66.6_Beta1)
• ASUS GeForce GTX 260 (ENGTX260 MATRIX - Forceware v190.62)
• MSI GeForce GTX 275 (N275GTX Twin Frozr OC - Forceware v190.62)
• ASUS GeForce GTX 285 (GTX285 MATRIX - Forceware v190.62)

Overclocking the Radeon HD5770

Time was, overclocking was sort of a mysterious pastime of a small group of fanatical techies. Then the Intel Core2 Duo CPU hit the market and suddenly overclocking became less of a dangerous adventure and more of a birthright. In the video card world, it was not the arrival of overclocking friendly hardware that broke the ice, it was software utilities. They were supplied initially by third parties, then by the card vendors themselves, and now they come direct from the GPU manufacturer. For the first couple years, some had pretty awful interfaces and some didn't work too reliably, but these days the software from all three sources is of decent quality. I've reviewed the ASUS iTracker and msi products and they were both useful, and there's always the old stand-by, Riva-Tuner.

After reviewing my options, since XFX does not publish their own version of an overclocking utility for the new ATI 5xxx series of cards, I used Catalyst Control Center supplied by ATI, which works with every 5xxx series card. It doesn't allow the user to change GPU voltage, but it does have a fan control setting integrated in the application. I bumped the fan up to 100% at the beginning; better to explore the overclocking limits with all available cooling than to overcook the card while testing. There is an auto tune feature included, but I'm the impatient type, who likes full control, so I just dove right in and started cranking things up.

One of the anxious moments every overclocker has, is when the CPU, GPU, or memory locks up or starts spitting out random bits. The second anxious moment follows soon after, when it's time to restart the system. Especially with video cards, because they don't provide access to BIOS screens during POST and boot sequences. Most cards don't even have a way of resetting the BIOS, with a hardware jumper or otherwise. So, there is a possibility of turning that shiny new hunk of high tech into what is known in the industry as a "brick". Fortunately, although I crashed the XFX HD5770 several times while pushing it over the limit, it rebounded each time and asked for more....errr, less. Eventually the XFX HD5770 and I came to the conclusion that a 930MHz GPU clock and a 1250 MHz memory clock would be stable in all gaming and benchmarking situations. I had hoped for a bit more speed on the memory, but I think a few extra millivolts are required, and that capability is not currently available.

Leaving well enough alone is NOT the way most gamers and computer enthusiasts think, it's more like, "If it ain't broke, crank it up some more." So, we did that already, what now? The answer for the last several years has been, "Buy another one and hook ‘em together." CrossfireX and a spare HD5770 came to the rescue, and the combination did not disappoint. The 5770 scales very well in CrossfireX, and the installation and setup could not have been any easier. Once the system was running with one HD5770, I shut it down, plugged the second card in, attached the flexi-bridge, and restarted. Once Windows started up, Catalyst Control Center popped open and informed me that I had two GPUs running in CrossfireX, and asked if that was alright. I said yes; who wouldn't? From that point on, it was seamless, and the performance was amazing, even with stock, reference clocks. Once you see the results, I think you'll agree that this is a giant killer, in the ATI tradition. Remember the HD4770 in CrossfireX?

Now we're ready to begin testing video game performance on these video cards, so please continue to the next page as we start off with our 3DMark Vantage results.

3DMark Vantage Benchmark Results

3DMark Vantage is a computer benchmark by Futuremark (formerly named Mad Onion) to determine the DirectX 10 performance of 3D game performance with graphics cards. A 3DMark score is an overall measure of your system's 3D gaming capabilities, based on comprehensive real-time 3D graphics and processor tests. By comparing your score with those submitted by millions of other gamers you can see how your gaming rig performs, making it easier to choose the most effective upgrades or finding other ways to optimize your system.

There are two graphics tests in 3DMark Vantage: Jane Nash (Graphics Test 1) and New Calico (Graphics Test 2). The Jane Nash test scene represents a large indoor game scene with complex character rigs, physical GPU simulations, multiple dynamic lights, and complex surface lighting models. It uses several hierarchical rendering steps, including for water reflection and refraction, and physics simulation collision map rendering. The New Calico test scene represents a vast space scene with lots of moving but rigid objects and special content like a huge planet and a dense asteroid belt.

