# XFX Radeon HD 6870 Smiles for the Camera



## btarunr (Oct 14, 2010)

XFX is ready with the first AIB-branded Radeon HD 6000 series graphics card to be caught on camera. Its Radeon HD 6870 graphics card bears a racy-looking AMD reference-design blower-type cooling solution, with its own company sticker. The company has opted for the AMD-branded Radeon logo. It draws power from two 6-pin power connectors, has no backplate on the PCB's reverse side, and sports a custom-design rear-panel on which the XFX logo is etched on the exhaust. Display connectors include two DVI, an HDMI, and two mini-DisplayPort. Radeon HD 6870 is intended to be a successor to the Radeon HD 5700 series, a performance segment product targeting a price sweet-spot. Radeon HD 5800 series successors are Radeon HD 6900 series. 



 



*View at TechPowerUp Main Site*


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## mdsx1950 (Oct 14, 2010)

Sexy!


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## afw (Oct 14, 2010)

+1 ... sexy indeed 

EDIT: only 2-way crossfire ... ???  ... why ... ???


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## [Ion] (Oct 14, 2010)

Looks really nice


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## Anarchy0110 (Oct 14, 2010)

Impressed by the display output 
What's going on with the CrossFire Interconnect Bridge  only one


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## mdsx1950 (Oct 14, 2010)

afw said:


> +1 ... sexy indeed
> 
> EDIT: only 2-way crossfire ... ???  ... why ... ???



The card might be too powerful to be put in a QuadFire config  Or it just might be this XFX card. The others might be capable of QuadFire.


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## Easo (Oct 14, 2010)

Niiice, i like the XFX logo on the exhaust.


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## Rammkopf (Oct 14, 2010)

Er ... what?! Someone in their marketing department actually believes they're gonna make me install this brick-like chunk of composites inside my case?! No F-in' way. This one in particular looks so ugly and unfinished, it makes my snot wanna twist around my neck ... 

C'mon partners, come up with somethin' that's actually worth eyeballing!


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## Delta6326 (Oct 14, 2010)

I just had a heart-attack looking at this and all the other TPU news!


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## 983264 (Oct 14, 2010)

Can't Wait on the reviews, and if it beats the 5850, Then how much more if the 6870 is released?


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## SNICK (Oct 14, 2010)

In hindi "mast hai yaar"


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## beautyless (Oct 14, 2010)

So the cayman xt pictures leak with 256-bit bus seems to be true. sadly.


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## CDdude55 (Oct 14, 2010)

Looks very nice, very similar looking to the 5 series though.

Now it's just time to wait and see how they perform.


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## inferKNOX (Oct 14, 2010)

I wonder if these HD6800s and so on will have an AMD mini-DP -> DVI adapter(s) for Eyefinity?


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## mdm-adph (Oct 14, 2010)

Hey, cool -- and unlike my MSI 4830, they actually turned the letters the right way so that it won't be upside down when you install it. :shadedshu


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## wolf (Oct 14, 2010)

shmexy card, lets see how it performs!


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## NdMk2o1o (Oct 14, 2010)

btarunr said:


> Radeon HD 6870 is intended to be a successor to the Radeon HD 5700 series



With 2 6 pin adapters? 

This alongside the stupid naming scheme is making me wonder about AMD this time round, though if the leaked benches are anything to go by this is just a hair behind a 5870, and if this is replacing the 5770, what the hell will the 6950/70 be like??


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## dj-electric (Oct 14, 2010)

oh god this is sexy


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## 20mmrain (Oct 14, 2010)

Ahh still upset to see only two way crossfire. Although that could be because they don't want people having 3 way or 4 way if it could easily beat cayman.


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## cadaveca (Oct 14, 2010)

20mmrain said:


> Ahh still upset to see only two way crossfire. Although that could be because they don't want people having 3 way or 4 way if it could easily beat cayman.



Odd, isn't it? But given that I have found severe issues with scaling while using just two cards, I would be shocked if ANY 6-series, besides one, has more than one Crossfire finger.

I did kinda hype up that scaling sucks, period, for a reason......now look, 6870 only has one finger...


 Sometimes you guys need to read between the lines.


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## mdm-adph (Oct 14, 2010)

NdMk2o1o said:


> though if the leaked benches are anything to go by this is just a hair behind a 5870, and if this is replacing the 5770, what the hell will the 6950/70 be like??


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## crow1001 (Oct 14, 2010)

Looks like hardware.info have taken a kicking of AMD or XFX as their article has gone.


