AMD Radeon HD 6850 And 6870 Reviewed And Compared
Excited about AMD’s latest Radeon HD 6870 and 6850 graphics card? So are we.
The Radeon HD 6850 comes in at a price of $180 and the HD 6870 at $240.
First of all, let’s make something clear. The HD 6870 isn’t the top of the line 6xxx series graphics card. AMD has changed their naming scheme, and these two cards are aimed at the GeForce GTX 470 and 460 crowd.
Now, on to the specifications from AnandTech
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | AMD Radeon HD 6850 | AMD Radeon HD 5870 | AMD Radeon HD 5850 | AMD Radeon HD 4870 | |
| Stream Processors | 1120 | 960 | 1600 | 1440 | 800 |
| Texture Units | 56 | 48 | 80 | 72 | 40 |
| ROPs | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 16 |
| Core Clock | 900MHz | 775MHz | 850MHz | 725MHz | 750MHz |
| Memory Clock | 1.05GHz (4.2GHz effective) GDDR5 | 1GHz (4GHz effective) GDDR5 | 1.2GHz (4.8GHz effective) GDDR5 | 1GHz (4GHz effective) GDDR5 | 900MHz (3600MHz effective) GDDR5 |
| Memory Bus Width | 256-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit |
| Frame Buffer | 1GB | 1GB | 1GB | 1GB | 1GB |
| FP64 | N/A | N/A | 1/5 | 1/5 | N/A |
| Transistor Count | 1.7B | 1.7B | 2.15B | 2.15B | 956M |
| Manufacturing Process | TSMC 40nm | TSMC 40nm | TSMC 40nm | TSMC 40nm | TSMC 55nm |
| Price Point | $239 | $179 | ~$349 | ~$229 | N/A |
It can’t get any more clear from these specs: even though it would make sense from a naming standpoint, the 6870 is NOT a replacement for the 5870, and the 6850 is NOT a replacement for the 5850.
You can check out individual benchmarks and performance from the Anandtech link above, but Tested has compiled a nice benchmark:
Individual Game Benchmark Settings
Crysis: DX10 mode, all settings Very High, using the built-in GPU Benchmark.
Dirt 2: DX11 mode, all settings set to Ultra, using the in-menu benchmark.
Far Cry 2: Both Action and Ranch (Medium) benchmarks, DX10 mode, all settings maxed out.
STALKER Call of Prypiat: Stand-alone benchmark demo, all settings maxed out, DX11 mode.
Civilization V: Benchmarked using FRAPS, “End Game” benchmark setting, which renders a typical large scale game after 300+ moves. All settings set to max, though resolution was automatically lowered by the engine.
| Game | Radeon 6870 | Radeon 6850 | Radeon 5870 | Radeon 5850 1GB | Radeon 5970 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crysis (no AA) | 35.25 | 29.57 | 39.34 | 35.1 | 52.75 |
| Crysis (8x AA) | 29.06 | 24.94 | 32.18 | 29.01 | 46.92 |
| Dirt 2 (no AA) | 71.9 | 62.7 | 78.8 | 71.9 | 100.9 |
| Dirt 2 (8x AA) | 65.3 | 57 | 69.5 | 64.9 | 94 |
| Far Cry 2 Action (no AA) | 62.93 | 60.71 | 62.97 | 62.21 | 59.72 |
| Far Cry 2 Action (8x AA) | 59.24 | 52.09 | 61.86 | 58.3 | 57.6 |
| Far Cry 2 Ranch (no AA) | 90.33 | 79.48 | 96.94 | 89.1 | 109.84 |
| Far Cry 2 Ranch (8x AA) | 61.3 | 54 | 66.6 | 61.45 | 92.24 |
| Stalker CoP (no AA) | 85.2 | 70.83 | 92.6 | 82.7 | 123.4 |
| Stalker CoP (4x AA) | 48.2 | 41.66 | 54 | 48.9 | 98.5 |
| Civilization V Endgame | 50.6 | 50.64 | 50.268 | 51.078 | 51.117 |
All scores measured in average frames per second.
Oct 22nd, 2010 at 9:37 pm
@TheGamingWiz
then who shall spearhead 6XXX series cards.Heard that it comes with 3D support
Oct 22nd, 2010 at 10:17 pm
@Rabbi
Frankly, AMD made a bad decision to change the names. I mean the first time I heard about the 6870, I was underwhelmed because I had so much high hopes. Actually, it even isn’t a replacement to the 5870 which I currently have. So, I guess the 6890 or whatever ridiculous naming scheme AMD comes up with.
Oct 23rd, 2010 at 6:57 am
@TheGamingWiz
I dont think Radeon 6xxx series will be leap in performance and 3D optimizations only but i do feel that the 7XXX series gonna come with some awesome features and will blow out the world by storm
cuz i do feel where the next generation really starts 😎
Oct 23rd, 2010 at 6:58 am
I do think*
Oct 23rd, 2010 at 3:22 pm
@Rabbi
The HD 6850 and even the 6870 are mid-range cards. Lets wait for the top of the line 6xxx series cards.
Oct 30th, 2010 at 1:00 am
wait for the HD 6990(ANTILLES)…that thing will be beast
cuz ati will wait for Nvidia’s move though Nvidia is almost ready to release the GTX580 but again GTX580 that will be based on single GPU…
Oct 30th, 2010 at 12:19 pm
@Naveed777
I agree. However, I don’t know what on earth ATI was thinking when renaming the 6xxx series. Really? Renaming a top range card as 6870 will only create confusion.
Apr 7th, 2015 at 3:13 pm
what are the price of these two in BDT- 1.AMD Radeon HD 6870 2.NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460