At Benchmark Reviews, we believe that synthetic benchmark tools are just as valuable as video games, but only so long as you're comparing apples to apples. Since the same test is applied in the same controlled method with each test run, 3DMark is a reliable tool for comparing graphic cards against one-another.

1680x1050 is rapidly becoming the new 1280x1024. More and more widescreen are being sold with new systems or as upgrades to existing ones. Even in tough economic times, the tide cannot be turned back; screen resolution and size will continue to creep up. Using this resolution as a starting point, the maximum settings were applied to 3DMark Vantage include 8x Anti-Aliasing, 16x Anisotropic Filtering, all quality levels at Extreme, and Post Processing Scale at 1:2.

No, you're not seeing double....well, actually you are seeing double. As in double HD5770 cards linked in CrossfireX; I thought that big yellow bar on the right would get your attention. Let's get this out of the way right now. Two HD5770 cards can beat up on just about any single-GPU solution out there. In every benchmark, there was no contest between the two HD5770 cards and the GTX285 card under test. You'll see. Now, back to our regularly scheduled program.

The two test scenes in 3DMark Vantage provide a varied and modern set of challenges for the video cards and their subsystems, as described above. The results always produced higher frame rates for GT1 and so far, I haven't seen any curveball results like I used to see with 3DMark06. The XFX Radeon HD5770 finally comes to grips with the GTX260 card in both GT1 and GT2 when it's overclocked. In both test cases, the HD5770 easily beats the HD5750; there's no pretending that it's close, the extra stream processors in the HD5770 really do make a difference. The GTX275 and GTX285 pull away from the middle of the pack, as they should for the price difference. Twinned HD5770s take the prize home, though.

At a higher screen resolution of 1920x1200, the story changes a bit, as the overclocked HD5770 pulls out a small lead on the GTX260 in both tests. The 128-bit memory bus doesn't seem to hurt the card with higher resolutions. The HD5750 falls well behind in this company, as you might expect. It's worth keeping it in the testing mix, just to retain a sense of perspective. We need to look at actual gaming performance to verify these results, so let's take a look in the next section, at how these cards stack up in the standard bearer for gaming benchmarks, Crysis.

Crysis Benchmark Results

Crysis uses a new graphics engine: the CryENGINE2, which is the successor to Far Cry's CryENGINE. CryENGINE2 is among the first engines to use the Direct3D 10 (DirectX 10) framework, but can also run using DirectX 9, on Vista, Windows XP and the new Windows 7. As we'll see, there are significant frame rate reductions when running Crysis in DX10. It's not an operating system issue, DX9 works fine in WIN7, but DX10 knocks the frame rates in half.

Roy Taylor, Vice President of Content Relations at NVIDIA, has spoken on the subject of the engine's complexity, stating that Crysis has over a million lines of code, 1GB of texture data, and 85,000 shaders. To get the most out of modern multicore processor architectures, CPU intensive subsystems of CryENGINE 2 such as physics, networking and sound, have been re-written to support multi-threading.

Crysis offers an in-game benchmark tool, which is similar to World in Conflict. This short test does place some high amounts of stress on a graphics card, since there are so many landscape features rendered. For benchmarking purposes, Crysis can mean trouble as it places a high demand on both GPU and CPU resources. Benchmark Reviews uses the Crysis Benchmark Tool by Mad Boris to test frame rates in batches, which allows the results of many tests to be averaged.

Low-resolution testing allows the graphics processor to plateau its maximum output performance, and shifts demand onto the other system components. At the lower resolutions Crysis will reflect the GPU's top-end speed in the composite score, indicating full-throttle performance with little load. This makes for a less GPU-dependant test environment, but it is sometimes helpful in creating a baseline for measuring maximum output performance. At the 1280x1024 resolution used by 17" and 19" monitors, the CPU and memory have too much influence on the results to be used in a video card test. At the widescreen resolutions of 1680x1050 and 1900x1200, the performance differences between video cards under test are mostly down to the cards.