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## ShRoOmAlIsTiC (Oct 14, 2010)

they really are trying to confuse people now.  most people are gonna thing this is the 5850 successor when its really a 5700 series.  Plus all the the 5700 series cards only needed 1x6 pin  for power if that.  now they need 2.  this looks more like a rebranded 5850 or 5870


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## Kitkat (Oct 14, 2010)

i wish the newones went strait to non reference.


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## wahdangun (Oct 14, 2010)

afw said:


> +1 ... sexy indeed
> 
> EDIT: only 2-way crossfire ... ???  ... why ... ???



because every midrange card only have one?

and this is the "new" midrange card from amd ?


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## HaZe303 (Oct 14, 2010)

Maybe they are refitted 5800 cards?  Thats why they are nagging about the gpu pin compatibilty, its not only that they are identical in pin setup, they maybe really are identical(with minor changes to its looks and such?


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## 20mmrain (Oct 14, 2010)

wahdangun said:


> because every midrange card only have one?
> 
> and this is the "new" midrange card from amd ?



That is not true.... reference 5770's had a capability for 3 and 4 way Crossfire. I think the 5750 did to but that I am not sure on.


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## Loosenut (Oct 14, 2010)

20mmrain said:


> That is not true.... reference 5770's had a capability for 3 and 4 way Crossfire.* I think the 5750 did to but that I am not sure on*.



My Sapphire and XFX 5750's did


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## 20mmrain (Oct 14, 2010)

Loosenut said:


> My Sapphire and XFX 5750's did



Well see there yah go.... I was just proving that just because they are mid level cards (6870's) Doesn't mean that other mid level cards haven't had 3 or 4 way crossfire in the past.


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## pantherx12 (Oct 14, 2010)

XFX moved to single crossfire connectors pretty quickly from the reference design. 

Also, man when did XFX become so fucking shit?

look at how open that vent area is, nice! but no, xfx ruin it by putting their logo their, that won't affect airflow in the slightest will it xfx D:

So something that cost extra and reduces thermal performance?

Genius.


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## JATownes (Oct 14, 2010)

I know this has been said already, but I will say it again.  THIS IS A FREAKIN' SMEXY CARD!!!


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## newtekie1 (Oct 14, 2010)

I wish this displayport crap would die already.  I'd prefer two HDMI ports instead.


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## JATownes (Oct 14, 2010)

newtekie1 said:


> I wish this displayport crap would die already.  I'd prefer two HDMI ports instead.



100% Agreed.  Display port is just too difficult to find in a relatively inexpensive monitor, while HDMI seems to be on about everything.


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## cadaveca (Oct 14, 2010)

Displayport, AFAIK, is royalty-free...you're hoping for too much.


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## wahdangun (Oct 14, 2010)

newtekie1 said:


> I wish this displayport crap would die already.  I'd prefer two HDMI ports instead.



based on the leaked slide you can use the HDMI with two DVI, so you don't have to buy DP monitor to be able nejoy triple monitor eyefinity, and you can always buy DVI to HDMI adapter


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## newtekie1 (Oct 14, 2010)

cadaveca said:


> Displayport, AFAIK, is royalty-free...you're hoping for too much.



Royalty free doesn't mean jack if it is a pain in the ass to use.

The monitors with DP tend to be more expensive than the ones with HDMI/DVI, and the DRM causes more hassles than it is worth.

I'd rather pay a few bucks more for a video card with HDMI than $50+ more for a monitor with DP, or $30 for the DP to DVI adaptor.  Or better yet, I'd just like to see 3 DVI ports, let me use adapters if I want something else since DVI can easily be converted to VGA or HDMI without the need for more costly active adapters.



wahdangun said:


> based on the leaked slide you can use the HDMI with two DVI, so you don't have to buy DP monitor to be able nejoy triple monitor eyefinity, and you can always buy DVI to HDMI adapter



For some odd reason you HAVE to use the DP to use eyefinity...

But that wasn't my point, if they are going to waste PCB space, I'd rather see them use it for another HDMI port than two mini-DPs.


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## pantherx12 (Oct 14, 2010)

JATownes said:


> 100% Agreed.  Display port is just too difficult to find in a relatively inexpensive monitor, while HDMI seems to be on about everything.




Lets all stick with VGA guys!

seriously, how do you expect new standards to come forward if you don't let them.


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## newtekie1 (Oct 14, 2010)

pantherx12 said:


> Lets all stick with VGA guys!
> 
> seriously, how do you expect new standards to come forward if you don't let them.



