PowerColor HD7870 PCS+ Review
Introduction and Technical Specifications
Published: 11th April 2012 | Source: PowerColor | Price: £280 |
Introduction
So far the latest generation of Radeon cards has been a little bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand we have the obvious power of the HD7970 which is as fast as anything available right now, although with a range-topping price-tag to match. Just below that the HD7950. At stock it was fairly impressive but when overclocked it really shone, matching the HD7970 stock more often than not. Below that we found the HD7770 which was actually a step too far down the performance ladder.
Today we're looking at the middle to high-end card, the Radeon HD7870. Rather than end up repeating swathes of what we've said before about reference cards being okay but it's worth waiting to see what the aftermarket models are like, we're leaping straight in with the daddy of all aftermarket cards, the PowerColor PCS+ variant.
With a hefty overclock out of the box, a hardcore cooler, and the technical backup we've come to expect from PowerColor, this should allow the HD7870 to shine as brightly as it can.
Technical Specifications
As the default clock of the card is 1GHz it's nice to see that PowerColor have pushed the card pretty hard with their overclock. So often we see factory overclocked models that only bring an extra handful of MHz to the table that to find one with a 10% overclock is nice.
| Graphics Engine | RADEON HD7870 |
|---|---|
| Video Memory | 2GB GDDR5 |
| Engine Clock | 1100MHz |
| Memory Clock | 1225MHz x 4 (4.9 Gbps) |
| Memory Interface | 256bit |
| DirectX® Support | 11.1 |
| Bus Standard | PCIE 3.0 |
| Standard Display Connecors | DL-DVI-I/ SL-DVI-D / HDMI / MINI DPx2 |
| OpenGL | Support |
| CrossFireX™ Technology | Support |
| ATI Stream Technology | Support |
| ATI Eyefinity Technology | Support |
| ATI Hypermemory Technology | N/A |
| VGA Output | Via Adapter |
| DVI Output | DL-DVI-I/ SL-DVI-D |
| DisplayPort | On Board(mini DP) x2 |
| HDMI | On Board |
| TV Output | N/A |
| HDTV Output | N/A |
| HDCP Support | Support |
| VGA | 2048x1536 |
| DVI | 2560x1600 |
| DisplayPort | 4096x2160 |
| HDMI | 4096x2160 |
| Board Dimensions | 241.3mmx111.2mmx38mm |
| Minimum System Power (W) | 500W |
| Extention Power Connector | Two 6-Pin PCI Express Power Connectors |
Of course we all want to see what it looks like, so let's crack on.
Most Recent Comments
Firstly we know only too well how many of you don't want to faff about with overclocking your card and will always look for one that comes out of the box with a blazing speed attached to it.
I'd hope that's not too true.
I would be looking to buy one card then at a later date pick up another. Looking at these numbers there would be a significant drop in performance running one of these before I could save up for a second card. Might just be better off ditching my pair of 6870's for a single 7970, then at a much later date once prices come down pick up a second...
For sheer size reasons we cannot keep every possible setup in our graphs. They're already very large. If anyone doesn't mind losing the maximum frame rate graphs we could move the OC ones to a separate graph which would allow us to retain more models. However, in your particular case you'll find we still have the 6950CF results in the graph, and the HD7870 comes in just beneath it in most games. A few FPS at most.
Personally I'd say get a HD7950 and OC it, which is nearly a HD7970, much cheaper, and the likelihood of affording another would come sooner.
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Originally Posted by VonBlade
In 0xAA Unigine it scored 1586, and with the 8xAA it scored 1114. For sheer size reasons we cannot keep every possible setup in our graphs. They're already very large. If anyone doesn't mind losing the maximum frame rate graphs we could move the OC ones to a separate graph which would allow us to retain more models. However, in your particular case you'll find we still have the 6950CF results in the graph, and the HD7870 comes in just beneath it in most games. A few FPS at most. Personally I'd say get a HD7950 and OC it, which is nearly a HD7970, much cheaper, and the likelihood of affording another would come sooner. |
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Originally Posted by Rastalovich
I'd hope that's not too true. |
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Originally Posted by VonBlade
In 0xAA Unigine it scored 1586, and with the 8xAA it scored 1114. For sheer size reasons we cannot keep every possible setup in our graphs. They're already very large. If anyone doesn't mind losing the maximum frame rate graphs we could move the OC ones to a separate graph which would allow us to retain more models. However, in your particular case you'll find we still have the 6950CF results in the graph, and the HD7870 comes in just beneath it in most games. A few FPS at most. Personally I'd say get a HD7950 and OC it, which is nearly a HD7970, much cheaper, and the likelihood of affording another would come sooner. |
Totally agree with you about the 7950. The 78xx have great processors but I think the 2gb might become limiting so I'm not willing to fork out for anything less than 2.5gb.
like the core clock speed this little beast will roar more if you put it on Crossfire.
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Originally Posted by Hackedoff
I'm not sure this card offers much to the party. When OC'd it's biting the heels of a GTX 580. But you can pick up a 580 for £294 now and you can then overclock that further. I'm also not sure this card deserves the gold award. That should be reserved for greatness, and seeing this card runs hot, although quiet, doesn't quite cut gold for me. |
Solid review nontheless.
CSS Valid
Time to take a look at a HD7870 on steroids, courtesy of the fine folks at PowerColor.
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