First ATI 6850 and 6870 benchmarks [Archive]

Hellhammer

Oct 9, 2010, 11:43 AM

http://translate.google.com/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=zh-CN&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fitbbs.pconline.com.cn%2Fdiy%2F11962049.html

Made a quick comparison chart with Excel

http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/7428/nyttkuva20101009kohtees.png

Second version (that Australian kid DoFoT9 forced me to do it :D):

http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/1208/nyttkuva20101010kohtees.png

Original test results:

http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/7428/nyttkuva20101009kohtees.png

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fi&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fplaza.fi%2Fmuropaketti%2Fensimmaiset-testitulokset-amd-radeon-hd-6850-ja-6870-naytonohjaimilla

6850 and 6870 will be launched on October 22nd (link (http://www.fudzilla.com/graphics/item/20485-radeon-hd-6870-and-6850-launch-oct-22nd)) and Cayman (69xx) will be launched in late November (link (http://www.techpowerup.com/132780/AMD-Northern-Islands-Feature-Set-Leaked.html))

Looking good so far. 68xx should be cheaper than 58xx and consumes less power.

Let me know if I missed or screwed up something. This was my first time using Excel so wouldn't be surprised if I did something wrong. I was also so excited :p

Hastings101

Oct 9, 2010, 11:57 AM

Doesn't look much more powerful to me than the 58xx, but I guess if it's a little cheaper and uses less power that's an improvement.

Hellhammer

Oct 9, 2010, 12:06 PM

Doesn't look much more powerful to me than the 58xx, but I guess if it's a little cheaper and uses less power that's an improvement.

68xx is based on Juniper chip (57xx) if I recall correctly. High performance cards are coming later. Cayman (69xx, successor of 58xx) is based on Cypress and Antilles (6990, successor of 5970) is the new ultimate double chip card.

So, the cards that have been benchmarked are budget level cards (less than 200$ I think), just like 57xx is now. Real cards are coming little later so these are just warmup ;) Also, AMD changed its naming too, see below:

57xx -> 68xx
58xx -> 69xx
5970 -> 6990

That's what I've heard.

dissolve

Oct 9, 2010, 12:07 PM

Nice job putting that together. So you think the primary motivation for comparison between 58xx and 68xx is power consumption and cost? Are they expected to base with more VRAM? With how long it's taking Apple to put up the 5870, anyone want to bet when we'll see Apple's offering of these cards :rolleyes:

That forum has the largest and most detailed emotes I've ever seen! :eek:

EDIT Hastings101 beat me to my question :)

alphaod

Oct 9, 2010, 11:30 PM

I just hope Apple just either releases the 5870s soon for the rest of us or quickly releases the 6870… I'm sick of this waiting game.

Hastings101

Oct 9, 2010, 11:33 PM

68xx is based on Juniper chip (57xx) if I recall correctly. High performance cards are coming later. Cayman (69xx, successor of 58xx) is based on Cypress and Antilles (6990, successor of 5970) is the new ultimate double chip card.

So, the cards that have been benchmarked are budget level cards (less than 200$ I think), just like 57xx is now. Real cards are coming little later so these are just warmup ;) Also, AMD changed its naming too, see below:

57xx -> 68xx
58xx -> 69xx
5970 -> 6990

That's what I've heard.

oh ok, thanks for the explanation, can't wait to see the high performance cards :)

iWolf00

Oct 10, 2010, 02:08 AM

ATI 6870 looks fantastic and it is slightly better than 5870 and still isn't the flagship of 6 series. Apple keep your 5870; I will go for 6 series when it released!!

ovrlrd

Oct 10, 2010, 02:28 AM

Hellhammer

Oct 10, 2010, 02:49 AM

Looks good but I disagree with anyone who thinks it's faster than the 5870, it will probably slightly edge ahead in a couple benchmarks, but it will be pretty much on par at best with the majority.

Plus we won't really know until more extensive benchmarking is done.

The important thing to note though is the 6870 will definitely be the better card to get because it will be cheaper and run cooler. It's a no brainer if you are looking to buy a new card between the two.

But considering I am still waiting for the 5870 from Apple, I would take either at this point. Just hurry up already! :(

BANG! A new victim of AMD's naming scheme! :p 68xx shouldn't be compared with 58xx as they don't fight in the same series. 68xx is the successor of 57xx as AMD changed their naming system. 69xx (Cayman) that will come later is the successor of 58xx, i.e. the new high-end.

If you compare 68xx to 5770, the difference is huge. Of course in the beginning, the prices are closer to 58xx range but they go down. 58xx wasn't that cheap when it was introduced.

I know it's confusing and in the other board I got this from (the second link, Muropaketti), there are hundreds of people whining that these new cards suck but that's because they are unaware of the new naming system. If 6870 can challenge 5850, I wonder what 6970 can do :cool:

Weepul

Oct 10, 2010, 03:00 AM

BANG! A new victim of AMD's naming scheme! :p
Everybody is going to be a victim of that naming scheme unless they've been previously informed of it. :confused:

DoFoT9

Oct 10, 2010, 03:00 AM

very interesting. so comparing 67xx to 57xx is ~16k vs ~19k?

can you edit the picture so we can see performance points :p you know im lazy!

ovrlrd

Oct 10, 2010, 03:01 AM

BANG! A new victim of AMD's naming scheme! :p 68xx shouldn't be compared with 58xx as they don't fight in the same series. 68xx is the successor of 57xx as AMD changed their naming system. 69xx (Cayman) that will come later is the successor of 58xx, i.e. the new high-end.

If you compare 68xx to 5770, the difference is huge. Of course in the beginning, the prices are closer to 58xx range but they go down. 58xx wasn't that cheap when it was introduced.

I know it's confusing and in the other board I got this from (the second link, Muropaketti), there are hundreds of people whining that these new cards suck but that's because they are unaware of the new naming system. If 6870 can challenge 5850, I wonder what 6970 can do :cool:

Yeah I am quite aware, that is why I am saying people who say the 6870 is faster are wrong.

Hellhammer

Oct 10, 2010, 03:12 AM

Everybody is going to be a victim of that naming scheme unless they've been previously informed of it. :confused:

True, but if 68xx is going to be like 170$, they should know that it's not the high-end card. Plus, this is solved when Cayman comes as that will be the new high-end.

very interesting. so comparing 67xx to 57xx is ~16k vs ~19k?

can you edit the picture so we can see performance points :p you know im lazy!

I just updated the OP with that

DoFoT9

Oct 10, 2010, 05:59 AM

I just updated the OP with that

you called me lazy! thats not very nice :(

on another note i thought the improvement would be slightly larger, however the 5xxx series hasnt been out incredibly long.

peskaa

Oct 10, 2010, 06:29 AM

On one hand, it's nice that the 68xx series isn't going to render the 58xx series obsolete - yes, power savings, but oh well. This means that the 5870 in the Mac Pro isn't going to be bottom of the heap just yet...even though Apple still aren't shipping the damn thing.