I'm all for new standards coming forward if they are actually better.  I loved when DVI came about because it actually was better than VGA.  HDMI is better than DVI because it carries sound and uses smaller easier to use connectors. But I see no advantage of DP over DVI/HDMI.  If you can tell me some advantages, I'll gladdly agree with your comment though.

Seriously, why would you expect us to let new standards come forward if they aren't any better(arguably worse actually) than what we already have?


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## pantherx12 (Oct 14, 2010)

Well daisy chaining monitors with dp 1.2 is pretty fucking cool regardless of whether you'll be using it you have to agree 

6 displays driven from two ports.

Not bad.

If they beefed up their gpus and had 8 ports that's 24 displays from one card potentially. 

You have to look ahead not at the now : ]


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## pantherx12 (Oct 14, 2010)

pantherx12 said:


> Well daisy chaining monitors with dp 1.2 is pretty fucking cool regardless of whether you'll be using it you have to agree
> 
> 6 displays driven from two ports.
> 
> ...




( or you can use two display ports to drive a monitor that is twice the resolution supported by a single display port with 1.2 ( theoretically)


Sorry this was supposed to be an edit .


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## erocker (Oct 14, 2010)

newtekie1 said:


> I'm all for new standards coming forward if they are actually better.  I loved when DVI came about because it actually was better than VGA.  HDMI is better than DVI because it carries sound and uses smaller easier to use connectors. But I see no advantage of DP over DVI/HDMI.  If you can tell me some advantages, I'll gladdly agree with your comment though.
> 
> Seriously, why would you expect us to let new standards come forward if they aren't any better(arguably worse actually) than what we already have?



Couldn't agree more. Besides, most "gamer's" displays don't have displayport. Eyefinity would be more popular if it was more affordable and DP on a monitor is usually more expensive.


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## CDdude55 (Oct 14, 2010)

@newtekie1
Don't really think it's meant as an upgrade, it's just there to complement HDMI. I agree in regards to the differences in the other standards being much more significant then DP, and as you said HDMI being much more widely available on monitors, it seems much more useful.


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## newtekie1 (Oct 14, 2010)

pantherx12 said:


> Well daisy chaining monitors with dp 1.2 is pretty fucking cool regardless of whether you'll be using it you have to agree
> 
> 6 displays driven from two ports.
> 
> ...



No, for a standard to be popular and worth while and succeed it needs to not only offer something potentially in the future, but also offer something over the competing standards now.  Not to mention what it offers has to be practical.

If I want to drive 24 monitors, I'm probably not going to be using a gaming graphics card to do it.  That is a place for a workstation card.  Those 24 monitors are going to cost an arm and a leg compared to the same setup with multiple cards using a different standard.  Oddly, for something royalty free, it sure does cost an assload of money to get.


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## cadaveca (Oct 14, 2010)

The cost of DP monitors is due to the panel makers...you are barking up the wrong tree there.





Yes, they are charging you extra just because they feel like it.


It's business, man, and it will always be that way. I'm not gonna compain about it, but I will give some facts surrounding the problem.

If you can't afford an extra $50, you aren't a real customer anyway. People like me, that don't give a shit, and buy every good that comes out...yes...it's US they listen to. Start buying stuff, and you might actually have a voice they listen to, up on that soapbox.


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## wahdangun (Oct 14, 2010)

newtekie1 said:


> For some odd reason you HAVE to use the DP to use eyefinity...
> 
> But that wasn't my point, if they are going to waste PCB space, I'd rather see them use it for another HDMI port than two mini-DPs.



they have to use the DP because cypress just have two active TMDs thats why cypress can't drive 4 display(except if they use more DP), but with bart you can have 5 display with DVI+DVI+HDMI+miniDP+miniP, so it certainly bart can drive 3 display without any DP capable monitor, 

and btw its not about the PCB but its the core that can't allow cypress to have more than two active TMDs


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## pantherx12 (Oct 14, 2010)

Because it's new man, new stuff you pay out the arse for.

Give it a few years and I'll bet it be standardised. Bet 12 euros! ( not my own ones, we have pounds here still he he)


Your expecting to much to soon IMO, you wouldn't expect a baby just born to talk or run now would you?

But you expect a fairly new standard to be cheap and out do the competition by a whole bunch?

1.2 makes it beat the competition, that's out soon which means it will start being used more widely and won't cost a lot to use.


It's the tech world man, that process is standard with everything.


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## KainXS (Oct 14, 2010)

so this isn't going to be the high end single cards in the the series right the 69XX(cayman) will and the 699X(antilies) will be the dual right


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## cadaveca (Oct 14, 2010)

We do not comment on unreleased products.