In my review of the reference HD5770, I said I was shocked by these DirectX 10 numbers, but now something has changed. Now I see how to get decent frame rates in this particularly challenging situation: start with an ATI 5770, at a minimum, and put at least two of them in CrossfireX. Running XP-based systems and DirectX 9, the latest generation of video cards was starting to get a handle on Crysis. Certainly, in this test, with no anti-aliasing dialed in, any of the tested cards running in DX9 provided a usable solution. Now, in DX10 only the highest performing boards get close to an average frame rate of 30FPS. It seems like we've gone back in time, back to when only two or three very expensive video cards could run Crysis with all the eye candy turned on. I guess we'll have to wait until CryEngine3 comes out, and is optimized for the current generation of graphics APIs.

Looking at the XFX HD5770 running reference clocks and the overclocked results, we can see that this card does pretty well with Crysis. Even in stock configuration it beats the GTX260, and the overclock pushes the lead out a bit. They both fail to catch the GTX 275, though, hanging about 3 FPS behind. Putting two of them in CrossfireX crushes the competition, at a pretty reasonable price, too. Interestingly, the CrossfireX doesn't scale all that well in this benchmark, but it's enough to sail well past the GTX285 with a 7 FPS lead, and it's the only thing that will get you past 30 FPS at 1900x1200.

Add in some anti-aliasing, 4X to be exact, and all the cards take about a 5 FPS hit. Although the HD5770 still beats out the GTX260, even with stock clocks, it's a pyrrhic victory. No one wants to play this game at 17 or 20 FPS, it's just too choppy. Either throw more hardware at it, or fall back to DirectX9, which I think makes the most sense. I'd rather have smooth frame rates and 4X or 8X anti-aliasing than the small detail improvements DX10 brings to this game.

In our next section, Benchmark Reviews tests with Devil May Cry 4 Benchmark. Read on to see how a blended high-demand GPU test with low video frame buffer demand will impact our test products.

Devil May Cry 4 Benchmark

Devil May Cry 4 was released for the PC platform in early 2007 as the fourth installment to the Devil May Cry video game series. DMC4 is a direct port from the PC platform to console versions, which operate at the native 720P game resolution with no other platform restrictions. Devil May Cry 4 uses the refined MT Framework game engine, which has been used for many popular Capcom game titles over the past several years.

MT Framework is an exclusive seventh generation game engine built to be used with games developed for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and PC ports. MT stands for "Multi-Thread", "Meta Tools" and "Multi-Target". Originally meant to be an outside engine, but none matched their specific requirements in performance and flexibility. Games using the MT Framework are originally developed on the PC and then ported to the other two console platforms.

On the PC version a special bonus called Turbo Mode is featured, giving the game a slightly faster speed, and a new difficulty called Legendary Dark Knight Mode is implemented. The PC version also has both DirectX 9 and DirectX 10 mode for Windows XP, Vista, and Widows 7 operating systems.

It's always nice to be able to compare the results we receive here at Benchmark Reviews with the results you test for on your own computer system. Usually this isn't possible, since settings and configurations make it nearly difficult to match one system to the next; plus you have to own the game or benchmark tool we used.

Devil May Cry 4 fixes this, and offers a free benchmark tool available for download. Because the DMC4 MT Framework game engine is rather low-demand for today's cutting edge video cards, Benchmark Reviews uses the 1920x1200 resolution to test with 8x AA (highest AA setting available to Radeon HD video cards) and 16x AF.

Devil May Cry 4 is not as demanding a benchmark as it used to be. Only scene #2 and #4 are worth looking at from the standpoint of trying to separate the fastest video cards from the slower ones. Still, it represents a typical environment for many games that our readers still play on a regular basis, so it's good to see what works with it and what doesn't. Any of the tested cards will do a credible job in this application, and the performance scales in a pretty linear fashion. You get what you pay for when running this game, at least for benchmarks. This is one time where you can generally use the maximum available anti-aliasing settings, so NVIDIA users should feel free to crank it up to 16X. The DX10 "penalty" is of no consequence here.