However, I hope AMD release a 69xx card for Mac Pros, just as nVIDIA did with the GTX 285 and the Quadro 4000.

philipma1957

Oct 10, 2010, 07:03 AM

peskaa

Oct 10, 2010, 07:11 AM

so the amd 6870 is the ati 5770. price wise the amd 6870 is ? compared to the ati 5770 EDit; okay on the apple site the ati 5770 is $249. it is clear to see the the amd buries the ati in performance .

What?
AMD = ATi

AMD purchased ATi quite a while ago, but they've only just got around to re-branding. Plus, looking at the benchmarks the 6870 = 5870, not the 5770.

Hellhammer

Oct 10, 2010, 07:14 AM

What?
AMD = ATi

AMD purchased ATi quite a while ago, but they've only just got around to re-branding. Plus, looking at the benchmarks the 6870 = 5870, not the 5770.

Interesting thing is that in the picture of AMD 6850, it still says ATI in the fan :p

http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/1582/54498571286605372933102.jpg

peskaa

Oct 10, 2010, 07:18 AM

Interesting thing is that in the picture of AMD 6850, it still says ATI in the fan :p

The shot I've seen of a 6870 has the new AMD Radeon branding, so I'm assuming they'll be releasing under the AMD banner.

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2010/10/08/amd-radeon-hd-6870-leaked/1

Hellhammer

Oct 10, 2010, 07:28 AM

The shot I've seen of a 6870 has the new AMD Radeon branding, so I'm assuming they'll be releasing under the AMD banner.

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2010/10/08/amd-radeon-hd-6870-leaked/1

On the other hand, here is pic of the same GPU with ATI tag. I guess AMD still doesn't know what brand to use :p

http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/8148/caymanxt.jpg

PS. Can you remove the big pic from your quote above, makes this page broken :(

Transporteur

Oct 10, 2010, 07:31 AM

Dual DVI plus dual miniDP and an additional HDMI output?

Dear Mr. Apple, I want this card for OS X!

DoFoT9

Oct 10, 2010, 02:32 PM

On the other hand, here is pic of the same GPU with ATI tag. I guess AMD still doesn't know what brand to use :p
maybe they have confused themselves about which company they are! :eek:

they SHOULD have changed this 6xxx line over to AMD, but i guess they arent/

Eidorian

Oct 10, 2010, 02:45 PM

I'm still waiting to see the results on lower power.

DoFoT9

Oct 10, 2010, 03:56 PM

I'm still waiting to see the results on lower power.
what are your expectations? iirc there is a die shrink - so it should be considerably lower?

Asylum Design

Oct 11, 2010, 02:16 AM

Would be curious how the GTX 275 stacks up against those in your chart...

DoFoT9

Oct 11, 2010, 02:36 AM

Would be curious how the GTX 275 stacks up against those in your chart...

about 10k-14k by the looks (http://forums.guru3d.com/showpost.php?p=3126188&postcount=1) of it.

Asylum Design

Oct 11, 2010, 02:46 AM

Not too bad then... I'm at 1920x1080... so this chart was revealing... looks like I'll keep my GTX 275 for the time being. Not too shabby still.

GTX275 roughly same speed as GTX460Series at 1920x1080 (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Axle/GeForce_GTX_460_768_MB/31.html)

DoFoT9

Oct 11, 2010, 02:50 AM

voyagerd

Oct 11, 2010, 02:56 AM

I'll stick with my GTX 480...

Hellhammer

Oct 11, 2010, 08:34 AM

what are your expectations? iirc there is a die shrink - so it should be considerably lower?

Nope. AMD 6xxx (Northern Islands) is based on 5xxx (Evergreen) core thus the manufacturing process is the same (40nm). It was first supposed to be 32nm but GlobalFoundries (?) decided to skip 32nm and move straight to the 28nm, possibly because 40nm was fairly troublesome so it's better to invest more money and time on 28nm than do 32nm now and fail it and then fail 28nm. 28nm is expected to be launches late 2011 or early 2012 (Southern Islands).

Eidorian should be able to tell you more about the details. I'm also a bit uncertain about the code names since it was first supposed to be Northern Islands @32nm, then it changed to Southern Islands @40nm and Northern Islands in 2012 @28nm but now it's Northern Islands @40nm IIRC :D

Eidorian

Oct 11, 2010, 05:41 PM

what are your expectations? iirc there is a die shrink - so it should be considerably lower?To the best of my knowledge the die is actually larger than the previous generation.

There isn't a straight story about the naming convention for the HD 6700/6800 line yet either. This newer generation should be aiming to replace the HD 5700 Series but AMD appears to have other plans.

DoFoT9

Oct 11, 2010, 06:29 PM

Nope. AMD 6xxx (Northern Islands) is based on 5xxx (Evergreen) core thus the manufacturing process is the same (40nm). It was first supposed to be 32nm but GlobalFoundries (?) decided to skip 32nm and move straight to the 28nm, possibly because 40nm was fairly troublesome so it's better to invest more money and time on 28nm than do 32nm now and fail it and then fail 28nm. 28nm is expected to be launches late 2011 or early 2012 (Southern Islands).

Eidorian should be able to tell you more about the details. I'm also a bit uncertain about the code names since it was first supposed to be Northern Islands @32nm, then it changed to Southern Islands @40nm and Northern Islands in 2012 @28nm but now it's Northern Islands @40nm IIRC :D
ok that explains why the improvements were ...well... CRAP. the move from 40nm to 28nm should be worth the wait - i hope.

goodluck with those code names ;)

To the best of my knowledge the die is actually larger than the previous generation.

There isn't a straight story about the naming convention for the HD 6700/6800 line yet either. This newer generation should be aiming to replace the HD 5700 Series but AMD appears to have other plans.
you would think that it would replace it - however it appears as though this may be a "transitional" brand? for whatever reason...

so do you think the die is larger? but still the same production size i take it? that would make sense - as they cant jam any more transistors in there at the same production size!

Eidorian

Oct 11, 2010, 10:48 PM

you would think that it would replace it - however it appears as though this may be a "transitional" brand? for whatever reason...

so do you think the die is larger? but still the same production size i take it? that would make sense - as they cant jam any more transistors in there at the same production size!40 nm is what everyone is stuck with right now. The idle power should be the same if not better but at load you're not going to get any less draw.

