PowerColor HD 6970 Devil 13 2 GB

[W1zzard]

PowerColor's HD 6970 Devil 13 is a brand-new premium class Radeon HD 6970 which comes with the highest clocks available on any HD 6970 card. The Devil 13 also includes voltage monitoring points for voltmodders and a high quality power conversion system. But is that enough to justify a price of $549?

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[Wrigleyvillain]

When you gonna switch BC2 out for BF3?

 

[Joe Public]

That's a pricey meat-a-ball.

I'll take a GTX580, hold the screwdrivers (unless it's the drink) thank you very much.

 

[Vancha]

This was all looking so good until the idle fan noise...and then the price! My god the price...

That's some serious what-the-fuckery right there.

 

[Sasqui]

What's a typical expected overclock for a "normal" 6970. If it's close to what this thing does, then you can spend the extra $ on a physics card.

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

better off with the 6970 Lightning its only $390 vs the $540 powercolor wants. kinda said Powercolor took the price gouging approach 20mhz clock bump over MSI and they want a $140 premium for it. no thanks. and i was actually interested in this card.

as for expected if its got a good cooler most cards hit 900 +

the 6950 TF III PE / OC cards come with 1.2v so they hit 920-940 and there selling for $280 performance wise they come in about 5-6% slower then this devil 13 kinda sad 2x 6950 TF III cards will cost the same as a single one of these powercolor cards but will offer 60-80% improvement

 

[W1zzard]

When you gonna switch BC2 out for BF3?

next full rebench, which will happen after i go sandy bridge e with the test rig

 

[erocker]

I don't expect the price to remain so high on this card. Who would actually buy this at this price?

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

yea pretty insane for a 6970 lolz

eitherway thanks for the review w1zz glad to see some numbers from this card.

 

[cadaveca]

I dunno, it's appealing to me, personally. Yes, it cost a fair bit, but that's OK. The way I look at it, 6950/6970 is currently a bit underpriced. You get alot of power from a 6950 for very little cost.

Considering component choice, what's in the box, and PCB features, it's understandable, but damn, it'd be nice if it didn't cost more than a GTX 580.

 

[brandonwh64]

Its mainly because it has an extra GB of ram on it than the 2GB ones but hell a 6950 2GB unlocked would be sweeter.

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

well thats just it

6950 2gb Twin Frozr III PE / OC

stock voltage on the cards i can hit 940 core, same core speed as a 6970 Lightning


6970 lightning comes with 940 core stock runs same temps its quieter and costs $380

6970 lightning 940 core $380
6970 Devil 13 960 core $550


6970 lightning average OC hits 1000-1020 core again $380
6970 Devil 13 hit 980-990 core in the TPU review again $550
6950 TF III PE / OC 940 core $280 voltage = 1000 core still $280

so essentially the 5-7% from shaders not withstanding a 6950 TF III still will get within 3-4% of a Devil 13 runs quieter and costs $260 less it just comes down to cost effective choice

so essentially the Devil 13 from all appearences is worse then MSI's offerings the one thing the Devil 13 has going for it tho is style.... i really like the red and black.. not enough to pay $160 over an MSI 6970 lightning TF III or $260 more then a 6950 TF III PE / OC

I will say that Powercolor did design a very good looking GPU tho and its nice to see Powercolor stepping up in design ideas and with better components.

 

[laszlo]

screwdriver set around 30 usd ....

 

[alexsubri]

The only thing "devilish" about this is the price

 

[Zubasa]

PowerColor manage to make a PCB that preforms worst than the reference one at equal clocks...
Premium products FTW?

 

[mediasorcerer]

Personally i love the design,[although it is reminiscent of asus mars as pointed out above] it has a backplate too which i very much like, the price is too steep though, but kudos to them for taking the time to create something funky looking and unique, a move in the right direction.

 

[Wrigleyvillain]

I don't expect the price to remain so high on this card. Who would actually buy this at this price?

Somebody like this guy.

Yes, a likely troll, but still funny...

 

[reverze]

wondering how the power usage is so low, very efficient fan? or tweaked voltage cause of the higher binned GPU?

 

[Riotpump]

Solid review again W1zz. Especially considering I am researching which upgrade path to choose. It's as if Powercolor has not taken their competition(580) into consideration. I'm a fan of those tools as well but that price still is not justifiable. It's definitely looking as though I will be picking up a 6950 if I stay with ATI, or one of the new 484 560Ti(whenever they release)if I make the switch again. Haven't rocked with Nvidia since 9800GT some years back. Hell might just wait til next year since my current card held it's ground during the BF3 beta.

It's as if they don't realize the 7000 series is around the corner. Pretty card indeed, decent features/accessories, but the price is *Charles Barkley voice* Turrible, just turrible.

 

[mediasorcerer]

I would have thought its cos they do realise and are trying to be creative in how they get rid of older pcbs.

 

[beautyless]

wondering how the power usage is so low, very efficient fan? or tweaked voltage cause of the higher binned GPU?

i think so. this point makes the card look like the completed work of 6970.

 

[AsRock]

Great review, how ever the card looks sweet but it's way over priced. Shame i hope like some one else said the price will drop as i cannot see them selling unless the buyer is plain geek or stupid.

I am 10 of the gpu clock with no extra voltage required.. I get another XFX 6970 loads cheaper and a way much better warranty.

 

[the54thvoid]

...It's as if they don't realize the 7000 series is around the corner...

The 7 series may be just around the corner but the high end 7 series is some way off according to most reports. There's still time to develop the custom cards. I'm thinking late Q1 or early Q2 2012 is the likely high end next gen release for AMD. Who knows how long NV will take to get their high end out.

I'm also totally with Crazy eyes on this. This is redundant in price terms when you consider the 6970 lightning. The MSI high end cards are superb and priced very reasonably.

That being said, I had considered swapping out my 580 for a Powercolor LCS 6990....

 

[specks]

Yes, it cost a fair bit, but that's OK.

Of course, considering the fact that you have lots of money

 

[dj-electric]

Psssst... come here. wanna hear a secret?
SAPPHIRE 100312-3L Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR...
this graphics card? have an awesome OC abilities and nice cooling but thats not it
it's second bios is an actual fully unlocked HD6970 bios. Shhhh!!