The HD5770 definitely holds its own in this benchmark. The stock clocked XFX HD5770 put in an absolutely equal performance to the GTX260-216, and an overclock puts it solidly between the 260 and the 275. All of this is way above the minimum frame rates for smooth looking graphics, and I have to say this is one game where the DirectX10 version has a noticeable visual advantage over the DX9 version. The second and the fourth scene, especially, are a joy to observe at these frame rates, with all the settings turned up to max. The CrossfireX pair turned in absolutely insane frame rates, well beyond what is required for this game.

Our next benchmark of the series is for a very popular FPS game that rivals Crysis for world-class graphics.

Far Cry 2 Benchmark Results

Ubisoft has developed Far Cry 2 as a sequel to the original, but with a very different approach to game play and story line. Far Cry 2 features a vast world built on Ubisoft's new game engine called Dunia, meaning "world", "earth" or "living" in Farci. The setting in Far Cry 2 takes place on a fictional Central African landscape, set to a modern day timeline.

The Dunia engine was built specifically for Far Cry 2, by Ubisoft Montreal development team. It delivers realistic semi-destructible environments, special effects such as dynamic fire propagation and storms, real-time night-and-day sun light and moon light cycles, dynamic music system, and non-scripted enemy A.I actions.

The Dunia game engine takes advantage of multi-core processors as well as multiple processors and supports DirectX 9 as well as DirectX 10. Only 2 or 3 percent of the original CryEngine code is re-used, according to Michiel Verheijdt, Senior Product Manager for Ubisoft Netherlands. Additionally, the engine is less hardware-demanding than CryEngine 2, the engine used in Crysis. However, it should be noted that Crysis delivers greater character and object texture detail, as well as more destructible elements within the environment. For example; trees breaking into many smaller pieces and buildings breaking down to their component panels. Far Cry 2 also supports the amBX technology from Philips. With the proper hardware, this adds effects like vibrations, ambient colored lights, and fans that generate wind effects.

There is a benchmark tool in the PC version of Far Cry 2, which offers an excellent array of settings for performance testing. Benchmark Reviews used the maximum settings allowed for our tests, with the resolution set to 1920x1200. The performance settings were all set to 'Very High', Render Quality was set to 'Ultra High' overall quality level, 8x anti-aliasing was applied, and HDR and Bloom were enabled. Of course DX10 was used exclusively for this series of tests.

Although the Dunia engine in Far Cry 2 is slightly less demanding than CryEngine 2 engine in Crysis, the strain appears to be extremely close. In Crysis we didn't dare to test AA above 4x, whereas we use 8x AA and 'Ultra High' settings in Far Cry 2. Here we also see the opposite effect, when switching our testing to DirectX 10. Far Cry 2 seems to have been optimized, or at least written with a clear understanding of DX10 requirements.

Using the short 'Ranch Small' time demo (which yields the lowest FPS of the three tests available), all the tested products are capable of producing playable frame rates with the settings all turned up. The Radeon HD5750 hangs close enough to its big brother, the HD5770 in this game to consider it as a lower cost alternative. Although the Dunia engine seems to be optimized for NVIDIA chips, the improvements ATI incorporated in their latest GPUs are enough to allow this game to be played with a mid-range card. The overclocked XFX HD5770 gains a few useful FPS over the stock settings, and as usual, the Crossfired pair puts up stunning numbers that are well past the GTX285 card.

Our next benchmark of the series puts our collection of video cards against some fresh graphics in the newly released Resident Evil 5 benchmark.

Resident Evil 5 Benchmark Results

PC gamers get the ultimate Resident Evil package in this new PC version with exclusive features including NVIDIA's new GeForce 3D Vision technology (wireless 3D Vision glasses sold separately), new costumes and a new mercenaries mode with more enemies on screen. Delivering an infinite level of detail, realism and control, Resident Evil 5 is certain to bring new fans to the series. Incredible changes to game play and the world of Resident Evil make it a must-have game for gamers across the globe.