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## newtekie1 (Oct 14, 2010)

pantherx12 said:


> Because it's new man, new stuff you pay out the arse for.
> 
> Give it a few years and I'll bet it be standardised. Bet 12 euros! ( not my own ones, we have pounds here still he he)
> 
> ...



No, _I_ don't pay out the ass for new stuff.

I'm not expecting too much too soon.  Why is expecting it to actually be better expecting too much?  I'm not asking for it to blow the competition away.  I'm just asking that it offer the consumer something now.  I don't believe the consumer should be paying for something now with the promise that it might be better in the future if we just wait long enough.  I likely won't even have the GPU when it finally becomes better, so give me something that I can actually use now.

I'm not saying DP doesn't have a place, put it on workstations cards, but don't put it on gaming cards targetted at an audience that almost no one will have monitors that support it.

And if that baby was put into a marathon with fully developed runners, I certainly would expect it to run right away and I would expect it to run faster too, or it will lose the marathon won't it?


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## pantherx12 (Oct 14, 2010)

newtekie1 said:


> No, _I_ don't pay out the ass for new stuff.
> 
> 
> I'm not saying DP doesn't have a place, put it on workstations cards, but don't put it on gaming cards targetted at an audience that almost no one will have monitors that support it.
> ...



lulz at the first bit 

Not many support it now, but that's what I'm saying more will, and then it will be less of a fuss eh lol

And I'd say the 1.2 rev of DP is the WIN compared to other connection types available at the moment. 

But that's just me, I think the daisey chain feature is neato


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## cadaveca (Oct 14, 2010)

newtekie1 said:


> No, _I_ don't pay out the ass for new stuff.





Great, but those features are there for those that do. *You can't blame any company for trying to cater to those that WILL and DO pay high premiums for tech that barely works right...those people are the ones paying to make it better.*

All you do is complain about it. Great. That solves what, exactly? You expect them to develop new products without cash?

People have to buy the products before they will make them work right. If you want something to get better, you need to invest in it, not complain about it.

FYI, those that use eyefinity will be using DP only. I mentioned before, take a look at all the problems I'm having, and you'll know exactly what they are going to change with this gen...


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## H82LUZ73 (Oct 14, 2010)

Faith[ROG].Anarchy said:


> Impressed by the display output
> What's going on with the CrossFire Interconnect Bridge  only one



Mid range cards guys.


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## CDdude55 (Oct 14, 2010)

H82LUZ73 said:


> Mid range cards guys.



So?, it'd be nice to do three or even four way crossfire with these cards. Though having only one connector is not a big issue.


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## TheMailMan78 (Oct 14, 2010)

Ill be staying away from XFX after hearing about Cadaveca crap cards.


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## newtekie1 (Oct 14, 2010)

cadaveca said:


> Great, but those features are there for those that do. *You can't blame any company for trying to cater to those that WILL and DO pay high premiums for tech that barely works right...those people are the ones paying to make it better.*



Only idiots buy half developed tech just so they can say they have it.  I wouldn't touch DP with a stick because it has been a buggy POS from the beginning, with most users having to resort to using an active DVI adapter just to get it to work(now what is the point in that).



cadaveca said:


> All you do is complain about it. Great. That solves what, exactly? You expect them to develop new products without cash?



I expect them to release the tech when it actually works.  And I expect them to develope new tech that actually brings something new to the consumer, but DP bring nothing but buggy half developed crap.  For what?  So the monitor manufacturers can charge more because their monitor has it?  Sorry, I'm not down for that BS.  Maybe if the daisy chaining thing was actually working, but AFAIK, it is only on paper at this point.



cadaveca said:


> People have to buy the products before they will make them work right. If you want something to get better, you need to invest in it, not complain about it.



No, the product has to work right before people will buy them.  It is a BS idealogy to believe that you can release a half finished product, and not finish it until people buy it.  I'm glad the auto industry doesn't do that.  Can you imagine what would happen if BMW released a new braking system, that costs twice as much, performs identically to the old braking system but sometimes just fails to stop the car at all, and told the cusomters buy it or we won't improve it and actually make it work?  Do you think any normal consumer would buy it?



cadaveca said:


> FYI, those that use eyefinity will be using DP only. I mentioned before, take a look at all the problems I'm having, and you'll know exactly what they are going to change with this gen...



Yes, and again that will be a very small percentage of people.  The average consumer would be much better off, and happier, with two HDMI ports.