Southern Islands is a stopgap built for 40 nm based on Evergreen and the future Northern Islands. AMD learned from the mistakes of the 16 ROPs on the HD5830 and HD 5770. They're packing more onto the die but these preview cards are barely a worthwhile successor to the HD 5800 lineup.

I'd be more interested to see what happens on the mobile side with more shader cores.

DoFoT9

Oct 11, 2010, 11:08 PM

They're packing more onto the die but these preview cards are barely a worthwhile successor to the HD 5800 lineup.

agreed there. its more of a half-tock update. maybe we will see apple utilise nvidia next update?

Eidorian

Oct 11, 2010, 11:11 PM

agreed there. its more of a half-tock update. maybe we will see apple utilise nvidia next update?Not much news on the nVidia front besides some codenames from their recent conference and future performance graphs.

28 nm is what everyone is aiming for but it's taking too long to reach. The only update coming up that I expect from nVidia is a full 384 shader GF104 chip vs. the harvested GTX 460 we see right now.

DoFoT9

Oct 11, 2010, 11:35 PM

Not much news on the nVidia front besides some codenames from their recent conference and future performance graphs.

28 nm is what everyone is aiming for but it's taking too long to reach. The only update coming up that I expect from nVidia is a full 384 shader GF104 chip vs. the harvested GTX 460 we see right now.
time will tell i guess - both seem to be stuck in a rut at the moment due to lack of technological updates. it is bound to happen eventually anyway - about time software devs got a kick up the butt ;)

Eidorian

Oct 11, 2010, 11:38 PM

DoFoT9

Oct 11, 2010, 11:39 PM

There should only be another week before these new AMD cards hit retail and the NDAs lift. It's an improvement but only if you've been waiting. Updated Eyefinity hardware appears to be the most interesting improvement with a change to do 5 displays outputs on a single card as the new standard.
it really amases me how they can do that from 1 card and still yeild quite high FPS overall.

will there be a 5 port DP compatible card i wonder? :D

Eidorian

Oct 11, 2010, 11:49 PM

it really amases me how they can do that from 1 card and still yeild quite high FPS overall.

will there be a 5 port DP compatible card i wonder? :DThe inability to use both DVI ports was a major hassle in the previous generation. Several custom cards were made to get around the previous output limits but it appears to be standard now.

There are currently a handful of Mini-DisplayPort laden cards in a variety of price ranges depending on what you need. 3 displays will probably still be the limit if you want acceptable FPS.

DoFoT9

Oct 11, 2010, 11:57 PM

The inability to use both DVI ports was a major hassle in the previous generation. Several custom cards were made to get around the previous output limits but it appears to be standard now.
DVI is too clunky to last IMO, its certainly the industry leading standard at this point in time but im not sure how long that will last, especially with HDMI and DP being pushed hard by the consumer market. do you agree?

There are currently a handful of Mini-DisplayPort laden cards in a variety of price ranges depending on what you need. 3 displays will probably still be the limit if you want acceptable FPS.
of course, im just glad that its a possibility - even for just coding based activities, there is no need to have 2 or 3 GPUs if you want 5 monitors.

Gloor

Oct 12, 2010, 05:00 PM

if they do release soon are we in mercy waiting for Apple to release it with support drivers or do you think 5870 drivers will work and we can just buy it ourselves?

ovrlrd

Oct 12, 2010, 05:47 PM

if they do release soon are we in mercy waiting for Apple to release it with support drivers or do you think 5870 drivers will work and we can just buy it ourselves?

You'd need an EFI firmware for the 6xxx in order to get it to work in the first place, but I wouldn't expect anything really. It's all speculation at this point considering the card isn't even released yet.

Pressure

Oct 12, 2010, 06:52 PM

You'd need an EFI firmware for the 6xxx in order to get it to work in the first place, but I wouldn't expect anything really. It's all speculation at this point considering the card isn't even released yet.

Well, we are half-way there considering the newest beta of Snow Leopard already has support for the Radeon HD 6000 series.

Just food for thought but I really wouldn't expect anything this year.

DoFoT9

Oct 12, 2010, 07:06 PM

Well, we are half-way there considering the newest beta of Snow Leopard already has support for the Radeon HD 6000 series.

Just food for thought but I really wouldn't expect anything this year.

thats great news - how have they done that considering it isnt out yet? :D

Pressure

Oct 13, 2010, 03:07 AM

thats great news - how have they done that considering it isnt out yet? :D

Because Apple have access to new hardware for validation etc?

DoFoT9

Oct 13, 2010, 03:36 AM

Because Apple have access to new hardware for validation etc?

maybe - i was under the impression that a team from ATi aided apple in writing the drivers (but were all employed by ATi). i cant recall the conversation i had with somebody.

anybody know the actual answer?

Hellhammer

Oct 13, 2010, 04:03 AM

Wirelessly posted (iPhone 3GS: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_1 like Mac OS X; fi-fi) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8B117 Safari/6531.22.7)

What i remember its ATI who write the drivers, not apple. Apple would still test them before adding them in OS X though and that requires early hw access

DoFoT9

Oct 13, 2010, 06:13 AM

What i remember its ATI who write the drivers, not apple. Apple would still test them before adding them in OS X though and that requires early hw access

thats what i thought too - but yeh apple would have early access, but THIS early? maybe.

peskaa

Oct 13, 2010, 06:31 AM

thats what i thought too - but yeh apple would have early access, but THIS early? maybe.

It isn't that early. AMD clearly have cards that are basically retail ready, including the plastic shrouds and branding - obviously delays to retail come down to mass yield and market timing.

DoFoT9

Oct 13, 2010, 07:01 AM

It isn't that early. AMD clearly have cards that are basically retail ready, including the plastic shrouds and branding - obviously delays to retail come down to mass yield and market timing.

case and point. would have been in development for a long time - doesnt really seem that different over 5xxx though anyway!

Hellhammer

Oct 13, 2010, 07:47 AM

http://www.fudzilla.com/graphics/item/20485-radeon-hd-6870-and-6850-launch-oct-22nd

6850 and 6870 will be launched on October 22nd.

DoFoT9

Oct 13, 2010, 08:08 AM

http://www.fudzilla.com/graphics/item/20485-radeon-hd-6870-and-6850-launch-oct-22nd

6850 and 6870 will be launched on October 22nd.

dual mDP ports! great news for us mac lovers :) i think apple will add this to MP line up!

Hellhammer

Oct 13, 2010, 08:15 AM

dual mDP ports! great news for us mac lovers :) i think apple will add this to MP line up!

