ATI Radeon HD 6870 Review

Results Analysis

With its placement within the ATI graphics range between the HD 5870 1GB and HD 5850 1GB, we expected the HD 6870 1GB to place similarly in our benchmarks, and for the most weren’t disappointed. Performance in Dirt 2 saw the HD 6870 1GB delivering frame rates that are roughly half way between the HD 5800 series cards, edging more towards the 5870 1GB. At 1,920 x 1,200 with 4x AA the HD 6870 1GB managed a minimum frame rate of 52fps, to the 5850 1GB’s 48fps and the 5870 1GB’s 54fps.

However, Dirt 2 is a game in which Nvidia cards perform very well and this means that the HD 6870 1GB is fighting off competition from the GeForce GTX 460 1GB rather than its price point competitor, the GTX 470 1,280MB. Again at 1,920 x 1,200 with 4x AA, the GTX 470 1,280MB managed a minimum frame rate of 58fps, topping the HD 5870 1GB and the GTX 460 1GB managed a minimum frame rate of 50fps.

Arma II: Operation Arrowhead is a new game to our benchmark suite, replacing the aging Crysis, but if anything it’s even tougher to run at its maximum detail settings. However, the HD 6870 1GB surprised us by performing exceedingly well; much closer to the HD 5870 1GB than to the HD 5850 1GB and roundly thrashing the GTX 470 1,280MB.


At 1,920 x 1,200 with 4x AA the HD 6870 1GB managed a very respectable minimum frame rate of 18fps and an average frame rate of 29fps – still not strictly what we’d class as playable, but not too far off of the big guns of the GTX 480 1.5GB and 5870 1GB. The GTX 470 1,280MB meanwhile trailed with a minimum frame rate of 16fps and the GTX 460 1GB, close to the HD 6870 1GB in Dirt 2, fell away with a minimum of 14fps.

Just Cause 2 is also a new arrival to our benchmark suite and it too has surprised us with how tough it is to run with the game’s details maxed out. Again, the HD 6870 1GB performs well though, edging its results more towards those of the HD 5870 1GB than the HD 5850 1GB.

At 1,680 x 1,050 with 4x AA the HD 6870 1GB produced a very good minimum frame rate of 28fps, on par with the HD 5870 1GB and 12 per cent faster than the GTX 470 1,280MB. This gap grew to a sizeable 25 per cent when testing at 2,560 x 1,600 with 0x AA, with the GTX 470 1,280MB trailing with a minimum frame rate of 16 fps in comparison to the HD6870 1GB’s 20fps, despite the average frame rates of the two cards remaining similar.


Battlefield Bad Company 2 is a game where Nvidia GPUs have, in the past, outperformed ATI GPUs and this remains the case. The HD 6870 1GB, while placing between the HD 5870 1GB and HD 5850 1GB as we’d expect, is bested by the GTX 470 1,280MB, especially when anti-aliasing is enabled. At 1,920 x 1,200 with 4x AA both the HD6870 1GB and GTX 470 1,280MB manage an average frame rate of 43fps, but the ATI card’s minimum frame rate is only 26fps in comparison the GTX 470 1,280MB’s 32fps, allowing the Nvidia card to deliver smoother gameplay.

Thermals and Power Consumption

While the HD 6870 1GB trades blows with Nvidia’s GTX 470 1,280MB throughout our benchmark suite, the two cards are worlds apart when it comes to power consumption. Under full load the HD 6870 1GB pulled a system power of 247W, in comparison to the glutinous GTX 470 1,280MB which eats through 341W system power. A 9W increase over the HD 5850 1GB’s power consumption indicates that there’s not been a giant step forward in efficiency in ATI’s new architecture though.

The HD 6870 1GB and the GTX 470 1,280MB are also far apart when it comes to thermal performance, with the HD 6870 1GB reaching a delta T of 44°C at full load in our 23°C air-conditioned lab, in comparison to the GTX 470 1,280MB’s roasting 72°C delta T.