Again, in case you missed it, I'm not saying there isn't a place for DP.  I'm saying it doesn't belong on a consumer gaming card.  The space could much better be used with a more accepted output.  Once DP is more accepted, and polished into an actual 100% functioning product, then I'll have no problem with it on consumer graphics cards.  But the way they rushed it into the consumer market left a real bad taste in a lot of peoples mouths, which means it is only going to be harder for people to accept it.


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## cadaveca (Oct 14, 2010)

DP wasn't rushed. You know that it's a tech developed by Dell, right? You know that literally millions of computers have DP outputs and millions of monitors on the market(ie units, not models) have DP inputs?


AMD's implementation is the problem, because let me tell you, very few Apple users have any issues, and DP was there first(ignoring the monitor that I own, the dell 3008WFP). And has been for years.

AMD screwed up the display output section of the 5-series cards. That's a fact I've been hyping here on the forums for a few months now. This new series should address the problems evident in its previous incarnation.


However, the ENTIRE 5-series was nothing but add-ons that barely work...DX11...Eyefinity...DP...all have HUGE bugs...bugs that are a result of poor hardware design, and that no driver, unfortunately, can fix.

But...all of THAT doesn't make DP bad. You are basing your opinion on a very select implementation of the product, ignoring the TONNES of other implementations that work perfectly fine.

And with that said, AMD should be recalling the 5-series gpus, in my opinion. However, companies rarely recall products unless the fault endangers lives.

There are also quite a few entry-level monitors with DP...I'm using 3 of them for my Eyefinity set-up. 3x23-inch, and I paid $239 a piece. Only "idiots" as you put it, buy overpriced merchandise.


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## newtekie1 (Oct 14, 2010)

cadaveca said:


> DP wasn't rushed. You know that it's a tech owned by Dell, right?



And Dell has never rushed anything to the market, and they've never released anything that was a buggy POS either.




cadaveca said:


> AMD's implementation is the problem, because let me tell you, very few Apple users have any issues, and DP was there first. And has been for years.
> 
> AMD screwed up the display output section of the 5-series cards. That's a fact I've been hyping here on the forums for a few months now. This new series should address the problems evident in its previous incarnation.
> 
> ...



Ok, that takes care of the problems with it, but not the fact that it still adds nothing over current options.  The extra cost for nothing is what makes DP bad.  I'm not just basing my opinon on the fact that it doesn't work because of AMD's crappy implementation, read my posts, that is just one of my gripes.



cadaveca said:


> There are also quite a few entry-level monitors with DP...I'm using 3 of them for my Eyefintiy set-up. 3x23-inch, and I paid $239 a piece. Only "idiots" as you put it, buy overpriced merchandise.



You paid $239 for 23" displays, and you don't think that is overpriced?  My 25" with VGA, DVI and HDMI was only $200, and the 23" I have was only $149.  A $239 23" monitor is certainly not "entry level", entry level 23" monitors are about $100 less.  So to do your setup with HDMI or DVI is $420, but to do it with DP costs $720.  So yes, only idiots buy overprice merchandise.:shadedshu


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## cadaveca (Oct 14, 2010)

. No 23-inch monitors, other than these Dells, were $239, LAST SEPTEMBER.  

Do you remember what happened between then and now that dropped prices so much? That should give you a hint...

A year + later, the cheapest 23-inch monitors HERE IN CANADA are around $200...

Dell didn't rush DP to market...it's been in development since 2003. And like I said, it works fine for Apple...

Also, please respect the forum rules:



> Be polite, if you have nothing nice to say then don't say anything at all. This includes trolling, continuous use of bad language (ie. cussing), flaming and insulting others.





newtekie1 said:


> So yes, only idiots buy overprice merchandise.:shadedshu


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## TheMailMan78 (Oct 14, 2010)

cadaveca said:


> DP wasn't rushed. You know that it's a tech developed by Dell, right? You know that literally millions of computers have DP outputs and millions of monitors on the market(ie units, not models) have DP inputs?
> 
> 
> AMD's implementation is the problem, because let me tell you, very few Apple users have any issues, and DP was there first(ignoring the monitor that I own, the dell 3008WFP). And has been for years.
> ...



My 5850 works flawlessly and I am a day one adopter.


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## cadaveca (Oct 14, 2010)

TheMailMan78 said:


> My 5850 works flawlessly and I am a day one adopter.



You know what, I'm using a single card, and one monitor now, and have no issues either. I also have had cards since release. 


All of the bugs I have are confined to either multi-gpu, or multi-monitor combined with displayport.