Maybe in 2012 when Radeon 7xxx is already out :p

DoFoT9

Oct 13, 2010, 08:43 AM

Maybe in 2012 when Radeon 7xxx is already out :p

We can always dream right? :cool:

Hellhammer

Oct 13, 2010, 08:45 AM

We can always dream right? :cool:

You should be dreaming as we speak since you went to bed nearly an hour ago :eek: :D Maybe Cindori and others can do their magics and PC versions of these cards will work in Mac Pros?

jeanlain

Oct 13, 2010, 10:57 AM

Pressure

Oct 13, 2010, 11:22 AM

I think netkas found SSIDs for Radeon HD 6 series in the 10.6.5 drivers. With a few tweaks in the 5870/5770 EFI, it might be possible to flash the cards and make them work on 10.6.5+ without any software hack.
But it's too soon to tell.

The underlaying architecture is entirely different between this generation (Radeon HD 5000 series) and the next (Radeon HD 6000 series).

Everything points towards larger differences than what enabled the Radeon HD 4890 to work in Mac OS X.

Eidorian

Oct 13, 2010, 01:38 PM

http://www.fudzilla.com/graphics/item/20485-radeon-hd-6870-and-6850-launch-oct-22nd

6850 and 6870 will be launched on October 22nd.I still think it should have been the 67xx HD Series.

Hellhammer

Oct 13, 2010, 01:46 PM

I still think it should have been the 67xx HD Series.

Me too. This new naming system is VERY confusing, especially since 68xx is slower than 58xx. In the past, this kinda game was what we saw with NVidia but looks like AMD is adopting it :(

Eidorian

Oct 13, 2010, 03:43 PM

Me too. This new naming system is VERY confusing, especially since 68xx is slower than 58xx. In the past, this kinda game was what we saw with NVidia but looks like AMD is adopting it :(Getting it to a lower price point than the currrent HD 5800 Series an with a shiny new 6000 number might get some traction.

DoFoT9

Oct 13, 2010, 04:15 PM

You should be dreaming as we speak since you went to bed nearly an hour ago :eek: :D Maybe Cindori and others can do their magics and PC versions of these cards will work in Mac Pros?
HA well i got iOS4.2 beta installed on my iPad and was playing around - then just couldnt resist MR!

Hellhammer

Oct 14, 2010, 05:09 AM

Cayman is scheduled for late November. Also some explanations regarding to the new naming scheme

http://www.techpowerup.com/132780/AMD-Northern-Islands-Feature-Set-Leaked.html

Gloor

Oct 14, 2010, 05:15 AM

Hellhammer

Oct 14, 2010, 05:21 AM

Guys, why doesn't Ati release Mac version along with PC one? We would not be in mercy of Apple to wait for them to have it with the massive delay and we could get it like our PC friends do. Buy, install -> go :))
That would save so much hassle with flashing etc.

If those drivers are in 10.6.5+ then all we need is the flash on the card, right? So if ATI released card on sale mac ready then that would save the problem for everyone, right?

ATI/AMD doesn't sell video cards, they just make GPUs (I mean the graphics chip). OEMs such as ASUS, XFX and Gigabyte make the rest. E.g. GTX 285 for Mac was made by EVGA so if Apple doesn't want to release 6xxx card yet, then it would have to made by ASUS for example. Maybe OEMs are not interested about Macs since they require extra work and the market share is fairly small. Plus, it would have to be accepted and adopted by Apple to be worthwhile (most people buy GPUs from Apple store so if it's not there, it's not going to sell well).

I think the biggest issue is Apple, they want to control things too much and wants big profits.

peskaa

Oct 14, 2010, 05:34 AM

ATI/AMD doesn't sell video cards, they just make GPUs (I mean the graphics chip). OEMs such as ASUS, XFX and Gigabyte make the rest. E.g. GTX 285 for Mac was made by EVGA so if Apple doesn't want to release 6xxx card yet, then it would have to made by ASUS for example. Maybe OEMs are not interested about Macs since they require extra work and the market share is fairly small. Plus, it would have to be accepted and adopted by Apple to be worthwhile (most people buy GPUs from Apple store so if it's not there, it's not going to sell well).

I think the biggest issue is Apple, they want to control things too much and wants big profits.

Err, not quite.
ATi/AMD do make GPUs - they're called reference boards, and they're also the ones we buy from Apple. Crack open any Mac Pro with an ATi GPU in and you won't see a partner-made card, but a reference board from ATi.

Obviously for the PC market, they're all partner boards. Mac is a different beast. The EVGA GTX 285 interestingly was the first non-OEM board made - the 8800GT is an nVIDIA made board too.

Hellhammer

Oct 14, 2010, 05:46 AM

Err, not quite.
ATi/AMD do make GPUs - they're called reference boards, and they're also the ones we buy from Apple. Crack open any Mac Pro with an ATi GPU in and you won't see a partner-made card, but a reference board from ATi.

Obviously for the PC market, they're all partner boards. Mac is a different beast. The EVGA GTX 285 interestingly was the first non-OEM board made - the 8800GT is an nVIDIA made board too.

Thanks for the correction. My point still stands though, ATI doesn't sell them. Thus they are often called Apple/Mac GPUs even though Apple has nothing to do with the manufacturing. If Apple doesn't want to update its GPU offerings with 6xxx line up, then it's unlikely that we will see one, even if ATI wanted to release Mac version.

Gloor

Oct 14, 2010, 05:59 AM

I see, thank you.

Well, do you think there is a chance that Apple doesn't have 5870 available as a kit as they will swap it for 6970 instead?

Pressure

Oct 14, 2010, 06:00 AM

peskaa

Oct 14, 2010, 07:21 AM

Pretty sure the reference boards are made by Foxconn and not AMD.

Well duh. Foxconn make your Mac too, however for branding purposes they're made by "ATi" or "Apple". Foxconn are simply the manufacturing partner.

Pressure

Oct 14, 2010, 07:54 AM

Well duh. Foxconn make your Mac too, however for branding purposes they're made by "ATi" or "Apple". Foxconn are simply the manufacturing partner.

Yes, I am well aware of that.

The graphic branch of AMD is what is known as a fabless semiconductor, just like nVIDIA.

Hellhammer

Oct 14, 2010, 01:39 PM

Some pics:

http://plaza.fi/s/f/editor/images/10_14_nude6870.jpg

6870 without cooler

http://image20.it168.com/201010_500x375/283/c448e743a279735d.jpg

Barts XT (i.e. 6870)

http://img704.imageshack.us/img704/683/75bj.jpg

XFX's version of 6870

http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/174/75aa.jpg

First pricing leaks (http://www.techpowerup.com/132804/Early-Listings-Indicate-Radeon-HD-6800-Series-Pricing.html), possibly 199$ for 6850 and 249$ for 6870

Hellhammer

Oct 15, 2010, 02:37 AM

AMD confirms (http://www.anandtech.com/show/3976/amd-quietly-reveals-next-radeon-series-launches-next-week) that some GPUs will be released next week. All second generation DX11 GPUs will be launched during this quarter and should ship in large quantities.