Years after surviving the events in Raccoon City, Chris Redfield has been fighting the scourge of bio-organic weapons all over the world. Now a member of the Bio-terrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSSA), Chris is sent to Africa to investigate a biological agent that is transforming the populace into aggressive and disturbing creatures. New cooperatively-focused game play revolutionizes the way that Resident Evil is played. Chris and Sheva must work together to survive new challenges and fight dangerous hordes of enemies.

From a gaming performance perspective, Resident Evil 5 uses Next Generation of Fear - Ground breaking graphics that utilize an advanced version of Capcom's proprietary game engine, MT Framework, which powered the hit titles Devil May Cry 4, Lost Planet and Dead Rising. The game uses a wider variety of lighting to enhance the challenge. Fear Light as much as Shadow - Lighting effects provide a new level of suspense as players attempt to survive in both harsh sunlight and extreme darkness. As usual, we maxed out the graphics settings on the benchmark version of this popular game, to put the hardware through its paces. Much like Devil May Cry 4, it's relatively easy to get good frame rates in this game, so take the opportunity to turn up all the knobs and maximize the visual experience.

The Resident Evil5 benchmark tool provides a graph of continuous frame rates and averages for each of four distinct scenes. In addition it calculates an overall average for the four scenes. The overall average is what we report here, as the scenes were pretty evenly matched and no scene had results that were so far above or below the average as to present a unique situation.

The 1680x1050 test results from this game scale almost as linearly as a synthetic benchmark. The one "lump" in the graph is the overclocked XFX HD5770, standing just a little taller than its brothers on the right and left. The HD5770 trails the GTX260 in its stock form, but once we turn up the clocks to even up the odds, the HD5770 pulls even with the already overclocked GTX260. The GTX275 and 285 do very well in this game, beating both new ATI offerings easily, at a substantial price penalty, though. Once again, two 5770s in Crossfire clean house with frame rates that are beyond reproach.

Our next benchmark of the series features a strategy game with photorealistic graphics: World in Conflict.

World in Conflict Benchmark Results

The latest version of Massive's proprietary Masstech engine utilizes DX10 technology and features advanced lighting and physics effects, and allows for a full 360 degree range of camera control. Massive's MassTech engine scales down to accommodate a wide range of PC specifications, if you've played a modern PC game within the last two years, you'll be able to play World in Conflict.

World in Conflict's FPS-like control scheme and 360-degree camera make its action-strategy game play accessible to strategy fans and fans of other genres... if you love strategy, you'll love World in Conflict. If you've never played strategy, World in Conflict is the strategy game to try.

Based on the test results charted below it's clear that WiC doesn't place a limit on the maximum frame rate (to prevent a waste of power) which is good for full-spectrum benchmarks like ours, but bad for electricity bills. The average frame rate is shown for each resolution in the chart below. World in Conflict just begins to place demands on the graphics processor at the 1680x1050 resolution, so we'll skip the low-res testing.

The GT200 series GPUs from NVIDIA seem to have a distinct advantage with the World In Conflict benchmark. Both the standard and overclocked XFX HD5770 pull acceptable frame rates, though, even if they can't catch up to a GTX260. It looks like something is not optimized in this benchmark for the latest ATI cards, until you see the CrossfireX results. The new Juniper-based cards scale really well in this game, and kick the GTX285 to the curb.

Our last benchmark of the series brings DirectX 11 into the mix, a situation that only the ATI cards under test are capable of handling.

BattleForge - Renegade Benchmark Results

In anticipation of the Release of DirectX 11 with Windows 7 and coinciding with the release of AMD's ATI HD 5870, BattleForge has been updated to allow it to run using DirectX 11 on supported hardware. Well what does all of this actually mean you may ask? It gives us a sip of water from the Holy Grail of game designing and computing in general: greater efficiency! What does this mean for you? It means that that the game will demonstrate a higher level of performance for the same processing power, which in turn allows more to be done with the game graphically. In layman's terms the game will have a higher frame rate and new ways of creating graphical effects, such as shadows and lighting. The culmination of all of this is a game that both runs and looks better. The game is running on a completely new graphics engine that was built for BattleForge.