 Even at launch, there was the multi-monitor DVI flicker, which they fixed by upping idle clocks, remember. 10.9 brought this flicker back, BTW.


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## DRDNA (Oct 14, 2010)

newtekie1 said:


> Only idiots buy half developed tech just so they can say they have it.  I wouldn't touch DP with a stick because it has been a buggy POS from the beginning, with most users having to resort to using an active DVI adapter just to get it to work(now what is the point in that).



Tekie, I am with you on most everything most all times and I am not even sure yet about the potential of DP but, if we stayed away from the brand new "oh ya's" then all of us first to bat i7 920 CO folks including my self would have missed a very very good boat as they were the shnit! Mine clocks like a bear. Just saying


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## Edito (Oct 14, 2010)

*nVidia in probs*

I think nVidia is in serious problems this time around, i used to like the nvidia cards design they used to look really good but now they are just too ugly for me except the GTX480 and 470 from EVGA, Asus the lower cards are just ugly and ATi or better AMD are doin just fine in that department and i think there are many ppl like me who just don't like to use ugly cards i want the performance and the beauty and im nvidia fan but AMD is wining me over time by time...

Congrats XFX and AMD this card look sexy somehow it reminds me of the good times of GTX285...


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## CDdude55 (Oct 14, 2010)

DRDNA said:


> Tekie, I am with you on most everything most all times and I am not even sure yet about the potential of DP but, if we stayed away from the brand new "oh ya's" then all of us first to bat i7 920 CO folks including my self would have missed a very very good boat as they were the shnit! Mine clocks like a bear. Just saying



But the i7's weren't ''half developed'' really, the first batch of anything is usually not the best(it can be luck of draw a lot of the time though), but that's way revisions and improvements are made to the product.

DP doesn't offer much over HDMI as a new standard and just blindly adopting it just because you have the money and and it's newer tech doesn't always mean it's gonna be a better product, DP has already proven itself to being a pointless ''upgrade'' over the HDMI standard.


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## CDdude55 (Oct 14, 2010)

Edito said:


> I think nVidia is in serious problems this time around, i used to like the nvidia cards design they used to look really good but now they are just too ugly for me except the GTX480 and 470 from EVGA, Asus the lower cards are just ugly and ATi or better AMD are doin just fine in that department and i think there are many ppl like me who just don't like to use ugly cards i want the performance and the beauty and im nvidia fan but AMD is wining me over time by time...
> 
> Congrats XFX and AMD this card look sexy somehow it reminds me of the good times of GTX285...



Ya, Nvidia is in such trouble for not dressing their cards up nice enough, they're in so much trouble.


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## erixx (Oct 14, 2010)

hahah Dude!

BTW, DP this, DP that, DP, DP, DP!!!!!! I have never tried!


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## cadaveca (Oct 14, 2010)

CDdude55 said:


> DP doesn't offer much over HDMI as a new standard and just blindly adopting it just because you have the money and and it's newer tech doesn't always mean it's gonna be a better product, DP has already proven itself to being a pointless ''upgrade'' over the HDMI standard.



Very true, but there is one thing it DOES offer over HDMI, and only one...HIGHER BANDWIDTH, which allows for multiple monitors using only one output cable.(HDMI 1.3 max is 10.2 Gbps, DP 1.2 is 21.6Gbps +720Mbps for USB, etc)


Oh yeah, DisplayPort supports USB as well on the same cable. Make that 2 things.


These new cards should offer that same functionality. And guess what....it should also fix any multi-monitor issues that 5-series owners have.


Now what leaves me curious is wondering if the USB side of DP 1.2 will be picked up.


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## TheMailMan78 (Oct 15, 2010)

cadaveca said:


> Very true, but there is one thing it DOES offer over HDMI, and only one...HIGHER BANDWIDTH, which allows for multiple monitors using only one output cable.(HDMI 1.3 max is 10.2 Gbps, DP 1.2 is 21.6Gbps +720Mbps for USB, etc)
> 
> 
> Oh yeah, DisplayPort supports USB as well on the same cable. Make that 2 things.
> ...



Reayth uses multiple monitors without issue.


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## cadaveca (Oct 15, 2010)

TheMailMan78 said:


> Reayth uses multiple monitors without issue.



Probably on a 5970?

That's the strangest part...some people don't have any issues. But, the multimonitor issue I'm left with is in the driver release notes, so I know I'm not the only one.

really, I could just blame XFX...they were more than happy to not send me a replacement card until I called them today. They would have had me wait until someone sent in a reference one on RMA that wasn't actually bad. Some much for thier claims of wanting to "get you back in the game as soon as possible, because we're gamers too".


