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TopNax |
Benchmark Results: Metro 2033 (DX11) |
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AMD got a rough start in Metro 2033 when the game launched earlier this year. Slowly but surely, though, performance has improved in a very quantitative way. Though the top spot goes to Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 580 across the board, AMD’s Radeon HD 6850s in CrossFire work their way up the ladder at 2560x1600, scoring a The Radeon HD 6970 shows its mettle here, underperforming the GeForce GTX 570 at 1680x1050 and 1920x1200, but making up the difference at 2560x1600, besting two GeForce GTX 460 1GB cards in SLI (worth about $400). You can’t get around the fact that, for somewhere around $380, you could get a pair of 6850s in CrossFire, though. The single-card solution is more elegant, sure. But performance doesn’t always have to be pretty. AMD’s $299 Radeon HD 6950 looks a little more impressive as it bests the Radeon HD 5870 in all three resolutions, coming close to the $350 GeForce GTX 570 at 2560x1600. You’ll notice that the results in this game vary a bit on the AMD boards from 1680x1050 to 2560x1600, too. The Radeon HD 5970, for example, seems particularly platform-constrained at the lower resolutions, coming into its own as the graphics workload intensifies. The same thing applies to the 6850s in CrossFire. |
Benchmark Results: Lost Planet 2 (DX11) |
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Our current test suite contains a mix of titles backed by AMD and others emphasized by Nvidia. Lost Planet 2 falls into the latter category, evidenced by the strong finishes by Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 580 and 460s in SLI. Nevertheless, two Radeon HD 6850s climb the ranks, passing the GeForce GTX 570 to essentially tie a $500 GTX 580 at 2560x1600. AMD’s Radeon HD 6970 is found down the chart a ways, behind the Radeon HD 5970 and GeForce GTX 480. Its performance isn’t bad, per se. However, when you consider the Radeon HD 6850s in CrossFire trending toward the top of the chart at a price under $400, it really seems like there’s little reason to favor the single-GPU board, which is significantly slower. It’s also interesting that the Radeon HD 6950 offers frame rates close to what we see from the 6970. Give the expected ~$70 difference between the two, the 6950 appears to be a much better value, even besting the Radeon HD 5870. |
Benchmark Results: Aliens Vs. Predator (DX11) |
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AMD’s Radeon HD 5970 is the standout here, but at $500, it’s still not exactly a value proposition. For $380 or so, a couple of Radeon HD 6850s give you second-place performance. The company’s advantage in Aliens Vs. Predator translates to the Radeon HD 6970 scoring higher frame rates than the $350 GeForce GTX 570, falling in behind the $500 GeForce GTX 580. That’s not to say we’d pay a price somewhere between the two Nvidia cards—AMD is definitely battling the 570, and that’s where we’d expect to see the Radeon HD 6970 targeted. As expected, the Radeon HD 6950 slides in ahead of AMD’s Radeon HD 6870. But the two 6000-series cards both succumb to the Radeon HD 5870, which simply offers better performance for $290. With that in mind, the GeForce GTX 480 is soundly embarrassed here, its $400+ price tag far too high compared to the same aged Radeon HD 5870. |
Benchmark Results: Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (DX11) |
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In all three resolutions, AMD’s Radeon HD 6850s in CrossFire deliver the fastest performance, going so far as to maintain more than 60 frames per second at 2560x1600. The 42 FPS minimum is ample for this to be an easily playable setting, even with 8x MSAA and 16x AF switched on. Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 460s in SLI do well, too. But it’s interesting that they take a larger hit to minimum frame rates, negatively impacting playability in demanding segments of this game.
The Radeon HD 5970 outmaneuvers Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 580 as the fastest individual card in Battlefield. But with less expensive dual-card configurations serving up more speed, it’d be hard to recommend the pricier options unless you can really only drop one board into your gaming PC. AMD’s Radeon HD 6970 shows decently here, losing out to the $350 GeForce GTX 570 at 1680x1050 and 1920x1080, but picking up steam at 2560x1600, where it’s able to narrowly slide past the GeForce GTX 570 and GTX 480. On average, the Radeon HD 6950 is roughly as fast as the Radeon HD 5870, giving it a value on par with the past single-GPU flagship from AMD. |
Benchmark Results: DiRT 2 (DX11) |
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Although this was one of AMD’s marquee titles during its Radeon HD 5870 launch, Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 480 and 570 both outperform the Radeon HD 6970 here. The fastest performers are the GeForce GTX 460 cards in SLI, priced near $400, and the Radeon HD 6850 cards in CrossFire, commanding roughly $380. Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 580 is up there as well. However, that card’s price is really only worthwhile if you aren’t able to give up four expansion slots for the dual-board solutions.
The Radeon HD 6970 splits Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 480 and 470, nearly catching the 480 at 2560x1600. Unfortunately, the GeForce GTX 570 is even faster than Nvidia’s beleaguered former flagship, delivering better performance at a $350 price tag. With the exception of 1680x1050, AMD’s Radeon HD 6950 slides in just behind the 5870, a $290 card. Given the Radeon HD 6870’s $240 price tag, we expect to see the newer 6950 somewhere in between—and indeed it should bear a $270 SRP. |