DoFoT9

Oct 15, 2010, 03:23 AM

*back image of ports*
2xDP. not enough. mac card please.
First pricing leaks (http://www.techpowerup.com/132804/Early-Listings-Indicate-Radeon-HD-6800-Series-Pricing.html), possibly 199$ for 6850 and 249$ for 6870
those are competitive pricing - will have to wait to see benchmarks for exactly how good the drivers are to start off with for games :D

Wild-Bill

Oct 15, 2010, 02:48 PM

IMHO, Apple should just remove the standalone HD 5770 and (missing) HD 5870 from the store and replace them with the 6870 and 6970, respectively.

I hope once someone gets their hands on a 6970 with dual-DVI and writes Mac ROMS for it, I'll be over it like white on rice. ;)

jav6454

Oct 15, 2010, 02:56 PM

Hellhammer

Oct 15, 2010, 03:18 PM

By the original benchies, it seems the new cards will perform (synthetically) on par with the GTX480 and the HD5870. However, we are talking about the 5770 rebrand, the 6870, so, this should come out really interesting, specially, if AMD managed to get lower TDPs and temps.

Here (http://www.fudzilla.com/graphics/item/20501-amd-barts-and-cayman-further-detailed) are some TDPs listed but they aren't very specific nor reliable. Well, official info should be out next week since they will be released then

jav6454

Oct 15, 2010, 03:37 PM

Here (http://www.fudzilla.com/graphics/item/20501-amd-barts-and-cayman-further-detailed) are some TDPs listed but they aren't very specific nor reliable. Well, official info should be out next week since they will be released then

6Gb/s?!?!?!?! Wow, talk crazy fast memory. Right now at 4.2Gb/s we have nice transfers.... also, I see higher than usual Max Powers... hopefully this isn't one of those Fermi furnaces.....

Hellhammer

Oct 15, 2010, 03:45 PM

6Gb/s?!?!?!?! Wow, talk crazy fast memory. Right now at 4.2Gb/s we have nice transfers.... also, I see higher than usual Max Powers... hopefully this isn't one of those Fermi furnaces.....

Many sites questioned the reliability of those TDPs as 6870 would have greater TDP than 5850 but be about as fast. AMD emphasized that these GPUs should concentrate on power efficiency so it would be ridiculous if the performance per watt went down. Hopefully those TDPs are incorrect, maybe they forgot to put the comma between those numbers :p

jav6454

Oct 15, 2010, 09:11 PM

Many sites questioned the reliability of those TDPs as 6870 would have greater TDP than 5850 but be about as fast. AMD emphasized that these GPUs should concentrate on power efficiency so it would be ridiculous if the performance per watt went down. Hopefully those TDPs are incorrect, maybe they forgot to put the comma between those numbers :p

The exact same thing I was thinking. It can't be that high, but then again. Anyways, we will find out the 19th or 20th and at the same time we'll see what Apple's event is all about.

On Apple's part I placing bets on an nVidia/Intel agreement for the 13" MBPs, or maybe a switch to ATI GPUs on the mobile side. If not, maybe a more crammed than usual 3-chip solution.

jav6454

Oct 18, 2010, 11:36 PM

First Official pictures have arrived!!

Radeon HD 6870
http://images.anandtech.com/doci/3980/6870.jpg
Click to enlarge

Full pictures here:
http://www.anandtech.com/Gallery/Album/815

DoFoT9

Oct 19, 2010, 12:17 AM

First Official pictures have arrived!!

Full pictures here:
http://www.anandtech.com/Gallery/Album/815
SMEXCHY! thanks!

Hellhammer

Oct 19, 2010, 07:09 AM

The release date has now been confirmed by AMD, it's the 22nd of October (this Friday)

http://www.fudzilla.com/graphics/item/20540-amd-confirms-hd-6800-launch-date

peskaa

Oct 19, 2010, 07:41 AM

*sigh*
Really want one, even if it's just for Windows, but then I'm gimped on my OS X card due to power requirements. Just can't run a 4870 and a 6870 together :(

Hellhammer

Oct 19, 2010, 07:56 AM

*sigh*
Really want one, even if it's just for Windows, but then I'm gimped on my OS X card due to power requirements. Just can't run a 4870 and a 6870 together :(

Get an "external" PSU :p

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:5ymb-xyV5EiFDM:http://www.unsekure.net/mac9800gx2/externalpsu.jpg

peskaa

Oct 19, 2010, 08:17 AM

Get an "external" PSU :p

Now where's the vomit emote....

Seriously, no! I've seen some people have success with PCIe power y-splitters, but I haven't found any for sale round here. Swapping GPUs is also way too much effort, as I've discovered in the past.

Hellhammer

Oct 19, 2010, 08:39 AM

6870 has exactly same TDP as 5850, 151W (link (http://www.fudzilla.com/graphics/item/20547-radeon-hd-6870-has-151w-tdp)) so doesn't look too good (19W idle TDP is also the same as 5850's).

6870 scores 7500 in 3DMark Vantage (link (http://www.fudzilla.com/graphics/item/20544-radeon-6870-scores-7500-in-3dmark-vantage))

And finally, some 68xx cards have already hit the retail in Australia, 339AUS for 6870 and 275AUS for 6850 (link (http://www.fudzilla.com/graphics/item/20546-sapphire-hd-6800-shows-up-in-retail)). Other article (http://www.fudzilla.com/graphics/item/20548-asus-readies-overclocked-barts) states 218US for 6850 and 270US for 6870

Eidorian

Oct 19, 2010, 10:38 AM

It looks like I'm rather safe with my GTX 460 unless I wanted Display Port galore.

Hellhammer

Oct 19, 2010, 11:04 AM

http://www.techpowerup.com/133026/AMD-Radeon-HD-6800-Series-Specifications-Leaked.html

Some performance data from AMD. Up to 35% better performance per mm^2 and up to 100% better tessellation performance.

jav6454

Oct 19, 2010, 11:40 AM

Wow, good going AMD. Now, let's see nVidia catch up.

Hellhammer

Oct 20, 2010, 08:50 AM

http://www.fudzilla.com/graphics/item/20561-radeon-hd-6870-is-a-255mm-chip

6870's chip is 23.7% smaller than 5870's or 5850's. Some other specs in that article as well

jav6454

Oct 21, 2010, 04:25 PM

The reviews are starting to come in...

Guru of 3D Review of the HD6870 and HD6850 (http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-6850-6870-review/)

Guru of 3D Review, CrossFireX setup (http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-6850-6870-crossfirex-review/)

Eidorian

Oct 21, 2010, 05:30 PM

nanofrog

Oct 21, 2010, 05:57 PM

Now where's the vomit emote....