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## TheMailMan78 (Oct 15, 2010)

cadaveca said:


> Probably on a 5970?
> 
> That's the strangest part...some people don't have any issues. But, the multimonitor issue I'm left with is in the driver release notes, so I know I'm not the only one.
> 
> really, I could just blame XFX...they were more than happy to not send me a replacement card until I called them today. They would have had me wait until someone sent in a reference one on RMA that wasn't actually bad. Some much for thier claims of wanting to "get you back in the game as soon as possible, because we're gamers too".



Hes running a Visiontek 5850. Honestly man all joking aside I really think you got a bum card.


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## JATownes (Oct 15, 2010)

Haven't you tried more than one Cadaveca?  I thought you had tried 3 or something with the same issue replicated on each, but I could be wrong.


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## overclocking101 (Oct 15, 2010)

wow love the stock cooler look! i think i just saw my next gpu IF it out performs the nvidia gtx470


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## cadaveca (Oct 15, 2010)

TheMailMan78 said:


> Hes running a Visiontek 5850. Honestly man all joking aside I really think you got a bum card.



Nah, I got a whole bunch of bum cards. they were all reference, so now I'm going to non-reference.

I fortunate in that the cards I bought are higher spec'd than anything they sell now, as then they have to properly test the card before they ship it, becuase RMA'ing cards was one of the many things I ahve done over the past year + dealing with the issues.


I find it kinda common that 5850 users are OK...look at erocker...he had a fan die on him, and that's all.

I'm just going to sell the cards off when i get the replacement. Maybe I'll get lucky, and this replacement will fix it all, and the card I sent in was the bad card...but I'm not very confident that it will.



 It would be funny if I found one of these cards shipped out to me....



JATownes said:


> Haven't you tried more than one Cadaveca?  I thought you had tried 3 or something with the same issue replicated on each, but I could be wrong.



Yeah, I did, and I tried differnt boards, etc... I did everything possible.


And then I bought GTX480 in SLi...to find that no board out there supports SLi, so my tri-monitor dreams there are screwed until I get an Intel board.



I so hope these cards have no issues... it's gonna be really hard for me to pull out my wallet, this time.


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## newtekie1 (Oct 15, 2010)

cadaveca said:


> . No 23-inch monitors, other than these Dells, were $239, LAST SEPTEMBER.
> 
> Do you remember what happened between then and now that dropped prices so much? That should give you a hint...
> 
> ...



Yeah, and a year+ later, the cheapest 23" Dell monitor with DP is $270...so still overpriced.  I really fail to see how this more expensive standard is better.

I wouldn't mind supporting it, or paying extra for it, if it actually offered something better over the standards that are already established.


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## Super XP (Oct 15, 2010)

GO XFX GO, very nice looking hardware indead 

This is obviously "In Your Face" NVIDIA for dropping XFX


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## Lionheart (Oct 15, 2010)

Very cool looking design, I like but suks there is no backplate, bollux


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## Super XP (Oct 15, 2010)

CHAOS_KILLA said:


> Very cool looking design, I like but suks there is no backplate, bollux


What do you mean no backplate? Also what's with the avatar  NICE


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## SNICK (Oct 15, 2010)

XFX RADON HD 6870 FRONT SHOT


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## Wile E (Oct 15, 2010)

Dammit, I hate that they put display conenctors across 2 slots. I only want them on the first slot, so I can go single with a FC block.


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## Lionheart (Oct 15, 2010)

Super XP said:


> What do you mean no backplate? Also what's with the avatar  NICE





> It draws power from two 6-pin power connectors, has no backplate on the PCB's reverse side,



Says there's no backplate which I prefer to have one, hides all the circuitry & makes it look neater and thanx, I like the avatar too, its HOT


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## Tatty_One (Oct 15, 2010)

You all appear to be grown ups having this conversation/debate, therefore can I ask that you act like grown ups and refrain from the childish personal attacks and just stick to your facts/experiences...... thank you!


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## Frizz (Oct 15, 2010)

looks hot! times like these I'm glad to be working, picking up 2 for some e-peen e-rection


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## wahdangun (Oct 15, 2010)

Wile E said:


> Dammit, I hate that they put display conenctors across 2 slots. I only want them on the first slot, so I can go single with a FC block.



thats why we need to move to DP asap, because right now DVI is too big for today multi monitor configuration


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## TheMailMan78 (Oct 15, 2010)

Tatty_One said:


> You all appear to be grown ups having this conversation/debate, therefore can I ask that you act like grown ups and refrain from the childish personal attacks and just stick to your facts/experiences...... thank you!



