XFX 5870 XXX Review

Introduction

More than any other item of hardware, graphics cards split the community into three distinct sections. There are those who are firmly entrenched in the Red camp, those who swear by the Green, and those who don't care who makes it as long as it's fast and cheap. Whilst we here at OC3D are fans of performance regardless of the source, we also appreciate that there are those among you to whom asking them to take a serious look at the other brand is like asking a Spurs fan to don an Arsenal kit.

We all knew what ATI provided because they released their 5 series cards a long time ago, but now following the recent Fermi release we have information about how both companies perform and it's fairly clear that it's really a one horse race.

So with the HD5870 absolutely being the weapon of choice XFX have given it their XXX magic to see if they can bring us the zenith in graphics technology. If, like your erstwhile reviewer, you're of a certain age then XXX has an different meaning to that of today's youth and rather than making us think of Extreme Sports, it more makes us think of Bambi Woods.

So is the XFX HD5870 XXX a card worthy of such a evocative name?

XFX HD5870 XXX

As you'll recall we recently reviewed the HD5750 XXX and found that, whilst the card performed very well it was hampered by the fact it's in a very competitive sector of the market. At the extreme high-end of the spectrum comparative price is much less of an issue than pure performance.

Technical Specifications

So does the XXX leave us gasping? Let's have a close look.