Seriously, no! I've seen some people have success with PCIe power y-splitters, but I haven't found any for sale round here. Swapping GPUs is also way too much effort, as I've discovered in the past.
There's another solution. Internal Graphics Card PSU that fits in the empty optical bay (here (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817101044&Tpk=5.25%22%20psu)).

At $20USD ($26 with shipping), it's not expensive, and may actually be cheaper than trying to use Y splitters that could actually draw more power over the PCB traces (or even the rails) than the system is rated for (really bad thing to do). So I see it as cheap insurance to save the board and system PSU. ;) Cleaner than a standard PSU that hangs outside the case, wires all over the place, and no "hot wiring" it to get it to turn on (jump the green and black wires in the 24pin Main Board connector).

jav6454

Oct 21, 2010, 10:39 PM

The reviews are currently down. I think it's a tad bit too early even for GMT at this point.

They should be back up by now. Also, Anandtech already released theirs.

peskaa

Oct 22, 2010, 03:02 AM

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2010/10/22/ati-radeon-hd-6870-review/1 - 6870 Review

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2010/10/22/ati-radeon-hd-6850-review/1 - 6850 Review

DoFoT9

Oct 22, 2010, 06:41 AM

6870 has exactly same TDP as 5850, 151W (link (http://www.fudzilla.com/graphics/item/20547-radeon-hd-6870-has-151w-tdp)) so doesn't look too good (19W idle TDP is also the same as 5850's).
wait wait wait. i thought you said there were better power reductions? :eek: :confused: ????

And finally, some 68xx cards have already hit the retail in Australia, 339AUS for 6870 and 275AUS for 6850 (link (http://www.fudzilla.com/graphics/item/20546-sapphire-hd-6800-shows-up-in-retail)). Other article (http://www.fudzilla.com/graphics/item/20548-asus-readies-overclocked-barts) states 218US for 6850 and 270US for 6870

:D thank you for posting australian prices! my uncle will be very happy to know these - nice to know you are thinking of me ;)

Hellhammer

Oct 22, 2010, 08:36 AM

wait wait wait. i thought you said there were better power reductions? :eek: :confused: ????

I know. Looks like AMD couldn't change it by much. Maybe Cayman will be different. See power consumption here (http://www.anandtech.com/show/3987/amds-radeon-6870-6850-renewing-competition-in-the-midrange-market/18)

:D thank you for posting australian prices! my uncle will be very happy to know these - nice to know you are thinking of me ;)

Actually, I wasn't thinking at you :p Just posted it because it gave a hint about the pricing.

Eidorian

Oct 22, 2010, 09:28 AM

jav6454

Oct 22, 2010, 11:06 AM

Lots of in-fighting in the $200 arena now. ATI brings a lot and forces nVidia to drop prices as well which benefits the consumer. It's a draw with the GTX 460 vs. the 6850.

I'm still put off by the naming scheme though. These should be the 6700 Series.

Same thoughts here. However, I think it's because of the 5700 series is still being sold while AMD dries up 5850 stocks.

Also, 6870 on par with or beter than a 5850, Holy smokes. People even see the 6870 as a GTX470 alternative. Which people should given how much efficient the 6870 is.

Hellhammer

Oct 22, 2010, 11:10 AM

Same thoughts here. However, I think it's because of the 5700 series is still being sold while AMD dries up 5850 stocks.

Also, 6870 on par with or beter than a 5850, Holy smokes.

http://plaza.fi/s/f/editor/images/X-2010102208080744811.jpg

Looks like AMD will keep selling the 5700 series. In fact, it looks like AMD has no plans about lower-end 6xxx parts, yet.

vogelhausdesign

Oct 22, 2010, 11:35 AM

Is this why 5870 is still "unavailable", is there any sign of these new 6xxx series being made for Mac? Or should people still be buying the 5870 as the only high end option without flashing

Eidorian

Oct 22, 2010, 03:49 PM

PC Impress (http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/column/kaigai/20101022_401811.html) had a field day. Not that you're going to see any benchmarks.

$200 is still the sweet spot after dealing with the reign of the HD 5800 at $300.

Tibrim

Oct 22, 2010, 04:23 PM

Here is an excellent review of both the 6870 and 6850:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3987/amds-radeon-6870-6850-renewing-competition-in-the-midrange-market

Realize that although its named 6870, it is not meant to outright replace the 5870. The 5870 is still the performance single-card king on AMD's side. All of this is explained in the review I've linked to.

Hellhammer

Oct 23, 2010, 02:26 AM

DoFoT9

Oct 23, 2010, 06:38 AM

I know. Looks like AMD couldn't change it by much. Maybe Cayman will be different. See power consumption here (http://www.anandtech.com/show/3987/amds-radeon-6870-6850-renewing-competition-in-the-midrange-market/18)
thanks - i guess there are some improvements and its the same architecture so you cant expect much less!

Actually, I wasn't thinking at you :p Just posted it because it gave a hint about the pricing.
sure sure, deep down i know you care :D

Lots of in-fighting in the $200 arena now. ATI brings a lot and forces nVidia to drop prices as well which benefits the consumer. It's a draw with the GTX 460 vs. the 6850.
GTX460 is just a bit more underpowered then 6850 and consumes a bit more power - so you would assume a lot of people go for the newer ATi, though the cheaper prices of GTX are also attractive. hopefully this can force nvidia to push harder :D

PC Impress (http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/column/kaigai/20101022_401811.html) had a field day. Not that you're going to see any benchmarks.

$200 is still the sweet spot after dealing with the reign of the HD 5800 at $300.
im very happy with a $200 spot! seems quite reasonable for the price - comparing this sort of same % performance 5 years ago :P

Hellhammer

Oct 23, 2010, 06:46 AM

GTX460 is just a bit more underpowered then 6850 and consumes a bit more power - so you would assume a lot of people go for the newer ATi, though the cheaper prices of GTX are also attractive. hopefully this can force nvidia to push harder :D

NVidia has said that they will answer the call with OCed GTX 460s. That will bump the TDP but should provide nice performance for the $

DoFoT9

Oct 23, 2010, 07:15 AM

NVidia has said that they will answer the call with OCed GTX 460s. That will bump the TDP but should provide nice performance for the $

oh so factory spec will OC them? interesting! thanks for that info

Eidorian

Oct 23, 2010, 12:51 PM

NVidia has said that they will answer the call with OCed GTX 460s. That will bump the TDP but should provide nice performance for the $There's also the possibility of a fully unlocked GF104 with 384 shaders as well.

macfan881

Oct 23, 2010, 12:59 PM

I picked up 1 of these i had 200 to spend on a card I should have this by Tuesday/Wednesday on my new game rig.