Says the man with a monkey reading a magazine in his avatar.


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## inferKNOX (Oct 15, 2010)

I don't understand what the talk of DP being "half ready" is about really. DP is like HDMI at the moment, but got the potential to go further due to it being free (more desirable) and having higher bandwidth (more future-proof). The only "half ready" thing out there is the market, as it's an emerging standard and not widely available.
The multi-monitor issues are just that, Eyefinity issues; not DP issues. There was an article talking about how the software team over at ATi didn't know about Eyefinity until the last moment and so they had to scramble together drivers quickly, that's why it's buggy, not because of the DP.

EDIT: the potential that DP as a standard has, and has already brought in v1.2 is far more exciting than HDMI IMHO and I hope it replaces HDMI, the quicker the better, because I've found working with HDMI to bring about sub-par performance, although admittedly, I have very limited experience dealing with it.


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## cadaveca (Oct 15, 2010)

Yeah, Apple has been using DP since 2008. I've been using it for ages with my macpro on my audio rig. Not a single problem.


I really wish I could put one of my 5870's in my mac...I wonder if the 6870 will be the first card to work on both?

As to DP and eyefinity, we are a year later, so they have had a year to work on drivers...or right...Eyefinity is HARDWARE-BASED, not software, so drivers have little effect.

Anyway, it's been a year, and I still have issues. I have issues when using DP alone, nevermind using multiple monitors...anyway, I think it's ME relating my problems, and what I think causes them, that has some people thinking that way. Nobody else, really, besides me, is tlaking about eyefinity as a problem. Mind you, I'm one of few people acutally using Eyefinity, so that's not surprising.


Crap. and I played BC2 with Reayth last night...forgot to ask what card he's got...


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## inferKNOX (Oct 15, 2010)

cadaveca said:


> Yeah, Apple has been using DP since 2008. I've been using it for ages with my macpro on my audio rig. Not a single problem.
> 
> 
> I really wish I could put one of my 5870's in my mac...I wonder if the 6870 will be the first card to work on both?
> ...


A surprising statement from you since it was you that provided the link to the article:


> It's the software that ultimately made Eyefinity


Source: Preventing Espionage at AMD: How The Eyefinity Project Came to Be


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## cadaveca (Oct 15, 2010)

Yes, but the problem that is left now is when the cursor is sent from one display to the next...for some reason it'll corrupt. I blame the hardware implentation for this...ATI just basically added DP onto the already-exisiting output design, rather than making it the main part, and i think this is the source of the problems. If it really was just driver problems, surely a year is long enough to fix it, right?

But they haven't.

The software behind Eyefinity revolves around making the multiple displays connected seen as a single large surface to windows, but when it comes down to actually un-muxing the big image down to each monitor, that's all hardware.


From the same article:



> ATI considered a software only approach a while ago, but ultimately vetoed it for a couple of reasons. With the software-only solution you need to have a multi-GPU capable system. That means a more expensive motherboard, a more powerful PSU and a little more hassle configuration wise. Then there were the performance concerns.
> 
> ~snip~
> 
> There were also game compatibility concerns that made ATI not interested in the software approach. Although I was quick to point out that FOV and aspect ratio issues are apparent in many games today with Eyefinity. Carrell agreed, but said that it’s a lot better than they expected - and better than it would have been had they used a software-only solution.



Now, admittedly, I am guessing here, but it really seems that ATI is guessing at hte cause as well, or else they'd have it fixed....

As well, these new cards have a new, different, DP implementation, and truly, they msut have made that chage specifically because of the outstanding issues.

I'd really love it if AMD would step up to the plate, give me a call, and get this problem I have fixed...but they truly seem to ignore me on this issue.


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## nt300 (Oct 15, 2010)

randomflip said:


> looks hot! times like these I'm glad to be working, picking up 2 for some e-peen e-rection


You no want to wait for HD 6970, maybe HD 6870 go down in price  Now I only ply Left 4 Dead 2, I like the new levels with the old survivors.


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## fullinfusion (Oct 15, 2010)

Nice looking gpu for sure! But I'm thinking I'll be holding onto my current gpu atm till I see some real drastic improvements in Benching.

The cut out on the back looks sweet though. + the pricing is in line with what one would expect. Going to make a nice stocking stuffer for X-Mas hmmm


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## Super XP (Oct 18, 2010)

You mean real world performance right. Synthetic benching is OK, just want to make sure real world performance is a massive boost in performance.


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