BattleForge is a next-gen real time strategy game, in which you fight epic battles against evil along with your friends. What makes BattleForge special is that you can assemble your army yourself: the units, buildings and spells in BattleForge are represented by collectible cards that you can trade with other players. BattleForge is developed by EA Phenomic. The studio was founded by Volker Wertich, father of the classic "The Settlers" and the SpellForce series. Phenomic has been an EA studio since August 2006.

BattleForge was released on Windows in March 2009. On May 26, 2009, BattleForge became a Play 4 Free branded game with only 32 of the 200 cards available. In order to get additional cards, players will now need to buy points on the BattleForge website. The retail version comes with all of the starter decks and 3,000 BattleForge points.

Never mind the DX10 v. DX11 question, the real news here is that this game was almost certainly developed exclusively on ATI hardware, and it shows. The stock XFX HD5770 trumps the GTX285, and the overclocked one goes one better. CrossfireX scales way past 80% at both widescreen resolutions, and puts this game into the frame rate range where it runs quite smoothly.

The BattleForge benchmark itself is a tough one, once all the settings are maxed out. The graphics are suitably impressive; even though they were developed primarily on the DirectX 10 platform. In case you are wondering, these results are with SSAO "On" and set to the Very High setting. I know the NVIDIA cards do a little better when SSAO is set to "Off", and I will eventually get around to posting a full set of results with this setting. Personally though, I think the writing is on the wall as far as DirectX 11 goes, and if there isn't going to be a level playing field for 3-4 months, it's not ATI's fault. I mean, who DIDN'T know, more than a year ago, that Windows 7 and DirectX 11 were coming?

In our next section, we investigate the thermal performance of the Radeon HD5770, and see if that half-size 40nm GPU die still runs cool, once it's overclocked. The GPU cooler hides a secret advantage, as we'll see.

XFX Radeon HD5770 Temperature

It's hard to know exactly when the first video card got overclocked, and by whom. What we do know is that it's hard to imagine a computer enthusiast or gamer today that doesn't overclock their hardware. Of course, not every video card has the head room. Some products run so hot that they can't suffer any higher temperatures than they generate straight from the factory. This is why we measure the operating temperature of the video card products we test.

We've already seen in our previous reviews of Juniper-based video cards that the half pint chip runs impressively cool, paired with fairly basic cooling components. Now that we've overclocked both the GPU and the memory, we need an extra margin of error in the cooling department. Normally, the stock blower runs about 1200 RPM, and increases with higher loads to somewhere between 1600 and 1700 RPM, depending on how hard you push the card in its stock configuration. I wanted to see how cool I could keep the GPU with maximum overclocks, so I clicked on the "Enable Manual Fan Control" check box and zoomed that fan up to 100%, which I found out is 4000 RPM. Loud, yes? Effective, yes? Would I eventually end up trying to turn it down, until it made a difference in stability, yes? For now, let's just revel in the fact that overkill settings are readily available in the factory driver package.

To begin testing, I use GPU-Z to measure the temperature at idle as reported by the GPU. Next I use FurMark 1.7.0 to generate maximum thermal load and record GPU temperatures at high-power 3D mode. The ambient room temperature remained stable at 22C throughout testing. The ATI Radeon HD5770 video card recorded 31C in idle 2D mode, and increased to 51C after 20 minutes of stability testing in full 3D mode, at 1920x1200 resolution and the maximum MSAA setting of 8X. I don't think I need to tell you that 51C is an astonishingly low temperature for an overclocked, mid-range gaming card getting kicked around by FurMark. This cooling package can take everything you and Juniper can throw at it.

