PowerColor HD6870X2 Review

Test Setup

PowerColor HD6870X2
Catalyst 11.6 Drivers
Intel Core i7-950 @ 4GHz
12GB Mushkin Blackline 1600MHz
BeQuiet Dark Power Pro
Noctua NH-D14
Windows 7 x64

Overclocking

It’s always harder to get more speed out of a dual-GPU card as not only is the power draw and heat expended exponentially increased when compared to a single GPU, but you’ve got two chances at the silicon lottery, both winning and/or losing.

The PowerColor HD6870X2 has a little bit of performance able to be squeezed out, 60MHz on the two GPUs and a further 50MHz out of the GDDR5. Neither of these are earth-shattering, but if we push much harder we start to head towards 90°C which is way too hot for comfort.

Temperatures

The HD6870X2 is right on the line when it comes to heat dispersal. The original HD6870 was quite a heat producer and it hasn’t changed here in twin guise. With the fans on auto they quickly became audible under load as they tried to keep things under control, and whilst they are nowhere near as loud as the reference cooler it’s still a little distracting as they spin up with little provocation.

They do however do their job. Although under extreme loading we saw temperatures climb to 86°C, more often than not the card hovered around the 70° mark. Hovering being the right word judging from the amount the fans are spinning to keep it there.