Hellhammer

Oct 23, 2010, 12:59 PM

There's also the possibility of a fully unlocked GF104 with 384 shaders as well.

And I wouldn't count out the possibility of GTX 560 as GTX 580 has more or less been confirmed; based on GF110 and has 512 CUDA cores. Maybe NVidia will come up with GTX 560 that is based on GF114 (updated GF104) which will have all 384 shaders.

DoFoT9

Oct 23, 2010, 06:38 PM

jav6454

Oct 25, 2010, 12:56 AM

And I wouldn't count out the possibility of GTX 560 as GTX 580 has more or less been confirmed; based on GF110 and has 512 CUDA cores. Maybe NVidia will come up with GTX 560 that is based on GF114 (updated GF104) which will have all 384 shaders.

From what I've heard, GTX480 and possible GTX580 may not have full 512 shaders available. 512 shaders only yields a 6% performance increase with a heightened TDP of 400W... saw that on expreview.com... not sure how accurate that report it, but I give it doubts... the article 404's now.

In any case, nVidia's only answer is too drop price and their GTX 470; which they aren't happy to do as that card is expensive to make. And even then, the ball is still in ATIs court; lower power consumption, heat, noise for slightly better performance. The same can be said with the GTX 460... all you can do is OC the GPU, to catch up in terms of performance, but you sacrifice all the rest.

I for one, would like to see how an similarly OC'd HD6850 and HD6870 fair against the EVGA FTW GTX460...

Hellhammer

Oct 25, 2010, 08:51 AM

From what I've heard, GTX480 and possible GTX580 may not have full 512 shaders available. 512 shaders only yields a 6% performance increase with a heightened TDP of 400W... saw that on expreview.com... not sure how accurate that report it, but I give it doubts... the article 404's now.

The article I read is still alive but in Finnish (that's a good site but of course, nothing is confirmed)

http://translate.google.fi/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=fi&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=fi&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fplaza.fi%2Fmuropaketti%2Fnvidian-vastaus-amd-radeon-hd-6900-naytonohjaimille-geforce-gtx-580

In any case, nVidia's only answer is too drop price and their GTX 470; which they aren't happy to do as that card is expensive to make. And even then, the ball is still in ATIs court; lower power consumption, heat, noise for slightly better performance. The same can be said with the GTX 460... all you can do is OC the GPU, to catch up in terms of performance, but you sacrifice all the rest.

NVidia already dropped the price of GTX 470 to 259$. I agree that ATI is currently the best buy, you get lower TDP and noise in same package plus at least I've always preferred ATI's monthly drivers that often increase the performance.

jav6454

Oct 25, 2010, 02:00 PM

The article I read is still alive but in Finnish (that's a good site but of course, nothing is confirmed)

http://translate.google.fi/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=fi&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=fi&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fplaza.fi%2Fmuropaketti%2Fnvidian-vastaus-amd-radeon-hd-6900-naytonohjaimille-geforce-gtx-580

NVidia already dropped the price of GTX 470 to 259$. I agree that ATI is currently the best buy, you get lower TDP and noise in same package plus at least I've always preferred ATI's monthly drivers that often increase the performance.

In any case, it doesn't matter... see attached

Hellhammer

Oct 25, 2010, 02:11 PM

see attached

Hopefully that is true as the score is crazy! TDP is quite high compared to 58xx but I guess performance doesn't come for free :p Only 5W higher than GTX 480's so again, performance per watt is significantly better.

Only a month and we'll see those behemoths

jav6454

Oct 25, 2010, 02:13 PM

Hopefully that is true as the score is crazy! TDP is quite high compared to 58xx but I guess performance doesn't come for free :p Only 5W higher than GTX 480's so again, performance per watt is significantly better.

Only a month and we'll see those behemoths

I was sad to see the TDP went up on the high end cards. Let's hope it isn't too bad. Maybe 255W is the maximum TDP it will ever reach.

Hellhammer

Oct 25, 2010, 02:18 PM

I was sad to see the TDP went up on the high end cards. Let's hope it isn't too bad. Maybe 255W is the maximum TDP it will ever reach.

Yeah, we don't need new BBQs like Fermi

jav6454

Oct 25, 2010, 05:18 PM

Yeah, we don't need new BBQs like Fermi

.

DoFoT9

Oct 25, 2010, 09:16 PM

I was sad to see the TDP went up on the high end cards. Let's hope it isn't too bad. Maybe 255W is the maximum TDP it will ever reach.
with energy "awareness" of late i think its cruicial that this max TDP comes further down. if i were to see my machine chewing 255W of power id freak! my entire iMac doesnt consume any greater then 300W total underload! let alone just for a GPU :eek:

jav6454

Oct 25, 2010, 10:18 PM

with energy "awareness" of late i think its cruicial that this max TDP comes further down. if i were to see my machine chewing 255W of power id freak! my entire iMac doesnt consume any greater then 300W total underload! let alone just for a GPU :eek:

For nVidia, having the GTX480 have a 300W TDP is good. They say good GPUs consume lots of power. Lol, poor nVidia.

DoFoT9

Oct 25, 2010, 10:27 PM

For nVidia, having the GTX480 have a 300W TDP is good. They say good GPUs consume lots of power. Lol, poor nVidia.
is there a "powerMyth" similar to the "MHzMyth"?? ;)

dukebound85

Oct 25, 2010, 10:41 PM

How does this card compare to a 8800gt 512mb?

slughead

Oct 26, 2010, 08:57 AM

What are the chances of us seeing this card for mac before 2011?

Hellhammer

Oct 26, 2010, 12:11 PM

How does this card compare to a 8800gt 512mb?

There is no 68xx in AnandTech's GPU bench but I selected 5850 which is quite similar in performance

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/178?vs=164

dukebound85

Oct 26, 2010, 01:37 PM

wow alot better

i remember thinking i had a sweet card with that one lol

jav6454

Oct 26, 2010, 02:31 PM

wow alot better

i remember thinking i had a sweet card with that one lol

Lol, so much has changed since then.

DoFoT9

Oct 26, 2010, 05:59 PM

What are the chances of us seeing this card for mac before 2011?

extremely low. :(

jav6454

Oct 27, 2010, 12:31 AM

Linky to Leaked HD6970 benchies (http://videocardz.com/27483/amd-radeon-hd-6970-vantage-results-leaked)

Oh God! The telling of nVidia will be huge!

Also, found the correct link to the fully enabled 512 CUDA cores GTX480 or GTX580 (whatever they are calling it now).

6% increase in perfomance for a 512 core version versus the 480 core version with 644W [512SP] vs 204W [480SP]. Oh nVidia, you and your Foreman: Lean mean, Grilling Machine solutions!