FurMark is an OpenGL benchmark that heavily stresses and overheats the graphics card with fur rendering. The benchmark offers several options allowing the user to tweak the rendering: fullscreen / windowed mode, MSAA selection, window size, duration. The benchmark also includes a GPU Burner mode (stability test). FurMark requires an OpenGL 2.0 compliant graphics card with lot of GPU power! As an oZone3D.net partner, Benchmark Reviews offers a free download of FurMark to our visitors.

FurMark does do two things extremely well: drive the thermal output of any graphics processor higher than any other application or video game, and it does so with consistency every time. While FurMark is not a true benchmark tool for comparing different video cards, it still works well to compare one product against itself using different drivers or clock speeds, or testing the stability of a GPU, as it raises the temperatures higher than any program. But in the end, it's a rather limited tool.

In our next section, we discuss electrical power consumption and learn how well (or poorly) each video card will impact your utility bill...

VGA Power Consumption

Life is not as affordable as it used to be, and items such as gasoline, natural gas, and electricity all top the list of resources which have exploded in price over the past few years. Add to this the limit of non-renewable resources compared to current demands, and you can see that the prices are only going to get worse. Planet Earth is needs our help, and needs it badly. With forests becoming barren of vegetation and snow capped poles quickly turning brown, the technology industry has a new attitude towards suddenly becoming "green". I'll spare you the powerful marketing hype that I get from various manufacturers every day, and get right to the point: your computer hasn't been doing much to help save energy... at least up until now.

To measure isolated video card power consumption, Benchmark Reviews uses the Kill-A-Watt EZ (model P4460) power meter made by P3 International. A baseline test is taken without a video card installed inside our computer system, which is allowed to boot into Windows and rest idle at the login screen before power consumption is recorded. Once the baseline reading has been taken, the graphics card is installed and the system is again booted into Windows and left idle at the login screen. Our final loaded power consumption reading is taken with the video card running a stress test using FurMark. Below is a chart with the isolated video card power consumption (not system total) displayed in Watts for each specified test product:

The XFX Radeon HD5770 pulled 22 (119-97) watts at idle and 115 (212-97) watts when running full out, using the test method outlined above. These numbers are very close to the factory numbers of 18W at idle and 108W under load, and are the exact same results I got when I tested the reference card from ATI. This is one area where these new 40nm cards excel. If you keep your computer running most of the day and/or night, this card could easily save you 1 kWh per day in electricity.

Radeon HD5770 Final Thoughts

The alternative title for this review could have been: "What Price DirectX 10?" or "Who Killed Crysis?". I know the big news is DirectX 11, and how it is a major advancement in both image quality and coding efficiency, but for the time being, we're stuck in a DirectX 10 world, for the most part. DX11 games won't be thick on the ground for at least a year, and some of us are going to continue playing our old favorites. So, with the switch to Windows 7, what's the impact on gaming performance? So far, it's a bit too random for my tastes.

We seem to be back to a situation where the software differences between games have a bigger influence on performance than hardware and raw pixel processing power. As the adoption rate for Windows 7 ramps up, more and more gamers are going to be wondering if DirectX 10 is a blessing or a curse. Crysis gets cut off at the knees, but Far Cry 2 gets a second wind with DX10. World In Conflict holds back its best game play for NVIDIA customers, but BattleForge swings the other way, with DX10 and DX11.

I have a feeling this is why gamers resolutely stuck with Windows XP, and never warmed up to Vista. It wasn't the operating system per se, as much as it was DirectX 10. And I want to clarify; there's probably nothing inherently wrong with DX10, it's just that so few games were designed to use it effectively. The other problem is that, unlike other image enhancing features, DirectX has no sliding scale. I can't select 2x or 4x or 8x, to optimize the experience, it's either all in, or all out.

The good news is that the adoption rate for Windows 7 will probably set records, if anyone is keeping score. Combine that with the real-world benefit to software coders that DirectX 11 brings, and there is a good probability that we won't be stuck in DX10 land for very long. New graphics hardware from both camps, a new operating system, a new graphics API, and maybe an economic recovery in the works? It's going to be an interesting holiday season, this year!

XFX Radeon HD5770 Conclusion

The performance of the XFX HD5770 is more than adequate for most game titles. In stock form it doesn't quite match an overclocked GTX260, but as soon as I leveled the playing field with a modest overclock in ATI Overdrive, it was more than competitive. Just keep reminding yourself that these are mid-range GPUs with only half the horsepower of the Cypress. I think people were expecting more from the Juniper; in fact right up until launch, rumors consistently called for 1120 shaders, which would have meant that it was 70% of a Cypress GPU, not the 50% that it turned out to be. There's a $100 gap between the HD5770 and the HD5850, which needs to be filled by ATI, so don't expect the HD5770 to compete with the HD4890 or the GTX275, at least on frame rates.

Performance is more than just frames-per-second, though; the ability to run 2-3 monitors with Full ATI EyeFinity Support counts, too. Plus, we've been measuring performance with Beta drivers. If you've read some of my recent video card reviews, you've got a better understanding of why driver performance on launch day is not a good measure of the final product. The raw performance numbers are plenty good enough for the target price point today, and I predict even better things to come for both price and performance.

The appearance of the product itself is top notch. The ATI reference cooler is transformed, once XFX got their graphics artists to work up a product label; they improved the appearance by a large margin. The full cover provides plenty of space for almost unlimited choice in graphics and XFX took full advantage of it. The reference design has plenty of cooling capacity for the tiny Juniper GPU, even with the higher GPU overclock, once the fan is ramped up.

The build quality of the XFX Radeon 5770 is much better than the engineering sample I received before the launch date. The retail version XFX is putting out had no quality issues I could detect. The parts were all high quality, and the PC board was manufactured and assembled with care and precision.

The features of the HD5770 are amazing, having been carried over in full measure from the HD5800 series: DirectX 11, Full ATI Eyefinity Support, ATI Stream Technology Support, DirectCompute 11 and OpenCL Support, HDMI 1.3 with Dolby True HD and DTS Master Audio. We've barely scratched the surface in this review of all the capability on offer, by focusing almost exclusively on gaming performance, but the card has other uses as well. Speaking of gaming though, I was a little disappointed that XFX didn't include a coupon for DiRT 2, as some other ATI partners are doing. It's one of the DirectX 11 titles I'm most looking forward to playing.

As of late October, Newegg is selling the XFX Radeon HD5770 at $179.99, which is $15 higher than several others vendors. XFX has always commanded a premium for their cards, because of their enthusiast-based support model. They offer a double lifetime warranty, which is quite useful for enthusiasts that buy and sell the latest hardware on a regular basis. The second owner gets the second full lifetime warranty. That's a very nice benefit if you know the guy that owned it before you ran it 24/7, highly overclocked at full load, loading up on points in Folding@Home. I think this is less likely to be an issue with a card in this price range, but it does explain the price premium a bit.

The XFX Radeon HD5770 earns a Silver Tachometer Award, because it fills an important slot in the graphics card middle ground at a price that most casual users won't have to think too hard about. With the launch of Windows 7 and its DirectX 11 interface, anyone who wants to take advantage of the advanced features becoming more prevalent in the next 4-6 months needs new hardware. If you're shopping in this price range, the HD5770 is the only card to get; every other choice is going to cost more or do less.

Pros:

+ Unmatched feature set
+ Extremely low power consumption
+ 1GB of GDDR5 memory
+ Easy to overclock and CrossfireX
+ Lots of cooling headroom
+ Requires only one 6-pin power connector
+ HDMI and DisplayPort native interfaces
+ Good looks never hurt anybody
+ Most heat is exhausted outside the case

Cons:

- No voltage control in ATI Overdrive, no XFX tool available
- Premium pricing at launch

Ratings:

• Performance: 8.50
• Appearance: 9.00
• Construction: 9.00
• Functionality: 9.50
• Value: 8.75

Final Score: 8.95 out of 10.

Quality Recognition: Benchmark Reviews Silver Tachometer Award.

Questions? Comments? Benchmark Reviews really wants your feedback. We invite you to leave your remarks in our Discussion Forum.

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