Linky for GTX480 512SPs (http://en.expreview.com/2010/08/09/world-exclusive-review-512sp-geforce-gtx-480/9070.html)

sch8mid

Oct 27, 2010, 01:57 AM

first 6850 boards @ insanely mac
will be interesting if we get one of these to work with 10.6.5 update

Hellhammer

Oct 27, 2010, 07:14 AM

6% increase in perfomance for a 512 core version versus the 480 core version with 644W [512SP] vs 204W [480SP].

That must be a typo or some failure in the test. 32 shaders can't be using 204W of power

DoFoT9

Oct 27, 2010, 05:40 PM

That must be a typo or some failure in the test. 32 shaders can't be using 204W of power
i dont believe it either! how stupid.

jav6454

Oct 28, 2010, 12:54 PM

That must be a typo or some failure in the test. 32 shaders can't be using 204W of power

I have no idea as well. I find it hard to believe. However, until we get more tests done, not much we can do. Also, by this time, nVidia should have good yields to release fully enabled GTX480, but they haven't...

Hellhammer

Oct 28, 2010, 12:58 PM

I have no idea as well. I find it hard to believe. However, until we get more tests done, not much we can do. Also, by this time, nVidia should have good yields to release fully enabled GTX480, but they haven't...

Mm, we can only wait :(

Some pics of GTX 580 are already floating around

http://www.tcmagazine.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/tcm-inline-default/images/tcm/inline/nvidiageforcegtx580a01.jpg

http://www.tcmagazine.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/tcm-inline-default/images/tcm/inline/nvidiageforcegtx580a02.jpg

http://www.tcmagazine.com/tcm/news/hardware/31353/alleged-nvidia-geforce-gtx-580-pictures-hit-web

Looks pretty boring IMO.

Bubba Satori

Oct 28, 2010, 02:03 PM

What are the chances of us seeing this card for mac before 2011?
extremely low. :(

They will probably be offered by Apple a year after PC users
have had the 7000 series, if Apple sticks to it's historic record
of GPU releases. Expect to pay twice as much for the version
that will work in a Mac. :apple:

Hopefully iGadget Inc. will think different this time around
and not treat it's customers like willing putzes and do a
simultaneous release. Or not. :rolleyes:

Hellhammer

Oct 29, 2010, 08:32 AM

GTX 580 is coming in late November

http://www.fudzilla.com/graphics/item/20676-geforce-gtx-580-to-launch-in-november

DoFoT9

Oct 29, 2010, 08:43 AM

They will probably be offered by Apple a year after PC users
have had the 7000 series, if Apple sticks to it's historic record
of GPU releases. Expect to pay twice as much for the version
that will work in a Mac. :apple:

a slight hyperbolation sure, but hopefully it wont be TOO late.

GTX 580 is coming in late November

http://www.fudzilla.com/graphics/item/20676-geforce-gtx-580-to-launch-in-november
ahh interesting. some nice competition for ATi AMD then.

roblin

Nov 1, 2010, 02:00 PM

I have a sapphire 6850 in my 2008 Mac Pro now. It's really silent and performs amazing so far, 2560x1600 everything ultra works fine in sc2, looks much better than the 8800gt also, and can't hear it from my chair even at 99% activity.

bootcamp dont work with it but I have win7 on a SSD on it so I just removed the OSX-HDD and win booted up, seldom use osx these days so I dont care.

Win7 performance index says 7,7 on all except HDD, obv my 1year old intel g2 is getting old :P

jav6454

Nov 1, 2010, 02:03 PM

macfan881

Nov 1, 2010, 02:05 PM

I love my 6850 playing mass effect 2 i get a steady 60 fps game is really good Same goes for force unleashed 2 as well.

sch8mid

Nov 3, 2010, 11:56 AM

They will probably be offered by Apple a year after PC users
have had the 7000 series, if Apple sticks to it's historic record
of GPU releases. Expect to pay twice as much for the version
that will work in a Mac. :apple:

Hopefully iGadget Inc. will think different this time around
and not treat it's customers like willing putzes and do a
simultaneous release. Or not. :rolleyes:

so true , for me this ridiculous walt disney show , featuring "Ali Baba" Jobs from iGadget Inc., selling recycling computers in cases designed 7 years ago with outdated parts at 3 times the price to innocents has ended ...

using an Hd 5770 in my custom built mac since months , rig is faster , cheaper , and has all the bell and whistles of a modern computer.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=11325289&postcount=16

slughead

Nov 4, 2010, 08:45 AM

They will probably be offered by Apple a year after PC users
have had the 7000 series, if Apple sticks to it's historic record
of GPU releases. Expect to pay twice as much for the version
that will work in a Mac. :apple:

Nice optimism.

BTW guys, I donno if you saw this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102909

6870 with 2 mini display ports, a HDMI, 2 DVI's for $240.

umgoblue2008

Nov 8, 2010, 08:16 PM

Nice optimism.

BTW guys, I donno if you saw this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102909

6870 with 2 mini display ports, a HDMI, 2 DVI's for $240.

yes every 6870 has 2 mini DP. I just installed one on my mac pro and big upgrade over the nvidia that came with the 09. Still use the nvidia in osx but 6870 in windows.

Pörsödil

Jan 10, 2012, 10:00 AM

How much power does Radeon HD 6850 consume?
Can I run it in my Mac Pro 4,1 without any extra power sources?

Hellhammer

Jan 10, 2012, 10:13 AM

How much power does Radeon HD 6850 consume?
Can I run it in my Mac Pro 4,1 without any extra power sources?

127W according to AnandTech. You can run it as long as you give it one PCIe power cable (there are two in Mac Pro).

Pörsödil

Jan 10, 2012, 10:16 AM

127W according to AnandTech. You can run it as long as you give it one PCIe power cable (there are two in Mac Pro).

PCIe power cable? Where are they?

Eidorian

Jan 10, 2012, 10:23 AM

PCIe power cable? Where are they?6 or 8-pin PCI-Express supplemental power. I have not checked the Mac Pro in some time but I believe you are capped at 300W total plugged into the motherboard the last time I checked.

Hellhammer

Jan 10, 2012, 10:24 AM

PCIe power cable? Where are they?

http://portal.cdn.erodov.net/reviews/guide/pci-e-connector/pci-e-power-connector-2.jpg

Something like that. Should be connected to your current GPU.

Pörsödil

Jan 10, 2012, 10:40 AM

Image (http://portal.cdn.erodov.net/reviews/guide/pci-e-connector/pci-e-power-connector-2.jpg)

Something like that. Should be connected to your current GPU.

so... is one of them not in use and free to be utilized with the graphics card? God damn I don't understand **** about this stuff.